Brazilian Coast tour (Rio -> Salvador)

---

Brazilian beaches tour

With plans to be in Salvador, Bahia for Carnival, my friend Mary and I needed to decide on a mode of transport. We wanted to relax and have everything taken care of for us, so when we came across the poster for ‘CruztheCoast’ in our hostel in Rio, our decision made itself. The tour offered is an 11 day tour of the coast of Brazil, beginning in Rio and finishing in Salvador. We quickly got in contact with the company and after paying a bargained R$1100 (including accommodation), myself, Mary and our new German travelling companion Till boarded the bus two days later. The rest of the travelling contingent was all native English speakers and with our Irish tour guide, Anne, we knew we could relax without translation concerns. First port of call on our trip was the small beach town 170km north of Rio, Arraial de Cabo. As advertised, we started our trip with a three hour boat cruise of the nearby beautiful beaches, some only accessible by water. With unlimited complimentary Caipirinha’s, the anonymity was quickly lost amongst our new companions.

Buzios

We arrived in the town of Buzios that night for our first two night’s accommodation. It was here in ‘El Misti’ hostel where I first experienced a triple bunk bed. The town of Buzios is to Rio de Janeiro as the Hamptons are to New York and it only shot to fame in the 1960’s when Bridget Bardot was photographed enjoying the attractive weather. The young and rich of Rio flock here during peak summer months, and this is evident from the pricey boutiques and bars down the resort town’s main street. During our only full day here, we headed to the recommended Ferradura beach, which left us hungry and parched due to our unwillingness to fall victim to the extortionate beach front prices. Nevertheless a fresh dip in the crystal clear water left us rearing to experience the town’s renowned nightlife. A last minute decision to bypass the world famous Superclub chain ‘Patcha’ led us to a cheaper, less pretentious club, ‘Billabong’. A refreshing change to familiar music kept us partying to within 2 hours of our next bus departure time at 8am and left us with very sore heads.

Victoria

Our next stop wasn’t so much a destination , more a way of dividing a 12 hour bus journey in half. Leaving Rio de Janeiro state and onto the state of Espirito Santo, a transition state for travellers on their way to Bahia. Sore heads from the night before didn’t leave much energy for exploring the capital, Victoria, and a mutual decision to laze about saw us leave early and eager the following morning for the rural beach town of Itaunas.

Itaunas

This is where I really came to appreciate this bus tour. Itaunas is so rural, with only one dirt road leading in, I would have completely bypassed it if travelling alone. The town is famous for its sand dunes which, with the help of strong winds, have already completely swallowed the town in the 1970’s. What we were experiencing was the newly built town which had kept its old traditions and style. A quick hike over the dunes saw us panned out for the day sipping from coconuts and body surfing in 38 degree heat. We coincidentally arrived during the middle of the towns summer festival, which saw the locals in costume parading down the main street at random hours of the day, partaking in ‘Capoeira’ (a brazilian martial art combining dance and music) demonstrations and playing the local ‘forro’ music in bars. We finished our visit of the isolated town with a Caipirihna making lesson, courtesy of our tour guide and then boarded the bus again for our next stop, Arraial d’Ajuda and the state of Bahia.

Arraial d’Ajuda

We arrived in Arraial d’Ajuda on day 6 from leaving Rio. A quiet resort town compared to its neighbour Trancoso, but was leagues ahead of our previous stop in terms of foreign visitors. At night the streets were dotted with fried food stands, portable bars and jewellery stands, which made for enjoyable window shopping. The narrow main street, ironically called ‘Broadway’, with its bright neon lights seemed to be out of sync with the rest of the town’s old fashioned buildings and authenticity. Two nights here was enough time to see everything and we were more than ready to depart for the most anticipated stop on our trip, one of Bahia’s principle beach towns, Itacare.

Itacare

Greeted with a beer on arrival to our hostel, 'Bananas Hostel', I had a good feeling about this town from the offset. Itacare had the biggest non-Brazilian population of all our stops on the trip, which meant more English speakers (naturally this helped us settle in easier). My mind quickly compared Itacare to Whistler, Canada, a previous home of mine. Whistler is a haven for 20-something year olds from around the world, to work, party and foremost, snowboard. Itacare appeared to be the surfing equivalent. We set off for the famous nearby beaches (Praias Concha, Resende, Tiririca and Ribeira) quickly after arriving, and found each one had something different to offer. Huge waves, small hidden away cafes and the beaches were each connected by a cliff side walkway which made for superb views. At 5pm every day, free Capoeira classes are offered on Praia Concha, which, due to sore heads, we politely declined. The highlight of our final stop was definitely the 40 minute trek to the very secluded Praia Prainha, just south of Itacare. For the budget traveller, it is the equivalent of having your very own private beach with undisturbed sun lounging, massive surf waves and as much coconut milk as you like. So on Day 11 we said goodbye to Itacare and the end of our trip, as we boarded our bus for one last 5 hour stint, and after a quick one hour ferry into Salvador’s port, we said our farewells and made our way to our respective hostels...

---