Bertioga

On July 7th, 2025, Mark took a cab to São Paulo’s airport for his annual visit to Massachusetts, our official state of residence in the US. For almost three weeks, he visited doctors, family, and friends, while Maya and I stayed at the Jorai Campground in Bertioga.

(As always, click on or hover over photos in galleries to read their captions.)

My illusion of a three-week beach vacation—just my dog and me—quickly evaporated. The weather was chilly and rainy, the environment basic, I had to be extremely careful with our fresh water since Bertioga’s city water isn’t potable, ultralights took off multiple times a day creating frequent noise, and paid work arrived almost daily.

Still, I made the best of it and settled into a routine: morning exercises, laundry, shopping, cleaning, working, long beach walks with Maya, chatting with my fellow UK camper, hot showers, cooking and cleaning, nightly phone calls with Mark, and catching up on writing, Portuguese practice, and online interactions. I also prepped the camper and took photos for our upcoming “camper for sale” ad.

Mark eventually returned with a clean bill of health (yay!), and the three of us looked forward to driving north along the coast while checking out Brazil’s sights and beaches. A slower pace awaited—or so we thought.

Jureia Beach

Before leaving Bertioga, we washed the car. Near Jureia, we filled the tanks with fresh water and settled in at our favorite beach spot. We repaired a few things with parts Mark had brought back from the US and enjoyed slower days.

A storm soon swept through, toppling trees and wires across the pretty neighborhood, cutting off electricity and internet. Sometimes it’s good to be self-contained!

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