Brazil 9 - 19 September (Salvador, Morro de Sao Paulo, Sao Luis, Manaus)

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Salvador first freaked me out but turned out to be fantastic. Once you get used to being the object of the occasional hissing and being accosted by people selling everything under the sun, then its really nice. There is a prominent African influence here which is evident in the features of the people and the handicrafts ie. wood carvings, musical instruments and artwork.

The pelourinho (old town), is packed full of historic and cultural buildings and churches. Its also very touristy with loads of souvenir shops, art galleries, cafes and restaurants. There are ladies dressed in traditional bahia costume wanting payment to take a pictures of them. Also pretty cool and the little "coco" vans where the little man sells you a coconut with which you drink through a small hole with a straw. Then you take it back to him so he can slice it up with his machete, then you scoop out the coconut flesh with a makeshift spoon made from the husk.

Of note also are the capoeira guys (traditional dancing incorporating marital arts) who put on improptu dances in the plazas - these guys are extremely fit and flexible.

I ventured out at night to find some food and music, as had been told that there were street parties every night. I was lucky to meet up with two Swiss guys, as the streets were still pretty dodgy. Had dinner from a street stall served up by a big African looking "mama". Most of it was the consistency of glue and tasted about the same.

We found a fantastic open-air reggae bar which was like a shrine to Bob Marley, as his picture was pasted everywhere. We were the only 3 gringos in the bar, which included drunks, disorderly, kids and full-on rasta hairdoes complete with the tea-cosy hat. It was interesting to watch the little girl, probably only around 7 or 8, who took to the stage full of confidence and put on her own little performance well into the night. At that age, I'm sure I had never seen the inside of a bar and would have been tucked up in bed for hours. The night finished with another torrential downpour and some guy doing a snatch and grab for my wallet. As I had wisely brought the minimum stuff with me, I wasn't too worried, but we got it back anyway after the Swiss guy chased him.

Next day took a 2 hour launch to Morro de Sao Paulo, which is on a little island "Ilha de Tinhare" which has of four main beaches, originally named Beach 1, Beach 2 and Beach 3 etc. Lucky I had been warned and took a motion sickness tablet, as the boat got quite rocky. Still came off feeling a bit queasy and dreading the ride back the next day.

The island was very cruisy AND touristy. Everything imaginable to encourage sloth and laziness was there; deck chairs, hammocks, cabanas, tables with umbrellas, beachside bars, cafes and restaurants. There were also heaps of shops selling all the tacky tourist souvenirs including itzy bitzy bikinis. Shopping for a Brazilian bikini is an interesting as well as humiliating experience. I mean I thought the tiny triangular piece of material was meant to cover your bottom, not sit above it?!!

Although the island was like a palm-tree studded little piece of paradise, I was told by a couple of Brazilian tourists that the beaches in the south were much nicer and cleaner (but maybe they were biased as this was where they lived?)

Sao Luis - As I arrived at night I was very lucky to find Posada Revivir, which is really nice and new looking. I scored an enormous dorm room (complete with its own bathroom) which only had one other occupant - breakfast included all for 25 rials. This was lucky because the Lonely Planet's recommendations have been getting further and further off the mark. One traveller told me some of the places they listed were actually in the red light district..

Again a very interesting town with a distinctly tropical and African feel about it. The town is divided into two peninsulars by the Rio Anil. The most interesting part is the southern peninsular which is where the historic centre is situated. Many of the colourful colonial buildings here are covered in pretty mosaic tiles which are used to combat the wet heat. A lot of the buildings have been restored but even so, many are in various stages of decay.

Again, in the centre there are the usual souvenir shops and touristy attractions as well as churches and cathedrals, markets etc. If you can cope with the heat, its interesting just to wander the streets. I had to pay the coconut man a visit - coconut with iced water, very nice but oops not sure if I should have been drinking that water..

Manaus - Another flight to Manaus, this country is just too big. Manaus is not really a nice place to visit, its just a haven for conmen trying to sell jungle trips to hapless tourists! A couple of Dutch guys I met at my hotel told me that they had a little man actually stalking them around town, which they couldn't shake.

Having said that, Manaus does have great importance as the gateway to the Amazon, with boats and ships of all sizes ploughing up and down the river highways. The weather is absolutely stinking hot, like when you get out of the shower, you immediately feel like another one! Also, my enthusiasm for researching which agency was most reputable to take for a jungle trip was diminished greatly by the searing heat.

Before heading straight for the Brazilian amazon, I did a cool little day trip. I had been recommended a place where you can go and swim with pink dolphins, so asked the Iguana Tours people for some information on how I could do this trip on my own. At first I only got a few insufficient crumbs out of them. But funny how the information only started to flow, when I promised them I'd take their jungle trip if they helped me out with the dolphin thing.
Anyway, they promised that "Big Black" the hotel driver, who was, you guessed it, big and black would meet me at 6am to drive me to the point where the bus met the ferry and he would personally be responsible for putting me on the correct bus and ensuring that there was a seat available. OK, sounds good to me.

So next morning, at about 5:40am I'm still getting ready, when a taxi arrives. OK, so where's Big Black and why so early? Of course no one on the morning shift speaks English. Finally work out that Big Black has called and says he can't make it. Thanks a lot, buddy. So I set out in the taxi and only just caught the bus which was already rolling out of the bus terminus. So basically, instead of leaving the hotel at 6am to meet the bus at the river crossing, we were meant to be at the bus terminal at 6am when it took off. All this is not very interesting reading, except I was just gobsmacked that they just changed the plan without even telling me - or actually maybe I shouldn't be surprised ..

Finally after several hours and guesswork at where to get off the bus, I made it to the town I can't even pronounce. Went down to the river where the floating restaurant was and finally found the owner. All I can say is that everyone needs to meet pink dolphins up close at least once in their lives. They are the most fascinating, beautiful, friendly, wonderful creatures - they are on my best animal list. And they really are pink, especially their flippers/fins. You pay an outrageous amount (20 Rials) for a plate of fishheads and feed these to the dolphins. They then just just come swarming and jostling around you, and stick around afterwards for playtime - they are really quite boisterous. Brilliant moments!

On the way home, instead of the taking the 'bus on ferry' option to the bus terminal, I had to take a speedboat which went straight to the centre of town. This was pretty interesting since I think the driver and most of the male passengers had been over-indulging in Skoll, Polar Bear and whatever else! I though the hull of the boat was going to smash in two, the way it was hitting the water! Had my eye on those lifejackets on the deck which we never wore...

Next, 3 day, 2 night jungle trip with Iguana Tours. First was a stop at the "Encontro das Aias (meeting of the waters). This is where the dark Rio Negro (on which Manaus is situated), meets the cafe au lait Rio Solimoes. This is really interesting because you really can see a marked difference in colour where the two rivers converge. Apparently this is because of the difference in acidity between them prevents them from merging.

Made our way by truck, ferry and motorised canoe to the Amazon Jungle Lodge, which is situated on Lago Juma, 60km southeast of Manaus. In three days the activites included the standard fare of jungle tours, visit to a local's house, caiman spotting at night, hike in jungle, piranha fishing etc. This I had done before in Ecaudor and the pampas in Bolivia, so I was not as excited as maybe I would have been if this was the first experience.

What I hadnt done before was camp outside in the jungle and I have to say "never again". In the words of one other fellow camper, "This is a Green Hell!". Did not make us feel any safer that the guide had brought a rifle and also had given one of the guys a machete to sleep with!
The humid, tropical heat was physically draining. Our guide helped us prepare the camp and cook chicken and rice for dinner. Didnt feel like eating because of the heat, but it was nice anyway. Until, with no warning, the vicious mosquitoes came out in their hundreds ready for the attack. By the way, dont be fooled into any false sense of security by using an insect repellent. These must be some kind of guarana enhanced species because they scoff at DEET and just go in for the kill. Instead of going on the night caiman spotting expedition, I was confined to the relative security of my mosquito netted hammock. The next day we very very pleased to return to the "civilisation" of the Jungle Lodge, which had a supply of Skoll and Coke - yay!

Another "event" was, after downing a couple of caipairinhas, I returned to my room to find I had a new and unwelcome roomy (see pic). I was very proud of myself for not screaming the place down - maybe alcohol-induced numbness helped! But he won the room, and I was forced to sleep in my hammock outside on the deck with my mozzy net firmly tucked in just in case he was a sleep walker. The next morning, after relating my traumatic experience, the guide goes, " oh yeah, thats my spider, he lives there...". Would have been nice to have had that information LAST NIGHT!!!

Compared to the pantanel, I did not see much wild life in the jungle. We were lucky to spot some squirrel monkeys and cappuchino monkeys (from a distance), caimen, tarantula, frogs and birds. I wasnt impressed with the way the guide caught a caiman and proceded to shine his torch in its face and poke and prod it to demonstrate to us its various features. When I mentioned this to him he said, "oh, theyre used to it". Although Iguana Tours are recommended by a number of guidebooks, including Lonely Planet, maybe this should be considered when choosing an agency. Having said this, a big positive for me was that their guides spoke very good, clear English.

PS. Megan Gale you are a big liar - your total blockout invisible zinc sunblock does not work!

PPS. Sorry for the double blog alert. The first time I thought I´d wiped all my photos (sick to stomach), but I found them and so have added them in!

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Photos

Salvador 1
Paintings from local artists show the African influence

Salvador 3
These ladies, dressed in typical bahia outfits, wanted equivalent to an arm & a leg for the honour of this photo with them..

Sao Luis 1
Typical streetscape

Sao Luis 2
Another side of Sao Luis

Pink Dolphin
One of my pink friends near Manaus

Jungle 2
My uninvited guest..