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Published: March 2nd 2007
Salvador
I added some more pics of Salvador, because it is such a cute city, and the sun came out the last day!So when we left our gypsy nomad, she was in search of R and R in the form of gorgeous white sand beaches and cocunut drinks, up the coast of Brazil. Truth is, the majority of the time has been spent in transition. Grrr. my unfavoritist part of traveling. Monster, is that a word? It is now.
From Salvador I ventured to Olinda, a recommended stop. There were a few cute happy colored buildings, but a faint copy at best of Salvador, minus the cool vibe. But my hostel had a hammock lounge and a pool, so it was a nice stop for a day.
Next day i headed towards Praia do Pipa, a beach town several travelers had raved about. Kindof a hassle getting there- 2 buses and a mini van. Turns out i found 2 absolutely spectacular beaches, but at $25 US a night for a cockroach/ant infested room, i couldn´t afford to stay more than one night. But I did manage to get a few hours on the beach with white unspoiled sand, gorgeous surroundings, and WARM water. (god bless the Atlantic Ocean!!!!)
So back out the reverse way, I made it to Natal where
Salvador
left- capoeira instruments for sale i had a 4 hour wait in the bus station, an overnight bus to Fortaleza, and then a 7 hour bus to Jericoacoara. Too many bloody buses!!! But that´s what you get when you trade in big cities for remote beach towns. The last stretch on the way to Jeri, we boarded an open air bus and rode right along the beach. Cool.
Jeri turned out to be exactly what i was looking for and i was so happy to settle there for 3 days and 4 nights. A cute little hippy town with streets made of sand, little pop up bars that came out at night, capoeirists playing on the beach at sunset, and an AMAZING cat infested hostel (much better than roach infested) with wonderful people. Can we say MY OWN ROOM!!!! I thought i was in heaven!!!! The beach turned out to be not the best, and 2 out of the 3 days were washed out with rain, so i was perfectly happy to spend the time lazing in my hammock. Yes folks, it´s official, hammocking is my favorite activity in SA!!!!
One night in Jeri i walked up to a roadside open restaurant and
Salvador
Brazil is really proud of its colors. Everywhere was filled with yellow, green and blue opened the menu. The first page was an illustration of a cow, all diced up in pieces. And i kid you not, just then a cow came walking down the main street. The waiters pointed and made a gesture like they were gonna cut the cow up. "No", i frowned, "soy vegetariana!" So they directed me to the salads.
Left Jeri at 10:30 pm and took an over night bus to Fortaleza. Arrived at 5 am with a 7 hour layover until my next bus. Met some Polish guys in the station and we went out to breakfast. They gave me a recommendation of a hostel in Belem, which came in handy. Onto a bus for Belem. We left at noon and didn´t get there until 7 pm the next day. That´s 43 hours in transition, 31 hours on ONE bus folks, complete with screaming children and three checkpoint stops that took 2 hours each. This friggin bus stopped more than it drove!!!! And so i swore of buses forever. NO MORE!!!!!!
Belem turned out to be quite the hole, but i did find a great buffet in a converted wharehouse right along the river. That´s the big
daddy of them all, the AMAZON!!!!! After a day in Belem, i got to travel the civilized way, BY PLANE, dear god, how heavenly, to Manaus.
Manaus i found to be gritty, hot and completely closed up for carnival. But i landed in a good hostel with the most amazing cat- a gorgeous, sweet, purry siamese who stole my heart!
At Manaus i boarded a 13 hour boat to Tefe, deep into the amazon for a splurge at an eco lodge in the largest flooded forest in the world. Altho it cost me a month´s budget for 3 days, it was soooo nice! Met a few Americans who were great companions for a few days. And i was fed well for the first time in a month. Dad you asked about the food in Brazil- DISMAL. A vegetarian could easily starve here. My experience was that EVERY restaurant meal is the same- a pile of greasy meat, rice, potato salad, and spaghetti with crumbled root flour. Nasty!! But the lodge food was great and my guide swore that i had an inaccurate perception of the food in Brazil.
Nevertheless, i was completely thrilled to get on a
plane out of Brazil, to Cartagena, Columbia, via a 24 hour stay in Panama City. As soon as i got on the plane, they started speaking SPANISH, (no more indecipherable portuguese), and felt like i´d died and gone to heaven. Dear god, to be able to understand and communicate again!!!!!! I got upgraded to first class and realized again how lovely life is with money!!!
Panama was a cute little city, altho sad to see the coastline all littered. They had a bunch of American chain fast food restaurants and i again felt like i was in heaven when my hotel had an international cable feed (TV in English), and getting an egg breakfast (something almost impossible to find in Brazil wihtout pounding the pavement for hours) was as easy as walking downstairs.
I am in Cartagena, Columbia now, enjoying that lazy R and R, finally!!!
Thanks for all the great comments on my last blog! They made me laugh! Love, love, loved each and every one! You have no idea how it lights up my world to know people take an interest.
In answer to the question posed, Monster nailed it first- the career epiphany
is Photographer! (Now how the hell do i accomplish that? haha. any ideas?) I will try to hook up a job in graphics or production when i get back to pay the bills while i organize and try to submit some photos. Thanks for the votes on travel writer or journalist. I think this trip has showed me that i am not cut out for a full time career in travel. But dad, i will compile all this into a book and try to give it a go!
And Holly, in answer to your question, no thongs for me- haha! I happen to be of the opinion that if your butt is wider than it is tall, which mine and most of the worlds´is, then it has no business being in a thong!!!
Take care and hope to hear from you all soon!
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Terry
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Love the domestic animals
Tan, I liked the picture of the puppy -- soo cute!! Sounds like you have done a lot of unpleasant travel across long distances! Was Brazil worth the trip -- especially considering the language barrier? Did you learn some Portugese? You do look like you lost weight -- has the food improved. My yoga teacher said a vegetarian would have a difficult time in SA! Take care. Love, Mom