Brown Bidets in Barra

After 3 days of house hunting, it seems to boil down to these two options. The first option are older apartments which are 3 to 4 levels, often built in the 70's. They are mostly situated by the beach or in more walkable neighborhoods with shade trees and shops, but offer no amenities like a swimming pool or a playground for kids. It seems like Brazilians may not have been as obsessed with keeping up with the trends in decor as in Canada, because when we walked into most places, I felt like I was walking back in time; lots of brown and avocado green toilets and bidets and weird splatter-paint art. Don't get me started on the tiles which cover about 85% of these Brazilian homes. Most of these apartments have a maid's quarter which is usually a small room off the kitchen with no window, and because of these hard working women, everything about the apartment is clean, but super worn down. Air conditioning if available is usually only in the bedrooms and forget about dishwashers. The rent is not cheap and comparable to Vancouver: 5000-7000R per month (About $2500-3500) So Location wins over this option.

3 level apartment, more 80's style.

The second option is what they call Condominiums, which are massive 20-30 storey towers, all gated and with high security, which circle a kind of community center, both above and underground. The list of amenities is long; swimming pools, playgrounds, tennis, squash and soccer courts, ping pong, gym, pilates' gym, yoga room, dance hall, bowling lanes, padded judo rooms, coffee shops, bbq areas for parties, indoor children's play area, a spa with hot tubs, lounging chairs and saunas (this is inexplicable to me), herb gardens, and a running track. The apartments are more modern, but of course smaller, which is no biggie for this Vancouver girl. Still no dishwasher though. These condominiums are removed from the beach and from walkable neighborhoods, but some offer air-conditioned buses that can take you to markets, malls, and beaches on the "outside". Condominium living comes at a higher price; starting at about 7000R plus condo fees 1500R, so about $4000 a month and I would say that's on the low end. So Amenities wins over Location here.

Condominium St-Martin

This is a "children's kitchen" which is used by the nannies to teach kids how to cook at Condominium St-Martin!

No matter which option we end up choosing, I'm sure our place will have a French name, a weird Brazilian pattern I've noticed; Condo Cote D'azur, Maison de Degas, Le Parc, Condo St-Tropez etc... At Le Parc Condominium, the underground community center has a mini glass pyramid that acts as a sky light like the Louvre.

It's freakin-hot here. Today it was 40C. I don't care about walkable neighborhoods, because it's freakin' hot. I don't care even about the beach, it's far too hot for a three year old.  I need air conditioning. I need a pool with shade. I need a well maintained playground in the shade. Some expats have complained that living in a condominium is too removed and isn't representative of  the "real Brazilian life", but I don't care. I'm stuck in a hotel room with a three year old and I'm too hot. I can enjoy the "real Brazilian life" much more happily if I have a cool home to come to.