Forest secrets

by Sabrina Castro (Brazil)

I didn't expect to find Brazil

I am sitting on a chair, trying to remember what exactly happened on that sunny day. I like to say that most of everything I achieved in my 26 years of life is because I am a storyteller. Being a storyteller makes it easier for you to start dreaming about different types of life you could live and where it would be. The problem is... we just have one. So the best I can do is trying to live those lives while traveling. And I do travel alone quite often and try to empower other women to do the same. I have to admit that sometimes remember my own stories is not that easy, we always miss one or two facts that we used to consider important. But that isn´t what happens when I came back to that sunny day. I woke up quite late knowing that I had to meet a girl I convinced to travel with me while I was at a party in the previous city. Well, surprisingly she decided to come with me to Paraty, a city in the green coast of Brazil with nice beaches, history, and nature. With so many options to choose, we decided to do a trail that day, so I had to rush to catch her at the bus station, which made me forget my glasses. We took a bus to Vila do Oratório, where we would start the 1h30 min trail. It was quite an easy one, so we could enjoy the view, the forest, the little river and even hear the sound of the ocean sometimes. When we arrived at the beach, some people from the campings decided to join us. We had nice conversations and the beach was just perfect, for people that know how to swim, because the waves were quite strong that day. Together with this new group, we decided to do a 30 min trail to a waterfall. When we arrived there, I decided that the waterfall was not enough, I wanted to follow the little river at the top of that, jumping from one stone to the other. t was really fun, but when I came back, the girl was not there anymore and my clothes, money and phone, weren´t there also. I had two options, stay and borrow stuff from people at the camping or run back to the bus station just wearing my bikinis. It was quite dark and I was without my glasses, but the idea of running sounded better. I tried to do this as fast as I could. Heart beating fast, panting, the sound of the forest and suddenly...fireflies...lots of fireflies, the light of the moon and the sound of the forest... time for a deep breath. The type you are never able to do when you are in your fast routine. Maybe you should do this now, I very good one, one that means relief, because I found the girl, at the end of the trail with all my stuff.