Blogs from Bahia, Brazil, South America

Wasnt gonna write about Salvador because only here for one day as a way to get to Morro de Sao Paulo but has been an experience so can be a side blog. Dont have any photos of it either, as we were warned by soooo many people not to take cameras out, so we didnt! Got up early and got ready in 7 mins for the taxi to get to the airport, was tiny airport and us having an hour there was way more than we needed! So got another poo escapade; went to the loo towards the end of the flight and the air steward came into the toilet and told me to go back to my seat, i was like errrrrr........ So yeh it was locked, he unlocked it and hurried me up! Got ... read more

We have gone north to avoid the storms and catch some rays! Has a 20 bus ride but wasnt too bad, just read and slept really, so nothing interesting to report there..... Staying in an apartment with honesty, sophie and hungdaddy which is nice, taxi driver had to get directions from a creepy american man (he was actually very nice we were just being cynical!), and we have my speakers from thailand blasting (yes they still work - heroic) and eating homemade ratatouile. Probs dip in the sea or pool tonight as its warm and they are pretty nearby! Holy mongoose had the worst reaction to the pool! Have never been so itchy in my life, was not relaxing at all, haha so probs will avoid the pool from now on. Taught the girls how to ... 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

We left our beloved Bolivia into Brazil via a small town called Puerto Suarez. Probably not somewhere you would describe as a tourist resort as the supermarket was one of it’s main attractions!! It’s redeeming feature was that it was on The Pantanals, which are the largest wetlands in the world – about the size of Holland, Belgium and Portugal put together. The part we saw was the size of a little bit of northwest Albania. Your correspondent found that the best way to view the area was not by canoe or on foot or even horseback, no indeed, the best way was to sit at the elevated bar and drink cold beer while looking around. Some of my dear readers may scoff at such a method, but while sat there, we saw three giant otters ... read more

Il est des paysages dont on se dit que si le paradis existe, il doit leur ressembler. Mangues Seco est de ceux là . Une île de sable blanc, bordée d’une plage magnifique encadrée par des collines de dunes plantées de cocotiers, s’étendant à perte de vue et sur laquelle les quelques touristes se concentrent sur les 300m où se sont installées des paillotes. J’ai pris l’habitude depuis 3 jours, de monter voir le coucher de soleil sur les dunes du phare. Là, je trouve la sérénité dans le calme et la beauté du lieu. La dune surplombe la lagune, ses courbes rappellent celles les combes de montagne, évoquant une parenté étrange entre deux environnements si différents. A intervalles réguliers, les échassiers rejoignant leur refuge dans la mangrove passent à fleur d’eau. Si on est chanceux, ... read more

Never in my life have I been part of a better party than the one I experienced in Salvador for Carnaval. Never. I had originally planned to go to Rio for Carnaval; however, I ended up being invited to stay in Salvador with a friend whom I met back in 2010 on the tiny and mysterious speck of land that is Easter Island. It was one of those moments whereupon you meet someone and an instant friendship is formed. Thus, we have kept in touch in the interim and when Leandro discovered that I was returning to South America, he promptly invited me to come to his homeland in the Bahia region of Brazil and partake in the biggest party on the planet with him and his friends. Such an offer was simply too good to ... read more