"You're too old to go bumming round the world" all his so called mates had told him. But that was just jealousy, eating them up as they crouched on their precarious little stockbroker rafts in the city, afraid to take the plunge, swim with the sharks, discover...who knows what, just discover.
At the ripe old age of 40 Ray Fenton had done just that. He had taken the plunge, cashed in his shares, hung up his dealing room jacket and had left the rest of the world behind, maybe for a year, maybe more. Who knows, he hadn't restricted himself by putting time limit on this chapter of his life.
Now he found himself walking alone along a deserted road in North East Brazil. Underneath his now well worn rucksack his back was dark brown, scorched by endless days in the sun. The rest of him was lean, muscled from the months of walking, chopping wood and living off the land.
He came round a bend in the road and the unmistakable smell of the sea caught his nostrils, followed closely by the distant sound of waves striking firm sand. A little bit further down the road half covered by overgrown palm fronds was a battered sign. "Jericoacoara Beach" it proudly announced.
Ray quickened his pace, aching feet and joints reviving at the thought of the cool ocean, a good meal and a chilled beer.
20 Minutes later his old rucksack lay prostrate upon an empty beach, his shorts and sandals lay beside it, drying in the light warm breeze.
He gasped audibly as the first wave hit him, instantly enlivening his senses, making him feel alive again, hungry for more. He dived headlong into the second wave, feeling it pull at him as it broke over him. Revelling in the cool silence that surrounded him. He swan for a few yards underwater then surfaced, only to be hit full in the face by a breaking wave fully twice the size of the one he had dived into.
Eventually the last wave flicked at his ankles as he made his way back up the beach, enjoying the feel of the setting sun upon his naked body.
He lay upon the sand letting the warmth massage him gently, the wind nibbled away at the droplets upon his body.
He felt the blood coursing through him, reaching out to every part of him, engorging it with life giving energy. He smiled to himself as he realised he was getting aroused by the sensation.
Eventually he pulled on his baggy shorts, enjoying the feeling of freedom they gave him. Slipping his sandals back on he hoisted up his rucksack and made his way along the beach.
A little while later he caught sight of a few lights, red, green, blue, yellow strung haphazardly along the straw roof of a beach bar. He could just make out the outline of a couple of tables and chairs on the sand, 3 rickety looking bar stools and a flash of blond hair behind the bar.
As he got closer he could see that it was deserted and wondered whether it was closing for the night.
The sun had now completely gone and the reds turned to deep purple as the first glittering stars of the night emerged overhead.
He emerged from the darkening beach to stand in the subdued light of the bar. The girl behind the bar was refilling a fridge at the back of the bar, her blond ringlets cascading over her lean, tanned back as she bent down.
