Blogs from Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, South America - page 29

Before I tell you about each day I will explain how carnaval works. There were lots of different options to participate in so my aim was to experience every part of carnaval, having 6 days our plans worked perfect. Carnaval happens in several cities throughout Rio and South America but the reason I chose Salvador over Rio for carnaval is because here you participate but in Rio you sit back and watch (who wants to watch other people partying when you can be part of it? Not me) Trio Electrico (huge truck where the bands stands on) and 1 Carro de Apoio (support truck - toilets, bar etc.). Abadá - A costume that identifies the people belonging to the Bloco/Camarote (I will explain these later when relevant) and is actually the ticket for entering the ... read more

10th February- 13th February Parque Nacional Da Chapada Dimantina near the mining town of Lencois. said to be the most beautiful national park in Brazil...and for me, a definite stop in Brazil! An overnight night bus trip (6-7hours) from Salvador, and we booked ourselves into the ever friendly hostel- Pousada Daime Sono. The staff are nice and very accomodating. the first day we toured the nearby regions driving by van through the winding roads, with some of the best mix of classic songs that ive ever heard! chilling back with the 2 dutchies and 2 French girls that joined us. beautiful landscapes, wide gorges and stunning mountains. We swam in waterfalls and were exhausted by the end of the day...all rested up for the upcoming 3 days of hiking ahead!!!!! Marco and I joined 2 awesome ... read more

over enduging in arrial d ajuba required me to either catch a bus into salvador which would arrive at 9 pm at night or catch a plane slightly more expensive but arriving at a decent hour. With my track record of being ripped off in Brazil i opted for the plane. The city of beaded necklaces.... Salvador is a really cultural slap in the face. i stayed in pelorinho which is an old but very cultural section of salvador. cobble stone narrow pedestrian streets lined with artworks, traditional bead necklaces and hundreds of street dwellers selling their wares. resturants are just door ways in some alleys which open up into large court yards out the back which are filled with live music at night. The streets are constantly buzzing with music haggelers/very dodgey individuals and capoera ... read more

Hi guys! Just me (Alison) this time saying thanks so much to everyone who´s posted little messages for my birthday - ya blinking sweethearts!! So far it´s been good. We went diving this morning and saw a seahorse and an octopus which was cool. The Octopus was hidden in a little hole though which i think was a good thing as if it had been swimming about with me i may just have screamed my head off and manically swam away (anything with 8 legs is just wrong). Speaking of too many legs... we have a cockroach in our bathroom which we´ve nicknamed Colin and i give him fair warning every time it´s my turn to use the bathroom (apparently he´s more scared of me that i am of him but i never believe anything Simon ... read more

It sounds obvious... but everyone here speaks Portugese and, as everyone from Durham will be disappointed to hear, we can´t understand a word! Although, having said that, i´m getting there - some woman told us today in Portugese that one day we will get married because we´re a good match! At least we think that´s what she said... she could have said would you like to buy my coconut/child (or something)! We finally made it Salvador 2 days ago after (Simon´s words not mine) a McMission!! We had to collect our baggage at Sao Paolo and made it to the plane by the skin of our teeth. The hostel didn´t pick us up at the airport so we had to get a shady taxi into town! The problem with Salvador is that all the roads are ... read more