Nazaré Paulista | São Paulo | Brazil

I recently started working a regular job against my will and this has made me value every minute of my time off even more, especially in the middle of nature.
I just don't feel like I'm in control of my time anymore and that's led to a few hours of crying. No one should have to work at something they don't believe in.
So this weekend I went to see a new place. Or at least a new part of a familiar place: the Nazaré Paulista reservoir, officially known as the Atibainha River.

The idea was to visit a side of the reservoir that we had never been to before, and so we did. As well as beautiful views, I was quite surprised at how well preserved the forest seems to be in many places.

The stretch also has few houses and everything there seems to have another rhythm: the rhythm of rural life.

This destination is just over an hour's drive from my town and our idea was also to cycle around the reservoir, so we took some food and our bikes to spend the whole day on this adventure.

Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate much and, as soon as we started pedaling, it began to rain. So we weren't able to do much of the route, but it was a funny situation and it certainly provided a lot of stories to laugh about later.

Back in the car, we continued the route and gave up the idea of trying to cycle. We were already very wet and tired, so the car turned out to be the most comfortable alternative.

We continued passing over the two bridges in the area, exploring the countryside in search of I don't know what. Maybe we were just contemplating the landscape and doing something we're really good at: exploring new places.

The view of the reservoir is really beautiful and it was very refreshing for me to spend a Sunday away from home, away from the computer and really living. That's why I'm leaving this itinerary as a good suggestion for a day trip.