WELL the purple hat is on and after a 4am meeting at Dublin Airport, I am off with Zara’s Planet on The Coconut Trail in Brazil.

A lovely flight with KLM to Amsterdam and then onto Rio de Janeiro saw us arrive at about 8.30pm. A great night’s sleep with my new roomies and breakfast with a view, it was onto our final destination, Maceió, which the locals say is a little part of paradise.

The weather is beautiful and warm with a lovely breeze. We met up with our guide Paul and our other group members. Paul has outlined our itinerary and it sounds great.

Day 1

After a bus transfer, we met up with our horses. I have a roan gelding called Leno (meaning Lion). We ride them more western style but with English type saddles. The horses are gaited so it takes getting used to.

The Brazilian coastline is stunning and luckily there is a pleasant breeze to keep us cool. After a water break for the horses and riders, we continue down the coast and then swim the horses across the river. It’s now a change of transport and up the river in a boat. After a ‘spa treatment’ and a soak in the river, its lunch at a local restaurant.

Our accommodation is a local pousada (meaning little rest place). A lovely snooze on the beach as the sun went down refreshed us all for a lovely dinner and a good night’s sleep.

Day 2

Breakfast saw a few new guests in the form of tiny monkeys. As we weren’t riding until 10.30am due to tides, a couple of hours were spent chilling on the terrace.

A change of horse for one of the group and off we went. As we approached the beach, we met a herd of tiny ponies; the little stallion was not impressed and kept attacking our group. It caused a bit of excitement but we eventually lost them. Then onto miles of beautiful beaches.

My horse and I are starting to understand each other and he now does this amazing gaited trot. Another river crossing but this time we rode across. Miles more sandy beaches with lots of cantering and then our first stop. Horses rested and had their water and we drank coconut water and ate yummy nibbles and then swam in the sea. Putting jodhpurs back on was tricky with sand everywhere!

A slower pace now with plenty of chatting and getting to know each other. Our ride finished through a small village where we tied up the ponies and they were then taken away.

Our accommodation are little chalets in Paradise. During supper the horses decided to come and visit us - someone left the gate open so a little herding up ensued. After a lovely supper it was off to bed listening to the waves crashing on the beach as we fell asleep.

Day 3

We woke up in Paradise today. It’s both the name of the place but also where I felt we were. I had my first chocolate milk for breakfast; definitely worth having. Due to tides our horses had been moved to our next start spot. It meant we had a bus trip through some of the small villages and it gave us a different picture of Brazil. We definitely see the more privileged side. Having said that, the holiday we are doing is giving great employment to local people so hopefully it’s a win-win situation.

The horses were saddled and waiting in the shade. Again, we did lots of beach riding; there are, I think, 8000km of beaches.

One of the back-up horses decided he wanted to get home on his own and took off. He continued on and on up the beach until he was only a small spot in our vision.

We pulled off the beach into what is a co-op farm where Jacira (the horse owner) keeps her horses. We are now based in a lovely summer house for the next two days. Another dip in the sea followed by a long walk along the beach finished our exercise for the day.

Beth and her ladies have been producing fabulous homemade food which included little crabs, fabulous home baking and a gorgeous pork goulash and salad for dinner.

Day 4

An earlier start yesterday saw us having breakfast at 7.30am. The mosquitos attacked me over night but luckily I didn’t react. After a couple of horse changes (some needed resting), we set off inland. The beautiful breeze we were used to was not there but we had plenty of shade along the way. We rode through coconut groves and I saw my first cashew fruit picked from the tree. The cashew nut grows as part of a fruit. The nut gets roasted and the fruit is used to make a drink or you can eat it. It tastes lovely, but then leaves a slightly dry taste in your mouth.

We rode up into the sugar cane plantations and the views back over the lagoons and out to the dunes were spectacular. I’m afraid no photos can do it justice. The lads that ride with us picked some sugar cane and we all tried it. It’s like a hairy sugar lolly!

A slightly different route home saw lots of dust and I looked like an urchin when I arrived back. As we approached our village on the way back, music was playing and the local band and dancers were out to perform for us. Sitting on horseback we watched them perform. We finished our ride along the beach as the sun set. A wonderful end to a breathtaking day.

Day 5

We headed inland again under mango trees and through coconut groves. The pink mounds of ‘stuff’ under some trees are actually fertilizer made from prawn shell. By the way you can eat the shells of the prawns, they are very good source of calcium! As we rode along there was plenty of time for reflection and just soaking in everything.

I’ve seen very little wildlife, some vultures and dragonflies. We rode back into our village and out to the beach. The houses all have satellite dishes but are all only about two rooms. Some have lovely plants outside but most don’t. Lots of smiling faces, both young and old, wave as we try our two words of Portuguese in return.

The breeze that greets us on the beach is so welcome. More shrimps and fish for lunch and then soak in the sea. The struggle with jodhpurs continues but the swim is so worth it.

Our afternoon’s entertainment was a lesson with a local fisherman on throwing out a fishing net. Zara won the competition as she was the only one to catch anything. Zara ended up misjudging things and threw the net right over the poor fisherman!

Day 6

An early morning rise as we were starting out a two-day trip over 37km of sand dunes. Leno was feeling very full of himself this morning…I reckon he got a double dose of electrolytes. We hacked down the beach as the local fishermen, in from a night fishing, sat having a beer. After about 10 minutes we again went in land to skirt around the bottom of the dunes.

The houses seemed to be roofed with the leaves from the coconut trees and each holding is fenced with picket fencing using barbed wire. I saw one place that used plastics bottles on stakes to create a wall; recycling at its best. Most people seem to have goats, some floppy-eared sheep and possibly a pony.

It’s very hot today, well into the 30s. We started our two-hour ride across the dunes. I can only describe the dunes as vast amounts of sand going on forever. Thank goodness Jacira knows where she is going.

Every now and again, we would come across scrubby vegetation and lots of cattle, sheep and goats. It’s weird to think that it’s on the dunes I am seeing most livestock! As we slowly make our way across in the distance, a young man is galloping around on his mule – hat flying trying to catch a stray bullock. The vultures are flying overhead and I’m sure they have had many a good meal here. I notice some bones along the way and they are an incredible ‘blue white’.

In the distance, coconut trees appear and as we make our descent one by one to keep out of the deep sand. On entering the coconut farm, a river appears to our left, our next watering hole. Horses are watered and then the peel begins again.

We get a bus back to our Pousada as the horses will stay over. A dip in the pool and a long walk on the beach followed by more food brings the day to a close.

Day 7

The alarm is ringing, it’s 4.45am and we are getting up to see the sunrise. We toddle out in our pajamas and onto the beach. It is bright but unfortunately cloudy on the sky line but we watch as the clouds slowly turn orange and the sun starts peeping through. A couple more hours in bed and then the struggle to close suitcases. Despite not buying anything, my clothes and my waistline are expanding rapidly.

Our bus awaits on the beach to take us back to our horses. Everyone’s a little quieter on the journey, I think we are realizing today is the last day of our riding trip.

The dunes are different today – still vast but even hillier. I have a very interesting chat with Paul, our guide, who had been a farrier originally and travelled a lot.

After an accident with a horse, he changed his career and was able to make his love of travel and adventure into his business. He has been doing this for 23 years now.

As we travelled through the dunes we came upon very primitive huts. Some were still being lived in. These originated from the time of slavery and when the slaves escaped the farms, many hid and lived in the dunes. They have dug deep into the sand for water and it was at one of these that Jacira and the boys scooped out water for the horses.

We travelled on and further down the river a boat was waiting and this is where we said farewell to our wonderful horses that had carried us on this amazing ride. I think they were as fit on the last day as the first. A credit to Jacira and her team.

We then all climbed aboard our next mode of transport and chugged up the river. I think it goes to 80km wide. Each side of the river is lined with coconut trees. Tall and green at the top and the leaves becoming golden and yellow further down. Today they seem to be actually glistening in the sun, as if dipped in oil. We pull into a small river side restaurant for lunch.

A bus awaits and still in swimsuits, we pile in and head for Penedo. This is a beautiful old city about half an hour up river. We arrive to a city forgotten by many.

Paul said, in all his years coming here, he has never seen European tourists, not even backpackers. Much to my surprise, we stopped at a beautiful old Franciscan seminary and Jacira beckons us out.

We also visited a privately owned church. There was a panel missing beside the altar and this is where the family hid the slaves that had escaped. The little church was then shut at night and the slaves could come out. We walked around the steep cobbled streets and took in the beautiful buildings, ending up beside the river.

After checking into the San Francisco hotel, a little trip to the market and supermarket followed. A couple of bags of Brazilian coffee and a bar of coconut washing soap were purchased. If you saw the state of my shirts you’d understand.

Some people leave tomorrow, but a few of us still have to experience Rio, so the adventure continues.

December 9th

The start of the return journey begins with an 8.30am departure. After an hour’s journey, the first of the goodbyes begins as Jacira and Beth get dropped home. How I’ll miss Beth’s cooking and smiling face and Jacira’s never-ending knowledge of her area, her wonderful Mangalarga Marchador horses and her incredible laugh.

These horses are very light compared to our horses, but I now see why. They are incredibly well looked after but super fit to keep going in these conditions, any of mine would have had a heart attack on day one. I think of them as your little, light sinewy marathon runner and not a large muscled rugby player that mine are.

We travel on leaving a lot of the remoteness behind us as we travel through small towns with endless speed ramps.

As we have WiFi on the bus, I get a notification to say my sister, Anna Merveldt, has just scored 73.3% in the Kur in the Dressage World Cup qualifier in Salzburg on the Lusitano stallion Esporim. The benefit of social media!

Rio was a bit of a shock to the senses. Having come from remote fishing villages to a city of nine million people, living in shanty towns to high rise apartments and beautiful old houses nestled between a multitude of hills and trees.

The five-star Mimamar Hotel on Copacabana beach awaited us. I think we felt a bit like country bumpkins when we arrived. But a freshen up saw us heading down the Copacabana strip for our traditional barbeque dinner. Like many cities in the world, we passed plenty of people sleeping rough, while others jogged or walked their dogs.

Another early start for our guided trip around Rio started with a visit to Christ the Redeemer, built in 1931 to celebrate 100 years of independence from Portugal. Did you know the statue is actually hollow inside as originally they were going to let people climb up it? A tram up to it through the forest saw mango trees and trees with orchids growing out of them. The views are spectacular, it’s a definite thing for the list.

We travelled by bus through downtown, seeing the financial centre, beautiful churches and wonderful colonial buildings in various states of repair. We wandered through the old town and Sassy informed us that all the white dresses were for New Year’s Eve. It’s an old superstitious tradition and everyone wears white. A visit to the Portuguese Royal Library room was awesome.

On next to an Afro Brazilian market, a bit like the farmers market at home. The bus awaited to take us to SugarLoaf Mountain, which took three cable cars to get us up. At one stage, we were dangling 348 metres above the sea. Again, the views were incredible.

At last, a lazy breakfast and a little retail therapy. A quick walk on Copacabana beach and of course I had to dip my toes in the sea. It was freezing compared to Maceió. Having pushed and shoved, my clothes eventually fitted in the suitcase. It was now time to say goodbye to our friend Charlotte. We left her looking for flights to come to the Dublin Horse Show and plenty of offers for a bed.

An easy check-in with friendly faces at Air France left some time to spend the last of our reals and get ready for our flight home.

As I’m sitting in front of my fire finishing the last of my ramblings, I am so thrilled to have said ‘yes’ when Adrienne suggested I came along on this trip last April. It has been an amazing experience, with new and old friends, loads of photos, and a head full of memories.

My beautiful silver bracelet given to us all by Zara’s Planet will be a constant reminder on those wet winter days of my fabulous trip. Thank you all who were on this adventure with me for making it a time to remember forever.

The purple hat has been set aside for the moment, but I plan on many more adventures with it.