Brazil

March 8 - Salvador, Brazil

Five days after Carnaval and still recovering.......

Random thoughts and happenings at the party to end all parties......

Caipirhinas, dancing forro (Brazilian dance) in the pouring rain with a gorgeous Brazilian, eating acarajia (Bahian specialty sold by women in long lace dresses that cost only a dollar and is a muffin filled with cassava, shrimp, spices, and palm oil...delicious), the trios electricos (12 meter trucks that travel at a snail´s pace down the street and have a sound system that could blow out Madison Square Garden), seeing Braga Boys and Teo Chen - two popular bands here, making eye contact, the fresh fruit juice drinks, capetas, dancing in the thunderstorm and not caring, the helicopters flying over taking videos of the mayham in the streets, drinking Red Bull to get started, cachaca, seeing the sunrise at 7am after a night of dancing, the rope parties around the trios electricos (people pay to dance inside the rope and around the truck.. the more popular the band the more expensive and the more people there are), a Brazilian girl trying to teach me the dances, guarana - tropical fruit of the Amazon used in drinks here and delicious), hearing the same songs over and over, watching the fervor of the Brazilians, dancing, dancing, dancing.........

We are now in the city of Salvador (2.2 million people) which is a 12 hour bus ride north from Porto Seguro. It is HOT here... 100 yesterday and at least 90 last night. The beach here is beautiful and only 5km from the city. We are staying in a beach town outside the city and only have to walk 5 minutes to get to the ocean. They finally got it right here and have beach chairs and umbrellas instead of plastic tables and chairs, which is what we have seen everywhere else. The water is the cleanest and clearest I have seen yet and I only expect it to get better as we go north towards the Caribbean. There are vendors on the beach selling everything: suntan lotion, hats, toasted cheese on a stick, fresh coconuts, jewelry, clothing, peanuts, corn on the cob, watermelon, sunglasses, etc. They do not hassle us too much but are a constant stream down the beach yelling in Portugese. Of course, my Portugese is nil but it does not stop people from trying incessantly to talk to us, even after we tell them, Nao falo Portugese. It is like they think if they talk really slowly we will understand. I have taken to asking people if they speak English and they say no. I then ask them if they speak Spanish and they say no. I then ask them if they speak Japanese and they say no and laugh because of course they do not speak Japanese. They realize they speak only one language and are ok and therefore so are we!

Have yet to explore the city itself, but have heard it amazing, although a bit dangerous in parts. There is an African influence here and that is obvious in the music and the food. Salvador is the heart of Bahia, the Brazilian state I am in, musically. The influences of Latin and African music are blended and perfected to create amazing music. Another part of Bahian life is caipoheira, a combination of dance and karate done to the beat of huge drums. There is no contact but they are amazing to watch, flipping, kicking, whirling, and dancing in a mock fight. It is an art form and people attend school to learn how to do it.

What is not amazing in Brazil is the driving. It seems that every driver seems to think he is auditioning for the Indy 500 - every driver... buses, private, and cab. It is a bit frightening and we have had some nail-biting experiences walking on the street and being in a vehicle. Could not even imagine what it would like to drive here and am certainly not going to take that chance.

ok, off to the beach..................
Sleep last night was bit tough with only a fan.. I know, I know, New York just had the snowstorm of the century´..........but damn, is it hot here!!!!!!!!!

March 20 - Salvador

Back in Salvador for the day only. We took a six-hour night bus last night from Lencois, which is a tiny town in the interior of Brazil. We are waiting around for 12 hours until our next night bus, which is 12 hours, to Recife, which is a big city to the north. A very long trip and two night buses in a row...exhausted now and have many hours to wait before I get to sleep in a hot, bumpy, crowded bus again!!

Lencois was beautiful and very small, only 8,000 people. It is in the interior of Brazil set amidst rolling green mountains, leafy jungle, rolling rivers, and tumbling waterfalls. We did a couple of day hikes and saw some beautiful sights and vistas. Very close to the town, only 50 minutes hiking, is a huge natural pool and a natural rock water slide. It was a blast...a bit scary at first. I went down first with a very friendly Israeli guy who helped me climb up the slippery rocks and then out onto the rockface to go down the slide. The `slide´ is actually a broad, sort of flat rock, about 50 feet wide, which has water gushing over it into a lagoon at the bottom. The water is the color of dark tea because of the iron so you cannot see the bottom of the lagoon. I went down about 7 times and was cracking up laughing and screaming and getting water up my nose every time. It was a good laugh and lots of fun swimming and splashing about.