You are here
Home > beaches > Cabo Frio, Brazil Holidays: That Thong-Tho-Thong

Cabo Frio, Brazil Holidays: That Thong-Tho-Thong

by Gay Mitra - 60

I briefly caught a glimpse of Christ The Redeemer, action figure sized, atop Corcovado mountain as our cab (which we snagged from the airport) careened through Brazil’s hectic streets. Hubby and I sat quietly, baffled, still wondering how we got business class seats instead of the usual economy on our Lima-Rio De Janeiro flight. We were hurtling towards Rodoviária Novo Rio, Rio De Janeiro’s interstate and international bus terminal, to catch a bus bound for our first destination in the country. Cabo Frio.

Forte Beach can kick Ipanema’s arse!

Despite the snail pace traffic here and there, we reached the station in twenty five minutes. Brazil welcomed us with a drizzle, to our dismay. It was summer for crying out loud. The cab driver swiftly unloaded his trunk while I sprinted to the entrance, shielding our daughter Luna from the rain. Hubby single-handedly dragged three backpacks and one roller bag along puddles of murky water and left behind an annoyed driver who was expecting for a tip. Sorry Mr. Driver, the $30 cab ride downgraded our lunch from a churrasco meal to a street sold hotdog in a bun.

A lifeguard post manned by tan, oiled, hunky Brazilians.

We purchased our tickets for $20 each (pricey amount for a three-hour journey) and quickly headed to the departure area. Our bus was about to leave in fifteen minutes. After a sleepless red-eye flight we were happy to finally board, even though Luna didn’t look dozy enough for a nap. We wanted to break away from hectic Rio De Janeiro as soon as possible, and we reckon getting acquainted with Brazil in a quaint setup will avert a rocky start.

Seriously played beach football. Steer away!

The bus dropped us off Cabo Frio’s main bus station. Uncrowded, just the way we like it. We didn’t have to jostle our way through a mosh pit of touts, in fact, we had a hard time finding a cab driver who’d take us to our hostel. And when we did, we were asked to pay a cheap rate. A fifteen-minute ride brought us to our accommodation, Central Hostel. We were greeted by a receptionist who didn’t speak a single English word, hence we sorted out our accommodation through elaborate pantomiming which the receptionist gamely reciprocated. I actually memorized a bunch of handy Portuguese phrases, but unlike Spanish, I couldn’t make out the words when spoken by Brazilians (it must be that drunken slur accent).

About to surf the afternoon waves.

Our stomachs growled as we whiffed what’s left of that morn’s free buffet brekkie for guests. Our famished selves couldn’t wait any longer. We merely dropped our luggage in the room and headed out, passing by the receptionist who hand-gestured the location of the beach and nearby restaurants. Our search for cheap street food led us to Cabo Frio’s Forte Beach, locally called Praia Do Forte.

Order $17 worth of food and drinks, and you can hire one of these umbrellas.

I’m usually not drawn to crowded beaches but Brazil’s coast is an exception. Here, beach life in itself is a different kind of culture. And people watching is an activity that’s favored over any other water sport. Besides, Forte Beach’s sand is powdery and blinding white. I couldn’t resist the temptation of wriggling my toes in. That Sunday noon, all for-hire umbrellas were taken. And tons of weekenders who anticipated this lugged their own umbrellas and chairs (worth the hassle since they laze on the beach for hours and hours and hours).

Submitting to the sea. This stubborn tot never looked back. Not even once.

More people were on the shore than in the water, beer in hand (no SLR in the other), just watching the day go by. Occasionally calling out to peddlers selling seafood snacks. Even with the fierce sun heaps of locals slather their bods with oil instead of sunscreen, cause it looks uhm, hot. Men proudly wore trunks, and their muscles flexed with every little thing they did. And yes, women in various shapes and sizes modeled Brazil’s renowned thong bikini. I could see why the country’s perfect for singles holidays.

Pardon the title if you actually expected thong photos here.

We felt overdressed in our shorts and singlets. But we didn’t feel the need to rush back at the hostel to change in our swimmers, because we were to stay there for four days. The Atlantic Ocean can wait. First order of business was beer. And so was the second and third. We totally forgot about lunch.

How to get to Cabo Frio from Rio De Janeiro:

Buses bound for Cabo Frio depart at Rodoviária Novo Rio. Tickets may be purchased at the station, schedule of trips available on this site (you could also buy tickets here). If you’re coming from the airport, a cab ride is about $30. There are no direct buses from the airport to Novo Rio.

Trip from Rio De Janeiro to Cabo Frio takes 2-3 hours. Ask the driver to drop you off at Cabo Frio’s bus terminal. There’s a cab queue just outside. From the terminal it’s a 15-20 minute ride to the municipality’s center. If meter’s not used, $5-7 is a reasonable price to pay.

Pin It
ShareTweet


This page was viewed times.

Gay Mitra
When not backpacking, she teaches her daughter sight words and belly dancing (even if she's not good at it). She's currently eating her way around some hippie town in Australia. She loves talking about herself in the third person.

60 thoughts on “Cabo Frio, Brazil Holidays: That Thong-Tho-Thong”

  5. Yeah…
    Actually, I did view it because of the thong clad people…
    But nevertheless, it was nice seeing the pictures. Most specially with that tot who never looked back even once. So she could be with the sea.

    Reply

  8. Looks like a nice beach. Is Forte Beach’s sand more powdery than Boracay’s? Just wondering. Looking forward to Pinay Travel Junkie’s future posts.

    Reply

  14. You just had business class fall on your lap, why not a little tip for the driver for more good karma? Hehehe.

    Is that Luna “submitting to the sea”? When I see the Atlantic, I’d sprint like her too. But in my barely-there thong and my Brazilian (both the shaving kind and the hotblooded kind I’m holding hands with, #wetdreaming).

    Reply

  19. That beach looks lovely! Wouldn’t mind a bottle myself (or two, or three)

    And toddlers, oi, they just love water, don’t they? The last time we hit the beach, when I finally pulled the little panda out of the water, he fell asleep on my shoulder within seconds. Living for the moment talaga. haha

    Reply

  28. wow!!! if i can remember it right borocay usually have long and wide shores…mga early 90’s at wala pa nung mga bars and malalaking resorts wala pa ngang ilaw…ang ganda dyan!!!!

    Reply

  31. Jerome, Boracay’s shore must have looked wider then cause there were less restos on the beach. I’m pretty impressed with Brazil, they are able to keep permanent establishments further inland.

    Reply

  45. The beach looks so lovely! 🙂 No wonder cutie Luna can’t help but rush to the water. Brazil is one of my dream destinations! Can’t wait to read more stories. 😀

    Reply

  46. Sensational! That beach sure gives the beaches downunder in Australia a run for their money!! And sadly, while OZ is full of our famous ‘Big Things’, there’s no Big Jesus!!

    Reply

  51. I experience the same pantomime encounter in China hotel.. It was really hard! Anyway, the beach is so wideeee and the sands is so white.. is it or because of the sunlight or cam effect? It looks so inviting!

    Reply

  59. The sight of Luna submitting towards the waves reminded me our Tambobong jaunt Gay. I love this and as usually a trademark, remarkable post.

    See u again soon 🙂

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Top