Fortaleza: It's Not About What You Need, It's About What You Want!

One's experience in Brazil cannot be considered complete until they have made a pig of themselves at a rodízio.

These are Brazilian style all you can eat bbq'd meats with a side of all you can eat buffet.

The gimmick is that you are given a flag, or token in our case which had a green side for more gluttony, and a red side for 'I surrender and need a lie down'!

We had yet to experience the joys of such an establishment until we came to Fortaleza.

So on the back of 11 hours of travel with a half a meal to sustain us we landed in the Disney Land of rodízio - Ghellar!

Welcome to backpackers paradise!

We had been told that the meats at this place was to be succulent and more'ish (one stuffed with garlic and dripping with so much fat you could fry your chips then and there on your own plate) but we didn't really know what accompanied these delicacies.

Well Ghellar has set the bar at a very high standard. The cold selection would have been enough but this 'heaven of gluttony' came fully equipped with a sushi bar, paella, moqueca (Brazilian fish stew), chicken curry, fried rice, black beans, chips, fried bananas, the list goes on.

After trying to contain ourselves at the hot and cold buffet sections (let's say one or two plates contained) we started gorging ourselves on the meats.

The waiters come around with the meat on large skewers and slice off the meat until you wave the red flag.

About half an hour into our encounter Nic said she was pretty full and probably didn't 'need' anymore. Well these places aren't about what you need, there about what you 'want'! And we both wanted more!

Deep within the trenches

Another half an hour or so later we finally succumbed and waved the traitorous red flag. It really was like a battle, with casualties and injuries on both sides – chickens roasted in flames, hunks of beef lost to the floor, pigs left scattered over the plate. We both felt we were in need of a stretcher or a nice little cat nap. But like all good, weary, battle hardened soldiers we trudged on and made it safely back to the hostel.

That's probably when the shame set in!