Journey to Salvador

---

I hadn't had a good night sleep or shower in many days but can I think about that now, No. I had to get to the bus station. I wasn't sure what time the bus was and I wanted to beat the hundreds of boat passengers who would be showing up behind me. Dong Hwan went with me despite his having a plane the next day. If the bus wasn't till later, we were going to grab a much deserved bite together. I was very fortunate to have him with me because it was a nightmare. There was only one bus to Salvador with one company at 3:30. We waited in line to book my ticket only to find it was booked for that day and the next day and apparently for quite some time. I was struggling with the translation, so luckily Dong Hwan was able to help me with the all the rest of the booking process, which follows. This was crunch time. When this situation happens, the best plan is to keep taking buses in the direction of your final destination. The problem was that none were really in the right direction. The shortest distance is a straight line but none of these were even close. So I chose one that was sort of in the right direction, Fortaleza, a planned 24 hour bus ride. I asked if I could catch that bus. I was informed that this was also booked. I then went around to all the other companies and found one that still had availability for its 9:30am bus (it was now 8:45am). I said yes and booked it. Then Dong Hwan and I ran back to the first company and waited in line for one worker (there were two but one didn't feel like working) so he would just sit there and ignore customers even though there was a long line. When we finally got to the front, I found out why it was so long. The other employee was a woman who embodied the productivity that I had noticed thus far from this company, we got there at 9:05 and asked her if there was a seat left for a bus from Fortaleza to Salvador. She checked, said there was one left. I said I would take it. At this point, she got a little bored and started checking her personal email. If the seat had gotten booked in that moment, I likely would have exploded. Finally, she booked me that seat, which was a planned 22 hour bus ride, giving me a planned 7 hour layover (more likely 5 or 6). I had the ticket by 9:20. So I ran to the bus gate, where I thanked Dong Hwan and ran up to embarque port. I got there and I saw no bus that was from the company for the first bus I was supposed to be on. I asked someone and he motioned for me to sit down. I then looked at my ticket for the first time, which said the bus was at noon. I had already used my entrance ticket so I was stuck there for the next few hours when I had plenty of time to grab a celebratory meal with Dong Hwan. Fortunately there were some vendors out there whom I was able to purchase a little food from. I Had another cornmeal ball and some flaky pastry that wasn't any good.

The bus came at noon; Richard and James were on the same bus. Richard was going all the way to Fortaleza and James was getting off a bit earlier. I had a window seat in the middle and it was nice to sit on a cushion of any sort. I started with a girl next to me. I thought that I was going to have trouble staying awake enough to keep myself from sleeping that night. But I didn't count on the broken weedeater in the seat in front of me. I am not sure what his name was but I could definitely point him out in a sleeping lineup. He was with his wife and child. His wife would nudge to wake him up. He would remain awake for maybe 15 seconds, then the rest of the bus and I would once again be treated to a symphony of strained engine noises. It was wierd though because everyone on the bus had no problem making fun of him with his wife right there. It is quite a different culture. Within an hour and a half we stopped for lunch at a pay per quilo (weight ~ kilo) buffet. I loaded up. The food tasted pretty good but to be honest, the ceramic plate would have likely tasted good to me at this point. Thirty minutes later we were back on the bus. The weedeater was apparently not strained as a result of a lack of fuel. Having eliminated one of the potential causes of problem did not assuage me though. But in good luck, the girl next to me left early that evening and I got two seats to myself. That evening I wasn't that hungry but had a craving for fruit and ice cream and endulged myself. After getting back on the bus, I was fast asleep. The following morning, we stopped for breakfast and I gained a new traveling mate in a girl next to me. Soon thereafter, we reached James' stop and I moved up with Richard at the front of the bus. We talked a little and both napped a bit. We arrived at around noon.

Richard was heading to the beach and had a bus to catch at 1:45. I had till 7 and took the opportunity to check my big bag. Before heading out, Richard joined me for lunch. We had hamburgers at a nice hotel across the street from the bus station. It was quite pleasant as we got to enjoy the breeze and all the activity from the bus station from our patio perch. As I was in the market for a new camera, I asked the waitress where such a device may be purchased in the area close by. She said there was a store just down the street. Richard left with 15 minutes to spare. As I was now solo and fed, a camera was the only thing left on my checklist. With a few hours to spare and the store close by, I was feeling pretty confident. I started off in the direction that the waitress had pointed and found nothing close by. Feeling confused and frustrated, I asked some locals, who pointed at a photo developing stand. I asked again with the same result. I walked up to the stand to see by chance if it did in fact have cameras, to which my better sense held true. I asked the shopkeep if there was such a store around, to which he said no. On a lark, I decided to follow the street down a little farther. I walked quite far; It was quite hot; I was quite sweaty; It was quite devoid of camera shops. I walked back to the bus station beaten. I tried to take advantage of the time and went to the ATM, which was not working. After giving up on the ATM, all the chairs were taken so I went up to the restaurant around 4, which was quite pricey. I ordered a salad, which turned out to be a huge plate of vegetables, which was actually perfect. The vitamins entered my veins with the zeal that the vitamins of their spinach breathren enter Popeye's muscles when in a lurch. I stayed up there a while, enjoying the cold beverage. On the way out, I made use of the private bathroom, as they are few and far between on my journey then went out to the bus stop. It was Monday night and I had not showered since the previous Tuesday night. And it is not as if I had been spending my time in a clean, air conditioned environment; I had spent the last day on a bus, the previous 4 on a bus, and the morning before leaving working up a sweat that Richard Simmons would be proud of. I was self-consious and coated myself in my deoderant and body spray.
When I got on the bus, a relief rushed over me as I knew that a shower awaited me on the other side. I sat next a young man, who spent the whole time rocking out to his MP3 player. The bus was slightly cold, which was fine by me. He covered most of his face with a sweatshirt. I was guessing that it was for the cold but I had a sneaking suspicion that my lack of cleanliness coupled with my headcold may have been a contributing cause. We stopped for a meal, pretty quickly on. I sat by myself and didn't eat much as I wasn't really hungry. Soon enough we were back on the bus and I was off to slumberland. When I woke the next morning, my unfortunate travel companion had already departed and I would remain alone the rest of the trip. That morning and afternoon were relatively easy. Though my bottom started to hurt as a result of all the bus travel and I found it hard to get comfortable. We actually got to the Salvador bus station (or Rodoviaria) 30 minutes early. Salvador has a reputation for danger so I was excited to have a little extra sunlight to play with.

---