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Published: March 17th 2010
Hello all it is Tal,
We left
unforgettable - endless events - carnival city of Rio, heading north to the golden beaches of
Trancoso.
Trancoso is a small charming fishermen village, a 19 hours bus ride to the big city of Porto Seguro there from another 15 min. ferry + a 1.5 hour bus ride to Trancoso... We got the name from a fellow backpacker from Brazil, whom we met 4 months ago in Bolivia. He made a list of “MUST” places in Brazil - and Trancoso was one of them. It is definitely out of the beaten track spot, no “Israeli colonies”, and we were anxious to arrive to the “promised land”. Do not forget, we are still traveling with Lilach's parents and they have never done before a 19-hour trip in a bus, so that should be some experience for them... We got on the bus on time and started the long trip to Puerto Seguro. 19 hours later and almost 850 km north of Rio - and we are in the bus terminal of Porto Seguro. 2 hours later we are in Trancoso, to find a small brazilian town, with cramped houses, torn apart houses
and trash in the streets. Is this heaven?! It took us a while but soon we learn that there are two parts to the town - the local and the touristic part.
Me and Lilach are leaving everyone behind, in search of Pousada (The local name for “guesthouse”). Now we are noticing the tropical atmosphere and ambiance of the place - lush green plants in every yard, red and yellow flowers in each corner, creating mini botanical gardens, nice blue swimming pools, well decorated Pousadas, and cool little well lit bars and restaurants, catering for tourists only. We found a clean and a cozy renovated pousada for all of us, and after a quick bath, we headed to the main plaza for culinary exploration. We found that the main plaza is actually a grass field, with huge trees shading above, under which there were red light hanging down from the trees, illuminating the stores, shops and restaurants, giving all a magical splendor. All very tranquil, millions of years away from bustling Rio and streets of carnival. Quietness. That is what we all really need now! And Trancoso has it all.
We picked a family run restaurant, green lights around
us and started to order the Capirinha, exotic fruits shakes and huge home-made hamburgers. What a fine meal! I think those were the best ever hamburgers we ate... Or should I say that we were VERY hungry after 24 hours eating crackers and dry bread sandwiches...
The next day, breakfast hit us with delicious freshly cut ananas, papaya, strong black coffee, freshly baked bread with butter and goiaba marmalade, banana bread and juices (a bit sour but fine enough). We enjoyed it so much we did not want to leave for the beaches. But a family has got to do what a family in vacation has got to do... We started walking toward the beach, only to find out that we are high on a cliff, and the “promised land” is quite far away from the village. We saw the golden beaches, but still couldn't touch them. So we started to walk towards the beaches, and within a 30-min walk, we entered a mangrove habitat, crossed a long deck, and … here we are, standing - at last - on the “promised land”: golden sand, palms shading above, beach “Barracas” (stalls and bars) catering to all the sun-bathers, offering
anything from Acai, Capirinha, freezing beer to grilled shrimps, grilled brochetes of cheese, plus all the regular budging vendors: ananas, coconut juice, artefacts made from coconut and local fruits and seeds, earrings, sunglasses and even hand-made rasta makers.... A very lively beach, good music and a great sun. We picked ourselves a nice location in front of the beach, shaded with 4 parasols and an extra hut, accommodating ourselves well enough for a full day... We relaxed for a while, than brazilian music hit us from our backs, and the vendors wouldn't leave us alone for a moment. But - nothing will deter us from enjoying the fine beach! We ordered cold beer, read a little in our freshly received books from Israel, chatted with Lilach's parents and played with the kids in the sand, and of course, swam with them in the sea. So much for the day, we spent nearly 6 hours on the beach, and when the last song was sung by the local singer, we started to walk back to our pousada.
Night is returning and the crucial question is up in the air: “What and Where are we going to eat tonight?” We are
trying tonight the local “Churascaria” - the brazilian Grill Bar (In hebrew: “Shipudia”..). They serve the grilled meats on a huge skewer, the grill man is bringing it to the table and cut fine cuts of the meat. The price is calculated according to the weight of the meat ordered - by the Kg.. All is accompanied with various local guarniciones - rice, beans, farofa (mandioca/yucca flour), tomato salad and lots of a almost frozen Skol beer.
The next day, after another great breakfast, we are heading to the beach, but this time, as we were recommended by the pousada owner, we are going to try the estuary of Trancoso River, just a few meters away from the sea-shore. We found it pretty easily, and this was about to be one of our finest, relaxed days of the trip. We “parked” under a line of coconut trees, behind us the beach restaurants, on our left - the beach and a “tongue” of golden sand, separating between the sea and the river, thus creating a small and calm turquoise lagoon, and to our right the mangroves bordering the lagoon. We entered the water at once, watched the tree line, the
kids enjoying the pool-like lagoon, the blue skies and thought to ourselves - this is where we want to spend the rest of our trip (or even … life?!). Of course, it was only a momentarily thought, and reality (“Hey mom, we're hungry”, “hey dad, let us jump from above your shoulders”, “hey dad, where are my goggles”) - has put off our day-dreaming...
We are not complaining though.. At around 1700 we ended another relaxed day in the pristine lagoon, and since we did actually - nothing that day, we felt very... you're right - we felt very tired.. Since it was too early to sleep, we chose to go to the same churascaria we ate yesterday - and this time to order different types of BBQ meats. Another day has reached its end.
Next day - breakfast and since we are leaving quite early back to town for the night bus to our next destination, we decided to accept one of the pousada owner's invitation, and visit his lovely designed swimming pool and classic deck, right after breakfast. Before we live we first make flight reservations for Lilach's parents, and only then we go out to
the “Hibyscus Pousada”, some 200 mt. Away from our pousada. We soon discover a little haven behind the wooden fences - lush tropical “mini” forest, colorful flowers, colibris hovering around, a wide deck with wooden pool furniture, all decorated with a very creative style. We leaned backwards, let the kids hop into the pool, and again, enjoyed a beautiful calm day, over a freezing cold beer, with Lilach's parents. We have not seen them for such a long time and there was so much info to share...
The time is 1800. We arrived from Trancoso to the Porto Seguro bus terminal. The Salvador night bus - a 12 hours bus awaits us. For Lilach's parents this is nothing, ater the 19-hr bus from Rio. So once again, it's all a matter of perspectives in life...
Our next destination - the famous national park “Chapada Diamantina”, which is 400 km west from from Salvador de Bahia.
We miss you all,
Tal
To view the entire gallery of Trancoso photos, pls click the link below:
Trancoso Gallery
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ליאורה
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כיף להזכר
איזה כיף לקרוא את הבלוג ולהזכר בטיול המהמם טל,כתבת כ"כ יפה וציורי שכמעט הרחתי את הפרחים והתחממתי בשמש המלטפת ,שלא לדבר על התחושה העילאית שהרגשתי להיות אתכם בים ועוד יותר להתרחץ בלגונה הכחולה והשלווה כשמסביב עצי דקל וקוקוס, חולות זהובים ונוף מדהים. אני מצפה לקרוא גם לגבי החויות הבאות שעברנו ביחד. היה נפלא לטייל אתכם, ואנחנו לא מפסיקים לספר לכולם על כל המראות וההרפתקאות שעברנו, כן,גם על הנסיעות באוטובוס 19 שעות ... נשיקות סבתא ליאורה המתגעגעת