I have a million places I want to visit in Brazil, and Pipa was one of them. I first heard about it from a mountain guide I had when I climbed Nevada de Tolima, a high volcano in Mexico. He described it as a beautiful beach backpacker destination that was very popular with foreigners—not my typical destination, I thought to myself, but I added it to my travel queue anyway — our expectations are often wrong when it comes to destinations we haven’t yet visited. Two years later, when I was in Joao Pessoa, Brazil, Pipa was also recommended to me as a place to visit as I continued to explore the country, which piqued my interest – it seemed like the universe wanted me to visit Pipa. It wasn’t until this year, though, that I had the opportunity to do so when my friend and Brazilian ambassador, Valquiria, suggested we visit for New Year’s. Great idea! Pipa’s MacGuffin happened to be a concert by one of Val’s favorite musicians, Ivete Sangalo. However, Ivete canceled the show. We weren’t going to another concert anyway in a super well-organized venue. This is not the first evidence I’ve encountered that Brazilians know […]
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