As and end to the blog, and an end to the trip, here is a sort of epilogue of the journey.
- Number of days travelled: 91
- Number of km travelled: 4010 km one way (more or less), and 6331 in total, only within Brazil!
- Number of "places" seen: 14 if one counts the main places and no excursions
- Number of long distance buses: 13 (it felt like more than that)
- Number of places stayed:18
- Number of countries been in: 2 ( the second one being Argentina for the waterfalls) technically 3 if one counts the country I letft
- Number of states been in: 7
- Number of hours spent on buses: 106 approximately
- Number of books read: 7 or 8
- Number of beaches seen: 14 more or less
- Number of bottles of insect repellent: 10 easily if not more!
- Number of new words learnt: over 50!!
- Favourite city: Rio and Salvador
- Favourite beach: Porto de Galinhas
- Favourite hostel: the one in Salvador, though the one in Pipa is a close second
- Favourite other: the place I stayed in in Santa Teresa was the best!!!
- Favourite person's house: Margaret's of course!
- Favourite "meet": so many to choose from! But I did love the Aussies, and Max of course (this doesn't mean all you others aren't special, of course you are !)
- Favourite travel buddy: Veronica of course. Goes without saying, she is my travel buddy, fellow carnival warrior, fellow house of horrors survivor, and many more.
Special mention to my Christmas family: thanks for showing me such a wonderful time over Christmas! Special thanks also to all the people who put me up in their houses: Margaret, Ana Maria, Capacete/Kelly, and Gilda. You were all fabulous and I really appreciate your help whilst I was out in Brazil, it really meant a lot to me and made my trip what it was.
Lastly, here is my map of my itinerary. Not very good but hopefully it will give you an idea
Wednesday 4 March 2009
More facts from carnival 2009
As the title suggests, here is the extra bits from carnival 2009, starting with a list of a few of the artists we saw and the times we got in every day. Sorry but I will not be referencing every single artist as this would take way too long so if you are interested you will have to look them up
Day 1: Banda Eva, Margareth Menezes, Chica Fé, ExaltaSamba, Pagodar't and a few more I am not so sure about... came in at about 4 or 5 am
Day 2: Psirico, Tomate, Voa Dois and Marianne de Castro (joined by Daniela Mercury) got home at around 2am
Day 3: we were dancing but managed to see Ile Aye at the end of the night, and Ara Ketu as we were going out. Got home at 5 or even 6 am!
Day 4: Pelourinho so we only saw a small band playing samba, a local band playing pop, and afro band walk through the pelourinho at a rather rapid pace. Came home at about 1 am, playing safe!
Day 5: Claudia Leitte, Ivete Sangalo, Jammil, Yuri da Cunha, Daniela Mercury (we went out with her) Came home exhausted around 3am having spent about 9 consecutive hours on our feet
Day 6: Filhos de Ghandi, Ivete Sangalo, Daniela Mercury, Harmonia do Samba, Psirico, David Guetta and Pete Tong, Chiclete com Banana. Came home at 4am
In fact we saw many more bands than those listed, I am sure, but sadly I cannot remember them all already. These are the main ones!
More random facts about carnival....Every day we would go out with our old old trainers and our money hidden in our underwear. Classic feat in Brazil, people put valuables in their underwear. We took no cameras except on certain days where I had my camera hidden in my pouch under my shorts. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!!! Our shoes were utterly disgusting by the end of it. Covered in mud, water, loo paper, wee and god knows what else, and truly stank! The smell during carnival was terrible. There were loads of portaloos everywhere but of course people ignored them and just pissed all over the place. It was horrible. Men peeing just about anywhere they could, women squatting down in the street or by the side of the pavement with no shame whatsoever and just carrying on partying afterwards. And the portaloos were terrible of course, so the city stank the whole time. The littering is also terrible in Brazil. It is a general problem like I have said before as people pollute and throw trash out the window and don't even care, but carnival was even worse. They provide no bins for anyone so people just end up throwing all their trash into the street, and the gutters lay filled to the brim with cans and cups and wrappers. The cans were constantly being picked out of their dripping mess of beer, drink, and god knows what else by people collecting cans. Young boys, men, old men, women, go around collecting empty cans and dragging them around in plastic bags in order to take them to be recycled and get money for it. Carnival was also a bit of a snog fest, with people grabbing each other all over the place, and we had to fight very hard so as not to be grabbed by random men as we went by. As Europeans we found this very hard to deal with. The men have an attitude which is very machiste if no worst, and act as if all women were their god given right. They grab, they talk to you, they try and stop you as you walk by, try and kiss you if you get an inch too close...It is quite tough going! But we were valiant and made it all the way through. The problem is that some girls respond to this behaviour and you would see people walking up to each other, kissing and then moving on. Very strange and not very healthy/clean at all. The worst for this patronising were the filhos de Ghandi, which is quite sad. Originally the Filhos de Ghandi were (and they actually still are) an Afro music band, created by a man who believed in Ghandi and his ideals, and decided to name the group after him. This remains true until today, however during carnival in order to be able to go out with the bloco, people have to be dressed up in their traditional costume. The men use this as an excuse to try and get as many girls as possible, and wander around showing off their costumes and waiting around for girls to show up. It's a real shame as they are giving the actual band a bad reputation and succeeds in annoying most girls.
During carnival we also learnt how to make a quick getaway, as you have to learn to run away from fights and from the police. We saw quite a few fights break out, especially whilst on the Campo Grande circuit, and a few down in Barra too but thankfully nothing ever happened to us except perhaps a bit of an initial scare and dead quick runaways from the scene. We had been told not to trust the police as they are unhelpful and unfriendly and it's true, they would walk by in lines and troups with their helmets shoved down over their heads and the truncheons ready for usage, and if you got in their way they would shove you quite hard out of the way. The main danger is that if a fight starts the police will jump in a just start hitting anyone. We saw a few people get arrested and it's sad because they are quite violent with them and you can tell that they are probably going to go and be beaten up. Even though they have probably done wrong, it still doesn't justify beating them to a pulp, but what can be done?
Aside from all that though carnival really was great. I think it was nice to be able to be in Salvador where it was possible to be part of the celebrations and be in the street and have fun with a crowd, and get to watch all the artists go by. We were incredibly lucky to be able to make it out as pipoca every night and not have had any trouble, and in the end we found that going out as pipoca was pretty good as you get to see a lot of artists go by and you can even follow a few if you trust the crowd that is following them. It was also exciting to get to see a few artists that I had heard a lot about and whose music I had listened to and see them perform live. So all in all, carnival was a good experience and definitely to be done again. I would like to do Rio carnival and Olinda carnival too, then I guess I will truly be able to decide which is my favourite.
Day 1: Banda Eva, Margareth Menezes, Chica Fé, ExaltaSamba, Pagodar't and a few more I am not so sure about... came in at about 4 or 5 am
Day 2: Psirico, Tomate, Voa Dois and Marianne de Castro (joined by Daniela Mercury) got home at around 2am
Day 3: we were dancing but managed to see Ile Aye at the end of the night, and Ara Ketu as we were going out. Got home at 5 or even 6 am!
Day 4: Pelourinho so we only saw a small band playing samba, a local band playing pop, and afro band walk through the pelourinho at a rather rapid pace. Came home at about 1 am, playing safe!
Day 5: Claudia Leitte, Ivete Sangalo, Jammil, Yuri da Cunha, Daniela Mercury (we went out with her) Came home exhausted around 3am having spent about 9 consecutive hours on our feet
Day 6: Filhos de Ghandi, Ivete Sangalo, Daniela Mercury, Harmonia do Samba, Psirico, David Guetta and Pete Tong, Chiclete com Banana. Came home at 4am
In fact we saw many more bands than those listed, I am sure, but sadly I cannot remember them all already. These are the main ones!
More random facts about carnival....Every day we would go out with our old old trainers and our money hidden in our underwear. Classic feat in Brazil, people put valuables in their underwear. We took no cameras except on certain days where I had my camera hidden in my pouch under my shorts. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!!! Our shoes were utterly disgusting by the end of it. Covered in mud, water, loo paper, wee and god knows what else, and truly stank! The smell during carnival was terrible. There were loads of portaloos everywhere but of course people ignored them and just pissed all over the place. It was horrible. Men peeing just about anywhere they could, women squatting down in the street or by the side of the pavement with no shame whatsoever and just carrying on partying afterwards. And the portaloos were terrible of course, so the city stank the whole time. The littering is also terrible in Brazil. It is a general problem like I have said before as people pollute and throw trash out the window and don't even care, but carnival was even worse. They provide no bins for anyone so people just end up throwing all their trash into the street, and the gutters lay filled to the brim with cans and cups and wrappers. The cans were constantly being picked out of their dripping mess of beer, drink, and god knows what else by people collecting cans. Young boys, men, old men, women, go around collecting empty cans and dragging them around in plastic bags in order to take them to be recycled and get money for it. Carnival was also a bit of a snog fest, with people grabbing each other all over the place, and we had to fight very hard so as not to be grabbed by random men as we went by. As Europeans we found this very hard to deal with. The men have an attitude which is very machiste if no worst, and act as if all women were their god given right. They grab, they talk to you, they try and stop you as you walk by, try and kiss you if you get an inch too close...It is quite tough going! But we were valiant and made it all the way through. The problem is that some girls respond to this behaviour and you would see people walking up to each other, kissing and then moving on. Very strange and not very healthy/clean at all. The worst for this patronising were the filhos de Ghandi, which is quite sad. Originally the Filhos de Ghandi were (and they actually still are) an Afro music band, created by a man who believed in Ghandi and his ideals, and decided to name the group after him. This remains true until today, however during carnival in order to be able to go out with the bloco, people have to be dressed up in their traditional costume. The men use this as an excuse to try and get as many girls as possible, and wander around showing off their costumes and waiting around for girls to show up. It's a real shame as they are giving the actual band a bad reputation and succeeds in annoying most girls.
During carnival we also learnt how to make a quick getaway, as you have to learn to run away from fights and from the police. We saw quite a few fights break out, especially whilst on the Campo Grande circuit, and a few down in Barra too but thankfully nothing ever happened to us except perhaps a bit of an initial scare and dead quick runaways from the scene. We had been told not to trust the police as they are unhelpful and unfriendly and it's true, they would walk by in lines and troups with their helmets shoved down over their heads and the truncheons ready for usage, and if you got in their way they would shove you quite hard out of the way. The main danger is that if a fight starts the police will jump in a just start hitting anyone. We saw a few people get arrested and it's sad because they are quite violent with them and you can tell that they are probably going to go and be beaten up. Even though they have probably done wrong, it still doesn't justify beating them to a pulp, but what can be done?
Aside from all that though carnival really was great. I think it was nice to be able to be in Salvador where it was possible to be part of the celebrations and be in the street and have fun with a crowd, and get to watch all the artists go by. We were incredibly lucky to be able to make it out as pipoca every night and not have had any trouble, and in the end we found that going out as pipoca was pretty good as you get to see a lot of artists go by and you can even follow a few if you trust the crowd that is following them. It was also exciting to get to see a few artists that I had heard a lot about and whose music I had listened to and see them perform live. So all in all, carnival was a good experience and definitely to be done again. I would like to do Rio carnival and Olinda carnival too, then I guess I will truly be able to decide which is my favourite.
Saturday 28 February 2009
Carnaval 2009
WARNING!! LONG POST!!
After heading to Olinda by mistake, I finally made my way back down to Salvador for carnival. In Salvador I was met by Veronica and was lucky enough to be able to go and stay in the house she was staying in. She was staying with an extended friend of the family who lived really near the centre of town (Pelourinho/Lapa/Campo Grande), in a lovely huge house. We had a bedroom and a bathroom and wardrobe space all to ourselves! Such a nice change for me after quite a long time of backpacking and hostelling. Before carnival started we had a few days in which to sort stuff out: go and collect the souvenirs I had left with her as well as the 11 berimbaus, buy extra suitcases, and even more souvenirs for all you lucky people that got left back home!
I suppose I should explain the terms first before I start telling you all about our carnival adventure. There are basically three ways of doing carnival: with a bloco, in a camarote, or as pipoca. The bloco is basically the float that carries the artist, and you have to pay money to be able to walk within the ropes of the float. Camarote is a sort of balcony set up in buildings and houses all along the circuit, from which you get to safely watch the carnival parade go by. You also have to pay for these and the price varies depending on what is included: food, drink, massages etc. Pipoca is the last option and is free. Pipoca means popcorn and basically entails going out and following the crowd and the blocos but on the side, outside of the safety of the ropes. It is supposedly the most dangerous form of going out in carnival too, since it is free it is more available to all the people who cannot afford blocos or camarote (and these are quite expensive!). Also, there are three main carnival circuits: Dodo, Osmar, and Batatinho. Dodo is the circuit from Barra to Ondina which is on the seafront ; Osmar is the circuit in Campo Grande which is the in the centre of the city , and Batatinha remains in the Pelourinho. I hoep this helps to clarify a few things.
Carnival started on the Thursday the 19th, and so out we went to our first night. We had been told that on the first night there was a Mascarade bloco which was for free if you came in disguise, and that a friend of Veronica's would be joining this bloco and we should go and meet her there. So we pulled our costumes together and set off around midnight to go to Barra. We set off on foot from where we were staying, hoping to walk in the general direction of Barra and catch a taxi from the city centre. We had forgotten that there was also a whole parade going on in Campo Grande though and hit it on full swing. It was a bit scary as we were totally unprepared for this and found ourselves going AGAINST the crowd, with people pushing and shoving us all over, and it was genuinely quite hard to make any progress. Veronica lost her wig within seconds and we had to keep a tight grip on each other so as not to lose each other. We also had to keep on dodging the groping hands from the horrible men, who seem to think that carnival is an excuse to behave despicably and treat all women like objects. Eventually we made it to Barra in one piece, and tried to find the bloco we were meant to follow. It was lead by Magareth Menezes, and we did find it eventually and joined in. Inside the bloco was absolutely insane, it was full to the brim of people who were pushing, shoving and jumping around. The atmosphere was definitely better than that on the street in Campo Grande, but it was still quite an effort to try and walk with the bloco and so in the end we left it and went and sat on the edge and watched the other artists go by. (More details in another post I have decided).
Day 2: We headed out a bit earlier and a bit wiser this time and decided not to go back and try and walk through Campo Grande as that was as stupid idea. We headed back out to Barra and this time decided to stay safe and sit on the side of the road in order to watch the circuit go by as we had done the night before. It demands less energy and means you can still enjoy yourself and see bits of the artists as they go by. Our main attraction that night was seeing Marianne de Castro go by. She stopped in front of Daniela Mercury's camarote which is where we were sitting, and it was great because Daniela came out and sang a few songs with her. We got to join in and dance in the crowd and generally had a much better night that the one before, partly due to being more prepared. It rained on day 2 and we got a bit wet, but it was actually fun being out there and dancing in the rain and getting wet. The rain didn't last for long and it was just enough to be refreshing, as carnival was extremely hot! Not only the temperature, but mainly the crowds and crowds of people.
Day 3: On day 3 we went out dancing with the local Afro group Male Debale. Veronica had been doing a dance course in Salvador, and her dance teacher who worked closely with this group, had suggested that she go out dancing with them for carnival. Since she was up for it she put my name down too, and that is how we ended up going to dance in Afro bloco in the Salvador carnival 2009! In the morning we went to pick up our costumes from the costume factory which sat on the roof of someone's house in the middle of the favela, where 5 people had single handedly made all the costumes for the show. In the evening we went to our meeting point in Campo Grande and waited for ages. Now as mentioned above, the Campo Grande circuit is a little bit tougher than the one down in Barra. In fact it has a reputation as being a bit more dangerous. This is because for a start it is situated in the city centre, and therefore the streets are much narrower which makes the whole situation much more crowded. It is also just a bit more rough in general. Anyway, we started out with the bloco and made our grand departure, though the dancing fell through pretty early on as it was hard to keep everyone in organised lines in order for us to dance. Unfortunately the cordeiros (the people who hold the ropes around the blocos) were not very fussed about their jobs either and so they let lots of random people into the bloco who weren't supposed to be there. Gringos, spectators, people walking through the bloco all the time...We made slow progress. Also on this night it rained, and not just a brief shower. It rained pretty full on for at least half an hour if not longer, and we just had to continue marching on. At first it was fun, but then we got truly soaked and I started worrying about my camera which I hadn't thought to protect. On this circuit we also had to avoid a lot of fights. This is the main danger during carnival: running away from a fight. It is very easy to end up in the middle of one and one also has to be careful to avoid the police as they are a bit like the CRS in France and are bloody violent no matter who you are!! So on our circuit with Campo Grande we had to make a quick escape from several fights and in fact at one point the whole thing just went pear shaped. I saw a scuffle on the side and the police trying to arrest someone, and then I just saw cans flying everywhere and a huge jumble of people right within the bloco. It was a bit sad that the circuit had to be tainted by fights, but that is the reality of the carnival I suppose...Anyway we made it safely to the end of the circuit and did the WHOLE thing! Then we stayed on a little longer in order to watch Ile Aye come out. To be honest by this time I was so tired and aggravated by the crowd I didn't really care who was coming out, but I stayed on the none the less, and eventually we went home.
Day 4: we ended up having a quiet day after being so exhausted from our previous day in Campo Grande. We decided to go and check out what was going on in the pelourinho but unfortunately it rained for most of the time we were there and we just stayed sheltered under a roof. Eventually we saw an internet cafe was still open and migrated in there as we had been having problems with the computer at home and both needed to get some stuff done on the internet. We danced around a bit on the square outside the internet cafe where the was some live samba music going on but ended up going home quite early to collapse into bed!
Day 5: was the day of our bloco. We had decided to go out with Daniela Mercury as she was much cheaper than some of the more famous artists and was still someone we knew and whose music we trusted. We did really well on that day, as we stayed out on the streets for more than 12 hours. We had to sell a shirt for the bloco that we had extra as a friend of Veronica's was meant to come and couldn't in the end. So we left the house early, arrived at 2pm in Barra and attempted to sell the shirt. Lukcily we were successful and got to have a bit of a sit down before we went running off to see Ivete Sangalo start at 16h30. I am a massive fan of Ivete's partly due to Veronica and so was well excited about seeing her. We got there early or rather, they were running late and so we got to see Claudia Leitte first sing a bit of her repertoire. Finally, Ivete came out and sang her songs, and it was so much fun! She is so famous that the whole crowd knew the words to all her songs, and so everyone was sining along and jumping up and down and it was such a great atmosphere. Also, it was daylight which meant that we got to see her a bit better than normal and take some good pictures. We did really well as we even followed Ivete as pipoca for a bit in order to get a bit more of her show. I was so proud of us for doing that! After her we just biding our time until our own bloco went out, which ended up being quite a long time. Finally we joined our bloco and got to experience the madness of going out in the crowd within the ropes. It was good fun though exhausting as we did the whole of the Barra Ondina circuit and had been out since 2pm until 2am, so we were exhausted by the end of it and I could hardly walk anymore!! Daniela put on a good show though, and at one point along the way we saw Gilberto Gil in his camarote and so she sang with him, which was nice. Anyway we made it to the end of the circuit and of the day all in one and decided we were real warriors of the carnival!
Day 6: Last day of the carnival and we ended up in it by mistake. We had set out during the afternoon to go for a quiet wander around in the pelourinho. On our way there we realised the carnival was still going on but somehow this didn't register in our brains and so we continued to make our way into the pelourinho. By the time we were done with whatever we were doing though, we hit the carnival full blast! The filhos de Ghandi were going out on a procession (which actually looked really cool) and Ivete was following really close behind. The crowds were massive and there we were in flip flops, skirts and with handbags. There was no way we were going to get through so instead we just stayed there and watched Ivete go by a second time, and finally managed to find a less crowded shortcut way home. Once we had made it through our unexpected carnival we got ready and went out again down to Barra. This was our last and the last day of carnival, and we stayed out there until we got to see Chiclete com Banana, another massively famous group in the region. We were a bit worried as we had heard that their pipoca was the roughest that came, particularly when we saw them coming along rather unexpectedly and had no idea where to go and sit. Preferably out of the crowd, except that it was moving quite fast, and it was full of dodgy looking people all over the place!! We did manage to find a place to sit though, and in fact they were moving so fast that we even managed to follow them as pipoca (far behind the main crowd) all the way until our exit to go home. And that is how the carnival ended for us! I will write more facts about carnival in a seperate post as this one is already very long!
After heading to Olinda by mistake, I finally made my way back down to Salvador for carnival. In Salvador I was met by Veronica and was lucky enough to be able to go and stay in the house she was staying in. She was staying with an extended friend of the family who lived really near the centre of town (Pelourinho/Lapa/Campo Grande), in a lovely huge house. We had a bedroom and a bathroom and wardrobe space all to ourselves! Such a nice change for me after quite a long time of backpacking and hostelling. Before carnival started we had a few days in which to sort stuff out: go and collect the souvenirs I had left with her as well as the 11 berimbaus, buy extra suitcases, and even more souvenirs for all you lucky people that got left back home!
I suppose I should explain the terms first before I start telling you all about our carnival adventure. There are basically three ways of doing carnival: with a bloco, in a camarote, or as pipoca. The bloco is basically the float that carries the artist, and you have to pay money to be able to walk within the ropes of the float. Camarote is a sort of balcony set up in buildings and houses all along the circuit, from which you get to safely watch the carnival parade go by. You also have to pay for these and the price varies depending on what is included: food, drink, massages etc. Pipoca is the last option and is free. Pipoca means popcorn and basically entails going out and following the crowd and the blocos but on the side, outside of the safety of the ropes. It is supposedly the most dangerous form of going out in carnival too, since it is free it is more available to all the people who cannot afford blocos or camarote (and these are quite expensive!). Also, there are three main carnival circuits: Dodo, Osmar, and Batatinho. Dodo is the circuit from Barra to Ondina which is on the seafront ; Osmar is the circuit in Campo Grande which is the in the centre of the city , and Batatinha remains in the Pelourinho. I hoep this helps to clarify a few things.
Carnival started on the Thursday the 19th, and so out we went to our first night. We had been told that on the first night there was a Mascarade bloco which was for free if you came in disguise, and that a friend of Veronica's would be joining this bloco and we should go and meet her there. So we pulled our costumes together and set off around midnight to go to Barra. We set off on foot from where we were staying, hoping to walk in the general direction of Barra and catch a taxi from the city centre. We had forgotten that there was also a whole parade going on in Campo Grande though and hit it on full swing. It was a bit scary as we were totally unprepared for this and found ourselves going AGAINST the crowd, with people pushing and shoving us all over, and it was genuinely quite hard to make any progress. Veronica lost her wig within seconds and we had to keep a tight grip on each other so as not to lose each other. We also had to keep on dodging the groping hands from the horrible men, who seem to think that carnival is an excuse to behave despicably and treat all women like objects. Eventually we made it to Barra in one piece, and tried to find the bloco we were meant to follow. It was lead by Magareth Menezes, and we did find it eventually and joined in. Inside the bloco was absolutely insane, it was full to the brim of people who were pushing, shoving and jumping around. The atmosphere was definitely better than that on the street in Campo Grande, but it was still quite an effort to try and walk with the bloco and so in the end we left it and went and sat on the edge and watched the other artists go by. (More details in another post I have decided).
Day 2: We headed out a bit earlier and a bit wiser this time and decided not to go back and try and walk through Campo Grande as that was as stupid idea. We headed back out to Barra and this time decided to stay safe and sit on the side of the road in order to watch the circuit go by as we had done the night before. It demands less energy and means you can still enjoy yourself and see bits of the artists as they go by. Our main attraction that night was seeing Marianne de Castro go by. She stopped in front of Daniela Mercury's camarote which is where we were sitting, and it was great because Daniela came out and sang a few songs with her. We got to join in and dance in the crowd and generally had a much better night that the one before, partly due to being more prepared. It rained on day 2 and we got a bit wet, but it was actually fun being out there and dancing in the rain and getting wet. The rain didn't last for long and it was just enough to be refreshing, as carnival was extremely hot! Not only the temperature, but mainly the crowds and crowds of people.
Day 3: On day 3 we went out dancing with the local Afro group Male Debale. Veronica had been doing a dance course in Salvador, and her dance teacher who worked closely with this group, had suggested that she go out dancing with them for carnival. Since she was up for it she put my name down too, and that is how we ended up going to dance in Afro bloco in the Salvador carnival 2009! In the morning we went to pick up our costumes from the costume factory which sat on the roof of someone's house in the middle of the favela, where 5 people had single handedly made all the costumes for the show. In the evening we went to our meeting point in Campo Grande and waited for ages. Now as mentioned above, the Campo Grande circuit is a little bit tougher than the one down in Barra. In fact it has a reputation as being a bit more dangerous. This is because for a start it is situated in the city centre, and therefore the streets are much narrower which makes the whole situation much more crowded. It is also just a bit more rough in general. Anyway, we started out with the bloco and made our grand departure, though the dancing fell through pretty early on as it was hard to keep everyone in organised lines in order for us to dance. Unfortunately the cordeiros (the people who hold the ropes around the blocos) were not very fussed about their jobs either and so they let lots of random people into the bloco who weren't supposed to be there. Gringos, spectators, people walking through the bloco all the time...We made slow progress. Also on this night it rained, and not just a brief shower. It rained pretty full on for at least half an hour if not longer, and we just had to continue marching on. At first it was fun, but then we got truly soaked and I started worrying about my camera which I hadn't thought to protect. On this circuit we also had to avoid a lot of fights. This is the main danger during carnival: running away from a fight. It is very easy to end up in the middle of one and one also has to be careful to avoid the police as they are a bit like the CRS in France and are bloody violent no matter who you are!! So on our circuit with Campo Grande we had to make a quick escape from several fights and in fact at one point the whole thing just went pear shaped. I saw a scuffle on the side and the police trying to arrest someone, and then I just saw cans flying everywhere and a huge jumble of people right within the bloco. It was a bit sad that the circuit had to be tainted by fights, but that is the reality of the carnival I suppose...Anyway we made it safely to the end of the circuit and did the WHOLE thing! Then we stayed on a little longer in order to watch Ile Aye come out. To be honest by this time I was so tired and aggravated by the crowd I didn't really care who was coming out, but I stayed on the none the less, and eventually we went home.
Day 4: we ended up having a quiet day after being so exhausted from our previous day in Campo Grande. We decided to go and check out what was going on in the pelourinho but unfortunately it rained for most of the time we were there and we just stayed sheltered under a roof. Eventually we saw an internet cafe was still open and migrated in there as we had been having problems with the computer at home and both needed to get some stuff done on the internet. We danced around a bit on the square outside the internet cafe where the was some live samba music going on but ended up going home quite early to collapse into bed!
Day 5: was the day of our bloco. We had decided to go out with Daniela Mercury as she was much cheaper than some of the more famous artists and was still someone we knew and whose music we trusted. We did really well on that day, as we stayed out on the streets for more than 12 hours. We had to sell a shirt for the bloco that we had extra as a friend of Veronica's was meant to come and couldn't in the end. So we left the house early, arrived at 2pm in Barra and attempted to sell the shirt. Lukcily we were successful and got to have a bit of a sit down before we went running off to see Ivete Sangalo start at 16h30. I am a massive fan of Ivete's partly due to Veronica and so was well excited about seeing her. We got there early or rather, they were running late and so we got to see Claudia Leitte first sing a bit of her repertoire. Finally, Ivete came out and sang her songs, and it was so much fun! She is so famous that the whole crowd knew the words to all her songs, and so everyone was sining along and jumping up and down and it was such a great atmosphere. Also, it was daylight which meant that we got to see her a bit better than normal and take some good pictures. We did really well as we even followed Ivete as pipoca for a bit in order to get a bit more of her show. I was so proud of us for doing that! After her we just biding our time until our own bloco went out, which ended up being quite a long time. Finally we joined our bloco and got to experience the madness of going out in the crowd within the ropes. It was good fun though exhausting as we did the whole of the Barra Ondina circuit and had been out since 2pm until 2am, so we were exhausted by the end of it and I could hardly walk anymore!! Daniela put on a good show though, and at one point along the way we saw Gilberto Gil in his camarote and so she sang with him, which was nice. Anyway we made it to the end of the circuit and of the day all in one and decided we were real warriors of the carnival!
Day 6: Last day of the carnival and we ended up in it by mistake. We had set out during the afternoon to go for a quiet wander around in the pelourinho. On our way there we realised the carnival was still going on but somehow this didn't register in our brains and so we continued to make our way into the pelourinho. By the time we were done with whatever we were doing though, we hit the carnival full blast! The filhos de Ghandi were going out on a procession (which actually looked really cool) and Ivete was following really close behind. The crowds were massive and there we were in flip flops, skirts and with handbags. There was no way we were going to get through so instead we just stayed there and watched Ivete go by a second time, and finally managed to find a less crowded shortcut way home. Once we had made it through our unexpected carnival we got ready and went out again down to Barra. This was our last and the last day of carnival, and we stayed out there until we got to see Chiclete com Banana, another massively famous group in the region. We were a bit worried as we had heard that their pipoca was the roughest that came, particularly when we saw them coming along rather unexpectedly and had no idea where to go and sit. Preferably out of the crowd, except that it was moving quite fast, and it was full of dodgy looking people all over the place!! We did manage to find a place to sit though, and in fact they were moving so fast that we even managed to follow them as pipoca (far behind the main crowd) all the way until our exit to go home. And that is how the carnival ended for us! I will write more facts about carnival in a seperate post as this one is already very long!
Friday 20 February 2009
Pipa
Last post before the madness of carnival!
I forgot to mention another funny thing about Natal which totally fits in to the madness of life in Brazil. On one day we were giving a lift to Mestre Shotokan in order for him to catch his bus home after the event. The only problem was that he was running late, his bus was meant to leave at 6pm and it was 6pm already. So we drove like mad in order to catch up with the bus, driving through red lights and all. Finally we saw the bus, and we started flashing it and honking at it. Then, when we reached a red light he got out of the car to go and ask if it would let him in, and it did! It drove a bit further on and then pulled over on the side of the road and let him in. How crazy!! One would never witness this in Europe, but I thought it was hilarious, and also so representative of what life is like in Brazil.
After Natal I went to Pipa, a beach resort south of Natal. I decided not to go all the way to Fortaleza as I just could not face another long bus ride from Fortaleza to Salvador and decided to go and chill at a beach instead. M. Ataulfo kindly offered to drive me to Pipa and so we made a day excursion of it: me, Horrivel, Capacete and M. Ataulfo all drove down to Pipa and spent the day there just enjoying the sun and the nice view. M. Ataulfo is really sweet and is really interested in learning english so he was asking me all sorts of questions on the language and how it worked. At the end of the day they dropped me off at my pousada and headed home. The pousada in Pipa was lovely as it was brand new, and all the rooms had great balconies with hammocks on them, a fantastic idea! It also had a nice pool and two brand new computers. I met lots of people there, mainly english people, and interestingly enough bumped in to the SAME english guy I had first met in Rio and then in Olinda. How random!!! Anyway it was nice as I met an english girl from London called Abby, a Brazilian girl from Porto Allegre called Vania and a whole group of English guys travelling together as well as loads more people. Pipa was nice as it is surrounded by cliffs and has an impressive setting. Also, the water, as always in the North East is an amazing turquoise which makes it all the more impressive, and Pipa has a reputation for having lots of dolphins in its waters.
On the first day we all went for a surf lesson and walked accross several beaches to get to the surf beach, including a very looooong crossing of rocks and stones to reach the final destination, which was painful and tiring. Finally we made it, and went into the waters to try and surf. It was very frustrating as the hardest bit really, was getting out to sea as every time you made some progress a big wave came and carried you back out towards the shore. I found this very frustrating as really the moment you ride the wave does not last very long and then you have to start battling again to get out to sea. It is so exhausting!! Also, I was not very good at getting up on the board which frustrated me too. Still, it was good fun and at least now I can say I tried. The next day, my pecs were killing me like crazy from all the pushing up with your arms on the board. The next day I went to the praia dos golfinhos in order to try and get some pictures of the dolphins but it was rather unsuccessful, and I almost regretted having the camera as I couldn't go out and swim with them. On my last day in Pipa we went back to the surf beach, and that was when I saw the most dolphins. Some of them were really close to the shore, and I even saw one jump out of the sea several times, just like in the documentaries! It was very exciting and I was glad to be able to have seen them, even if I didn't get to swim with them.
In the evenings we went out a few times but I was actually not much impressed by Pipa nightlife. It existed, but it was way to European for my taste. The bars there just blasted out European hip hop and commercial techno tunes which I just hate! It was obvious that all the customers were Europeans and so that's what they were catering to, but it's just not my taste. I love Brazilian culture and did not come to Brazil to experience Europe so was not too happy with that. Still, it was good to be able to go out at night and have some company to have fun. My plan of chilling out and resting before carnival obviously failed...
I managed to get a lift back from Pipa with a Brazilian guy from Porto Allegre. He was driving to Recife and originally I had asked him if he could drop me off in Joao Pessoa. However he pointed out to me that Recife was closer to Salvador and that there would be more frequent buses, so I figured why not save myself a few more kilometres and go down to Recife. It was me and Vania, the other Brazilian girl,as well as him in the car, and he felt perfectly safe, and so he was! We stopped off quite a bit on the way looking at the views and taking pictures, and he drove Brazilian style. Eventually we made it to Recife but as it was a Sunday decided to stop off in Olinda first to see the last mini carnival before the real carnival. That was really cool and in the end I decided to stay in Olinda again as I had liked it there so much. It was really nice as by then the city was fully decorated for carnival and the atmosphere was getting much crazier due to the start of carnival being so close. I happened upon the frenchies again and actually got to see those that were still there playing in their band in the parade which was nice. It was also really lovely to have been able to see the progession in the decoration of the city of Olinda, with it being fully decorated that sunday with all the colourful bits of paper hanging in the streets, and lots of new graffiti and drawings having appeared on the walls of the houses. Near the hostel they had set up a huge outdoor stage with free concerts, and so on Sunday night we got to go and see the Velha Guarda of Mangueira samba school playing. Mangueira is a really famous samba school from Rio and the velha guarda were so sweet: little old ladies and men living it up to the samba! The next day Marcelo D2 was due to be playing, and I was absolutely gutted that I had to get the bus to Salvador that same evening. I love Marcelo D2 and the chance of seeing him play for free in Brazil was next to none, and I can't believe I passed it up! Still, during the day I heard him rehearsing and so I ran over to the scene to see if it was him, then ran back to the hostel to get my camera, and then ran back to the stage. Unfortunately, shortly after he stopped rehearsing as the sound was bad, but at least I got to see him up close and see a bit of the rehearsal. How exciting!! And, one last coincidence for Olinda: as I woke up and went down for breakfast on the Monday morning, who did I run into but Mariana from the London School Samba!! Mariana is a Brazilian lady who teaches with the LSS and I had met her several times before in London. How incredible to happen upon her in Olinda. It was really nice though as we got to have a chat and she filled me in on what she was doing in Brazil and her travels.
I think that is enough for now about Pipa and Olinda as my last post will be about my return to Salvador and the carnival which is currently going on outside the window. I can't believe my trip is so close to its end. More soon, as a last post and synopsis come along. Happy Carnival everyone!
I forgot to mention another funny thing about Natal which totally fits in to the madness of life in Brazil. On one day we were giving a lift to Mestre Shotokan in order for him to catch his bus home after the event. The only problem was that he was running late, his bus was meant to leave at 6pm and it was 6pm already. So we drove like mad in order to catch up with the bus, driving through red lights and all. Finally we saw the bus, and we started flashing it and honking at it. Then, when we reached a red light he got out of the car to go and ask if it would let him in, and it did! It drove a bit further on and then pulled over on the side of the road and let him in. How crazy!! One would never witness this in Europe, but I thought it was hilarious, and also so representative of what life is like in Brazil.
After Natal I went to Pipa, a beach resort south of Natal. I decided not to go all the way to Fortaleza as I just could not face another long bus ride from Fortaleza to Salvador and decided to go and chill at a beach instead. M. Ataulfo kindly offered to drive me to Pipa and so we made a day excursion of it: me, Horrivel, Capacete and M. Ataulfo all drove down to Pipa and spent the day there just enjoying the sun and the nice view. M. Ataulfo is really sweet and is really interested in learning english so he was asking me all sorts of questions on the language and how it worked. At the end of the day they dropped me off at my pousada and headed home. The pousada in Pipa was lovely as it was brand new, and all the rooms had great balconies with hammocks on them, a fantastic idea! It also had a nice pool and two brand new computers. I met lots of people there, mainly english people, and interestingly enough bumped in to the SAME english guy I had first met in Rio and then in Olinda. How random!!! Anyway it was nice as I met an english girl from London called Abby, a Brazilian girl from Porto Allegre called Vania and a whole group of English guys travelling together as well as loads more people. Pipa was nice as it is surrounded by cliffs and has an impressive setting. Also, the water, as always in the North East is an amazing turquoise which makes it all the more impressive, and Pipa has a reputation for having lots of dolphins in its waters.
On the first day we all went for a surf lesson and walked accross several beaches to get to the surf beach, including a very looooong crossing of rocks and stones to reach the final destination, which was painful and tiring. Finally we made it, and went into the waters to try and surf. It was very frustrating as the hardest bit really, was getting out to sea as every time you made some progress a big wave came and carried you back out towards the shore. I found this very frustrating as really the moment you ride the wave does not last very long and then you have to start battling again to get out to sea. It is so exhausting!! Also, I was not very good at getting up on the board which frustrated me too. Still, it was good fun and at least now I can say I tried. The next day, my pecs were killing me like crazy from all the pushing up with your arms on the board. The next day I went to the praia dos golfinhos in order to try and get some pictures of the dolphins but it was rather unsuccessful, and I almost regretted having the camera as I couldn't go out and swim with them. On my last day in Pipa we went back to the surf beach, and that was when I saw the most dolphins. Some of them were really close to the shore, and I even saw one jump out of the sea several times, just like in the documentaries! It was very exciting and I was glad to be able to have seen them, even if I didn't get to swim with them.
In the evenings we went out a few times but I was actually not much impressed by Pipa nightlife. It existed, but it was way to European for my taste. The bars there just blasted out European hip hop and commercial techno tunes which I just hate! It was obvious that all the customers were Europeans and so that's what they were catering to, but it's just not my taste. I love Brazilian culture and did not come to Brazil to experience Europe so was not too happy with that. Still, it was good to be able to go out at night and have some company to have fun. My plan of chilling out and resting before carnival obviously failed...
I managed to get a lift back from Pipa with a Brazilian guy from Porto Allegre. He was driving to Recife and originally I had asked him if he could drop me off in Joao Pessoa. However he pointed out to me that Recife was closer to Salvador and that there would be more frequent buses, so I figured why not save myself a few more kilometres and go down to Recife. It was me and Vania, the other Brazilian girl,as well as him in the car, and he felt perfectly safe, and so he was! We stopped off quite a bit on the way looking at the views and taking pictures, and he drove Brazilian style. Eventually we made it to Recife but as it was a Sunday decided to stop off in Olinda first to see the last mini carnival before the real carnival. That was really cool and in the end I decided to stay in Olinda again as I had liked it there so much. It was really nice as by then the city was fully decorated for carnival and the atmosphere was getting much crazier due to the start of carnival being so close. I happened upon the frenchies again and actually got to see those that were still there playing in their band in the parade which was nice. It was also really lovely to have been able to see the progession in the decoration of the city of Olinda, with it being fully decorated that sunday with all the colourful bits of paper hanging in the streets, and lots of new graffiti and drawings having appeared on the walls of the houses. Near the hostel they had set up a huge outdoor stage with free concerts, and so on Sunday night we got to go and see the Velha Guarda of Mangueira samba school playing. Mangueira is a really famous samba school from Rio and the velha guarda were so sweet: little old ladies and men living it up to the samba! The next day Marcelo D2 was due to be playing, and I was absolutely gutted that I had to get the bus to Salvador that same evening. I love Marcelo D2 and the chance of seeing him play for free in Brazil was next to none, and I can't believe I passed it up! Still, during the day I heard him rehearsing and so I ran over to the scene to see if it was him, then ran back to the hostel to get my camera, and then ran back to the stage. Unfortunately, shortly after he stopped rehearsing as the sound was bad, but at least I got to see him up close and see a bit of the rehearsal. How exciting!! And, one last coincidence for Olinda: as I woke up and went down for breakfast on the Monday morning, who did I run into but Mariana from the London School Samba!! Mariana is a Brazilian lady who teaches with the LSS and I had met her several times before in London. How incredible to happen upon her in Olinda. It was really nice though as we got to have a chat and she filled me in on what she was doing in Brazil and her travels.
I think that is enough for now about Pipa and Olinda as my last post will be about my return to Salvador and the carnival which is currently going on outside the window. I can't believe my trip is so close to its end. More soon, as a last post and synopsis come along. Happy Carnival everyone!
Saturday 14 February 2009
Natal
I left Joao Pessoa to head over to Natal for a capoeira event. I arrived at the bus station and called my friend Capacete, who told me to take a taxi to a given address. Capacete is a guy from Natal that I met in London, and is probably the one who helped me to get speaking portuguese. He came to Europe last year to visit and couldn't speak a word of english, so I had to force myself to speak portuguese! Anyway, knowing he lived in Natal I decided to go over there to meet him and see him again in Natal. It turns out that at the same time there was a capoeira event going on too so it was a bargain! Horrivel was there too, and so we met up again for the last time. I got to stay in Capacete's girlfriend's house. It was quite a large house with 6 women living in it, and people constantly coming in and out. They were really lovely and looked after me really well, constantly trying to feed me more and more stuff and not understanding that I wasn't actually very hungry.
The capoeira event started on the Friday and was a bargain: R$40 for all three days, including lunch and dinner every day as well as a tshirt of the event. Nothing to do with our European events! It was also much more hardcore, with classes starting at 9 am and going on til about 10pm. Lots of intensive training in the heat. It was good as I got to meet a lot of new capoeiristas all from Natal, as well as meet more Contra-Mestres: Moleque, Vitor, Pula Pula, and Mestres too, the most important one being Mestre Irani of course. He is the "leader" as it were, of the Natal group. The event was good and I enjoyed taking part in another capoeira event in Brazil. Because of that though, I didn't really get to see much of Natal. It mainly consisted of the capoeira event, various capoeira classes in the evening with Capacete, and chilling in Kelly's house. On one day she did take me into the centre of the city for me to get to see it, and show me around. On another day one of her sisters also took me to the beach with her, and so I got to see the famous beach of Ponta Negra. It was nice for a city beach, the water being crystal clear again, but we were unlucky because we got there when the tide was coming in and so we didn't actually successfully get to sit on the beach and chill out as we had to keep moving spots in order to not get wet, and eventually at one point the sea did get our stuff! Also, another disappointing thing was the litter. This is a major problem all over Brazil, but when the tide comes in it is really unpleasant as it just drags all the trash into the sea, and gets washed in and out and it's reall dirty. This is the main problem in Brazil:there are loads of really beautiful places but they are spoilt by trash. People here really don't care and will just throw their litter anywhere. They also leave the bins out in the street, even though they should be put in the special holders that are made for them to keep them off the street, but they don't and so the bags just get ripped open and the stuff spilt everywhere. It's quite sad really.
On one day we were looking to do a buggy ride, as in Natal they are meant to be really good due to the sand dunes. The only problem was the price: R$80 per person, way too expensive!!! So sadly we decided against it, but we rented a car instead and went for a drive around the southern coast of Natal. It was actually really nice as we reached some more removed beaches that were really calm and absolutely beautiful. We also found a natural lake, which was just a bit more inland than the sea. That was amazing as it was clear, natural water as opposed to salty water, and it was really nice and refreshing. It wasn't too busy either as we went out on a week day and therefore there were fewer people around. All in all, it was quite a successful day. Kelly drove all the way and I'm glad she did as driving in Brazil is absolutely mad. In the evening we made the most of still having the car and went to the shopping mall. I drove us there and was completely freaking out at the idea of having to drive in Brazil in a city, but it was ok. The boys were really annoying though as they were sat at the back giving orders and shouting "watch out" and "be careful" and "go into second gear" and stuff like that. This drives me insane, particularly since Capacete doesn't even know how to drive, and I have no idea how Kelly managed to put up with it at all! After that we went to Mestre Irani's house for a chat which just ended up going on for EVER and I thought we would never leave! No offense intended, it was great to be able to just turn up at his house and have a chat about capoeira, execept that then these things just tend to drag on, and we were exhausted from the day we had just had. After that, the boys insisted we go to Ponta Negra and the salsa street in order to have a drink, so we drove ourselves over even though we were too tired to enjoy it. It was alright, though nothing too exciting going on as once again it was mid week.
The day after that the boys came and picked me up in order for us to go to lunch with M. Ataulfo. I had also met him in London as he had come travelling with his wife last year and so we had met there. I had found them both to be really love people so it was nice to see them again. We went for lunch in a really posh Churrascaria, and I was mortified as I had turned up in shorts and flip flops. The boys being boys, had only notified me of the price, but not that the place would be fancy, so when I turned up I felt awful for not looking nicer. And to make matters worse, his wife turned up looking really fancy! Eeek! Still, the food was good, and it was most definitely worth the rather more expensive price. The day after that, M. Ataulfo offered to give me a lift down to Pipa, which is where I am now. Horrivel had thought of renting a car again, but instead M. Ataulfo offered to drive us all down so that I could get a lift and they could spend the day there. That was nice as it saved me the hassle of the bus ride, and then we all spent the day together on the beach. I think that is all that there is to be said about Natal as I am now in Pipa and will write more about that later. It was great to see Capacete again and train with his group, and get to know the people from Natal. It was also great to get to know Kelly, who was so nice to me and took great care of me. I will really miss the people from Natal. Other than that, carnival is coming up and I am well excited!! I will definitely write posts about that, if I am not too exhausted to do so.
The capoeira event started on the Friday and was a bargain: R$40 for all three days, including lunch and dinner every day as well as a tshirt of the event. Nothing to do with our European events! It was also much more hardcore, with classes starting at 9 am and going on til about 10pm. Lots of intensive training in the heat. It was good as I got to meet a lot of new capoeiristas all from Natal, as well as meet more Contra-Mestres: Moleque, Vitor, Pula Pula, and Mestres too, the most important one being Mestre Irani of course. He is the "leader" as it were, of the Natal group. The event was good and I enjoyed taking part in another capoeira event in Brazil. Because of that though, I didn't really get to see much of Natal. It mainly consisted of the capoeira event, various capoeira classes in the evening with Capacete, and chilling in Kelly's house. On one day she did take me into the centre of the city for me to get to see it, and show me around. On another day one of her sisters also took me to the beach with her, and so I got to see the famous beach of Ponta Negra. It was nice for a city beach, the water being crystal clear again, but we were unlucky because we got there when the tide was coming in and so we didn't actually successfully get to sit on the beach and chill out as we had to keep moving spots in order to not get wet, and eventually at one point the sea did get our stuff! Also, another disappointing thing was the litter. This is a major problem all over Brazil, but when the tide comes in it is really unpleasant as it just drags all the trash into the sea, and gets washed in and out and it's reall dirty. This is the main problem in Brazil:there are loads of really beautiful places but they are spoilt by trash. People here really don't care and will just throw their litter anywhere. They also leave the bins out in the street, even though they should be put in the special holders that are made for them to keep them off the street, but they don't and so the bags just get ripped open and the stuff spilt everywhere. It's quite sad really.
On one day we were looking to do a buggy ride, as in Natal they are meant to be really good due to the sand dunes. The only problem was the price: R$80 per person, way too expensive!!! So sadly we decided against it, but we rented a car instead and went for a drive around the southern coast of Natal. It was actually really nice as we reached some more removed beaches that were really calm and absolutely beautiful. We also found a natural lake, which was just a bit more inland than the sea. That was amazing as it was clear, natural water as opposed to salty water, and it was really nice and refreshing. It wasn't too busy either as we went out on a week day and therefore there were fewer people around. All in all, it was quite a successful day. Kelly drove all the way and I'm glad she did as driving in Brazil is absolutely mad. In the evening we made the most of still having the car and went to the shopping mall. I drove us there and was completely freaking out at the idea of having to drive in Brazil in a city, but it was ok. The boys were really annoying though as they were sat at the back giving orders and shouting "watch out" and "be careful" and "go into second gear" and stuff like that. This drives me insane, particularly since Capacete doesn't even know how to drive, and I have no idea how Kelly managed to put up with it at all! After that we went to Mestre Irani's house for a chat which just ended up going on for EVER and I thought we would never leave! No offense intended, it was great to be able to just turn up at his house and have a chat about capoeira, execept that then these things just tend to drag on, and we were exhausted from the day we had just had. After that, the boys insisted we go to Ponta Negra and the salsa street in order to have a drink, so we drove ourselves over even though we were too tired to enjoy it. It was alright, though nothing too exciting going on as once again it was mid week.
The day after that the boys came and picked me up in order for us to go to lunch with M. Ataulfo. I had also met him in London as he had come travelling with his wife last year and so we had met there. I had found them both to be really love people so it was nice to see them again. We went for lunch in a really posh Churrascaria, and I was mortified as I had turned up in shorts and flip flops. The boys being boys, had only notified me of the price, but not that the place would be fancy, so when I turned up I felt awful for not looking nicer. And to make matters worse, his wife turned up looking really fancy! Eeek! Still, the food was good, and it was most definitely worth the rather more expensive price. The day after that, M. Ataulfo offered to give me a lift down to Pipa, which is where I am now. Horrivel had thought of renting a car again, but instead M. Ataulfo offered to drive us all down so that I could get a lift and they could spend the day there. That was nice as it saved me the hassle of the bus ride, and then we all spent the day together on the beach. I think that is all that there is to be said about Natal as I am now in Pipa and will write more about that later. It was great to see Capacete again and train with his group, and get to know the people from Natal. It was also great to get to know Kelly, who was so nice to me and took great care of me. I will really miss the people from Natal. Other than that, carnival is coming up and I am well excited!! I will definitely write posts about that, if I am not too exhausted to do so.
Wednesday 11 February 2009
Joao Pessoa
After spending some time with the Frenchies in Olinda, I then headed off further north in order to do the final part as it were, of my trip. I headed towards Joao Pessoa which is supposed to be a beautiful city on the North Eastern coast, with a historical centre, beaches, and has a reputation for being the greenest city in Brazil. I got there fine and got a cab to my hostel which turned out to be in a really fancy looking neighbourhood and was a really decent hostel. On the first night I didn't do anything except go for dinner in a fairly expensive restaurant that served local foods and had been recommended to me by the receptionist. Back at the hostel I immediately met a very inquisitive Swiss guy who I was at first a bit reluctant to talk to as he kept asking me so many questions. But then came along an english guy and so we all started chatting together. They were both quite interesting people. The Swiss guy had lived in Joao Pessoa for 3 years and spoke perfect portuguese, but had decided overnight to move back to Switzerland due to a job offer and was now back in Joao Pessoa on holiday. He seeemed to be very bright and keen on moving back to Brazil. The english guy had been travelling through latin america and in particular Venezuela, filming a documentary there about politics and the elections, and getting people's opinions. His work seemed to be interesting there, and if I can find a link I will put it up. He was looking to buy some property in Joao Pessoa and was thinking of spending half the year there and half the year in england. He was a definite adventurer.
The next day, I spent the day on the beach just chilling out. The beaches here in the Northeast are fabulous: turquoise waters, white sand and the water is always warm. The hostel was right near the beach so I decided to make the most of it and spend the day in the sun. The only thing was, there weren't many people on the beach at all: practically deserted. Still, at least it was nice and peaceful. In the evening I met yet another english guy in the hostel who didn't speak a word of portuguese so we got chatting and he got me playing scrabble. He had a small scrabble board he travelled with and was absolutely obsessed with playing. The next day, I decided to get the bus to the bus station and into the old part of town. The english adventurer had told me the bus got you there nice and easily and that there was a small train nearby that one could ride. I asked the receptionist where to get the bus but for some reason decided not to listen to her and to get the bus that I had seen on the beachfront that said "bus station". So I got on the bus and it started driving off further and further away. After a while I decided that I was possibly going in the wrong direction but decided to trust the bus driver and that we would get there eventually. After an even longer while though, we were really getting out into the sticks, and it was getting more and more rural, with horses in the street and all. So I asked the bus driver if he went to the bus station and he said "What, in Joao Pessoa?" so it turned out we had already left Joao Pessoa...When I asked him whether I should get off he said yes and to pick the bus going in the other direction. When I pointed out that there were no bus stops I said, "What should I do, I can't see a bus stop?" and he shrugged so I said "do I have to just get off and make my own bus stop?" and he said yes. Typical Brazilian style, you just have to stand by the side of the road and be your own bus stop. How funny!! Luckily for me, Joao Pessoa is a safe city so I was in no real danger and got the bus right back into the centre, and then back out again to the hostel. So my discovery of Joao Pessoa was mainly riding around it on a bus. The weird thing about Joao Pesso was that it seemed to be a very calm and respectable city. But at night, the prostitutes would all come out and line up along the beachfront, just standing there by the palm trees. It was strange because the atmosphere of the city was not like that all, except that at night it became seedy. At one point, I saw the police on the other side of the road just standing there, chilling out, and the prostitutes too on the other side of the road, chilling out. I didn't understand but when I asked some Brazilians they explained to me that prostitution in Brazil is not illegal. It is illegal to be the pimp, but it is not illegal to prostitute yourself, nor is it illegal to pick up a prostitute, as far as I understood. Strange isn't it?
I had no luck with the weather as the rain was indeed following me and whilst I was in Joao Pessoa it rained quite a bit. On my last day I went on another adventure bus ride with the english guy that spoke no portuguese. He convinced me to jump on the first bus that was coming along and so off we went to we didn't know where, on a mini adventure. We didn't go as far as I had done the last time though, and came back in order to go and watch the sun set at the Praia de Jacuma. Apparently it is THE thing to do there in Joao Pessoa is to go and watch the sunset whilst listening to the saxophonist play. It was cheesy but actually really cool as the sun sets over a river of calm water, orangey colours all whilst listening to the bolero on the saxophone. Whilst we were sitting there on the waterfront I saw a group of kids playing a percussion game and I asked them if I could join in. They deemed cool enough and so we sat there playing the percussion game and rock scissor paper for ages. They were loads of fun! When we got back from the sunset we met up with a few other people from the hostel as the english adventurer guy had seen some forro in a bar down the road and managed to motivate us all to go out. It was fun and I was well surprised to see that one of the english guys could dance pretty well. WE even managed to get in for much cheaper than they originally tried to make us pay! All in all I would say Joao Pessoa was a bit of a boring city, but it was fun due to the people that I met there who were interesting and kept me good company. After that I headed off to Natal where I am now, and I will write more about that in my next post! That's all for now I think...
The next day, I spent the day on the beach just chilling out. The beaches here in the Northeast are fabulous: turquoise waters, white sand and the water is always warm. The hostel was right near the beach so I decided to make the most of it and spend the day in the sun. The only thing was, there weren't many people on the beach at all: practically deserted. Still, at least it was nice and peaceful. In the evening I met yet another english guy in the hostel who didn't speak a word of portuguese so we got chatting and he got me playing scrabble. He had a small scrabble board he travelled with and was absolutely obsessed with playing. The next day, I decided to get the bus to the bus station and into the old part of town. The english adventurer had told me the bus got you there nice and easily and that there was a small train nearby that one could ride. I asked the receptionist where to get the bus but for some reason decided not to listen to her and to get the bus that I had seen on the beachfront that said "bus station". So I got on the bus and it started driving off further and further away. After a while I decided that I was possibly going in the wrong direction but decided to trust the bus driver and that we would get there eventually. After an even longer while though, we were really getting out into the sticks, and it was getting more and more rural, with horses in the street and all. So I asked the bus driver if he went to the bus station and he said "What, in Joao Pessoa?" so it turned out we had already left Joao Pessoa...When I asked him whether I should get off he said yes and to pick the bus going in the other direction. When I pointed out that there were no bus stops I said, "What should I do, I can't see a bus stop?" and he shrugged so I said "do I have to just get off and make my own bus stop?" and he said yes. Typical Brazilian style, you just have to stand by the side of the road and be your own bus stop. How funny!! Luckily for me, Joao Pessoa is a safe city so I was in no real danger and got the bus right back into the centre, and then back out again to the hostel. So my discovery of Joao Pessoa was mainly riding around it on a bus. The weird thing about Joao Pesso was that it seemed to be a very calm and respectable city. But at night, the prostitutes would all come out and line up along the beachfront, just standing there by the palm trees. It was strange because the atmosphere of the city was not like that all, except that at night it became seedy. At one point, I saw the police on the other side of the road just standing there, chilling out, and the prostitutes too on the other side of the road, chilling out. I didn't understand but when I asked some Brazilians they explained to me that prostitution in Brazil is not illegal. It is illegal to be the pimp, but it is not illegal to prostitute yourself, nor is it illegal to pick up a prostitute, as far as I understood. Strange isn't it?
I had no luck with the weather as the rain was indeed following me and whilst I was in Joao Pessoa it rained quite a bit. On my last day I went on another adventure bus ride with the english guy that spoke no portuguese. He convinced me to jump on the first bus that was coming along and so off we went to we didn't know where, on a mini adventure. We didn't go as far as I had done the last time though, and came back in order to go and watch the sun set at the Praia de Jacuma. Apparently it is THE thing to do there in Joao Pessoa is to go and watch the sunset whilst listening to the saxophonist play. It was cheesy but actually really cool as the sun sets over a river of calm water, orangey colours all whilst listening to the bolero on the saxophone. Whilst we were sitting there on the waterfront I saw a group of kids playing a percussion game and I asked them if I could join in. They deemed cool enough and so we sat there playing the percussion game and rock scissor paper for ages. They were loads of fun! When we got back from the sunset we met up with a few other people from the hostel as the english adventurer guy had seen some forro in a bar down the road and managed to motivate us all to go out. It was fun and I was well surprised to see that one of the english guys could dance pretty well. WE even managed to get in for much cheaper than they originally tried to make us pay! All in all I would say Joao Pessoa was a bit of a boring city, but it was fun due to the people that I met there who were interesting and kept me good company. After that I headed off to Natal where I am now, and I will write more about that in my next post! That's all for now I think...
Tuesday 3 February 2009
Recife/Olinda
I seem to have no luck with the weather. When I arrived in Olinda it rained tropical downpour for two days solid, and now I am in Joao Pessoa, and it is raining again! It seems that the rain is following me...
Olinda the second time round was great. I left Porto de Galinhas hoping that I would meet more people in Olinda and I did. The hostel there was lovely, with a great outdoor area: terrace called the terrace of laziness, with hammocks all around it and a swimming pool, and nice bedrooms. The only problem with my room was that it had a bit of a bad smell, probably a problem due to the drains, as well as a slight bed bug problem. Other than that all was fine, and I met loads of people. On the first day there I met a bunch of Brazilian boys whom I had actually seen walking in the street in Porto de Galinhas hours before I myself left. There were 5 of them, all from Sao Paulo and all travelling together. We had a nice chat around the Terraço da preguisa and we also met two Danish girls there who were travelling together and so we all had dinner together and then sat around drinking. The Danish girls were very young: 19 and 20 and were at the start of their trip. They were all really nice. On the same evening I met a french guy who was also staying at the hostel. He was with a bunch of other french people there and it turned out the hostel was full of frenchies! The guy I met on the first night was travelling with a group of french people who were all here on an exchange. They were part of a band/group of Maracatu in France which is associated with a band there in Olinda, and every year a bunch of them go over on an exchange to study the music and dance, and rehearse with the locals. It was really cool meeting them, because a lot of them were making their own instruments in order to play them later in the band. They were making instruments they called abé, though I have no idea how it is spelt. It is basically a type of maracas, built from a cabassa/dried out fruit, the same that is used for building the berimbau actually. Then they put a sort of net around it on which they tie beads, and the beads are what make the noise of the instrument when shaken. It was really good because essentially I got to watch quite a few of them make these instruments from beginning to end: sanding down the fruit, emptying out the inside, washing it, cutting off the bottom, and then varnishing it whilst all the time constructing the bead netting for it. It was almost like a small workshop going on as every day they would get out their instruments and sit around the terrace making them.
On my first day I had decided to go to Recife in order to visit the older part of the city which is supposed to be nice, but it was chucking it down with rain so much that I gave up. I saw the central part of Recife, a main shopping road, and saw Recife from afar and that was about it. Instead of walking around Recife centre I got the tube to the bus station in order to sort out my bus ticket to Joao Pessoa. It was so freezing cold in the tube though, due to the aircon which noone had thought to turn down in the rain, and so everyone, Brazilians included, was shivering in the tube! Then I just managed to get some "admin" stuff sorted out as it were, and headed back to the hostel. I wasn't too disappointed about not seeing Recife as I had been told that it was horrible anyway, and it is also a dangerous city, being the city in Brazil with the highest murder rate. Well, of course this doesn't really concern tourists, but it also doesn't particularly make you want to hang around. That being said, I survived Nottingham called Shottingham, so why not Recife? Instead, I hung out in the hostel in Olinda with the Frenchies. It was nice because through them and their passion for music, I felt like I got to discover a lot more about Maracatu and the local musical traditions. For a start I got a small insight into how to play the instrument they were making, but also it was just nice to hear them talk about maracatu and see their passion for it. I still prefer the rythms of the south of Brazil, but it remained interesting nonetheless. On one of the nights, a few of us went out to a forro night down the road which was fun. It was a small bar and was packed full of people and had a live band playing forro. One of the guys who was with us, whom incredibly enough I had actually met once before on my first night in Rio, said the music reminded him of Irish music, and I suppose he was right to some extent, as it does have a rather celtic resonance to it. The night after that we just wandered around the historical part of the city in search for music, and there was loads of it everywhere. We found a club that was playing a sort of mixture of funk music with latin music and maracatu beats which was great. Not only was the music good, but the club opened up at the back and had a terrace overlooking the whole of the bay of Olinda and Recife which was quite impressive!
Most of my time during the day was spent hanging out with the Frenchies, as on my second day I had planned to go and look around Olinda, but then I found out they were all taking part in a dance class and so I asked if I could crash the class. I was really interested in taking a dance class in Maracatu as all these rythms of the Northeast are completely new to me and so I thought it would be a good idea to go and see what it was like. The class was given by a guy called Anderson who was lovely and definitely knew what he was doing, warmup starting with some extremely difficult leg stretches similar to the splits which he did with a lot of ease. Actually the first part of the dance class consisted of us doing moves which were more related to Afro dance, all of us in lines of three going up and down the hall. This page may explain a bit about afro dance...Towards the end of that we started doing moves that were more related to the dance of the Orixas, and in particular the dance of Oshun. I found that fascinating as I had seen the dance in Salvador at the show of the Bale Folklorico, and was really intersted to do some of it myself. I think that the culture of the Orixas here is a really interesting and integral part of Brazilian culture and that it is important to learn more about it. In the evening we were going to watch the rehearsal of the dancers who dance during the parade in carnival but because we were torn between going to a concert in Recife and staying in Olinda, we actually missed the rehearsal. Still, staying in Olinda was still nice and worth it as there was a lot of music going on that night and we ended up in the club I mentioned before.
On the last day which was a Sunday I went out early in the morning to finally take some pictures of Olinda. It is a truly charming old colonial town, and is very calm and safe. The town was getting ready for it's small carnival that it holds every Sunday in anticipation of the real thing, and that I was at last week. I was a bit disappointed to go as the frenchies were playing with their band that day, and it would have been nice to watch them, but at the same time I had already witnessed the carnival the week before and it was time for me to move on to Joao Pessoa. All in all the stay in Olinda was great though, and I really enjoyed meeting all the people I did! Now I am in Joao Pessoa under the rain once again, and will write more about that next. Here is a link to a map which shows more or less where I have been so far, though it is not all that accurate, it's mainly just to give an idea. More soon!
Olinda the second time round was great. I left Porto de Galinhas hoping that I would meet more people in Olinda and I did. The hostel there was lovely, with a great outdoor area: terrace called the terrace of laziness, with hammocks all around it and a swimming pool, and nice bedrooms. The only problem with my room was that it had a bit of a bad smell, probably a problem due to the drains, as well as a slight bed bug problem. Other than that all was fine, and I met loads of people. On the first day there I met a bunch of Brazilian boys whom I had actually seen walking in the street in Porto de Galinhas hours before I myself left. There were 5 of them, all from Sao Paulo and all travelling together. We had a nice chat around the Terraço da preguisa and we also met two Danish girls there who were travelling together and so we all had dinner together and then sat around drinking. The Danish girls were very young: 19 and 20 and were at the start of their trip. They were all really nice. On the same evening I met a french guy who was also staying at the hostel. He was with a bunch of other french people there and it turned out the hostel was full of frenchies! The guy I met on the first night was travelling with a group of french people who were all here on an exchange. They were part of a band/group of Maracatu in France which is associated with a band there in Olinda, and every year a bunch of them go over on an exchange to study the music and dance, and rehearse with the locals. It was really cool meeting them, because a lot of them were making their own instruments in order to play them later in the band. They were making instruments they called abé, though I have no idea how it is spelt. It is basically a type of maracas, built from a cabassa/dried out fruit, the same that is used for building the berimbau actually. Then they put a sort of net around it on which they tie beads, and the beads are what make the noise of the instrument when shaken. It was really good because essentially I got to watch quite a few of them make these instruments from beginning to end: sanding down the fruit, emptying out the inside, washing it, cutting off the bottom, and then varnishing it whilst all the time constructing the bead netting for it. It was almost like a small workshop going on as every day they would get out their instruments and sit around the terrace making them.
On my first day I had decided to go to Recife in order to visit the older part of the city which is supposed to be nice, but it was chucking it down with rain so much that I gave up. I saw the central part of Recife, a main shopping road, and saw Recife from afar and that was about it. Instead of walking around Recife centre I got the tube to the bus station in order to sort out my bus ticket to Joao Pessoa. It was so freezing cold in the tube though, due to the aircon which noone had thought to turn down in the rain, and so everyone, Brazilians included, was shivering in the tube! Then I just managed to get some "admin" stuff sorted out as it were, and headed back to the hostel. I wasn't too disappointed about not seeing Recife as I had been told that it was horrible anyway, and it is also a dangerous city, being the city in Brazil with the highest murder rate. Well, of course this doesn't really concern tourists, but it also doesn't particularly make you want to hang around. That being said, I survived Nottingham called Shottingham, so why not Recife? Instead, I hung out in the hostel in Olinda with the Frenchies. It was nice because through them and their passion for music, I felt like I got to discover a lot more about Maracatu and the local musical traditions. For a start I got a small insight into how to play the instrument they were making, but also it was just nice to hear them talk about maracatu and see their passion for it. I still prefer the rythms of the south of Brazil, but it remained interesting nonetheless. On one of the nights, a few of us went out to a forro night down the road which was fun. It was a small bar and was packed full of people and had a live band playing forro. One of the guys who was with us, whom incredibly enough I had actually met once before on my first night in Rio, said the music reminded him of Irish music, and I suppose he was right to some extent, as it does have a rather celtic resonance to it. The night after that we just wandered around the historical part of the city in search for music, and there was loads of it everywhere. We found a club that was playing a sort of mixture of funk music with latin music and maracatu beats which was great. Not only was the music good, but the club opened up at the back and had a terrace overlooking the whole of the bay of Olinda and Recife which was quite impressive!
Most of my time during the day was spent hanging out with the Frenchies, as on my second day I had planned to go and look around Olinda, but then I found out they were all taking part in a dance class and so I asked if I could crash the class. I was really interested in taking a dance class in Maracatu as all these rythms of the Northeast are completely new to me and so I thought it would be a good idea to go and see what it was like. The class was given by a guy called Anderson who was lovely and definitely knew what he was doing, warmup starting with some extremely difficult leg stretches similar to the splits which he did with a lot of ease. Actually the first part of the dance class consisted of us doing moves which were more related to Afro dance, all of us in lines of three going up and down the hall. This page may explain a bit about afro dance...Towards the end of that we started doing moves that were more related to the dance of the Orixas, and in particular the dance of Oshun. I found that fascinating as I had seen the dance in Salvador at the show of the Bale Folklorico, and was really intersted to do some of it myself. I think that the culture of the Orixas here is a really interesting and integral part of Brazilian culture and that it is important to learn more about it. In the evening we were going to watch the rehearsal of the dancers who dance during the parade in carnival but because we were torn between going to a concert in Recife and staying in Olinda, we actually missed the rehearsal. Still, staying in Olinda was still nice and worth it as there was a lot of music going on that night and we ended up in the club I mentioned before.
On the last day which was a Sunday I went out early in the morning to finally take some pictures of Olinda. It is a truly charming old colonial town, and is very calm and safe. The town was getting ready for it's small carnival that it holds every Sunday in anticipation of the real thing, and that I was at last week. I was a bit disappointed to go as the frenchies were playing with their band that day, and it would have been nice to watch them, but at the same time I had already witnessed the carnival the week before and it was time for me to move on to Joao Pessoa. All in all the stay in Olinda was great though, and I really enjoyed meeting all the people I did! Now I am in Joao Pessoa under the rain once again, and will write more about that next. Here is a link to a map which shows more or less where I have been so far, though it is not all that accurate, it's mainly just to give an idea. More soon!
Friday 30 January 2009
Pernambuco
After Salvador I continued to make my way up the coast, for what is really the last leg of my journey :-( I arrived in Recife early in the morning and headed off to the hostel where I had made a reservation. The staff there were not very friendly at all. For a start, I called them to see whether someone could pick me up from the bus station and they left me hanging on the other end of the phone for ages, whilst every second I am calling costs me money due to my number being from Sao Paulo. When I finally made it there, the receptionnist just stared at me as if to say "what do you want?" and was so slow to find my reservation and then check me in. It almost seemed as if I was a pain for being there and wanting a room. Still, at least the hostel itself was decent enough with a nice swimming pool and hammocks around the terrace. I met quite a few people fast enough, including a Brazilian guy that lives in Toulouse, and he came to tell me that, that afternoon in Olinda, there was going to be a mini carnival going on and that a bunch of them from the hostel were going. So a bunch of us: 3 guys and 4 of us girls all headed off to Olinda together. Two of the guys were Brazilan, and one of them Argentinian. One of the girls was also Brazilian from Salvador, and the other two were German. The German girls had been staying in Fortaleza for 4 months working, and had already learnt a fair amount of portuguese as they were speaking pretty much fluently with all of us. I was well impressed by how much they had managed to learn in four months, considering that they had arrived not knowing a word.
Anyway, we all arrived in Olinda and started following the music. Essentially, it involved various Blocos parading in the streets of the historical part of Olinda, playing music, with lots of people following them, dancing, drinking, and being merry. It was nice to discover Olinda with a bunch of other people, and particularly with the festive atmosphere going on. It turns out that every sunday the different music schools and groups take to the streets to parade as a sort of rehearsal before Carnival starts, so our timing was just right! Olinda is very pretty and quaint, and smaller than Recife. It has some beautiful old buildings and a lovely view over the bay. I am looking forward to getting to know it a bit better now that I am here for a few days. The music was good, but the music that is typical of the region is Marakatu and Frevo. I was excited about the Frevo because I haven't seen any people dancing Frevo yet, but it turns out I didn't get to see any then either. I liked the music but really, I prefer the rythms of samba and axe, and samba reggae, all the music that you can find in Bahia and in Rio, and there is no samba here at all. There was one group playing something similar to samba but their main music here is Marakatu, Frevo, and also Forro. I am glad to be spending carnival in Bahia as I think that for me, carnival without samba or axe, would not be carnival! Still, the party was nice and the streets were pretty crowded.
The next day, Renata (the Brazilian girl from Bahia) and I headed off for Porto de Galinhas together. It turned out both she and I were planning on leaving on the same day, and staying at the same place, so nothing better than heading out there together! We got the bus to Porto de Galinhas, which was an adventure in itself. I have to say, after nearly two months in Brazil, I am no longer quite so enthralled with the local bus ride experience. This one was awful. For a start, there are the STUPID turnstyles in the bus that you have to get through. With luggage of any kind this is next to impossible. The worst thing is that nobody helps you and nobody seems to care that you are really struggling to get through. So I struggled to get through with my mochila...Then, the bus was full of people and so there was nowhere to sit down. In Europe, on a bus trip like that, that lasts two hours, you would never keep letting people on the bus when it was full but instead you would just schedule more. In Brazil they just kept letting more and more people onto this damned bus, that was packed and driving down dirt roads so that it kept bumping around, and winding all over the place. It was definitely a most uncomfortable bus ride. And to top it all off, in order to get off the bus we had to go through yet another turnstyle! Still, it was worth it as the pousada in Porto de Galinhas was much lovlier than the one in Recife. For a start, the staff was much friendlier. And even better, the rooms had aircon: what a luxury! When we finally made it to the beach, I realised that the bus trip was more than worth it. Stunning turquoise waters, crystal clear, and white sand: incredible! This is definitely the most beautiful beach I have ever seen, or at least within memory. Probably when I was younger I saw some similiar to this but I can't remember it, so for me Porto de Galinhas is really the most beautiful place I have ever seen. I would say the only downside to it, is that the main part of the beach is really crowded.
Porto de Galinhas has natural reefs and it is possible to take boat rides out to go and look at the fish. Renata and I went out on a Jangada (the type of boat) to the reefs. All along, floating in this most incredible turquoise water. Once you arrive at the reefs it is possible to get out and snorkel amongst the fish, or to walk on the reefs and see the natural swimming pools that are created. The water in Porto de Galinhas is very salty, so that it is almost impossible to dive down to the bottom of the sea in order to look at the fish as you just pop right back up again! Still, there are loads of fish to be seen at the surface. It's fun walking on the reefs, though I couldn't help but think how bad it must be for them to have hundreds of people walking on them every day. I think eventually it will really damage them and the surrounding ecosystem. Still, the boat ride was definitely worth it. Afterwards, we decided to go on a buggy ride as well, as they take you a bit further out than Porto de Galinhas to go and see other beaches. That was loads of fun as riding on the back of the buggy is almost like being on a funfair ride, with bumps and turns and the wind blowing strongly in your face. We got to see several other stunning beaches, and went on another Jangada ride in order to see seahorses. We actually did get to see seahorses, although I was more intent on seeing one in its natural habitat under the water, though this is hard. Instead, the jangadeiros who are used to doing this, go diving to look for them and when they find them, grab them and put them in a jar. It's cool as you get to see them but once again it made me sad that they touch them and put them in jars for us to see. It can't be good for them...
After that exciting day of boat and buggy rides, life in Porto de Galinhas mainly boiled down to beaching and lazing around. Once Renata had left I ended up on my own and so there was not much to do, particularly as I had run out of reading material and finding books in these places is very difficult! There were not many people in the hostel either and so I didn't meet anyone that I could spend some time with. Still, Porto de Galinhas was lovely and I am definitely going back there. It is predominantly a Brazilian holiday destination though, with not many foreigners there. It's probably nicer like that though anyway,as it makes it more "authentic" :-) Now I am back in Recife, here for only a few days in order to discover Recife and Olinda. This time however I decided to stay in Olinda which was a much wiser decision as not only is the hostel much nicer, but the staff as well and I have already met tonnes of people. Only problem: a slight smell of drains in the room. I better go as otherwise I will not see any of Recife except for the internet cafe! More soon
Anyway, we all arrived in Olinda and started following the music. Essentially, it involved various Blocos parading in the streets of the historical part of Olinda, playing music, with lots of people following them, dancing, drinking, and being merry. It was nice to discover Olinda with a bunch of other people, and particularly with the festive atmosphere going on. It turns out that every sunday the different music schools and groups take to the streets to parade as a sort of rehearsal before Carnival starts, so our timing was just right! Olinda is very pretty and quaint, and smaller than Recife. It has some beautiful old buildings and a lovely view over the bay. I am looking forward to getting to know it a bit better now that I am here for a few days. The music was good, but the music that is typical of the region is Marakatu and Frevo. I was excited about the Frevo because I haven't seen any people dancing Frevo yet, but it turns out I didn't get to see any then either. I liked the music but really, I prefer the rythms of samba and axe, and samba reggae, all the music that you can find in Bahia and in Rio, and there is no samba here at all. There was one group playing something similar to samba but their main music here is Marakatu, Frevo, and also Forro. I am glad to be spending carnival in Bahia as I think that for me, carnival without samba or axe, would not be carnival! Still, the party was nice and the streets were pretty crowded.
The next day, Renata (the Brazilian girl from Bahia) and I headed off for Porto de Galinhas together. It turned out both she and I were planning on leaving on the same day, and staying at the same place, so nothing better than heading out there together! We got the bus to Porto de Galinhas, which was an adventure in itself. I have to say, after nearly two months in Brazil, I am no longer quite so enthralled with the local bus ride experience. This one was awful. For a start, there are the STUPID turnstyles in the bus that you have to get through. With luggage of any kind this is next to impossible. The worst thing is that nobody helps you and nobody seems to care that you are really struggling to get through. So I struggled to get through with my mochila...Then, the bus was full of people and so there was nowhere to sit down. In Europe, on a bus trip like that, that lasts two hours, you would never keep letting people on the bus when it was full but instead you would just schedule more. In Brazil they just kept letting more and more people onto this damned bus, that was packed and driving down dirt roads so that it kept bumping around, and winding all over the place. It was definitely a most uncomfortable bus ride. And to top it all off, in order to get off the bus we had to go through yet another turnstyle! Still, it was worth it as the pousada in Porto de Galinhas was much lovlier than the one in Recife. For a start, the staff was much friendlier. And even better, the rooms had aircon: what a luxury! When we finally made it to the beach, I realised that the bus trip was more than worth it. Stunning turquoise waters, crystal clear, and white sand: incredible! This is definitely the most beautiful beach I have ever seen, or at least within memory. Probably when I was younger I saw some similiar to this but I can't remember it, so for me Porto de Galinhas is really the most beautiful place I have ever seen. I would say the only downside to it, is that the main part of the beach is really crowded.
Porto de Galinhas has natural reefs and it is possible to take boat rides out to go and look at the fish. Renata and I went out on a Jangada (the type of boat) to the reefs. All along, floating in this most incredible turquoise water. Once you arrive at the reefs it is possible to get out and snorkel amongst the fish, or to walk on the reefs and see the natural swimming pools that are created. The water in Porto de Galinhas is very salty, so that it is almost impossible to dive down to the bottom of the sea in order to look at the fish as you just pop right back up again! Still, there are loads of fish to be seen at the surface. It's fun walking on the reefs, though I couldn't help but think how bad it must be for them to have hundreds of people walking on them every day. I think eventually it will really damage them and the surrounding ecosystem. Still, the boat ride was definitely worth it. Afterwards, we decided to go on a buggy ride as well, as they take you a bit further out than Porto de Galinhas to go and see other beaches. That was loads of fun as riding on the back of the buggy is almost like being on a funfair ride, with bumps and turns and the wind blowing strongly in your face. We got to see several other stunning beaches, and went on another Jangada ride in order to see seahorses. We actually did get to see seahorses, although I was more intent on seeing one in its natural habitat under the water, though this is hard. Instead, the jangadeiros who are used to doing this, go diving to look for them and when they find them, grab them and put them in a jar. It's cool as you get to see them but once again it made me sad that they touch them and put them in jars for us to see. It can't be good for them...
After that exciting day of boat and buggy rides, life in Porto de Galinhas mainly boiled down to beaching and lazing around. Once Renata had left I ended up on my own and so there was not much to do, particularly as I had run out of reading material and finding books in these places is very difficult! There were not many people in the hostel either and so I didn't meet anyone that I could spend some time with. Still, Porto de Galinhas was lovely and I am definitely going back there. It is predominantly a Brazilian holiday destination though, with not many foreigners there. It's probably nicer like that though anyway,as it makes it more "authentic" :-) Now I am back in Recife, here for only a few days in order to discover Recife and Olinda. This time however I decided to stay in Olinda which was a much wiser decision as not only is the hostel much nicer, but the staff as well and I have already met tonnes of people. Only problem: a slight smell of drains in the room. I better go as otherwise I will not see any of Recife except for the internet cafe! More soon
Monday 26 January 2009
PS
Bad on my behalf, I forgot to mention that whilst in Salvador, Veronica and I had been training with Mestre Jogo de Dentro. He is such a cool guy, and a lovely man! It was really nice to go and be able to train angola with him, as he really is one of the best, or at least in my opinion. His academy was lovely too: it was all painted in green black and white, with pictures and paintings on the walls. The nicest thing was that even all the instruments had been painted green white and black: the berimbaus, the drums, the pandeiros, the agogo, even the caixixis! His classes were really good too, although the first time both Veronica and I made the mistake of eating before we went, and I had to drop out half way through because I felt so ill...His class/roda, was also a lot less formal than Mestre Curio's, which just goes to show the differences between Masters and within capoeira...
We also bought our berimbaus from Mestre Jogo, Mascote having put in a special order of 10 berimbaus, which Veronica and I lugged from the class to mine, and the next day from mine to hers. I wish I had a photo to commemorate this, me carrying all the cabassas, and poor old Veronica lugging the sticks on to the bus, and up the hill....Still, we did a good thing buying from Mestre Jogo as it always helps them and their academies, and his berimbaus are good. Anyway, that's all for now, just felt I couldn't leave out Mestre Jogo!
I also forgot to mention that in Salvador I saw the most fascinating person ever. It was a man who had tattoos all over his face! It started out by Veronica pointing him out to me saying "Emma, look at that guy's bum" as he was wearing the tightest pair of capoeira trousers I have ever seen, and his bum was hanging out of them more or less. But as I took a closer look at him, I realised that his entire face was tattooed. It was so fascinating to look at, whilst quite repulsive at the same time. It meant that, you had no idea what he actually looked like, and it was as if he had a mask on his face permanently, so that one would never know what he actually looked like. It was great!
We also bought our berimbaus from Mestre Jogo, Mascote having put in a special order of 10 berimbaus, which Veronica and I lugged from the class to mine, and the next day from mine to hers. I wish I had a photo to commemorate this, me carrying all the cabassas, and poor old Veronica lugging the sticks on to the bus, and up the hill....Still, we did a good thing buying from Mestre Jogo as it always helps them and their academies, and his berimbaus are good. Anyway, that's all for now, just felt I couldn't leave out Mestre Jogo!
I also forgot to mention that in Salvador I saw the most fascinating person ever. It was a man who had tattoos all over his face! It started out by Veronica pointing him out to me saying "Emma, look at that guy's bum" as he was wearing the tightest pair of capoeira trousers I have ever seen, and his bum was hanging out of them more or less. But as I took a closer look at him, I realised that his entire face was tattooed. It was so fascinating to look at, whilst quite repulsive at the same time. It meant that, you had no idea what he actually looked like, and it was as if he had a mask on his face permanently, so that one would never know what he actually looked like. It was great!
Saturday 24 January 2009
Ice Cream...
So much has happened since the last post! Salvador is a great place for constant music and cultural goings on in the street. Veronica and I have actually spent most of our days roaming around the Pelourinho and its pretty streets with painted houses. On one funny day, we stopped by a street vendor's to have lunch. Lunch consisted of a small ham sandwich, and I picked up the red sauce to give it some more taste. I started laying it on until suddenly I heard Veronica say: "Emma, that's the chili sauce." Damn it! I have just doused my sandwich in chili sauce that I can't take and I am starving. So I try and wipe some of it off the top, and proceed to eat it. And I stand there in the street, my nose running, tears coming out of my eyes, laughing as well at how stupid the situation is. So now I check twice before picking up the sauce bottle! Anyway, we have spent ages running around trying to buy souvenirs for everyone back home and also for ourselves of course. By the end of it, I was almost sick of it! Still, it is always beautiful to look at, and like I said one always happens upon one band or another rehearsing in the street. Several times we happened upon Olodum playing in the street and it is funny how few people it takes to make quite a large amount of noise, so you start by thinking there is a huge band playing in the street and then it turns out to be no more than 10 people! Once, we even saw a band of Olodum children rehearsing: they were so sweet, and were playing really well.
On Tuesday night, we decided to go and experience what the guide book describes as more or less "mad Tuesdays",the Terça du Bençao. It is a part religious part pagan ceremony, and all the crowds take to the streets with free music and live bands playing all around the Pelourinho. We reached our first stop, a church near the end of the Pelourinho with a steep flight of stairs leading up to it. At the bottom of the stairs Geronimo was playing and the place was packed. We were alert for any danger and there was a constant flow of people going up and down the stairs which prevented us from fully enjoying ourselves, but the music was still fantastic: lively and uplifiting. Only at one point did I see some sort of "trouble": the crowd of people on the stairs was jammed, and people were pushing to get up and down. The one man was pushed down the stairs and he turned around and said "hey stop pushing me!", and it was clear to me that he had just been robbed, or at least they had attempted to rob him. Other than that the streets were very crowded but it didn't seem too dangerous to me, as long as you keep your senses about you.
Other than that, what else to be said? On Thursday evening we went to see the Bale Folklorico da Bahia. The book described as being worthwhile, and considering where we were, and the rich cultural background, we decided to check it out. The show was indeed very good, it started out with a piece on the Orixás, the gods of candomble and it was really fitting that just that morning we had been to the Afro-Brazilian musuem as we managed to recognise some of the Orixas that were represented. They then went on to do Puxada de rede, Maculele, Capoeira and Samba de roda. Those we all knew about thanks to capoeira, and I couldn't help thinking how lucky we were to actually understand all of this, as for someone who has no idea it must all seem a bit strange... The show was fantastic, with great dancing, great costumes and great music so it was definitely worth while.
We also met some interesting people in the hostel. The hostel by the way, was lovely and the staff very friendly indeed. In fact, Veronica and I almost started feeling at home at the place, and I think the staff considered us part of home too.Anyway, we mainly met two interesting people. One was Robin, a french Canadian singer and artist who was here on a three month holiday. She also had been dreaming of coming to Brazil for a long time and was here to study music and dance, meet other artists and hopefully record some songs. She was a very interesting person and great to hang out with, and hopefully we will get to see her again. We also met this funny American guy. He arrived one night all in a fluster because the hotel had messed up his reservation. I was acting as a translator and trying to convince him to at least stay the night in this place so as to save him trekking around the Pelourinho by dark (unwise). Eventually he relented and then asked me to sit and chat with him. He was so American in that kind of way that they are: sure of themsleves and well travelled. It's hard to put my finger on it. Anyway, he was going on at me about how much he had travelled and how much he had seen, and that he was really streetwise because of this. That he could notice people planning to mug him and so on...I was a bit sceptical but listened none the less...Then he proceeded to tell me about how he had nearly been mugged in Rio and therefore it was a dangerous city. (The mugging involved him seeing a bunch of guys and legging it away from them, in my opinion a huge give away). The next day, Veronica and I ran into him in the old town and it was the best I could do not to laugh. There he was, looking totally American: Long sleeved shirt, sunglasses, his backpack on the front of him with a padlock on it, right on top where it was well visible, and a bandanda (no kidding,a bandana!!) around his forehead. When we finally got rid of him (as he was being quite insistant on having our company that evening), I said to Veronica that I wasn't surpised he had been mugged. He was like a walking bullseye, no matter what he said about being streetwise!
And finally, one more funny story to depart. It seems that I am accumulating at lot of these lately...On Friday Veronica and I decided to head out to the neighbourhood of Ribeira, where there is a famed Sorveiteria (ice cream parlour). My friend had told me it was amazing, better than in Italy, and that people from all over Brazil travelled to it. Upon arrival Veronica and I look at the menu and decide to go for 3 balls of ice cream: 3 Bolas. We have come so far to this famed parlour that we decide to make it worth our while. We buy our ticket at the till and then head over to the queue to get given our ice creams. I state my three flavours, and the guy busies himself away and then hands me one ice cream in a cone saying "Leite Condensado". The realisation then hits me as I realise he is actually going to hand me three, seperate, ice creams. Oh no!!! I look at Veronica in disbelief. She looks at me, we can't believe it. We head over to our table three ice creams each in our hands, shaking with laughter. We are battling to eat them before they all start running all over the place, which they already are, without dropping them too. We realise, we must look like pigs,and can't stop laughing at our mistake. Then, the owners come over to us looking really concerned. Are we alright? What happened? So we explain and then they put two of our ice creams in the freezer so they don't melt,and they just laugh at us and at the situation and so do we. How embarassing! But surely,we think, this isn't the first time this has happened?? And yet they look so surprised....It is hilarious! Anyway, they are very sweet and offer to give us our money back for the third ice cream that neither of us can eat. After this, they have chatted to us for so long that they offer us a lift to a fort (whose name I cannot currently remember) in order to watch the sunset. We said we were going to get the bus but they told us there was no bus and so they would give us a lift. When we get outside, the son turns up in a huge Range Rover, and we are ushered into his car, which as it happens is brand new and still has the plastic covers on it on the inside! The unusualness and comicness of the situation just never ends. So we climb into this brand new Range Rover which Fafa (the son) informs is the second time he has ever taken it out for a ride, and it has a 4 wheel drive snow option (in Bahia???). Then he proceeds to invite us to his private island "you see? That one just over there" one day, and says we are more than welcome and we should just call him...Eventually they drop us off at the fort just in time for us to watch the sun set. They tell us to call them any time we want to, we are always welcome on the island or in the ice cream parlour. Veronica and I just cannot get over this random sequence of events. It was so hilarious though. I don't know if I have told this well enough but I hope it makes you laugh. The sunset in any case was fantastic, and our trip to Ribeira for the ice cream definitely worth it!
Tuesday 20 January 2009
Brazil is....
There are so many things that are typical of Brazil that I keep wanting to write about but forget, so I thought the easiest way would be to write a "Brazil is" post.
Brazil is:
- A slow internet connection!
- Coco gelado on the street corners
- Getting an electric shock whilst trying to turn of the shower
- Havaianas of all different kinds
- Fat people, old people, thin people, flabby people, all wearing the tiniest bikinis and speedos on the beach
- Buses driving at breakneck speed
- A large enough group of people on the side of the road consitutes a bus stop
- Amazing fresh fruits and fruit juices
- Capoeira music, capoeira pictures, capoeiristas in the street, capoeira everywhere (in Bahia anyway)
- Açai
- X Burgers (pronounced cheese burgers)
- Waiting for buses or taxis for hours
- Taking your time to get anywhere and therefore never being on time, except there is no "on time"
- Haggling with street/souvenir vendors
- Guarana, Coxinhas, Pao de Queijo and other typical foods
- People "PSHIOU"ing you and everyone else everywhere all the time
- "Moça/Moço"
- Having to use little bits of paper in shops and restaurants to list what you're buying and then going to present it to the till to pay
- Being rude
- Favelas
- Jungle and tropical surroundings all the time
- Stunning beaches
- Loads of blood thirsty mosquitos
- Insects everywhere(literally! and not in a European way)
- Cheap manicures and pedicures
- Going from sweltering heat outside to artic cold inside shops and banks and buses
- Weird turnstyles on all public buses
- A fast food chain called Habib's
- Street vendors getting on the bus to sell you snacks, drinks, ice cream, sweets, for instant gratification
- When it's raining INSIDE your bus
- Peanut flavoured ice cream
- And many more things for me yet to think of and write down here!!
Brazil is:
- A slow internet connection!
- Coco gelado on the street corners
- Getting an electric shock whilst trying to turn of the shower
- Havaianas of all different kinds
- Fat people, old people, thin people, flabby people, all wearing the tiniest bikinis and speedos on the beach
- Buses driving at breakneck speed
- A large enough group of people on the side of the road consitutes a bus stop
- Amazing fresh fruits and fruit juices
- Capoeira music, capoeira pictures, capoeiristas in the street, capoeira everywhere (in Bahia anyway)
- Açai
- X Burgers (pronounced cheese burgers)
- Waiting for buses or taxis for hours
- Taking your time to get anywhere and therefore never being on time, except there is no "on time"
- Haggling with street/souvenir vendors
- Guarana, Coxinhas, Pao de Queijo and other typical foods
- People "PSHIOU"ing you and everyone else everywhere all the time
- "Moça/Moço"
- Having to use little bits of paper in shops and restaurants to list what you're buying and then going to present it to the till to pay
- Being rude
- Favelas
- Jungle and tropical surroundings all the time
- Stunning beaches
- Loads of blood thirsty mosquitos
- Insects everywhere(literally! and not in a European way)
- Cheap manicures and pedicures
- Going from sweltering heat outside to artic cold inside shops and banks and buses
- Weird turnstyles on all public buses
- A fast food chain called Habib's
- Street vendors getting on the bus to sell you snacks, drinks, ice cream, sweets, for instant gratification
- When it's raining INSIDE your bus
- Peanut flavoured ice cream
- And many more things for me yet to think of and write down here!!
Monday 19 January 2009
Bahia
The Brazil trip is such a continuous experience and massive intake of stuff, be it cultural, musical, visual etc., that sometimes I have no idea where to start!!! There is so much to say and tell and remember, it is overwhelming. Suffice to say, I am really loving being here so much!
So, now I am in Salvador and once again there is loads to tell. After Capoeirando, Horrivel and I went to Itacare, a small surfer hippie village not far from Ilheus. We spent most of our time there chilling out and getting over Capoeirando, so basically a lot of sleeping and beaching. I met some really nice Norwegian girls in the pousada there and they shared their mad (completely mad!) tales of travelling through South America. I love travelling for this, as you get to meet so many great people. On Thursday Horrivel and I both left to Salvador, though seperately as he had managed to get a lift with someone and I decided to take the bus as planned. The bus was good, very comfy, though once again I seemed to have been unlucky with my "neighbour" as instead of Horrivel (who despite his name is not so horrible), I had yet another fat dude, who snored like a buffalo!!! So despite my best efforts at sleeping and the comfort of the bus, it still could have been better. Still, I guess these are the joys of travelling by bus all over the country.
So I arrived in Salvador at the crack of dawn on Friday and set my bags down at my pousada, which is a lovely place not far from the historical centre of Salvador, and every time you walk out the front door you have an amazing view on the Bahia de todos os Santos. It's fantastic!! Bahia and the north of Brazil are totally different from the south. For a start, you can tell that the north is poorer. Just by the villages that the bus drove through on its way to Itacare or Salvador, they seem poorer, the infrastructures are different, and so is everything else really. Also up North the population is predominantly black, and you can tell that there is much more of an African influence here. For example on the beach, there is not a single white person in sight! Or maybe one or two at the most... Salvador is amazing. On my first day, after having napped a bit in the pousada, I set out to meet Veronica and Horrivel. I was a bit apprenhensive as a lot is said about Salvador and the pelourinho, how it is dangerous and a lot of people get robbed, and it is full of crack addicts and homeless people. However as I walked towards the place Terreiro de Jesus to meet them, I didn't feel in danger at all and was happily taking in the views of the sea, and the quaint shops and old buildings that make up the historical part of Salvador. Salvador has a definite European feel to it. In fact, so does a lot of Brazil and this is due to its colonial past. I know this may seem like an obvious thing to say but actually it is not as Brazil still remains an entity of its own and is not Europe. It is very different! But at the same time, the European legacy that it has is very present, and I think this is partly what makes me feel so comfortable here. I think that seeing the European architecture, and feeling like I am in European city makes me feel much more at home and therefore comfortable in these different cities. The architecture here is truly beautiful, and the historical part of Salvador is breathtaking. When Horrivel Veronica and I finally met, we went on a walk around the Pelourinho, exploring and stopping in shops, and admiring the architecure. It was a really nice day! We also went to the capoeira fort, a place which reunites major teachers of Capoeira angola, just to see if there was anything of interest going on. As it turned out, there was a roda of capoeira that evening and so we decided we would go there later on.
In the evening therefore, we turned up on time, in our capoeira clothes, ready to play. As we arrived, the Master (Mestre Curio) was blowing incense (the kind they use in churches) out the door, and there was clearly some sort of ceremony going on. The atmosphere was very serious and actually, very intimidating or so I felt. They were singing a song with their hands on their hearts, and it felt like a religious ceremony of some kind. Cleary serious business. This made me feel uncomfortable as I do not like to intrude on religious ceremonies of any kind, especially if I don't feel like I am being part of it. Still, we were allowed in and were told to wait to play. It kept a religious dimension to it for a long time, and I noticed that above the roda there was a little statue of Mary and Jesus, with two candles on either side of it. Also, every time someone would enter the roda they would sign themselves with the cross. The games were good, though we got beaten to a pulp, even by kids. Slowly, the atmosphere lightened up, and towards the end Mestre Curio himself started playing the berimbau and singing, and this changed the atmosphere a lot. It became one of games and jokes, and he is such a funny little old man! Old little black man, who sang with a powerful voice but also from time to time would make funny little noises, sort of as a joke. Then he started playing the roda which was also funny, joking about with people and pulling faces. It was impressive to watch, and his capoeira was still very good despite his obvious older age! All in all it was an impressive experience, and I am so glad we went. I feel like I don't know enough about Capoeira Angola, so it is interesting to be here with the great Masters, and learning more.
The rest of my time in Salvador so far has been much the same: walking around the Pelourinho and the historical centre, going into shops and discovering the city, deciding what souvenirs to buy and what presents to get people! On Saturday Veronica and I spent a lovely day together touring the city, and we went to the Mercado Modelo and took the famous elevator of Salvador whose name I cannot remember right now...It was nice being in the Mercado Modelo because it is such a "famous" spot, and there are songs about it in Capoeira, so it was nice to actually be there and experience this place that is talked and sung about. In the evening we went for dinner on the praça Terreiro de Jesus, and there we experienced what can only be described as a "Son et Lumiere". It was a wicked show, with all the buildings on the praça lighting up in turn, and speaking, with images and lights projected onto the buildings. We couldn't actually tell what was being said which was a bit of a shame. but the visual effects were definitely worth it!
What more to be said about Salvador? The Baianas here are amazing!!! It puts mine and Veronica's costumes to shame. When I first arrived in Salvador I saw some women in such beautiful costumes, it was completely breath taking! Baianas are the ladies that are traditional of Bahia, normally big black ladies with massive white skirts, and headdresses, and they look very impressive and very beautiful! They are so lovely to see! Salvador, as many people have said, can also be very depressing though. At night time, one can immediately tell there is a change in atmosphere, and on Sundays when there are fewer people around too. It is poor and, like I said in the beginning there are lots of crack addicts and homeless people on the streets. Therefore there are a lot of people begging, a lot of people who look really badly off, high on drugs, wandering the streets. There are lots of people just lying the street, sleeping, but in a real state. In fact as I write, there is a man outside in the street doing just that. It is hard to bear to watch these people, and they also can be a little scary. They are drugged and don't know what they are doing, and they are also desperate so probably prepared to do anything to get what they want. Luckily, nothing has happened to any of us and I think we are being safe and streetwise. But you must always be careful here, particularly in crowded and touristy places. Still, I will stop with the depressing bit and say again how amazing it is here!
Veronica and I have planned to do loads of stuff whilst I am in Salvador as it is full of fantastic cultural opportunities. We have planned to go to dance classes, capoeira classes, try and find some concerts, and many more! On one of our first days we were really lucky as we were just walking around in the Pelourinho and then we heard drums in the distance, so we walked down following the noise, and there was Olodum in the street, rehearsing for a show. That was awesome! There is a constant flow of music and capoeira and all sorts of exciting stuff going on in the streets which is great. I am definitely going to make the most of the opportunities there are here. What else can I say? Like I said at the beginning, it is so hard to remember everything! Just one funny incident I will tell you about, and then I think it will be the end of this post as it is probably very long already. In portuguese, the word meia means a lot of things. It means half, it means 6, it means sock...basically, it has several different ways in which it can be used. One day Horrivel and I were eating in a per kilo restaurant and the sign in portuguese explained that it was "10 R$ por kilo e as crianças pagan meia" (more or less). As in, it is 10 R$ per kilo and children pay half price. However as I continued to read the notice, I saw that it had been carefully translated into English, French and German as "It costs 10 R$ per kilo and children pay a sock". I thought this was so hilarious and so sweet!! Obviously someone had taken the trouble to look it up in a dictionnary but had not though of the different possibilities of translation. Anyway, that is all for now. More soon from exciting Bahia!
So, now I am in Salvador and once again there is loads to tell. After Capoeirando, Horrivel and I went to Itacare, a small surfer hippie village not far from Ilheus. We spent most of our time there chilling out and getting over Capoeirando, so basically a lot of sleeping and beaching. I met some really nice Norwegian girls in the pousada there and they shared their mad (completely mad!) tales of travelling through South America. I love travelling for this, as you get to meet so many great people. On Thursday Horrivel and I both left to Salvador, though seperately as he had managed to get a lift with someone and I decided to take the bus as planned. The bus was good, very comfy, though once again I seemed to have been unlucky with my "neighbour" as instead of Horrivel (who despite his name is not so horrible), I had yet another fat dude, who snored like a buffalo!!! So despite my best efforts at sleeping and the comfort of the bus, it still could have been better. Still, I guess these are the joys of travelling by bus all over the country.
So I arrived in Salvador at the crack of dawn on Friday and set my bags down at my pousada, which is a lovely place not far from the historical centre of Salvador, and every time you walk out the front door you have an amazing view on the Bahia de todos os Santos. It's fantastic!! Bahia and the north of Brazil are totally different from the south. For a start, you can tell that the north is poorer. Just by the villages that the bus drove through on its way to Itacare or Salvador, they seem poorer, the infrastructures are different, and so is everything else really. Also up North the population is predominantly black, and you can tell that there is much more of an African influence here. For example on the beach, there is not a single white person in sight! Or maybe one or two at the most... Salvador is amazing. On my first day, after having napped a bit in the pousada, I set out to meet Veronica and Horrivel. I was a bit apprenhensive as a lot is said about Salvador and the pelourinho, how it is dangerous and a lot of people get robbed, and it is full of crack addicts and homeless people. However as I walked towards the place Terreiro de Jesus to meet them, I didn't feel in danger at all and was happily taking in the views of the sea, and the quaint shops and old buildings that make up the historical part of Salvador. Salvador has a definite European feel to it. In fact, so does a lot of Brazil and this is due to its colonial past. I know this may seem like an obvious thing to say but actually it is not as Brazil still remains an entity of its own and is not Europe. It is very different! But at the same time, the European legacy that it has is very present, and I think this is partly what makes me feel so comfortable here. I think that seeing the European architecture, and feeling like I am in European city makes me feel much more at home and therefore comfortable in these different cities. The architecture here is truly beautiful, and the historical part of Salvador is breathtaking. When Horrivel Veronica and I finally met, we went on a walk around the Pelourinho, exploring and stopping in shops, and admiring the architecure. It was a really nice day! We also went to the capoeira fort, a place which reunites major teachers of Capoeira angola, just to see if there was anything of interest going on. As it turned out, there was a roda of capoeira that evening and so we decided we would go there later on.
In the evening therefore, we turned up on time, in our capoeira clothes, ready to play. As we arrived, the Master (Mestre Curio) was blowing incense (the kind they use in churches) out the door, and there was clearly some sort of ceremony going on. The atmosphere was very serious and actually, very intimidating or so I felt. They were singing a song with their hands on their hearts, and it felt like a religious ceremony of some kind. Cleary serious business. This made me feel uncomfortable as I do not like to intrude on religious ceremonies of any kind, especially if I don't feel like I am being part of it. Still, we were allowed in and were told to wait to play. It kept a religious dimension to it for a long time, and I noticed that above the roda there was a little statue of Mary and Jesus, with two candles on either side of it. Also, every time someone would enter the roda they would sign themselves with the cross. The games were good, though we got beaten to a pulp, even by kids. Slowly, the atmosphere lightened up, and towards the end Mestre Curio himself started playing the berimbau and singing, and this changed the atmosphere a lot. It became one of games and jokes, and he is such a funny little old man! Old little black man, who sang with a powerful voice but also from time to time would make funny little noises, sort of as a joke. Then he started playing the roda which was also funny, joking about with people and pulling faces. It was impressive to watch, and his capoeira was still very good despite his obvious older age! All in all it was an impressive experience, and I am so glad we went. I feel like I don't know enough about Capoeira Angola, so it is interesting to be here with the great Masters, and learning more.
The rest of my time in Salvador so far has been much the same: walking around the Pelourinho and the historical centre, going into shops and discovering the city, deciding what souvenirs to buy and what presents to get people! On Saturday Veronica and I spent a lovely day together touring the city, and we went to the Mercado Modelo and took the famous elevator of Salvador whose name I cannot remember right now...It was nice being in the Mercado Modelo because it is such a "famous" spot, and there are songs about it in Capoeira, so it was nice to actually be there and experience this place that is talked and sung about. In the evening we went for dinner on the praça Terreiro de Jesus, and there we experienced what can only be described as a "Son et Lumiere". It was a wicked show, with all the buildings on the praça lighting up in turn, and speaking, with images and lights projected onto the buildings. We couldn't actually tell what was being said which was a bit of a shame. but the visual effects were definitely worth it!
What more to be said about Salvador? The Baianas here are amazing!!! It puts mine and Veronica's costumes to shame. When I first arrived in Salvador I saw some women in such beautiful costumes, it was completely breath taking! Baianas are the ladies that are traditional of Bahia, normally big black ladies with massive white skirts, and headdresses, and they look very impressive and very beautiful! They are so lovely to see! Salvador, as many people have said, can also be very depressing though. At night time, one can immediately tell there is a change in atmosphere, and on Sundays when there are fewer people around too. It is poor and, like I said in the beginning there are lots of crack addicts and homeless people on the streets. Therefore there are a lot of people begging, a lot of people who look really badly off, high on drugs, wandering the streets. There are lots of people just lying the street, sleeping, but in a real state. In fact as I write, there is a man outside in the street doing just that. It is hard to bear to watch these people, and they also can be a little scary. They are drugged and don't know what they are doing, and they are also desperate so probably prepared to do anything to get what they want. Luckily, nothing has happened to any of us and I think we are being safe and streetwise. But you must always be careful here, particularly in crowded and touristy places. Still, I will stop with the depressing bit and say again how amazing it is here!
Veronica and I have planned to do loads of stuff whilst I am in Salvador as it is full of fantastic cultural opportunities. We have planned to go to dance classes, capoeira classes, try and find some concerts, and many more! On one of our first days we were really lucky as we were just walking around in the Pelourinho and then we heard drums in the distance, so we walked down following the noise, and there was Olodum in the street, rehearsing for a show. That was awesome! There is a constant flow of music and capoeira and all sorts of exciting stuff going on in the streets which is great. I am definitely going to make the most of the opportunities there are here. What else can I say? Like I said at the beginning, it is so hard to remember everything! Just one funny incident I will tell you about, and then I think it will be the end of this post as it is probably very long already. In portuguese, the word meia means a lot of things. It means half, it means 6, it means sock...basically, it has several different ways in which it can be used. One day Horrivel and I were eating in a per kilo restaurant and the sign in portuguese explained that it was "10 R$ por kilo e as crianças pagan meia" (more or less). As in, it is 10 R$ per kilo and children pay half price. However as I continued to read the notice, I saw that it had been carefully translated into English, French and German as "It costs 10 R$ per kilo and children pay a sock". I thought this was so hilarious and so sweet!! Obviously someone had taken the trouble to look it up in a dictionnary but had not though of the different possibilities of translation. Anyway, that is all for now. More soon from exciting Bahia!
Wednesday 14 January 2009
Capoeirando and more...
Warning!!! This will be a long post again as it has been ages since I last wrote!
It has been so long since I last wrote that I don't even know where to start on the blog. I left Rio on the 4th in the evening, heading over to Ilheus in the state of Bahia for Capoeirando. It is a long way, nearly 24 hours of bus ride! I arrived at the bus station in Rio safely though a bit worried as it is in the middle of a favela, but luckily nothing happened. As I was waiting to get on the bus, the "queue" of people was so long I was in disbelief, and I was convinced not all of us would fit on the bus and I would lose my seat so I was eager to get on as soon as possible, though this was made impossible by the queue jumping and other sorts of Brazilian queuing going on...When I reached my seat, relieved to actually have one, my relief did not last for long. A fat woman came to sit next to me, and worse than that she had a kid of about 2 or 3 years old. Probably 3. The kid, as I feared, had no seat and sat on her lap for the whole trip! The whole 24 hours of bus ride, I had a fat woman spilling over into my seat and a kid on her lap. She was clearly stealing all the elbow space and occasionally elbowing me when she was trying to sort out the kid. The kid spent most of the trip thinking I was its bed and kicking me to get space for itself which I was well annoyed about. Normally I love children, but this one was definitely not my friend! I can't believe the mother even brought it on the bus with no seat of its own for such a long trip. To make matters worse, she had a couple of friends travelling in front of her, and every time they woke up they would start chattin really louldly to each other and disturb all the surrounding passengers. And finally, the guy in front of us had a radio that he had brought with him that he kept playing, and would turn it on every time he woke up: 1 am, 3am, 5am....! No respect at all for other passengers. Eventually I asked him to turn it down and he acted all pissed off about my not enjoying his music (that the woman next to me would sing along to....). Unbelievable! Then, in the morning we made a stop for breakfast and it happened that the place where we stopped was really busy as it was prime time breakfast time for all the buses. I felt sorry for the lady serving people as she was clearly overworked and very stressed and was trying her best to work as fast as possible. So I decided to wait and be polite whilst people were shouting at her and shoving their papers in her face. But these people that were being so rude, kept being served before me. Time after time people would jump in, be rude, and get served. After a while I got so angry I rolled up my paper in a ball and threw it over the counter. When I came back for a second try I decided that damn it, if being rude is what it takes then I'll be rude too. And I got my breakfast. Sometimes, I really cannot understand the "jeito Brasileiro"...Anyway, the bus ride was long and horrific, and I was very glad to arrive in Ilheus safe and sound.
I arrived in Mar e sol by night so didn't get to see much of the place except to drop my bags down in the house we were renting. It was full of people I didn't know soI just sat there and chatted with them, and then there was some samba de pagode later on in the evening so we danced and went to bed. Pretty uneventful, but nice. The next day Veronica arrived from Salvador at the crack of dawn, and then we all went on a day expedition to Itacare, a village near capoeirando which has nice beaches and is a tourist destination. We all went in the big bus that had brought the people from Sao Paulo and spent a nice day chilling on the beach. It was good because by this time we had also met up with Lottie and Rowena and her boyfriend, all three of them from London. It was nice to see some familiar London faces and spend time with them. There is so much that happened at Capoeirando that I think I will try and make it short. There were a lot of capoeira classes with a lot of masters. It was good, interesting, fun, and also painful. There were a lot of famous mestres there, including some such as Mestre Jogo de Dentro, Mestre Cobra Mansa, Mestre Onça Negra just to cite a few for those of you who know. The schedule generally worked as: 2 or 3 classes in the morning, and one in the late afternoon. Between lessons we had an extended lunch period which we generally used for going to the beach. The beach there was amazing, so beautiful, big, the sea so blue, and loads of palm trees, and almost noone on it except for us. Perfect! And finally, now I have hit the north of Brazil, I am getting pretty much constant sun too: wooooo!!! In the evenings there was usually music of some kind: pagode, forro or samba de roda, mostly provided by the guys I was sharing the house with or by masters playing the drums (Mestre Onça Negra loved it). The playing was good, and there were several championships that took place as well that were fun to be watched. It was also an amazing place for making friends and meeting new people as well as hanging out with familiar faces too. There were the people from London and also a crew from Liverpool and Manchester that turned up so it was nice to see them, but I also met loads of new people from all over: Brazil, America, Sweden...It was fun.
The house on the other hand, was a different matter....I ended up nicknaming it the house of horrors, as it was truly the most vile place I have ever stayed in!!! For a start, there were 15 of us in a 2 bedroom house. The room Veronica and I were staying in techincally housed 4 of us except loads of people had their bags in there and just kept coming in and out of the room for no reason. The house had no doors so getting changed was not easy. Our room had an en suite bathroom but that had no doors either so it was not very nice... Then, the water in the house was brown, so the floor of the shower constantly looked dirty, and the toilet bowl constantly looked like there was something vile in it. The bathroom was badly designed so that the drain that is normally in the middle of the floor was hidden in a corner behind the toilet and did not drain anything at all. So the floor got wetter, and people trodd in it with sandy shoes so it got muddy, and so and so on. It was vile! That, and the toilet bin overflowing, and in the end loads of flies everywhere and URGH it was just so disgusting, I didn't feel clean for the whole of the week I spent there, and really hated having to go in that house for anything. One one of the days the bathroom smelt so bad that it woke Veronica up: urgh! On our last day, the water in the bathroom was so bad that it had started flooding into the bedroom, and it was just gross. Definitely the house of horrors! When I reached Itacare, i don't think I have ever been so happy to be able to have a shower and finally feel clean! So the house, was the only negative point of Capoeirando I suppose.
On the Sunday, when most people had already left Capoeirando, Veronica and I, and Horrivel and a couple of others all went to Mestre Cabello's fazenda. Mestre Cabello is an angola teacher and I actually didn't know him until this capoeirando. But he gave us a good class and seemed like a very interesting person, so I was interested to go over to his fazenda. They were having a churrasca there so we all went over for lunch. The fazenda is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. It is basically in the middle of the jungle, surrounded by grass and trees and nature and it is so beautiful. Its structures are little or big round thatched huts but that remain open aired. The main hut was where we had the food, and it had hammocks strung around it that you could lie in and look out at the jungle or in to the people chatting. It also had a huge lake, with a beautiful wooden bridge accross it, and another hut next to that in which capoeira classes take place. Down by the end of the lake there is small waterfall and one can go and swim in the lake and sit on a bridge over the waterfall, looking back out towards the fazenda. They also had changing rooms and showers a bit further out in the "garden" which were lovely, and everything had clearly been really well thought out. It was such an amazing place, I completely fell in love with it and felt like I could live there forever. It was so calm and in such a wonderful setting, and also close to the sea if you ever want to go to the sea rather than swim in the lake. Perfect! In the evening Veronica Horrivel and I all made off for Itacare, not without some complications though as the taxi driver that was supposed to take us never came back, so we had to treck up and down the dirt track with our backpacks all the way to the bus stop to get the bus. Still, we managed to arrive in Itacare safe and sound, to a nice bedroom in a nice clean place, and have showers and for me in any case, finally feel clean and healthy again. I swear I thought I was going to catch a disease in that house!!
Since then Horrivel and I have been in Itacare, a chilled out surfer village on the way between Ilheus and Salvador. It is small and like I said very chilled out, full of reggae, surfers, and hippies. But it's good as after capoeirando what we really needed was a chill out and a bit of time to rest after all the intensive capoeira. Veronica stayed with us for one day and one night and then went off to Salvador to start her dance course. In the meantime we have been mainly beaching and catching up on the internet. The weather has been amazing so far, with a bit of rain every evening but nowhere near as bad as before. In fact, I got sunburnt today :-( booo! The waves here are really huge and in fact swimming in the ocean can be quite dangerous as the waves are so big and they just keep coming in, hardly leaving you any time to get over them. Not only that but there are loads of surfers around who might surf into you, and the current is strong so best to stay in the shallow bits. Still it's very beautiful! Yesterday we went back to Mestre Cabello's wonderful fazenda, this time for an capoeira angola class as well as enjoying the lovely location. It was a good class, especially in the hut by the lake :-) We made it back a bit easier this time seeing as we knew we were getting the bus and where to get it from, but we did have to wait for it for an hour! We have met some interesting people here in Itacare, in particular two Norwegian girls who I think are really nice and very funny! I think this is all for now as I really cannot think of more, and the post is probably quite long. Hopefully won't be as long next time!
It has been so long since I last wrote that I don't even know where to start on the blog. I left Rio on the 4th in the evening, heading over to Ilheus in the state of Bahia for Capoeirando. It is a long way, nearly 24 hours of bus ride! I arrived at the bus station in Rio safely though a bit worried as it is in the middle of a favela, but luckily nothing happened. As I was waiting to get on the bus, the "queue" of people was so long I was in disbelief, and I was convinced not all of us would fit on the bus and I would lose my seat so I was eager to get on as soon as possible, though this was made impossible by the queue jumping and other sorts of Brazilian queuing going on...When I reached my seat, relieved to actually have one, my relief did not last for long. A fat woman came to sit next to me, and worse than that she had a kid of about 2 or 3 years old. Probably 3. The kid, as I feared, had no seat and sat on her lap for the whole trip! The whole 24 hours of bus ride, I had a fat woman spilling over into my seat and a kid on her lap. She was clearly stealing all the elbow space and occasionally elbowing me when she was trying to sort out the kid. The kid spent most of the trip thinking I was its bed and kicking me to get space for itself which I was well annoyed about. Normally I love children, but this one was definitely not my friend! I can't believe the mother even brought it on the bus with no seat of its own for such a long trip. To make matters worse, she had a couple of friends travelling in front of her, and every time they woke up they would start chattin really louldly to each other and disturb all the surrounding passengers. And finally, the guy in front of us had a radio that he had brought with him that he kept playing, and would turn it on every time he woke up: 1 am, 3am, 5am....! No respect at all for other passengers. Eventually I asked him to turn it down and he acted all pissed off about my not enjoying his music (that the woman next to me would sing along to....). Unbelievable! Then, in the morning we made a stop for breakfast and it happened that the place where we stopped was really busy as it was prime time breakfast time for all the buses. I felt sorry for the lady serving people as she was clearly overworked and very stressed and was trying her best to work as fast as possible. So I decided to wait and be polite whilst people were shouting at her and shoving their papers in her face. But these people that were being so rude, kept being served before me. Time after time people would jump in, be rude, and get served. After a while I got so angry I rolled up my paper in a ball and threw it over the counter. When I came back for a second try I decided that damn it, if being rude is what it takes then I'll be rude too. And I got my breakfast. Sometimes, I really cannot understand the "jeito Brasileiro"...Anyway, the bus ride was long and horrific, and I was very glad to arrive in Ilheus safe and sound.
I arrived in Mar e sol by night so didn't get to see much of the place except to drop my bags down in the house we were renting. It was full of people I didn't know soI just sat there and chatted with them, and then there was some samba de pagode later on in the evening so we danced and went to bed. Pretty uneventful, but nice. The next day Veronica arrived from Salvador at the crack of dawn, and then we all went on a day expedition to Itacare, a village near capoeirando which has nice beaches and is a tourist destination. We all went in the big bus that had brought the people from Sao Paulo and spent a nice day chilling on the beach. It was good because by this time we had also met up with Lottie and Rowena and her boyfriend, all three of them from London. It was nice to see some familiar London faces and spend time with them. There is so much that happened at Capoeirando that I think I will try and make it short. There were a lot of capoeira classes with a lot of masters. It was good, interesting, fun, and also painful. There were a lot of famous mestres there, including some such as Mestre Jogo de Dentro, Mestre Cobra Mansa, Mestre Onça Negra just to cite a few for those of you who know. The schedule generally worked as: 2 or 3 classes in the morning, and one in the late afternoon. Between lessons we had an extended lunch period which we generally used for going to the beach. The beach there was amazing, so beautiful, big, the sea so blue, and loads of palm trees, and almost noone on it except for us. Perfect! And finally, now I have hit the north of Brazil, I am getting pretty much constant sun too: wooooo!!! In the evenings there was usually music of some kind: pagode, forro or samba de roda, mostly provided by the guys I was sharing the house with or by masters playing the drums (Mestre Onça Negra loved it). The playing was good, and there were several championships that took place as well that were fun to be watched. It was also an amazing place for making friends and meeting new people as well as hanging out with familiar faces too. There were the people from London and also a crew from Liverpool and Manchester that turned up so it was nice to see them, but I also met loads of new people from all over: Brazil, America, Sweden...It was fun.
The house on the other hand, was a different matter....I ended up nicknaming it the house of horrors, as it was truly the most vile place I have ever stayed in!!! For a start, there were 15 of us in a 2 bedroom house. The room Veronica and I were staying in techincally housed 4 of us except loads of people had their bags in there and just kept coming in and out of the room for no reason. The house had no doors so getting changed was not easy. Our room had an en suite bathroom but that had no doors either so it was not very nice... Then, the water in the house was brown, so the floor of the shower constantly looked dirty, and the toilet bowl constantly looked like there was something vile in it. The bathroom was badly designed so that the drain that is normally in the middle of the floor was hidden in a corner behind the toilet and did not drain anything at all. So the floor got wetter, and people trodd in it with sandy shoes so it got muddy, and so and so on. It was vile! That, and the toilet bin overflowing, and in the end loads of flies everywhere and URGH it was just so disgusting, I didn't feel clean for the whole of the week I spent there, and really hated having to go in that house for anything. One one of the days the bathroom smelt so bad that it woke Veronica up: urgh! On our last day, the water in the bathroom was so bad that it had started flooding into the bedroom, and it was just gross. Definitely the house of horrors! When I reached Itacare, i don't think I have ever been so happy to be able to have a shower and finally feel clean! So the house, was the only negative point of Capoeirando I suppose.
On the Sunday, when most people had already left Capoeirando, Veronica and I, and Horrivel and a couple of others all went to Mestre Cabello's fazenda. Mestre Cabello is an angola teacher and I actually didn't know him until this capoeirando. But he gave us a good class and seemed like a very interesting person, so I was interested to go over to his fazenda. They were having a churrasca there so we all went over for lunch. The fazenda is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. It is basically in the middle of the jungle, surrounded by grass and trees and nature and it is so beautiful. Its structures are little or big round thatched huts but that remain open aired. The main hut was where we had the food, and it had hammocks strung around it that you could lie in and look out at the jungle or in to the people chatting. It also had a huge lake, with a beautiful wooden bridge accross it, and another hut next to that in which capoeira classes take place. Down by the end of the lake there is small waterfall and one can go and swim in the lake and sit on a bridge over the waterfall, looking back out towards the fazenda. They also had changing rooms and showers a bit further out in the "garden" which were lovely, and everything had clearly been really well thought out. It was such an amazing place, I completely fell in love with it and felt like I could live there forever. It was so calm and in such a wonderful setting, and also close to the sea if you ever want to go to the sea rather than swim in the lake. Perfect! In the evening Veronica Horrivel and I all made off for Itacare, not without some complications though as the taxi driver that was supposed to take us never came back, so we had to treck up and down the dirt track with our backpacks all the way to the bus stop to get the bus. Still, we managed to arrive in Itacare safe and sound, to a nice bedroom in a nice clean place, and have showers and for me in any case, finally feel clean and healthy again. I swear I thought I was going to catch a disease in that house!!
Since then Horrivel and I have been in Itacare, a chilled out surfer village on the way between Ilheus and Salvador. It is small and like I said very chilled out, full of reggae, surfers, and hippies. But it's good as after capoeirando what we really needed was a chill out and a bit of time to rest after all the intensive capoeira. Veronica stayed with us for one day and one night and then went off to Salvador to start her dance course. In the meantime we have been mainly beaching and catching up on the internet. The weather has been amazing so far, with a bit of rain every evening but nowhere near as bad as before. In fact, I got sunburnt today :-( booo! The waves here are really huge and in fact swimming in the ocean can be quite dangerous as the waves are so big and they just keep coming in, hardly leaving you any time to get over them. Not only that but there are loads of surfers around who might surf into you, and the current is strong so best to stay in the shallow bits. Still it's very beautiful! Yesterday we went back to Mestre Cabello's wonderful fazenda, this time for an capoeira angola class as well as enjoying the lovely location. It was a good class, especially in the hut by the lake :-) We made it back a bit easier this time seeing as we knew we were getting the bus and where to get it from, but we did have to wait for it for an hour! We have met some interesting people here in Itacare, in particular two Norwegian girls who I think are really nice and very funny! I think this is all for now as I really cannot think of more, and the post is probably quite long. Hopefully won't be as long next time!
Sunday 4 January 2009
A Cidade Maravilhosa
I think one of my New Year's resolutions is to try and be more concise in my writing, so let's try and make this a short post!
Today is my last day in Rio as I head off to Ilheus for Capoeirando, a major capoeira event which is going to be loads of fun! Rio has been amazing, and it totally deserves its name of "a cidade maravilhosa". It is so stunning and has so much to offer that I think one would never tire of it. After the fantastic New Year's Eve on Copacabana, not much really happened. We took things easy and just did what we had to do in an easy manner. We met up with the Aussies again on the 2nd for their last night in Rio and had dinner all together. It was nice to have been able to met up with them again here in Rio and sad to leave them again. Definitely a great encounter, and this is what I love about travelling, is how many great people you meet and the friendships you create. The day after that we met up with Bea and Stefi and their friend Joao again and decided to test the nightlife of Rio by going out in Lapa. A Carioca friend of mine had recommended Lapa as THE place to go out, and many other people say the same. Lapa is fun! During the day it is a bit of a dodgy area, with quite a few homeless people and what I assume are druggies hanging around. But at night it becomes SO lively, the streets are crowded and all the bars have people spilling out into the streets in one big happy mess of party.
We went to a club called the Democratica, a very old fashioned dance hall, with tables and a wooden dancefloor in the middle of the room with a stage. There was also a balcony looking out down onto the street, to watch the people go by. There was a live band playing and lots of people dancing gafieira. The place got crowded pretty quickly and soon we were boiling hot. Because the place was such an old structure it had no aircon, just fans, which weren't actually making much of a difference. Everyone was sweating like pigs, and when you went outside you felt like it was an airconditioned room! Anyway, we were about to leave with fatigue but suddenly the band just got amazing and we stayed on and were glad we had. The band was playing a mix of samba, choro, gafieira and a sort of instrumental funk. It was an awesome mix of samba and funk done instrumentally and the guy playing the pandeiro (tambourine) was just amazing! They also had a violinist which gave the music an interesting and original touch. They played incredibly well and just transported the crowd, and so we were really glad we stayed to see that!
The next day I decided to go up the Pao de Açucar as it was my penultimate day in Rio and I felt that leaving without having done at least one major tourist attraction would be a crime. The queue at the bottom of it was huge and I was worried that by the time I got up there it would have crowded over. I was lucky though, as the weather held out, and in fact it was just another steaming hot day with everyone sweating away like mad! The entry was R$44 but as I reached the top I realised that it was worth every penny. The view is so amazing, and you can see for miles and miles. It is just breathtaking to reach the top and see Rio like that, stretching for miles. And that was only the view from the Morro da Urca. Once you reach the top of the Sugarloaf mountain, the view gets even better and you can see Copacabana beach and beyond. The pictures at the beginning of the post were taking from the top of the Pao de Açucar. It was so fantastic I spent hours up there just walking around taking loads of pictures and gazing at the view. From this height, you truly take in the beauty of Rio and realise how amazing it is. And I was so lucky with the weather too! I didn't make it to the Corcovado in the end but I figured that the view from the Pao de Açucar was amazing enough for me, and I have been told that the Corcovado is overrated and a bit of pain to get up, and then it is just too crowded. So I didn't regret my choice of attraction.
Finally, last night we decided to go back to Lapa for some more night action in Rio before we left. We went to club situated right by the Arcos de Lapa, which had balconies and windows looking right onto the arches and the square down below, where you could watch all the people go by. The view was just amazing! The club played mainly funk and we were confused because we had expected it to be samba but we just danced along nonetheless. It was funny for me because, having experienced the funk at the baile, the funk in the nightclub seemed really commercial, but it was nice to go anyway. We left to go home and stopped off at a sort of "street party", a band of people playing samba, right under the arches and people dancing. There were some tourists there, who looked english or in any case foreign, and were just making total fools of themselves. They were so obviously foreign and also drunk it was just embarassing. But also, Lapa is not necessarily a safe neighbourhood even when really busy at night, and it seemed like they were just asking to be robbed...Anyway, we moved on from the little samba band to a small salsa club on the next door street to see what was going on in there, but didn't stay for very long as it wasn't very busy. All in all though, we managed to go to three different parties in one night!! When we got home, we realised that actually we had gone to the wrong club, so that explained why there was all funk and no samba! Ha ha! And so my time in Rio comes to an end, though I think I might try and come back since it is such an amazing place and I feel like there is yet much more to be discovered! Hope I managed to make it short this time :-)
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