Blogs from Itacaré, Bahia, Brazil, South America

Flew to Ilheus, then a 90 minute taxi ride up the coast (paid 180, but you might get it for 160). When first arriving in town, I was a bit nervous as it looked dumpy, and even the roads by our Pousada were dirt and in rough shape. But our digs...Pousada Burundanga...was really lovely, and close to the beach. Being late August it's off season, so nothing is very busy, but the weather was very good. We hiked out to Prahina, without guide, and got a bit lost, but nothing awful. That beach is large and pristine, with us and a bunch of Israeli kids and some locals doing yoga. Another day we went to one of the town beaches, and spent a lot of time in the water. The surfers are amazing. We did a ... read more

Time is almost up in Brazil sadly, we've got another two weeks-ish for our final few destinations on the list... All of which sound amazing. But first... What happened after our initial stay in Rio. We jumped on a quick flight up to Salvador for a nights stay before a catamaran to Morro de Sau Paulo. We stayed in the old town area which looked very pretty - All pastel houses, cobbled streets, Capoeira which is ballet/fighting kinda dance and Bahian ladies in traditional dress. The lovely exterior makes it hard to believe that it is apparently quite dangerous after dark. We had a little pootle around and saw some of the amazing cathedrals but felt a day was enough here. Plus we were just excited about the beaches that lay ahead. Morro de sau Paulo ... read more

Itacare, Itacare, Itacare............. God this places changes you, in a good way! The perfect way to end the perfect 6 months. Itacare is a lovely little fishing village surrounded by loads of amazing beaches (there are 7 you can take your pick from everyday, which are walkable)....it used to be the first choice destination for all the upmarket rich Brazilians due to it being difficult to access, making it very exclusive. However to improve that a bridge was built crossing the river a few years ago and that opened it up to the world of backpacking and given it a growing 'Gringo' population and we can honestly say, we would have been very tempted to add ourselves to what is a great bunch of people, who look out for each other and generally enjoy life by ... read more

We seem to count the full moons that pass here in Itacare and I have now seen 4, including the full moon of May which was dubbed “Super-Moon”. I suppose it is actually 5 if I include the one I was here for in February when I first passed through for 5 days. Within a week of posting my last blog and celebrating 6 months of unemployment, I somehow picked up work and started a new job less than a week later as an English Teacher (yes – I’m still in Brazil!). For those of you who didn’t know, last year I did an internationally recognised online certificate before I left Australia to Teach English as a Second Language (TESL). It is one of those things I have always wanted to do but never ... read more

Capao, a small town of 1,000 hippies, rastafa's and with a permanent circus and acrobats is located on the boarder of Chapada Diamantina National Park in the state of Bahia, Brazil. I arrived in Chapada thinking I was going to spend 4 days in total – I left after 2 weeks of daily trekking, including an amazing 5 day trek out of Capao into Vale do Pati. Described as “Brazil’s Lost World”, it contains an abundance amount of secluded waterfalls, hidden caves, 300 metre climbs up what feels like vertical terrain, all to be rewarded with deep crystal clear pools and underground rivers which seem to spring out of the mountain side at any given time along the trail just in time for the perfect ‘cool off’ before continuing your day’s trek. All I can say ... read more