Pousada Pau Brasil

I guess I'd better explain a little about this place first. Pousada Pau Brasil is in a sleepy little town called Barra Grande (unless you go during Carnival or New Years, then it becomes a madhouse). To get there by land there is a 50 kilometer drive, up the peninsula, on a hard packed sand road which is intentionally kept this way to preserve the seclusion and intimacy of the peninsula. The road eventually comes to Barra Grande at the top of the peninsula. When I say Barra Grande is a sleepy little town, I mean to say that in the slower months this town has about 3000 residents. New Years and Carnival, there may be well over 20,000 people here. Let's be clear about one other thing. If you're looking for a 5 star all inclusive Club Med resort, keep looking. This is not that. If you're looking for the service standards of a 5 star Ritz Carlton or 4 Season mixed with the comfort of Mom's kitchen, read on. Depending on when you arrive, it's likely you will be greeted by Bruno first. Bruno has worked at one of the finest properties that DC has to offer (the one where the Dali Llama stays when visiting DC) and he has brought this level of commitment to his guests' needs to his own pousada (bed & breakfast). Nerry, an amazing cook, is always around the front desk / dining / kitchen area and always has a smile on her face. The first thing that I noticed when we arrived at Pousada Pau Brasil was that I was greeted as an old friend who hasn't been around in a decade rather than a customer who walked in off the street. We talked about the area, chatted about what we wanted to do and we sat down for some tea that Nerry prepared for us. As we did all this, they were also checking us into their pousada. The rooms are simple. Bed, fridge, TV. The TV is rather old but let's be honest, if you're going to waste your time watching TV, this is not the place for you. (I personally love watching TV, mostly netflix, but watching the sunset at the 10 spots that Bruno suggested to us was better than any blockbuster film). The towels were always fresh and the sheets were always clean. Joyce, the young lady who helps them, is always cleaning and making their home spotless for their guests. Bruno and Nerry don't offer lunch or dinner at Pousada Pau Brasil. What they do offer is a rundown of every amazing place to eat in Barra Grande, Ponta do Mutá, Taipú de Fora and the rest of Peninsula de Maraú. Bruno can tell you the best places to eat and at what time of the day. Nerry can tell you the cycle of the tides and which place you will be able to sit at and enjoy longer. He can tell you where you will find the best sunset and where to have the best lobster dinner on the peninsula. She will tell you the best way to walk there (in all honesty, I choose the ride to the restaurant while my girlfriend opted for the 10 kilometer stroll along the beach). He seems to know everyone and is more than happy to walk you over to whichever restaurant you chose in Barra Grande. For such a small town, it's amazing the diversity of the restaurants that are available. There are plenty of chill expats who visited once and decided to stay and open up a restaurant in the town. You will find amazing Italian food and pizzas, amazing French crêpes from Arnoud and a couple burger joints. Wherever you want to go, just let Bruno or Nerry make arrangements for you. If you want more adventure during your calm relaxing getaway, they can contact the Scuba dive / snorkling guys, book a quad 4 wheeler or set up a boat tour around the islands and to the waterfall (a must see, by the way, as it is the only waterfall in Latin America that dumps into the ocean). Whether we spent the day adventuring or relaxing, it seems we were always exhausted by the time the sun went down so we would always go back to the pousada to freshen up before going out to dinner. And each time we came back, Nerry always had coffee or tea set out for us. Usually we would chat with them about where to go eat. Their suggestions were always spot-on! At Bruno and Nerry's Pousada Pau Brasil, we were taken care of as though we were a part of their family! Oh, almost forgot. 7 days into our stay at Pousada Pau Brasil my girlfriend wanted to stay longer. We were supposed to go to Patagonia after but the pousada was so comfortable that my girlfritown didn't want to leave (I was secretly hoping for the same!). The problem is that we already had our return ticket booked. Bruno, who is also something of the travel agent for the penisula, is actually a travel agent. He re booked our flights for us and helped me rearrange our stay from 9 days to 13 days. When we were finally ready to leave their little slice of paradise, he booked me a rental car at our next stop, contacted 4 Scuba dive shops for me and found a place for me to replace the battery for my dive computer. All of the things I could've and should've done myself but was too busy relaxing at the beach. They took care of everything so we had nothing to worry about other than our own peace and tranquility.