Buzios... Where time stands still

After spending the past few weeks in the tumultuous city of Rio de Janeiro, I decided to escape for a while in Armação dos Búzios, a destination of incredible blue and indescribable atmosphere in the state's micro lake region. I went to Buzios blindly...without knowing what to expect, only knowing it's name. My discovery far exceeded all my ideas and expectations. I had such great experience there.

The colours

Buzios is a veritable festival of colour that unfolds before our astonished eyes. The intense blue of its waters, ranging from turquoise to navy blue, the yellow, white and red sandy beaches, as well as its gradation of green from the humid swamps of its lake to its robust cacti.

Buzios is coloured through the creative fibre of its inhabitants, who arm the streets and tourist sites with signs, fishermen's boats, totems with multiple colours and graphic details. A real visual pleasure that makes us appreciate each detail, and makes Buzios a small paradise worth knowing.

Words

In addition to unrestrained colour palettes, the artistic fibre of the inhabitants is also expressed through words: shop names, awareness signs, street art, decorations, etc. A stroll quickly turns into a seductive and enchanting poem.

"Não deixe de sonhar" [Don't stop dreaming] on a wall in the city centre, "Não mate nada além de tempo, não tire nada além de fotos, não leve nada além de saudade, não deixe nada além de pegadas" [Don't kill anything but time, don't take anything but pictures, take nothing with you but nostalgia and leave nothing but footprints] in a handmade prevention sign painted on wood at the entrance of the beach, the story of the Brazilian Gondwana on the coastal walk… Buzios tells us a story, and it is up to us to be attentive and sensitive to its art of living.

Time stands still

When I left the hectic Carioca rhythm of Rio, it was of course tranquility that I found when I arrived in Buzios. You can hear the sound of the waves and the cries of the birds more than human life. But to tell you the truth, I'm talking about a Buzios that I experienced in the low tourist season (May) and in this world pandemic situation.

Armação dos Búzios seems to be far away from our world, this piece of land that points to the northeast, surrounded by warm currents from the Equator making every aquatic adventure enjoyable. The tranquillity of its inhabitants, the calmness of its beaches and the silence of its nature give us a real impression of stopping in time. You wake up with the gentle sun, start the day with calm streets and coastal walk, get active in the waters that stir in the afternoon and marvel at the reflections of colour on the sea when night falls. Buzios challenges the notion of time and offer us a more serene and enchanting rhythm.

The people

Art is a way of life in Buzios, which is reflected by its architecture, art and nature, but also by its inhabitants. Many Cariocas have come to find peace and security and others came from all over the world to enjoy this special place. Buzios has above all an harmonious diversity which brings a very bohemian, chic and soothing atmosphere.

What I really liked was the love that its inhabitants have for the place. "You'll see, you'll fall in love with it and you'll want to come back" said the manager of the hostel where I stayed, it only took me one day of immersion to agree with him. The salesman of the bakery where I had breakfast, the waiter of the corn kiosk on the beach in the centre, the bus driver, the locals I met in the hotel… All of them had the same sparkle when talking about Buzios, as if each one had found his own little haven of peace there.

It didn't take me long to feel at home after a few strolls through the centre and long walks to explore its sometimes deserted and hidden beaches and rhythmic conversations with its inhabitants. Time literally stopped, and all the little details from words and colours only reinforced my enchantment. Surely, the Buzios I knew is not the usual version, but visiting this pearl of the Atlantic in low season is a real delight for the senses.

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Tiffany - passionate communicator, inveterate marketer, enthusiastic traveller and collaborator of Kasa Nature.