Armacao dos Buzios, Brazil

Just north of Rio de Janeiro is the peninsula resort town of  Buzios, once a busy whaling/smuggling/slave trading outpost...then the whales dried up. It became a sleepy fishing village for the descendants of natives and slaves until 1964 when Bridget Bardot came to escape the Paparazzi. She succeeded for two weeks, was discovered, and Buzios has never been the same. A getaway for celebrities, it is also used extensively by vacationers from Rio de Janeiro as well as the rest of the world because of its charm, sunshine, and 23 beautiful beaches. Tourism is the main business for its 30,000 year-round inhabitants. During summer (now for the southern hemisphere) the population expands to 200,000. Today it is all that plus our cruise ship.

We tendered off the ship and formed our walking tour groups off the pier. The beautiful stone walkway along the beach was jammed and moved at a snail's pace. We soon took off on our own past charming shops, seaside restaurants, and vendors selling boat tours to the three nearby islands.
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Colorful Art Everywhere

Hammocks in Laid Back Buzios

Strolling the Stone Boardwalk

                                                                                                                                                                 

Angel by Church overlooking the Baia of Ossos

The " Bay of Bones" beach got its name for all the skeletons of the whales, as they were brought to shore here to butcher.



                 

   
           

Oldest Church in Buzios

One of the few modern residences on the Bayfront

Buzios has done a great job keeping the whole town quaint. Almost all the buildings next to the waterfront had that colorful, easy going fishing village look, and throughout the whole town, no building was over two stories tall.
Not sure how this house got away with a third story, some zoning code loophole no doubt...or money under the table.

Bridget Bardot and Admirer

Three Fisherman Statue

To add to the beauty, a local sculptor placed many bronze statues around the town, the most famous one being
Bridget Bardot.  Everyone stops here for a picture.

But we were here for the famed beaches and enjoyed exploring and dipping into several... along with throngs of Brazilians here on vacation reminding us of York Beach in July.

Bridget Bardot's Favorite Beach

The sandy beaches were almost completely covered by a slew of umbrellas.

Brazilians at Play

After dipping into the protected bay beaches, we walked up a steep hill through the wealthier neighborhoods to get a view of the ocean side beaches. This side has the surf, and water is ten degrees colder.

Brazilians like Drinks along with the Sun and Sea

This young man did 20 backflips in a row through the shallow waters.

Relaxing on the Ship with Brazil's National Drink

After the long walk up and over the island's hill to all four beaches, Luamai, one of our favorite waiters brought us Brazil's national drink, a Caipirinha as we relaxed by the pool.