brasil 2026
Greetings from Brasil!
We made it back to Renan’s homeland. And my second home? Third home? Can you believe it has been a year since we were last here? Me either. It crept up fast.
And technically it was moved up a month with Renan’s work schedule….which allowed us to celebrate Carnaval in Salvador for Renan’s first time and my return (after 8 years, wild).
Having done this trip before, the prep was much smoother — despite some new requirements (visas are back for Americans going to Brasil, request yours in advance), and hiccups as usual getting Pipoca’s health certificate (requested too early, and then the regional vet retired in our region, of course).
são paulo
We mixed it up a bit this year and started with a night in São Paulo, the sprawling capital. Neither of us has spent much time outside of the airport, so after researching some vinyl record shops, we landed on the Praça da Republica neighborhood.
We had an adorable studio in the heart of town and enjoyed a cold beer and dinner on the crowded streets, plus some live music and wandering, before catching up on sleep.
We made a morning of the vinyl shops — our newest hobby — and met some incredibly kind people. We (of course) were the first customers as the shops opened. And as fate would have it, João opened his doors to us. It was a moment so representative of both Brasilian culture, and what we’ve learned of vinyl music culture - welcoming open arms, joint love of music, and connection.
João was curious to see my “dream vinyl list” and helped me excitedly look through his collection, as Renan was chatting him up and learning all about his business and life story. Lots of shared musical taste, love of Racionais MCs, which was playing in the background as we enjoyed looking through his store (truly his personal collection of 10,000+ vinyl records). We found some jewels:
Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald
Ray Charles cerca 1960
Tim Maia (funky disco Brasilian vibes)
Racionais MCs (1990s Brasilian rap singing of the struggles of Brasilians)
A couple of hours and some reais later, we were off to Sete Barras. I took the first leg of driving out of São Paulo — I will never get over the stress of driving in this metropolis.
sete barras
This year, Renan could drive (new licence from Portugal), so he took the second leg and all the traffic. One hour of dead-stopped traffic just thirty minutes from our turnoff was brutal….thankfully, the excitement of our new vinyl records and surprising Renan’s family pushed us through.
FINALLY, we made it…4.5 hours of driving later.
It felt like we never left. His family couldn’t believe it had already been a year, either. We settled right in. And took in what had changed in a year. Pirata was no longer a puppy, but Pipoca still didn’t want to play with him. The garden had FLOURISHED. The pigs were now gigantic. Renan’s dad was super surprised. A super sweet homecoming.
We didn’t settle in too much, aside from unloading our presents for the fam. And had one more surprise planned — a road trip and visit to meet/see Renan’s uncle (his dad’s brother) in neighboring Minas Gerais state. Minas is where his dad grew up, and his uncle and family live (although not in their hometown, which is another 1,000 km north).
Renan and his mom had never visited either, so it was a fun adventure and a new experience for us. It was a first family trip, we loaded back up the car and set off on our next 6.5-hour drive.
minas gerais
Hilarious… first time for everyone road-tripping together (Renan’s family included; usually only his dad takes this trip by bus). All the family dynamics in full force, starting with the six am roll call lol. But we made it into tasty food and milk/cheese country by midday.
We stayed at his aunt and uncle’s new home in the lovely town of Congonhal (a small town in southern Minas Gerais), and for the whole family history, download from his auntie.
Turns out the brothers grew up in a super remote town/village about 1000km north of where we were, but neither planned to return. Renan and his mom got to see a photo of his grandparents from the 90s and learn more about this side of his family.
And turns out his cousin was celebrating her 40th at a nearby home with a group of friends. So we got to meet two of his cousins and celebrate alongside all of her friends and family. There were a LOT of games, bingo, card games, board games, and games of chance, plus churrasco (always), dancing, and more! We ate *incredibly* well and got to experience a slice of their vacation.
Pipoca enjoyed romping around until she lost her free-roaming privileges. Just as. Wrangling the entire family for a Polaroid, she decided to take off into the rainforest. The same rainforest that claimed a cousin’s dog in the last month. Of course, Renan and I bolted into action, knowing Pipoca is no match for the rainforest. After a few minutes of screeching her name, whistling, and my very loud clap. I heard some romping around in the water and walked down to find her bathing in the river. Jesus. This dog is truly aging me. But at least I got my Lion King moment, raising her above my head for the family to see with lots of cheers and claps. What a relief.
We explored some nearby attractions and hikes (quinze quedas) and, of course, tried fresh cheese and milk (sadly not me) from neighbors. My frame of reference for Minas Gerais is from Anthony Bourdain, and his assessment of some of the tastiest food coming from this region holds up today. Plus, I got to see my first toucans up close and personal. SOOOO incredibly cool. I didn’t realize I was so into bird watching, then was happy to get the entire family involved. It was super precious and hilarious trying to describe the birds to everyone: “jurassic park look alike.”
It was so sweet to get to know this side of Renan’s family and share in this first family trip, experience with them. Next time, we hope his brothers will want to come too!
sete barras pt 2
After our time in Minas, we settled into Sete Barras for two more weeks. Lots of household projects, work, and cooking/eating. We were super proud of the accent wall and projects in his parents’ room!
We also made it to a nearby town along the ocean, Cananeias! It was a glorious break from the heat, and fun to see another city in the interior. Turns out it is one of the first cities colonized by the Portuguese, so lots of familiar architecture.
salvador
It’s been magical to share my love of Salvador with Renan. This year was super special with his first Carnaval experience — Carnaval is the major celebration before Lent. Salvador is known for its celebrations in the streets, compared to Rio’s more formal “bandstand” experience.
Carnaval is a marathon! So I had one request (knowing both of us): just ONE single day of Carnaval to survive the week. I can already hear friends laughing at me and your doubts. But in my defense, imagine a (literally) million people descending on one main avenue (four lanes of traffic) and dancing, singing, partying from 1pm to 6am… every day….for five days of Carnaval AND pre-Carnaval.
If you’re into experiences like this and get the opportunity, DO IT. The joy, the love, the literal vibrations from the music. It’s truly magical. Hence why I keep going back. And ended up going every day to experience some element…so much for one day only.
Day one we had to enjoy some beach time — filled with homemade popsicles, caipirinhas, beach food and more.
Night one Renan wanted to walk from our spot to Porto da Barra (arguably the most popular beach in Salvador) to enjoy a lil exercise and grab a casual dinner after a long beach day.
Of course, we forgot to factor in pre-Carnaval.
As we’re walking, we run into a live dress rehearsal from a super popular Brasilian artist —Bell. Took a cute lil video, didn’t think much of it and kept walking.
Then ended up going through a security checkpoint. Still didn’t think much of it and kept walking.
Then we descended on the SEA of people dancing and walking behind one of the moving stages (aka Blocos). At that moment, I knew we weren’t making it to dinner (thankfully Brasil has LOTS of street food options). And here was our accidental “one night only” of carnaval. I wasn’t even in the right shoes or dressed up.
Once we got to the bloco, it turned out to be Leo Santana — an incredibly famous Brasilian artist, whom, of course, I had no idea who he was. Renan loved retelling this story to everyone on our trip — everyone laughed hysterically that I had no idea who it was, haha.
In total, we walked 10km that night…. and yes, this was just DAY ONE of our time in Salvador. So you can imagine how jam-packed the rest of the trip was :)
To help with some calm during the trip, we stayed in a sanctuary in Rio Vermelho, a neighborhood within walking distance of the “end” of the main Carnaval route, and on a gorgeous beach. Because I lived in Salvador, it was really nice to explore and stay in a new part of town that I had enjoyed going out in, and doing my study abroad research project within, but had never spent much time day to day otherwise. And it was lovely that a few vinyl shops were in the area. Plus DELICIOUS restaurants, a fresh fish market, and Casa Yemanja.
Loved waking up to this view every day. I was truly obsessed, I’m sure Renan was over my “oh my gosh look at the blue. the waves. the sky.” Not really, we were both in love with the view and proximity to the ocean.
Pipoca enjoyed walking across the street to play at Rio Vermelho beach every morning. And we loved turning right and enjoying Praia da Paciencia. We ended up renting beach chairs, an umbrella, and lounging out for a few different days.
We met up with my host mom (and then the rest of my host family) for the Samba Night on a different Carnaval route (not the main busy area) and enjoyed traditional Carnaval music and celebrations in Campo Grande. While it was technically a second night, it was more low-key…that was my justification to myself, haha.
Another day, we explored Pelourinho, picked up our favorite presents, ate delicious food, drank gourmet cachaca, and watched some capoeira.
Plus, we rented bikes and did a little workout/ride to enjoy our daylight.
And we made it to Carnaval again… this time seeing Anitta, Claudia Leite, and others. It was PACKED. My favorite moment was watching this family, who were clearly there for their 13-ish-year-old daughter, who was OBSESSED and belting out every lyric to Anitta. Her older brother was recording for her, mom let her on her shoulders, dad was blocking out the crowd so she could see. Truly so precious.
Of course, had to enjoy a churrasco with my family and bring all our goodies from Minas Gerais and Sete Barras. Introduced them to palmitos (hearts of palm), banana chews, and dulce de leche. Afterwards, we packed and CRASHED to make our flight the next morning.
Brasil, as always, was so fulfilling (while sooo exhausting) and I got ALL the energy from the pure joy and love surrounding me. Already experiencing saudades and thinking about our next visit.
