Jan 25

So after our Jeri and its beautiful dunes disappeared by the night sky we bussed it back to Fortaleza Airport where we checked in for our flight to Salvador. The fact that we got on the plane on time (between hour forwards hour backwards jumps that when on holiday one is oblivious to) and without any actual problems= was purely MIRACULOUS. Spew(bucket) joined the fun and although we got some strange looks as we went through security and entered the aircraft, he managed to stay by our side. When we finally arrived in Salvador we had the extended pain (a great deal cheaper than the taxi alternative $R70 vs. $R 4) of having to get a minibus for an hour and half to the Historic Centre. We found we had not booked the best hostel, but it would have to do. We decided an Acai was the thing for it and then we decided to explore the city centre some more. We got harrassed by people trying to sell everything from water to lint cleaners to fruit. Riki got lucky and even got kissed by a small boy - but because of his height impediment only managed to get her elbow. Probably a first for her! (and him!) We then took a 5c (yes they still exist and what`s more things still cost that little) giant elevator down to the Cidade Baixa (lower city). P was surpised at how little it cost. We wandered through the market place, ending up buying a coco gelado which wasn`t so gelado after all... some tropical plums which are yellow and kind of tast like a tart mango, deep fried manioc which was not to Riki`s liking but very much a dish from here . We then all squished onto a bus, consequently getting a bead on, which was then amplified by the 33deg heat shown on the outdoor clock, and the long painful trip to the Bomfin church. The Bomfin chucrch is perhaps better know for it`s ribbons which are sported by most people from here or who have visited here and which apparently bring good luck. There are two very special festivals during the year celebrating the healing and lucky power of the church and although we missed the first and biggest we hope to catch a glimpse of the litte one at the end of this month- both take place in January. Here again we were harrassed - this time by males trying to attach ribbons to us. We scuttled into the church, not feeling very pious compared to others prostrating themselves in front of the Virgin, rather choosing to use our time to contemplate the decor not so quietly. As we turned to leave, we saw an extra room, and in we went, only to be creeped out by plastic waxy fake body pieces and photos, left by people who had been `healed` in the church. Ironically, when P tried to take some photos- divine intervention ....well interfered, as P`s camera would only work OUTSIDE the room. However God`s smite was beaten as P stood outside and stuck his arm in and took the photo. Pieter 1 - God 0. As we emerged our `friends` (ie males with fabulous names like `Paulo`) came over and tried to bleed some cash out of us, again with the damn ribbons. Which in the end we bargained them down for and even scored a free one each which they tied around our wrists. The idea here is that they tie it with three knots- each one representing something a wish if you will, and if you remove the ribbon it will bring bad luck so one has to let it come off in it`s own time. As we waited for the bus in the hot sun, P flagged and was the hero of the day as he got us a taxi. Team Medal. We all stumbled our way back to the hostel with Riki and N stopping off for a healthy salad por kilo meal accompanied by mango smoothies. We then ruined our top effort by indulging in a Lime Pie icecream. So in summary- I think we all had interesting imaginings and expectations of what Salvador would hold in store for us. It is well know as the centre of the `African` heart of Brazil , this is expressed not only in the people faces and bodies and their ability to move them, but in their culture, initially this was the main port( and original capital of Brazil) for the slave industry which the Portuguese ran and even today one can only imagine what it must have been like all those years ago!! Recognised as being extremely rich in cultrue whether musically- just today we were witness to various exhibitions of this whether (caipoera= fight dancing has to be seen to know it= AMAZING!!!) or just an accoustic group ranging from all ages playing drums that would rock the socks off Paul Simon performing live in the street.Even the food is different- for one thing it is one of the few places that not only uses but embraces hot spices and chillies in their cooking and it really is a fascinating combination of food- African and mysterious. That brings me to the religious aspect of the place, or better put religion. For here in Slavador of course Catholicism is still very much a prominant religion but with the number of slaves and immigrants and varying mainly African origins there has been a a fusion with various practices such as Candomble( a practice that has various gods and according offerings and festivals- for example on the 2nd is the festival of Iemanja the sea goddess which we hope to return for!)To be honest it almost feels like we have landed in a whole different country, some of it is very Africa -the extreme smells, sounds and colours and the fact that is hot as hell in a way that we have so far not been exposed to. Like I said at times one can only close your eyes and imagine this place in the height of its popularity with slave trade and breathe in the air with all its flavours and there really is a ` different magic ` here. Their is a rhythym all unto its own and a mystery to the people and their way of living. Make no mistake their is also the dark and the negative or ugly if you will too- poverty for one is very much a reality and although we have been blessed on this trip so far- we feel a need here to be a little more careful! Physically Salvador is very quaint in the inner city (think cobblestones) which has been frequented by tourists and alot of the colonial buildings have been renovated..but it is sad to still see crumbling colonial decadence in the outer areas of the inner city. It is also very undulating- a welcome reality to our thighs one day, and the cause of a few whinges the following -no doubt. Safe to say the place has come as quite the shock to us both because of what we were expecting and because of how peaceful and spoilt we were in Jericoacoara.So without further romanticising the place for lack of knowing it better ....Still a lot to be done...
Right, so after we showered we decided that the thing for us being knackered from our travelling was a nice movie. So off we trotted to the local `Shopping` (mall) to see a movie. The taxi driver we met offered to take us out to the Festival de Verao the following night for cheaper as he and his wife were going out anyway - so we jumped at the chance due to the Festival being a good hour away - more in traffic. So transport for the next night organised we strolled into the mall and found the cinema. We had a Team Conference and decided that Babel was the best choice so we bought tickets and had a quick munch on mall food before going in. To our horror and dismay caramel corn was not available so we settled for second best - salty. Gutted.
As the movie was 5mins in the whole film stopped and some guy came in saying in Portuguese something about the fact that it was going to take 15mins to fix the projector (???) and amid cheers and boos from the crowd - it was a full house - the guy tried to bargain with us suggesting another film but the crowd said no- Babel it was- hence leaving the cinema at midnight. The movie however ended up not being the best choice as alot of it was in a language other than english which meant listening to Japanese or Arabic and seeing Portguese subtitles come up. We got the gist but believe we need to see it again to catch all the details.
We taxied back to our hostel and fell into bed...already having a bead on due to lack of ventilation in the dorm.