Guest blogger Ruth Leckenby.
The time I thought: "I'm utterly exhausted!!!"

I spent a lot of team at or near the beach in Natal, which I absolutely loved. There were 2 incidents that I feel could fall under the statement: “I’m utterly exhausted!!!” The first was at a snorkelling trip to Maracajau. We were taken on a little catamaran about half an hour from the beach to a little reef were we snorkelled about and looked at the abundance of pretty fish, and some darn ugly ones too!!! The thing I noticed as I splashed off the boat was the strong current, you couldn’t bob about in one place without moving, either you were swimming to stay still or you were drifting off across the reefs! I let myself drift for a while, watching the fish, then decided I should head back towards the boat. It took about 5 times as long to get back to the boat as it did to drift! And there were times that I thought…ah, it’d be easier to drift back to the shore, I’ll just bob back!!!

The second incident I felt utterly exhausted was on my last full day. It was father’s day in Brazil and we went to Pipa! I absolutely love Pipa and think it’s the most beautiful beach, and quirky little town I’ve ever seen! We had a great day eating and relaxing but I think I’ll remember mostly for the size and power of the waves on Praia de Madeiro. I’ve been to Cornwall a couple of times to surf but never seen or felt anything as strong as these waves!!! The force of them was just crazy! I’m struggling to find words to describe it!!! The undercurrent was so strong it pulled my feet from underneath me and the curling waves would push me over from above, creating a summersault effect. There were a few times this happened and I had to put my hands out to stop my head getting hit into the sand. Looking back on it I don’t know how safe it was, especially as at one point I saw a fairy sizeable tree trunk being tossed about like a twig. But I felt I should get the very most out of my last day. And I certainly did. The exhilaration I felt from riding some enormous waves on a little body board was something I’ll remember forever! And when I got into the car on the way home I thought…”I am utterly exhausted!!!”