Sunday, August 30, 2009

Salvador, Brazil

So I arrived into friendly Salvador and on the bus met a guy in a straw hat called Michael Hamson from Canada and we both agreed on a hostel.

I was sceptical of most people as unfortunately Salvador and specifically Pelerinho has a bad reputation.

Mike and I were initially a little shell shocked when we got off the bus and quickly jumped into a taxi to drive just two blocks. It was the first time in a long time I had found myself in such a dodgy area.

The first night I went clubbing and was surprised to find a credit card system for buying drinks and paying at the end of the night. It was a good method to reduce the amount of money I spent on alcohol, as god knows the Irish hate debt after this recession LOL.

I bought myself some board shorts and headed to Bahia beach without the towel, oh how i love not needing a towel to dry off in the sun.

After some time in Salvador I grew to really like it but it certainly takes a few days to get accustomed to the hassle of being a tourist target by the hookers, drug dealers and the bad favela kids.....welcome to Pelerinho

I met some great people on the trip, especially Michael Mercer from London wearing the cowboy hat above. We agreed to get in contact again when in Rio. Sure enough we did but Michael is now working in another hostel and planning on sticking around for a while.

In Salvador we took a tour of the close yet remote island. On the trip i saw some of the best Capoeira i seen and regretted not getting a video or photo to show you, simply consider the fighting in matrix to understand the similarities. I will have a poor example in my next post http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gTI5cP4sBY

A few Columbian students were on a short break before starting there college year in Sao Paulo, they joined us for some Salvador moqueca stew. Later they challenged my salsa skills in which i survived "by gringo standards" apparently LOL

One of my favourite nights in Brazil was the mini carnival in Salvador, i will always remember the colourful drummers walking towards me with the hoards of people dancing and following behind. As all carnivals watch your pockets or just don’t bring much with you and embrace the dancing...i know that’s what i did and loved it.....P.S. i can´t salsa.

Spontaneously i decided to join the Columbia group on a trip to the island of Morro de Sao Paulo.

Weeks later when i arrived back to Salvador i was approached by a local guy in Pelourinho, who subsequently offered me Pizza, which i finished his sales pitch with hash, coca or anything else i needed, he smiled and said, so I have spoken to you before ...in which i responded yes and i still don’t want any thanks-

I must admit this time i was far more relaxed and laughed at how comfortable i had grown with the place. The reality is that the people are lovely people, we do not necessarily see eye to eye on some commercial practices but who are we to judge....until you get mugged that is :)

Samba on my last night staying in Salvador Das Laranjeiras HI Hostel
Reggae man
To see pretty images of Salvador please click this link
Posted by Ciaran Carroll

2 comments:

  1. TonySeptember 13, 2009 at 3:48 AM

    Looks pretty cool especially the carnival. Looking forward to doing a few carnivals myself over there next year :-) Can't believe that pink and purple t-shirt is still going nearly a year later - must be your lucky pulling clothes as by right it should be bined LOL.

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  2. Ciaran CarrollSeptember 18, 2009 at 5:06 PM

    yeh all clothes need a binning but sure they can last another few weeks :), yeh the carnival is suposed to be far better in salvador and then hit morro de sao paulo after, but be warned you need to book accomodation now ...crazy planning for me, but however im sure it would be worth it ,)

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