There are a lot of things you might think about when you think of Brazil–beaches, samba, the Amazon and more. One thing that probably doesn’t come to mind is a rolling countryside dotted with farms and horses. Well, in fact that is Brazil and we got to experience it this weekend when we headed to the countryside.
On Friday afternoon, we headed to Dona Carolina, an hour and a half from São Paulo. Well, it was supposed to take an hour and a half but it ended up taking us three due to traffic, extremely bad weather and getting lost! But we arrived just as the sun was setting over these beautiful country hills scattered with animals and lovely little houses.
The hotel itself was a gorgeous historical center built in old architectural style. Throughout the hotel were historical artifacts on display.
Although it is primarily a horse farm, the hotel offered us a number of other activities throughout the weekend. We were a little bummed when it started bucketing down rain on Saturday morning but my mom and I made the best of it by heading off to the spa for a massage.
The rain cleared up luckily and we were able to set out on a hike around the premises. There were a number of hikes available ranging from 3ks to 7ks but since we had the little guy with us, we opted for the shorter ones!
The hotel sits on a lake so we took turns kayaking around the lake while the little guy cheered us on!
And of course, we had to check out the pool.
The estate actually also grows coffee and distills cachaca, the liquor used to make caprihinas. After a round of tennis and a walk to see some horses on Sunday morning, we checked out the cachacaria where they distill and store the cachaca. It was a bit too early for me to do a tasting so I stuck with coffee and just checked out the view!
Readers, have you ever been to a horse farm? Are you a country person or a city person?
Shawna
March 1, 2016this looks like such a lovely little countryside getaway! i really like the shot of you on the steps in the yellow (you look great in that color!) — so happy and sunny. i haven’t actually stayed at a horse farm, i don’t think, but i grew up in Upstate NY so i’ve seen/been to a bunch of farms and had friends growing up who had horses, if that counts. hmmm i guess i’d say i am a mix between city/country, but living in NYC for the past 5-6 years has def made me appreciate the hustle and bustle of the city life — but i love having the countryside upstate to get away to whenever i want.
Nicole @ Foodie Loves Fitness
March 1, 2016Dona Carolina sounds like such a cool place! It looks so relaxing in the countryside, and I love horses. They’re so beautiful!
Natasha M.
March 8, 2016You are so blessed to experience such beautiful places. I could spend hours outside at places like these. You have such a sweet family too.