Blogs from Bahia, Brazil, South America - page 59

dave and austin would like to announce their intention to commit to a split level, two bedroom house, ground floor indian style love nest, w/ mini bar, bathroom with entrance to secret garden and geko. mezzanine level boasts queen size bed complete with bug net all located within arms reach of a rainforest....... read more

Ok after a month travelling its about time that we added a new journal !! We flew (very posh and not at all traveller like - we know!) to Salvador and after spending a day or two mooching round the Pelorinho - headed for some tranquility at Lençois. Lençois is the gateway to the Chapada Diamantina National Park - which is a vast expanse of waterfalls , rock formations , canyons and tabletop mountains. Lençois itself is a fabulous little town with very old colonial architecture - all of the buildings are made of stone - and the area has now been protected under a preservation order. We had a wonderful time in Lençois - doing not a lot really - we ventured out to the top of Pai Incio to see sunset from the top ... read more

- FOOD: Good hot rolls on the plane to Campo Grande, new restaurant discovery buffet style like in Rio (I´d missed it) - AREA: Learnt a new Brazilian dance (although it was the same as salsa as far as I was concerned), HI hostel in the area where big bass bands play with 3 tier bunks that are VERY high - PEOPLE: Many who wanted to show us how to dance - WEATHER: Rain, sun, rain, sun, rain, rain Thur 5th May: Salvador didn´t seem as scary as it had done before. I think because we knew what to expect and because there were 2 of us. We had a drink in a street I´d wanted to sit in before when I´d been on my own and then went to the area near our hostel with ... read more

- FOOD: More lovely Bahian dishes (moqueca, cashew jugo, faijoado (smoked meat, black beans and orange), local cake base snack with shrimps - the whole shrimp including shell and tail to be eaten, Brazilian only 'pina' fruit and gorgeous lunch cooked by Regina (my local Salvador contact) - AREA: Big city. Pelourinho area has small, cobbled streets and a nice feel. The rest of Salvador has miles of quite unspoilt beaches, favelas next to wealthy areas, local market in Bonfim that certainly doesn't pass health and safety regs, very interesting candomblè religious ceremony where people go into trances, beautiful chuches covered in gold, capoeira (a cross between a dance and a martial art), - PEOPLE: Women wearing traditional huge dresses, tons of very persistant street sellers that insist they are your friend, lovely hospitable families willing ... read more

Faking an Upset Stomach It was the day after the carnival ended in Salvador da Bahia. I was staying at Geraldo's place, sharing a room with Robert Brown from Auckland, New Zealand. Geraldo is a Brazilian with Jewish origins. His wife is of Italian extraction, as many Brazilians are, especially in Sao Paulo. His wife is very interested in India and has named their daughter 'Kirana', after the Sanskrit word 'kiran' which means the 'ray, usually of the Sun'. Geraldo lived and studied in Texas for two years and so spoke good English. His impressions of the US is that Americans feel that the US is the centre of the Universe. Salvador is the first place where I had participated in the Carnaval. I don't know how it works in Rio de Janeiro or New ... read more