Jan 26

Well, as I start to write this I feel rather overwhelmed. The last 48 hours have been pretty insane or rather since i last wrote. We managed to sleep even if it was deathly hot and sticky and the fan conveniently doesn`t reach my bunk. Waking up to a swollen foot ...think `Oedipus Riki`, fortunately it didn`t actually hurt anything other than my eyes and those subjected to being around me. So breakfast was somewhat surprising with eggs made to suit your preferences and a variety of fresh fruit, bread and a variety of beverages!!!! A slight improvement in our opinion of the hostel. After this kitted out in bandannas, aviators and sunscreen we took to the cobblestone and headed back to the historical centre and main area of markets, water sellers and tourist attractions. The heat was impressive but we managed to get through our list of `to do`s ` without any casualities other than a few incidents where people were trying to sell stuff we obviously didn`t want or need to us. Another 5 c journey in the lift left us near the market and the water. The market served it`s purpose for hammocks and we finally got ourselves some Brazil sarongs and a few postcards. After a a delightful acai(this time with mango) and some fruit juices= guava and graviola we sorted ourselves some samba classes and bought tickets for a ferry to an island we head to on Monday.
Whilst waiting for samba classes to begin we decided to invest in some caipoera pants- white trackies basically with Brazil coloured stripes down the side. So I am aware of the extreme and potentially ridiculous lengths we are going to with our purchasing of Brazilian paraphernalia but it`s just so damn `legal`( that in Portuguese means `cool` and has no relation to the English meaning). The class initially started off with the three of us and about five others plus instructor with the creds but lacking the smiles. I am not co-ordinated ok, but willing to try!!!! Beanie out-shone us all including the ballet dancing uber-eager-stretching-acting-like she`s the samba queen-ballet dancer. Now fans, now I need each and every one of you to grasp what dancing samba is like- nevermind without any ventilation. I ought to say so much more- it was positively one of the funnest and sweatiest activities I have done in my life. It`s a hard dance and I swear you need a lifetime and early exposure to do it well and wow when they do but it` s the funnest work out and the music and moves despite some confusing me( got to spend a great deal of one on one with the teacher- definately not smiling now!!). We walked ut of the class and it just feels like every part of your body has been separated from the next, and you almost feel like the muscles no longer attach to each other. Talk about shaking it! Forwards and backwards we worked our way...there are photos of just how much colours on clothes change when they get sweated through. Ready to die from dancing we finished our 1, 5 hour class and P bought the cd`s. Food was in dire need and we went back to our favourite place with the acai ....yesssss it`s an obsession. We also ventured as far as to order some interesting juices...P went for(and at this point KIDS DON`T TRY THIS AT HOME - IN FACT NO ONE REGARDLESS OF WHAT INSPIRES THE DESIRE TO DO SO) an acai concoction that had quail eggs in it and no the acai was not overpowering enough to take away the taste!! Bean and I being the considerate to our stomach and tastebud types went for juices of Cacau and Cupuacu. The hilarity in trying these fruits for the first time is that one automatically tries to relate it to a fruit one already knows...when it`s its own fruit.This time we opted for smaller servings and shared a pizza and a divine chocolate mousse. Ordering chilli sauce proved to be damn near impossible and we ended up with olive oil, vinegar, toothpick, tomato sauce and basically everything remotely resembling sauce other than chilli. On our mission back to the hostel we stopped for a caipirinha( a new one this time as there was another fruit we weren`t familiar with `uma` very tart green little thing and whilst waiting got harrassed by the usual array of folk in the plaza. One of them included our wee random body-part kissing boy who took to Bean this time and her shoulder. I think we were perhaps a little hasty in saying it was a first for him but now Bean shared in a first along with me! So hostel, showers and anti-histamines for the foot. At 8 our taxi driver that we had organised the night before (with his wife in tow) picked us up and we all zoomed out to the airport..us three all realising how much better it was to taxi rather than bus- it would have taken us forever but no, the taxi driver`s skills let us weave in and out of the traffic with ease.
Upon arrival we bought some tickets (a little more expensive than we had hoped for) and entered the Festival de Verao! This place is awesome - the most organised thing we have seen since being in the country. Loads of sponsorship, lights, people and food stalls (joy oh joy caramel corn) selling everything from Bob`s Burgers (a fast food chain) to the local Acaraje - Bahian style food. As we wandered up and down the avenues of the park we ventured into the main zone and scoped it out. After having a boogie to Jamilla, and O Rappa(pronounced oooo harper\hupper) we spent the rest of our night people watching, dancing and pretending to sing along to Portuguese rap. After various gropes from guys as we struggled through the frenzy of people we emerged towards the back with a bit more room to spare and something hazy in the air. At 3am O Rappa finshed and we met up with our good friend the taxi driver and boosted home.