Here's an update on the whirlwind that was my final 3 days in Brazil.
Firstly, When I left the festival I realized that I could count the number of people who DIDN'T have tattoos on one hand. Literally 4 people I saw out of the thousands had no tattoo.
Anyway, after saying goodbye to some wonderful people, including a lovely boy by the name of Fabio who I found out later thought I was gorgeous, I headed with my friends on the mild little 2-3k walk back to the entrance - on the plus side we had a local muscle-clad man take our bags in a wheelbarrow for 20 bucks.
One open-back truck ride later, and we're in a car and on the road - Me, Marco, Juliana and Daniel.
Next stop - Boipeba Island. We rocked our arses into Valenca - a little port town with some amazing buildings and churches. I may not be a fan of the religions but I can appreciate the architecture.
Anyway, we had a choice of a slow 4 hour boat ride, or a fast 50 minute ride for a few bucks more. Yes, we chose the latter. The estuaries, little secluded tropical shacks surrounded by palm / dende and coconut trees.
They created the impression of a perfect place to wait and plan world domination.
After the 50 minute wind abrasion, arrived at the island. Damn it was hot. Marco and Daniel went searching for a place to stay for a few days while Juliana and I waited in the shade and she conversed with the local rugrats (who solicit business for the many resorts around), about the nature of language, and geography.
We ended up at a charming place, on the second floor up some uneven stairs - one apartment with 2 rooms, one for M+J, one for Daniel and myself. Lovely place, the roof fans spun so fast I fully expected the roof to take off. I ended up sleeping on the balcony on the hammock that was provided there. Awesome.
Marco decided that it would be a good idea to hike around the island the next day, so we did. Juliana took a tractor while the men trudged up and downhill through sandy paths and mountains in scorching heat. Still, it was fun. Or "character building". One hour later we were on a fairly unpopulated beach drinking beer, eating amazing octopus and shrimp and swimming in water - it was a definite tropical paradise moment. Then we walked around the beaches in one direction, which was seemingly a dead-end, but we ran into some friends of Juliana - I swear that woman knows everyone in Brazil - and they convinced us to go a bit farther and lo and behold, another hidden beach with incredible crab, beer, and seclusion. Every beach has a soccer goal-posts setup for when the tide is out - some of them play when the tide is in but it's not as serious, or dry. I took some video, I'll put it up when I get the chance.
Our trek went back the way we came, and since the tide was now out we could follow the coast all the way around and back to the hostel. another hour around beaches, past little trails heading just inland and out again, rocky shores, saw some interesting graffiti in the middle of nowhere on an abandoned brick structure on an empty beach, and amazing insects just as the sun went down that were calling "SI! SI! SI!" with their buzzing - very strange and eerie.
Wearily we trudged the remainder of the 50-minute walk back -We'd decided to have lobster since it was so cheap, and share the bottles of champagne that Kyah and Adam had left behind. Made for an excellent late meal after a very long hot day, even shared it with the owner of the little run-down restaurant on the edge of the water. Then a quick run through the tourist markets for trinkets, and back to the apartment. Next day, we departed, boat ride and all back to Valenca.
At this point I was going to get a bus to Salvador, leave my luggage at the airport and explore for a night, but Juliana received a phone call while we were on the boat basically telling her that her import license hadn't been renewed, and she had a shipment waiting at customs (several umbrellas) that the customer had to have ASAP - of course the internet or a proxy isn't good enough for the bureaucratic nightmare that is Brasil, so she had to go back to Sao Paolo immediately. The crux of this being that now we were all going to Salvador by car, saved me a bus ride but what now?
The car ride was uneventful save for the multitude of road-works on the way - one stop gave us the opportunity to have a tapioca + coconut icecream, damn good it was too, and we got to take a ferry across the bay to Salvador - about 45 minutes, and it gives you an opportunity to see the full scope of the size of Salvador. Massive compared to Melbourne. And yet, it is eclipsed by Sao Paolo? One day I'll have to see that in person.
Waiting in the line for the ferry, more culinary delights presented themselves thanks to the opportunists who congregate wherever traffic stops (every speed-bump in Brasil is a veritable super-market) - burnt sugar coconut cakes, utterly fantastic.
Juliana had booked a flight by the time the ferry reached the other side, and it was decided that we had time to have a last meal together before she left. So we headed to a beach-front set of stalls / cafe's - we were supposed to go to itapua beach but we didn't have time - where we had an authentic acaraje from a street vendor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acaraj%C3%A9) and then decided on a moqueca (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moqueca) as the final meal, and ate it as the sun set right in front of us on the horizon over the water. Pics to come later. More beer of course, then a dash to the airport to see Juliana on her way, and I bid farewell to one friend on this trip.
Now the next problem - where to sleep? Turns out Marco has a friend who travels a lot who offered the use of his apartment. A modest little penthouse on the 12th floor of a building with amazing views of the city. Seriously, what a way to cap off the day, sitting on a deck chair next to the spa, drinking beer and staring at the stars and the city lights. And to think I'd woken up that morning on a tropical island several hundred km away.
Next morning I stole out alone and early to get a taxi to the airport, bidding my friends farewell in their half asleep state, as I closed the bedroom door. Sunrise over Salvador as I checked in my luggage, was placed in an exit row seat (thank you deity of choice), and off we go :) Next stop is Miami for a night and then on to Vegas for the CES. But shit was going to go a bit wrong first....
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