Mon 8th Oct: Very tired from last night festivities - last carnival night in Olinda. Packed and made my way to the airport - difficulty in keeping awake in the airport lounge and fell asleep as soon as I relaxed on the plane. It was only half full so had plenty of room. Swung into the usual routine when we landed of finding the tourist information office and confirming a pousada. Got the local bus from the airport - lovely route through a tunnel of bamboo trees which lined the main road and met in the middle. Stifling bus journey for [View Full Entry]

---

---

Wed 10th Oct: Tuesday night turned out to be another late one with the Samba/Reggae groups going on into the early hours. The whole Pelourhino area heaved with people either watching, moving from one group to the next or dancing - a very energetic, contagious, beat-laden atmosphere. Today 'decided to get away from the crowds and go to an island, 45 mins off the coast of the mainland. Got the elevator down to lower Salvador and a boat out to the island - uneventful trip. When I got there I found that the best beaches were the far side of the [View Full Entry]

---

---

Sun 7th Oct: Would you believe it, just as I stepped out to go to the late night carnival, it started to rain - the first rain I saw since the thunderstorms in Belem. While sheltering from the rain in the main square I got into conversation with a Brazilian lawyer (who spoke some broken English), a Danish chap living in Brazil (who spoke some French) and some locals (one spoke Spanish). With the mix of languages and lots of sign language thrown in, we had a very lively animated evening .. the free flow of beer also helped the fluency. [View Full Entry]

---

---

Sat 6th Oct: As I was having some difficulty getting a ticket for the coach last night (coach full because of the weekend, and long queue for relief coach laid on), I played the senior citizen card and was moved to the front of the queue! What a difference this coach was to the one from Natal to Forteleza. It was like being in first class on an airline - wide comfortable seats which reclining to a sleeping horizontal position, with complementary blankets, etc. I had a better sleep on the coach than I had in the two previous nights in [View Full Entry]

---

---

Fri 5th Oct: Took a local bus this morning to a different beach about 8Km out side Forteleza (Priai Fortuna).. very upmarket (and expensive - they add service charges on to everything). However, a lovely beach where I did battle with the waves for a while .... couldn´t swim as the waves were very strong and also quite an undercurrent. ´Would have been fantastic for surfing but that was banned because of some recent shark attacks. Just soaked up the sun for the rest of the morning... with some mango juice, then took another bus back to the city centre. Bus [View Full Entry]

---

---

Thurs 4th Oct: An early start due to the hotel owner´s dog wanting everyone awake at about 5 this morning. Anyway decided to do my own cultural tour of Forteleza today. I found the tourist information very helpful and they gave me a pamphlet in English with all the key sites. Took an omnibus and got totally lost as it went to a different part of the city than that on the front of it. 'Eventually found my way to the centre square and started with the Jose de Alencar Theatre - built at the beginning of the last century in [View Full Entry]

---

---

Wed 3rd Oct: A taxi to the coach station ensured I was in plenty of time to catch the midnight trip to Forteleza. Not a very exciting trip; faulty air conditioning and uncomfortable seats meant little sleep. Forteleza is 537 Km from Ponta Negra. 'Arrived in at 7:45, a little later than expected and got a taxi to the hotel. This was one of the budget hotels (cheap) but quite a step down from the previous ones in cleanliness and hygiene. Just booked in for two nights - if I manage to survive that long as there is no air conditioning [View Full Entry]

---

---

Tues 2nd Oct: I like these early morning swims ... refreshing; ´could get used to this life! Unfortunately, time to move on, so ´packed and checked out. ´Booked accommodation in Forteleza for tomorrow night, and a taxi to take me to the coach station tonight. ´Left luggage at the pousada and had a long walk along the beach .. about 10Km. Spent afternoon watching life go by ....... lots of surfers enjoying the rollers, and the varied vendors selling their wares (of every kind!!) Got things ready for the midnight exit from Ponta Negra. [View Full Entry]

---

---

Mon 1st Oct: An early morning swim before breakfast; it´s amazing how many there are out surfing at 7:00 am, an ideal spot for surfing as the waves are 2/3metres and roll a long way. However I found them very strong and after 20 mins was exhausted and ready for breakfast. ´Decided to explore Natal today and use the local omnibus to get there. Although only ~15 Km away it took over an hour to get there. No different to any other city ...usual high-rise offices, shopping mall and individual outlets like C&A, Carrefour and of course Macdonalds. Just browsed, bought [View Full Entry]

---

---

Sun 30th Sept After yesterday´s energetic thrills decided to have a fairly quiet lazy day. Shared a taxi with the couple from Sao Paulo and journeyed inland - looked at sugar cane fields; they grow a lot of it here, not just for sugar (which they eat a lot of anyway) but for making alcohol for fuelling cars and drinking. Also went to a big attraction, way inland - a competition judging the skills of young cowboys ( it looked a bit like a cross between sheep-dog trials and a rodeo) - very interesting. We drove further south along the coast [View Full Entry]

---

---