Salvador, Brazil for Carnaval..! 1-8 February

Woo hoo!!! 

James and I are in Salvador, Brazil right now and it~s Carnaval.. their annual party. Seriously man, this is crazy shit. It is officially the biggest party on earth, with more people than anywhere else gathered in the one place with the sole common purpose of partying for a full week. Oldies, youngies, they all get into it and everyone - everyone - is happy all the time. It is unbelievable. The place is going off 24-7 and there are different street parades all over the city, each with its own flavour, style, flair.

Yesterday we went to the old town - Pelourinho (cobbled streets, old Portugese-style buildings etc) - where it is really family orientated and it was brilliant. We got a prime viewing position along the roadside and got all up close and personal with some woman who looks like Sandra Bullock (with really long hair and long legs and amazing spangly, feathery costumes) who is apparently the Queen Latifa of Carnaval in Salvador if not all Brazil. Everyone was going NUTS around us, screaming, jumping, waving their hands, singing every word of her songs, some little girls next to us were even crying they were so overwhelmed and excited. We realised this must be something pretty special, so we copied what they were doing, whooped, cheered, sang the wrong words (its all in Portugese) and got right into it. Brilliant.

There are floats of massive, massive trucks with people and famous musicians on it with huge, massive (MASSIVE) speakers blasting out the music (these are called Trios Electricos). There are ropes all around each one, making a big hoop and people buy tickets ahead of time to get to walk inside the hoop and be a part of that party for the night (combined with the Trios they are called Blocos).

At the front of the blocos are guys walking along carrying HUGE round balloons like the size of a car almost with pictures, advertising etc on them. They look really cool and festive. The floats all make their way slowly down the circuits and millions of people gather everywhere to dance, sing, jump around and generally show outward displays of happiness - all day and all night. Its great.

All along the edges of the circuit where the blocos go, there are massive constructions which go up overnight made from scaffolding and transformed into special viewing areas with multi levels. These are called Camarotes (pron: cama-roch) Each one is owned or sponsored by different people, companies, brands, organisations, hotels etc and you pay to get into them ahead of time. Some are really basic and cheap but they range upwards to really exclusive places with everything from alcohol, food, other disco DJ areas, massage, hairstylists, services to style and tailor your t-shirt (everyone has to wear the special t-shirt to get in and theres a different one for every day, its like your passport to that camarote or bloco), internet, chill-out areas, and more.

The idea is to get a good spot where you can look out over the street below and see all the millions of people and get a good view of the blocos and singers going past. At that height you are really close to the tops of the floats and you get a great view. You could just stand there looking over all night and be entertained by watching all the people down below. Alongside the most popular blocos it gets chocka block on the street. There is no room to move, and everyone moves along with the bloco, singing, dancing, hot and sweaty, but loving it and so so so happy. It fills you with such energy and amazement. In the busiest bits you are pressed up against the people in front, behind you, and on both sides so you just have to go with it and enjoy it. You get used to it, but it did freak us out a bit at first.

One night we bought a ticket to a camarote.. called Planeta Othon.. Othon is a massive hotel at the end of the strip where the blocos go, so it was a good one. It had the whole kit and kaboodle.. and we got a massage and some drinks, and did loads of dancing, and squished our way to the front of the viewing areas to get a good view of the action down below. But it~s like being in your own safe, exclusive zone in the camarote and I especially really loved the space and safety of being in there. We met loads of people and tried to converse in broken Portugese slash English, and got far with sign language. We stayed out late and really made the most of it. We got our t-shirts (which were really colourful and gay (both meanings of the word) but effective when EVERYONE is wearing them) tailored so they were tighter and more revealing. It was great.


This place is all about the boobs, the bums, the bodies. The blokes all have really ripped and muscular bodies. The girls less so, but really accentuate their breasticles and wear tiny denim shorts (no matter what their legs are like) which show off their bubble buts. When you get a girl with a tiny waist, bubble but, long legs and lovely plump jubblies, its quite a sight to see... really curvy and sexy. They really embrace it. So there is loads of eye candy everywhere, enough to keep male and female eyes busy and intrigued more than anything.

There are beer sellers all over the place on the streets but no one is overly drunk. There are also street vendors selling shish kebabs with mystery meat on squewers. James has eaten LOADS of these, and eats more as the night goes on. He has a strong constitution. Im not risking it!

The sights, sounds, smells... the energy.. is just electric. I have never experienced ANYTHING like it. We are staying in our own little apartment in Barra (pron: ba-ha) down near the beach area. Apparently its the scene for younger, hip, cool, party people (like us apparently.. I hope). The beaches are amazing, if not busy due to the volume of people here. It is also really, really hot and sunny. I went for a run this morning and even at 9am there was NO shade anywhere and in a couple of minutes I was a puddle shuffling along the ashphalt.

We havent been able to take any photos as you have to take affirmative action to avoid being pick pocketed. You just accept that its part of what goes on, and that there are opportunists out there. You can hardly blame them.. with millions of people not paying attention all in close confinement with goodies there for the taking poking out of their pockets. So we make sure we dont HAVE any goodies poking out of our pockets. We were given the drum on what to do by a really lovely couple - Marco and Carolina - who we met at Sao Paolo airport on the way here to Salvador. They were also coming here for Carnaval and had met here 2 years ago at the same event. Basically you only take out a small amount of money for the night, and you put it in a secret pocket (or my bra).. (they would cop a massive backhander if they tried getting right in there!) where they cant easily get to. You dont take a camera out.. that will definitely go. Even disposable cameras are fair game for some reason. People are always touching you as youre often up against them alongside the blocos (following the blocos along, between the rope and the edge of the street is called Pohito or popcorn - you are popping along with the party like bits of popcorn, I guess) and if you feel people touching you, you dont get all upset.. that would be weird for eveyrone as everyone is happy. There are also loads of police everywhere and even their presence is a deterrent.

James and I really stand out here due to our white skin (even with tans) and our fair hair. Especially me with my blonde hair. As mentioned earlier, Salvador has a huge African influence (they were shipped here in boat loads by the Portugese years ago) and this city more than any others has perserved its African culture, music, language, religion and roots. So up against all the dark skinned African types everywhere, we stand out even more! Lots of people look at us and stare.. like you do when you are fascinated by something.. but we find it quite cool. Its nice to be different if its not causing you any troubles. In Guatemala some little girls came up to me and were touching my hair.

Tonight Fat Boy Slim is playing on one of the floats with some other dude called David Guletta or something, I dont know who he is, but he must be cool if hes playing with The Fat. Last year Shakira played too. We saw Naomi Campbell on top of one of the blocos the other night and apparently there are loads of other famous people over here too. Anyway, that is going to be insane, and we are going to jump around with all the Salvdorians. Tonight is the last night of Carnaval so it will be huuuuuge out on the streets. Its all an overload for our senses at the moment, and were loving it. Loving it!

Anyway, must push on. The streets outside this internet place are already heaving and someone has turned on some huge speakers which are blasting out some drum & base.

Next stop for us is Manaus (we fly there from Salvador on 8 Feb). Manaus is way up in the central north of Brazil and it is where the Amazon River and River Negro start, pretty much. Its the main town up there and the jumping off point for all jungle and river experiences. Cooool..!!! Not sure what our plans are for there yet, but we will check out the options in the Lonely Planet on the plane probably, and then figure out the rest when we get there!

Until then, take care and please send us an email.... we are always excited to hear news (any news) from our homes!

PS. Did you know Brazil is even bigger than Australia....!

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