Oasis

Kristina and I [were going to] enter a travel writing contest for Trazzler.

Oasis

1. n. a fertile or green area in an arid region (as a desert).
2. n. something that provides refuge, relief, or pleasant contrast
(Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2009.)

Last Stop on the Road to Paradiso, Mangue Seco, Brazil

I'm engrossed in a Portuguese grammar book when the bus decides to play connect the dots

with the potholes in the road. Attempting to keep down the afro-brazilian delights I'd eaten earlier, I press my face against the window and am struck by the view; a forest of giant palms rising quietly out of the silvery sand, cutting cool shadows through the glaring humidity. This is the road to Mangue Seco, an isolated wedge of sand in tropical Northern Brazil that juts out between the tail of the Rio Real and the Atlantic Ocean. Ours is the last stop on this bus route, and though it is night, we manage to find an old wood waterbus to navigate us across the quiet waters. This secluded town is home to a few fishermen, and a scattering of little inns and restaurants, all sinking into the hills of sand that surround it. In the morning, we chart a dune buggy across the wall of dunes to...Paradise? Miles of pure white sand, turquoise break, a shady burraca with a hammock, and a fresh coconut with my name on it.