Fortaleza is less than 260 miles away from the equator making it the closest to the equator I’ve been to so far in my life.

After doing the standard checking in and looking around the room, I head off to Iracema beach, it’s walking distance. I walk along, take some photos and have a look around. I had nothing planned which in a way is nice because it is good to do things on the fly sometimes and change it up. Sometimes the best times you have are when you go with the flow and do as you feel.

Exploring on foot is the best way to get to know the local area and you never know what you will find. Saying that, as soon as I got to the harbour and walked along to the beach, I was not particularly fussed about going anywhere else after a morning of flying from Natal to Fortaleza, then essentially heading straight to the beach via a brief stop at the hotel. You could say the beach was very conveiniently located.

After eating, I’m back at the hotel booking myself buggy tour of the beaches and sand dunes seeing as I enjoyed the buggy tours I did in Natal. I wasn’t going to be in Fortaleza for long so I may as well make the most of the time I had here and see as much of it as possible.

I needed to be up and ready in reception by 7:30 for the tour bus to pick me up. Usually this would be a struggle but I’ve had no trouble getting up early. It’s been pretty easy on this trip. I’ve been going to bed the same time I would’ve back home in local Brazilian time, and somehow I’ve been able to wake up at 6am at the latest most of the time. Since I’ve been here I’ve only needed my alarm twice. If only this were the case back home.

The journey took around 90 minutes. As we edge closer to our destination we’re asked if we want to hire a buggy. It cost more to do it on your own, so I was looking to join up with 3 people. The Argentinean girl sat next to me and her friend sitting across asked if I’d like to share with their friends. PERFECT! That made 4 of us and sorted out the buggy issue.

Despite the language barrier, Marian (who sat next to me on the bus), Cira, Marina and I could communicate without issue. Edgar, the Brazilian guy sat on the other side to me was on hand to translate when needed. Whenever we were on the bus we seem to stick to the same seating plan, me and Marian in the same seats, Edgar and Cira sitting across with Marina sitting wherever there was a free seat. I guess it made things simple, it wasn’t as if we’d be spending the full day  on the tour bus.

The best part of the buggy tour has to be the first stop in the Morro Branco area. We drove through the labyrinths before walking along the cliffs and dunes, all you notice is the colour. It was like a dark orange/red kind of colour. It was different to what you’d expect. I’d say we spent the longest at this stop. In all honesty this place alone was worth the money.

Other stops on the buggy tour included Praia Das Fontes, Dunas do Uruau and Lagoa do Uruau. While we’re sitting at a table next to Lagoa do Uruau, the girls bring out some food they’ve brought with them. They had bread, butter, meat, they brought knives as well. It was impressive how they packed everything. You wouldn’t think looking at their bags they could fit it all. They offered me food several times, I kindly declined because I was content with my caipirinha.

After being offered a chance to make a sandwich before we needed to leave the lake, I said yes. The girls didn’t want the food to go to waste and I hadn’t eaten breakfast, so you could call it a win-win situation.

During the journey my hat flew off about 100 – 200 yards behind us on the Dunas do Uruau. Our buggy driver stopped while I jogged to get the hat. Another buggy which was behind us before the hat flew away changed direction while I was on the way, I even got some cheers from the people in the buggy. Running on sand in the sun is pretty tiring, here’s my tip for the day, make sure you have a strong hat or put it in your bag if you’re riding on the back of a buggy.

As I get back into the buggy I find out Cira has recorded everything. The girls found it funny, let’s hope the video doesn’t go viral.

Our last stop is the Praia Canoa Quebrada. Before going on the beach, we sit at the restaurant. I’ve ordered crab shells and crab claws. It takes a long time to come, it took so long that me and Edgar joked that the waiters went out to the sea to catch the crabs. In the time everyone finishes eating and they’ve gone to the beach.

Finally the food comes when the others take a break from the beach. I’ve had crab before, but crab on the beach, I can’t describe why or how, is just that much better.

I finally get the chance to go on the beach and into the sea. It was the first real chance I had to get in the sea for an extended period of time. Having travelled solo I’ve been reluctant to leave my bag unattended whenever I’ve got to a beach. Having spent time with Edgar, Cira, Marina and Marian, I was confident enough to trust them to keep an eye on it while I enjoyed some time in the sea.

And just like that the day flew by, we’re on the bus heading back. Everyone at one point or another falls asleep. The day takes a lot out of us. We make a quick stop to a market which gives me the chance to get some water. No matter how much water you drink in this country you seem to get dehydrated in no time.

On the way back I show Marian plans for my South America tour and what I’ve written down for Argentina. She helps me add to it. She asks me about Europe. I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it before, I think a dream for a travelling South American is to tour Europe. We speak about travelling for the duration of the journey, where we’ve been, where we want to go etc.

The next day would be a weird one for me. My flight to Brasilia wasn’t until half past midnight and I didn’t have anything planned. I heard about Brazil’s biggest water park, Beach Park and thought why not. I love water parks and it would pass the time.

I booked with the same tour company to take me to the hotel and back. I was told by a receptionist at the hotel and the lady in charge of the buggy tour that it would be R$35 for the transportation, and R$85 to get in which I thought was good. I was told to be ready by 9:30am.

It’s 8:15am and I’m sorting out my suitcases so I can check out early. I get a phone call from a lady in charge of the transport (different to the one from yesterday. Let’s call her Maria) saying I had to be ready in 10 minutes! I tried explaining I was told 9:30am. She was adament so I rush everything. I get down just in time.

I notice it’s been raining and I ask the receptionist if Beach Park is closed because of the weather. He said yes. I assumed Maria was trying to tell me it was closed because it’d been raining. So I ask for my room key back so I can sort out my packing.

It’s around 9:15am and I get a phone to hurry down. I’ve not understood what was being said to me so I go to reception and speak to Maroa, she says Beach Park was open. I’ve asked for 10 minutes to finish everything and bring my luggage down. I took around 5 minutes despite having a knock on the door and a phone call to hurry up.

Finally I’m on the bus and I can breathe and relax. The rain looks like it’s easing up. I can look forward to a good day before flying out.

We arrive and queue. I get a shock, I was asked to pay R$210. I was told the entry fee was a different price by 2 other people (a lot less). I explained this to Maria. I’d brought less than that, so I was pretty screwed for a few hours.

I asked if I could get a lift back, the answer was no. Maria, through someone at another tour company who spoke English suggested I get a taxi back. Here’s the thing, I was told numerous times to avoid getting taxis in Brazil as they’re a rip off. Another reason I made the choice is because I wasn’t sure I even had enough money for a taxi to get me back. At this point I decided to play it safe.

I already spent R$35 getting to Beach Park so why bother getting a taxi when I could wait and get the tour bus back? The tour bus wasn’t leaving until 5pm, there was a beach, the complex and a small town to walk around so killing time wasn’t a problem. I had nothing planned for the day apart from going to the airport so it wasn’t like I lost out or gained anything. You could say I was silly to stick around, even to the point of being stubborn. As I’m writing this, do I think with hindsight I would do things differently? No.

I know it wasn’t Maria’s fault that I was given the wrong information. But several times I was told to get a taxi, even when I said I’d wait around and do my own thing. By this point, Maria and the guy from the other tour company weren’t offering suggestions convenient for me. It didn’t feel like they were trying to offer solutions, it felt as if I was an inconvenience and a problem that needed to be solved, and they were trying to get rid of me.

The hotel was about 35km away. The guy from the other tour group suggested the tour bus could take me to a nearby shopping centre and I could get another bus back to the hotel. Here’s the thing, he didn’t know what hotel I was staying at or where it was so how would he know whether this was viable? Even if he told me step by step how to get back there was no way I was getting a bus. During the time I’ve been here, I’ve got lost several times despite being given directions. There was no chance I was taking any risks getting lost on the day I fly out, no matter how little the risk was. Going on the tour bus would guarantee me a safe return to the hotel.

Maria must have suggested to me 8 or 9 times to take a taxi, she couldn’t take hint that I didn’t want to go by taxi. I had no time to lose and nothing to gain by going back early. If I’d known it was going to cost R$205 I probably wouldn’t have bothered going. I’m sure I would’ve found something else to do on the day if I hadn’t gone to Beach Park.

The fact of the matter is I was given incorrect information, it happens. It wasn’t the end of the world. The situation could’ve been dealt with better. Could I’ve asked more questions or done more research? Did I need to order an entry ticket online? On the other hand, when you’re abroad and you ask for information on excursions, at minimum you expect to be given the correct information. It was unfortunate because Beach Park looked really good. If I come back here to Fortaleza I’d definitely love to have a day here.

The saying that life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react couldn’t be truer. I wasn’t upset or angry, maybe a bit irritated at how the situation played out. Let’s put things into perspective, up to now I’ve had an amazing time in a country I’ve grown to love more as each day wore on. What would be the point in getting upset over something you can’t control? Was my patience tested at times? Of course.

I spent most of the time flicking through the photos I’ve taken on the trip. I didn’t feel like what happened was a big deal. I felt lucky to have experienced a lot on this trip. It’s not like it was the worst thing to happen to me, I’ve been in worse situations. I’m sure there are thousands of people in Syria who would’ve traded places with me on the day so who am I to complain about something that didn’t work out? What’s done is done and all I needed to do was what for the time to pass by. Nothing bad has happened to me on this trip so if this turns out to be the “worst” thing to happen, I’ll happily take it!

On the way back to the hotel, every person on the tour bus got a hand shake and a smile from Maria when they were dropped off. I was the last to be dropped off and I didn’t even get eye contact. I thought that was poor. Her colleague from the previous day was the complete opposite, they were chalk and cheese. At this point, I was flying out in a few hours so I didn’t give a shit or take it personally.

Even though I’d checked out I asked the receptionist at the hotel if I could use one of the spare rooms to shower and freshen up. He granted me the request. Talk about every cloud having a silver lining! It’s amazing how good you can feel after a shower.

You could spend 3 or 4 days in Fortaleza. It’s beautiful coastal city which I’d be inclined to come back to. You could say it’s similar to Natal in terms of what you can do here with buggy tours. Though Natal has better beaches, and Fortaleza has Brazil’s biggest water park. For me, this was the final leg of the Brazilian coast and I’ve enjoyed every second of it.