Exploring Northeastern Brazil – Natal/RN [ENG/ESP]

[zombialien]

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Greetings, people! I hope you're all doing well.

This is my first post here in this community – also the first one in Hive about traveling – so, there's nothing better than getting started with the last trip I took in the beginning of the year to the Northeastern region of Brazil. As you already know, Brazil is huge as hell – I always feel like I'm in another country every time I travel to a distant place inside Brazil. And well, that time it wasn't different.

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¡Saludos, gente! Espero que estén todos bien.

Esta es mi primera publicación aquí en esta comunidad – también la primera en Hive sobre viajes – así que nada mejor que comenzar con el último viaje que hice en el inicio del año a la región Nordeste de Brasil. Como ya saben, Brasil es reinmenso – siempre me siento como en otro país cada vez que viajo a un lugar lejano dentro de Brasil. Y bueno, esa vez no fue diferente.

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^{Boundary between Praia do Meio and Praia dos Artistas – the stones indicate the beginning of the latter}

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By the way, I live in São Paulo state countryside – located in the Southeastern region – and I took a plane to the Northeastern region, to the capital city of Rio Grande do Norte state, called "Natal". As Rio Grande do Norte is located in the extreme northeastern point of South American continent – and near the equator line as well – its climate is predominantly hot the whole year, prevailing the humid tropical climate in the capital city, and throughout the coastal region, and the semi-arid climate in the rest of the state – no wonder Natal is called "The City of the Sun" due to the high incidence of sun rays, the highest one between all Brazilian capital cities. Surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, rivers and dunes, Natal is the closest point between Brazil and Europe, as well as between Brazil and Africa.

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A propósito, vivo en el interior del estado de São Paulo – ubicado en la región Sudeste – y tomé un avión para la región Nordeste, para la capital del estado de Rio Grande do Norte, llamada "Natal". Como Rio Grande do Norte está situado en el extremo nordeste del continente sudamericano – y también cerca de la línea ecuatorial – su clima es predominantemente cálido todo el año, prevaleciendo el clima tropical húmedo en la capital y en toda la región costera, y el clima semiárido en el resto del estado – no es de extrañar que Natal es llamada "La Ciudad del Sol" debido a la alta incidencia de rayos solares, la mayor entre todas las capitales brasileñas. Rodeada por el Océano Atlántico, ríos y dunas, Natal es el punto más cercano entre Brasil y Europa, así como entre Brasil y África.

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^{A natural pool formed by the combination of reefs and low tide}

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Unfortunately, I just managed to go to some out of countless amazing beaches of the state – the first one was Praia do Meio (Middle Beach, in free translation), an easily accessible beach, located in the urban part of Natal, quite close to the central region. Despite being a highly urbanized beach, the place impressed me so much in a positive way – firstly, the beach is much more attended by the locals than the tourists, so, for those who like deep cultural immersion like me, the enviroment there can effectively provide it. In second place, as it's a beach of locals, the prices are cheaper and the beach is way less crowded during week days than a touristic one, like the famous Praia de Ponta Negra (Black Tip Beach), for example.

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Desafortunadamente, sólo pude ir a algunas de las incontables playas increíbles del estado – la primera fue Praia do Meio (Playa del Medio, en traducción libre), una playa de fácil acceso, situada en la parte urbana de Natal, bastante cerca de la región central. A pesar de ser una playa muy urbanizada, el lugar me impresionó muy positivamente – en primer lugar, la playa es mucho más frecuentada por los lugareños que por los turistas, así que, para los que, como yo, les gustan una inmersión cultural profunda, el ambiente allí pudo proporcionársela eficazmente. En segundo lugar, al ser una playa de lugareños, los precios son más baratos y la playa es mucho menos abarrotada en la semana que una turística, como la famosa Praia de Ponta Negra (Playa de Punta Negra), por ejemplo.

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^{A fisherman taking advantage of the rising tide}

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Honestly, my only interest in Ponta Negra was basically to see its main attraction – Natal's most famous postcard, a big dune called Morro do Careca (Bald Man's Hill), which has a curious "flaw" in its vegetation, making it look like a bald man from afar. However, as I managed to go to Ponta Negra the night before – and also got to say hello to the Hill, even though it was night – I was already satisfied with it.

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Sinceramente, mi único interés en Ponta Negra era básicamente ver su principal atracción – la postal más famosa de Natal, una gran duna llamada Morro do Careca (Morro del Calvo), que tiene una curiosa "falla" en su vegetación, haciéndolo parecer un hombre calvo desde lejos. Sin embargo, como conseguí ir a Ponta Negra la noche anterior – y también pude saludar al Morro, aunque fuera de noche – ya me dé por satisfecha.

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^{During high tide, in the late afternoon – the perfect time to go bathing in the sea}

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Well, let's talk about Praia do Meio and the reasons why I fell in love with it. I had said it's a beach of locals so, needless to say, locals know their own backyard well enough to chose the best places to go. The highlight of Praia do Meio are surely the reefs – a rock formation that extends for several kilometers from Praia do Forte (Fort Beach) to Praia dos Artistas (Artists' Beach), the two beaches that border Praia do Meio. Those reefs protect the coast from waves and form amazing natural pools during low tide, which are perfect for children, or those who can't swim and just want to sit and stay still underwater.

However it's during high tide that it becomes really perfect – like you can see in the pictures above – the natural pools become a deeper and giant one, it gets a bit more shaken but the reefs manage to hold the sea flow so it's still safe to swim and play. From a distance it's possible to see the sea divided into rough sea and calmer one – also the waves crashing on the rocks is a spectacle on its own.

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Bueno, hablemos de Praia do Meio y de las razones por las que me enamoré de ella. He dicho que es una playa para lugareños, así que no hace falta decir que los lugareños conocen su propio patio lo suficientemente bien como para elegir los mejores lugares para ir. Lo más destacado de Praia do Meio son sin duda los arrecifes – una formación rocosa que se extiende varios kilómetros desde Praia do Forte (Playa del Fuerte) hasta Praia dos Artistas (Playa de los Artistas), las dos playas que bordean Praia do Meio. Estos arrecifes protegen la costa de las olas y forman increíbles piscinas naturales durante la marea baja, que son perfectas para los niños, o para quienes no saben nadar y sólo quieren sentarse y quedarse quietos bajo el agua.

Sin embargo, es durante la marea alta cuando se vuelve realmente perfecto – como se puede ver en las fotos de arriba – las piscinas naturales se convierten en una más profunda y gigante, se pone un poco más agitado, pero los arrecifes logran mantener el flujo del mar así que sigue siendo seguro para nadar y jugar. Desde lejos es posible ver el mar dividido en mar agitado y mar más tranquilo – también las olas chocando contra las rocas es un espectáculo por sí mismo.

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^{The tide filling the pools}

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On that day, I had lunch in a small and simple seaside restaurant, which served regional dishes at good price – it was my first time trying the northeastern cuscuz, I only had eaten it in the São Paulo state style, the so-called cuscuz paulista, which has nothing to do with the former. It was also my first time eating carne de sol – a salted meat cured in the sun for a couple of days, typical from Northeast as well. During the afternoon, I ordered a serving of appetizers to nibble with a cold beer – unfortunately there weren't many options of craft beer there so I had to go with the coldest option, haha.

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Ese día, almorcé en un pequeño y sencillo restaurante a la orilla del mar, que servía platos regionales a buen precio – fue la primera vez que probé el cuscuz nordestino, sólo lo había comido al estilo del estado de São Paulo, el llamado cuscuz paulista, que no tiene nada que ver con el primero. También fue la primera vez que comí carne de sol – una carne salada curada al sol durante un par de días, típica también del Nordeste. Por la tarde, pedí una porción de aperitivos para picar con una cerveza fría – desafortunadamente no había muchas opciones de cerveza artesanal allí, así que tuve que optar por la opción más fría, jaja.

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^{On the left: rice, black-eyed peas, northeastern cuscuz, carrot and chayote salad with parsley and stir-fried grated cabbage and carrot. Fried chicken fillet with onions and fried beef of carne de sol on the smaller plate.
On the right: Fried manioc (called macaxeira in the northeast), French fries, onion rings and breaded shrimp.}

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^Cheers!

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A curiosity about Rio Grande do Norte: due to its geographical position, it dawns and gets dark much earlier than the rest of the country, mostly during the southern hemisphere summer – when it's around 5 pm, one can say it's already night time there – that's why Brazilian summer time makes a huge difference in the region, sadly we don't have it anymore.

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Una curiosidad sobre Rio Grande do Norte: debido a su posición geográfica, amanece y oscurece mucho antes que el resto del país, principalmente durante el verano del hemisferio sur – cuando son alrededor de las 5 de la tarde, se puede decir que ya es de noche allí – es por eso que el horario de verano brasileño marca una gran diferencia en la región, lamentablemente ya no lo tenemos más.

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^{Modeling near the reefs 😝}

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Have you ever been to Natal or any other city of Rio Grande do Norte? Let me know in the comment section.

Thanks for reading, see you next time! 🤗

All the photos were taken by me, with a Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 and edited with Canva, Photoshop CC and Lightroom.

Comments

[mariasalve]

That view of the reef and the tides does make a spectacular scene. Lovely read 😁

[zombialien]

Indeed! I could spend hours just looking and appreciating the view. 😅
Thanks for commenting!

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[shiftrox]

Olá! Tudo bem Bia? Sua postagem ficou super legal e gostei bastante dela!

Gostaria de te dar uma dica que pode te ajudar, vi que você utilizou a tag #hivebr destinada para as postagens que visam promover o português e pelo que vi você também é brasileira (isso é ótimo ^^) e por isso realizei um voto de 50% com o nosso perfil de curadoria @hive-br-voter.

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