Advertisement
Published: February 8th 2009
Edit Blog Post
Dear reader,
A week has passed and it is time to sum up my experiences from the last week. A lot has happened, I experienced things I loved, and also things I could be without. Kristian and I fly out of Salvador next Wednesday morning and our experiences in Salvador are over for now, while new ones are awaiting us in Sao Paulo.
The last week was like this:
Monday:
Once again the week started out with school. I can by the way mention that portuguese is a hard language to learn, and that the learning curve has really flattened the last week. Anyhow we learn new words every day and I at least feel that I learn a little bit more each day. What was different about this day, was that it was the same day as the locals celebrate(worship) the goddess Iemanjá. She is the god of the ocean and the protector of children. People following the Candomble religion use this day(feb 2nd) to offer her gifts. This is done by putting flowers, perfumes, jewelery, combs and other objects of female vanity in a basket which are taken out to sea by local fisherman. After this there is a huge street party. This year was no different. Kristian and I first we joined a parade dancing around in the streets from 13 to 17, after this we watched the offering and finished of the evening with dancing in the streets to Brazilian samba music. This event goes on in Rio Vermelho, about 5 km away from the Barra district where we live.
Tuesday:
This day is party-night for many in Salvador and we could not let that occasion go away from us. So after school and a trip to the beach, and as many nights before, the trip went to Pelourinho(the historical city center). Here we watched concerts, danced and tried to enjoy ourselves... This area is unfortunately highly visited by beggars, pick-pocketers etc., so not always easy to let yourself "go" and have fun!
Wednesday:
After a heavy weekend at Morro de Sao Paulo and a tough start of the week this day was as normal as they get. Go to school, eat lunch, home and relax a bit, hit the beach and then home for a shower a few hours of surfing on the net. I think both Kristian and I needed a slow day to save up some energy 😉
Thursday:
Once more a normal start of the day, but this day was finished off with a few beers with some friends. 2 from Norway, 1 from Germany and one from England to be exact.
Friday:
The day i did a very stupid thing...... After school a few people from our went to the beach. I felt i needed to go for a swim to get some well-needed exercise. What I didn't think about was that the tidewater was getting lower and lower. By the time I decided to swim towards shore, waves where curling over rocks and reefs that suddenly where easy to see. I managed to keep my head over the water in the heavy streams, but couldn't avoid being smashed into the rocks. This would have been okay if it hadn't been for the large population of Diadema, aka Sea Urchin(kråkebolle med laange pigger). By the time I made back to the beach my hands and feet where full of spikes stikcking between 0,5 and 2 cm into my skin. This meant that Kristian had to use an hour when we came home to pull them out. A very painful experience, but it had to be done to avoid major infections. 24 hours later my hands and feet are sore, red and hurting, I really hope I can walk like a normal person tomorrow!
Even though I had this little accident it was Friday and weekend. Kristian and I were invited to join some Norwegians we met on Morro de Sao Paulo for dinner, so we showered and put on some pants for the first time here Bahia. The restaurant we went to was amazing and the name was Boi Preto. The concept was that you paid a set amount and after that you could choose whatever you wanted from a buffettable. In addition to this, waiters walked around with all kinds of meat you could imagine. There was chicken, entrecote, pork, lamb, sausages and chickenhearts and loads of other stuff. Amazing!!! The night continued out to an electronica club where we danced till 4 in the morning. You would be surprised how few beers you need to take a away pain(considering alcohol sitting here now......). After a snack with some brazilian friends we made it home by 6 o'clock. A day with huge ups and downs was over.
Saturday:
I woke up 4 hours later at 10. Time to go to the beach... After a shower and some breakfast we catched a local bus close to our house. We wanted to test out a recommended beach other than the local beach here in Barra. The expected 45 min on the bus turned out to be 1 h 15min, not fun after 4 hours of sleep and on bumpy roads. The name of the beach we arrived at was Praia do Flamengo, aka Halleluja beach, 30 km north of Salvador. It was a nice beach, but it turned out to be a typical party beach. Not really what we were looking for on the day after a big night out. At arrival we tried to find two friends, but since this was unsuccessful we ended up taking an hour long nap on a more quiet part of the beach. My infections from yesterday had gotten worse, so I ended up limping around not being able to hold on to anything... Around 17 we catched a bus home, of course the bus was packed and the trip home, if possible, was worse than the trip to Praia do Flamengo. Happy at home, we had a burger a just relaxed. Tomorrow we have surf lessons 8.30 in the morning. It should be fun, but considering I can only stand on one foot I have a feeling it might be a waste of time... But, time will show, maybe some of the infections might be gone by the time we arrive at the beach.
Well, this was by far the longest blog I have ever written. Please give me feedback if there are anything I can add or take away from the blog! So time for surferboy Jon to go to bed!!! Good night! (pictures will be added later)
Advertisement
Tot: 0.075s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 7; qc: 44; dbt: 0.0431s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb