Down-Time on the Water, Real Deal Brazil Style

Waylon Warren, the Real Deal Brazil's own intrepid photographer, showed his equally heightened talents for inspired relaxation during a Memorial Day 2011 trip with girlfriend Lisa Chesson and several friends. The group took a pontoon-boat trip on eastern North Carolina's Albemarle Sound, putting in at Mackeys Creek, not too far from where Waylon lives.

"It was a good little outing," he says.

On that hot day, while the boat drifted and Lisa and fellow passengers lounged up top or on inner tubes floating nearby, Waylon had the ingenuity to string a nylon parachute hammock under the boat's elevated center section, to where he was actually reclining in the tannin-dark water.

"Turned out to be a pretty big hit with most of the crew," he says. "It was extremely comfortable, and cool, being half in the water and under the boat in the shade."

When he had to deal with sun -- sometimes you just have to man up and give your friends a few minutes in your under-pontoon hammock, after all -- his Real Deal Brazil recycled-tarp hat kept things a little less sizzly. "It kept me from getting burnt to a crisp," Waylon says.

It protected his head, anyway.

"My shoulders and back were not so lucky," he admits.

But the Jack Daniels certainly helped with the pain.

"I started early," Waylon says with a grin.

Dyeing Your Real Deal Brazil Recycled-Tarp Hat: Tips From an RDB Hat Owner From Down Under

Tony Dymock of Cairnlea, Australia, near the city of Melbourne, contacted Real Deal Brazil customer service not long ago wanting tips on dyeing his new hat. Tony had bought both a RDB hat and a bag, but wasn't as crazy about the lighter-colored tarp on the hat. After several back-and-forths with us, Tony took the plunge. He was kind enough to then send us back his own steps in applying the dye. Since we get periodic requests for info on this very subject, we offer Tony's own insight here.

His notes to us always begin "G'day." We love that.

Tony writes:

"The dyeing worked well! I don’t know what you guys have in the States, but I bought a packet of Dark Brown Dylon dye from a fabric store here. Basic procedure is:

1 - Wash the hat and leave it damp.

2 – Dissolve the 50g satchel of dye in 6L of hot water with 250g of salt. Stir until all the grittiness is gone in the bottom. Best to use a stainless steel sink for this!

3 – Submerge the hat, making sure to get the dye in all the cracks. Stir the dye for 10 minutes continuously. After that flip the hat over every 10 minutes and give it another stir, repeat until an hour has passed in total.

4 – After an hour pull the hat out, drain the dye from the sink and run cold water over and through the hat until the water comes out clear. Won’t take very long because the canvas sucks the dye up and won’t let it run!

5 – Put the hat somewhere out of direct sun and heat and let it dry. During this stage you can mould the peak as well and it’ll stay that way once it dries. Because the hat was a bit big on me I put the front peak in by squeezing the sides. Now the hat fits perfectly!

6 – After 24 hours, the hat should be dry and you can wear it!

7 – Step back and admire the sexy darkness.

Just for comparison, I’ve attached a pic of the hat resting on top of the bag. The hat was the same colour as the bag when it arrived in Australia. Any cotton dye should do the trick.

Not bad for a straight guy who’s never dyed anything before I reckon."

Not bad, indeed. To quote Tony himself, just check out that sexy darkness!

Real Deal Brazil Fan Gets Foamed at Colombia's Famed Carnaval de Barranquilla

We're delighted to get a pretty constant stream of pictures from devoted Real Deal Brazil customers, but now and again, there's one that really stands out. The shot above reached us today from Real Deal Brazil owner Kurt Runkle of King of Prussia, Penn. Even with explanation, it's pretty hysterical.

Here's the note that came with it:

"Your hat helped protect my head from the sun but couldn't protect my face from the foam at Carnaval in Columbia South America. :)"

Kurt means Carnaval de Barranquilla, held this year March 5-8 in Colombia's second-largest city, along its northern stretch of coast. Carnaval de Barranquilla is among the world's largest Carnival celebrations, and one thing they're known for is shooting off these big canisters of foam at members of the crowd, particularly if your obviously not local. Thus the photo ...

We were so intrigued with Kurt's foam-bearded photo that we asked him to tell us a little bit more about his Carnival experiences, and also how he came to own his own Real Deal Brazil recycled-tarp hat.

He writes:

"I bought the hat over a year ago. I can’t remember exactly where I saw/heard of it. Maybe a radio station? I had just seen the movie Zombieland and the ad mentioned Woody’s hat was a RDB. So I looked it up and loved the style and the story behind it. I have given it as a Christmas present for some of my relatives. They loved it too.

As far as Carnaval. I have a friend who does tours in South America. (He loved the hat too and is getting one soon). Starting last year, me and a bunch of my friends made a pact to go visit him once a year in a different county. Last year was Belize. This year he said he was going to be in Baranquilla for Carnaval. Carnaval has always been on my bucket list. So it was a no brainer. I chose Columbia because the opportunity was there, less travel time, less chance of getting in trouble.

I shaved my head last year for charity and have kept it shaved since then. I definitely needed a hat for the South American Sun, and there was none better to take than the RDB. It is tough enough to get crammed in my back pack and pop out ready to go. Plus it looks cool, is water/foam proof and does a great job protecting me from the elements.

As far a foam. They sell 2 foot cans of foam there and anyone who looks like a gringo gets bombed. I guess I didn’t blend. It was all in good fun and we had a huge foam war with the locals. We met up with some guys from Ireland and hung out with them in the stands. So it was team USA (5 of us), team Ireland (4 of them) against team Baranquilla (everyone else). Lots of laughs, lots of drinking, lots of great experiences.

We were in Baranquilla from March 2nd until March 7th, then went to (nearby) Taganga and chilled on the beach until March 10th. It was a great vaca. And no sunburn on my dome thanks to the hat.”

Outstanding stuff! We're thrilled to have made the trip with you, Kurt!

Real Deal Brazil Adds Dog-Lovers' Gallery at Facebook Site

Just added a fun new gallery at our Facebook site, devoted to Real Deal Brazil lovers who are dog-lovers alike.

Check out The Real Deal Brazil: Something to Bark About, here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Real-Deal-Brazil/106664188492#!/media/set/fbx/?set=a.10150170806463493.316204.106664188492

The Real Deal Brazil Does Mainland Portugal

The Real Deal Brazil-topped traveler who sent us the shots we posted recently from the Portuguese island of Madeira also spent some time on the European country's mainland.

Whenever he met someone who expressed an interest in his Real Deal Brazil recycled-tarp hat, he encouraged them to try it on -- and then he snapped a picture of them. Some were fellow foreign travelers; some were native Portuguese. Several of those shots, plus a few snaps of some newly stylish statues, are now included here.

We've kept our traveler's name a mystery; he actually asked that we refrain from including it if we decided to run these photos. Your secret's safe with us, Mr. Real Deal Rambler!

The Real Deal Brazil Revists the Ancient Far East!

Pet Dr. Phil is back in the RDB house!

Last May, we received a superb set of travel photos from Real Deal Brazil owner Phil Caldwell, a Los Angeles small-animal veterinarian and aspiring writer. Phil had documented in pictures a trip he'd taken to Cambodia, one of his favorite places in the world. In his happy travels there, Phil was routinely accompanied by his stalwart Real Deal Brazil recycled-tarp hat, even through the incredible ruins of Angkor Wat, from the ancient Khmer Empire.

Phil took another trip in late-November, 2010, and we lucked out to again receive a few shots from his enviable travels, presented below. Sorry it's taken us so long to share them!

For more on Phil's trans-global travel exploits, visit his compelling personal blog, "Scribbles From a Midnight Diary," scribblesfromamidnightdiary.blogspot.com.

The Real Deal Brazil Tarp Hat Tours Idyllic Portuguese Island

We recently received a set of images from an intrepid Real Deal traveler who spent some time on the island of Madeira, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Portugal. Wherever he went on this beautiful island, he took his Real Deal Brazil recycled-tarp hat. If people asked about it, or even seemed interested in it but spoke no English, he encouraged them to try it on, and snapped their delighted pictures. A number of these impromptu shots are presented here.

This is more than just a spotlight of our nifty hat, but a slide show of a lovely locale of mountain cliffs, rocky beaches and charming Old World towns that so many may not have realized even exists. Enjoy!