Gregory and I are steadily finding our travelling feet as we go. The lack of portuguese is a severe handicap but we are getting the knack of food,accom and transport basics- the essentals of backpacking. We challenged our mugging paranoias yesterday (so many stories of tourists being robbed at knifepoint etc) and journeyed to a nearby island by ferry where we took a taxi ride to the centre to see an amazing old church. the structure is basically held together by tree roots and branches. Those who know me well will understand my disappointment at our decision to not bring our camera! (for fear reasons). When you go out for the day, the best thing is to always bring as little steal-able stuff as possible, hence the decision to leave the camera behind. When you don~t have a camera, why is it that that is when you always come across the most memorable imagery? anyway, all those bifurcations are safely stored in my brain now.
(image from google)
Carnaval is over and frankly, even though we saw, heard and participated in some great music, dancing, percussion, street parades.......the lack of public toilets (and hence stench of urine- a lot worse in rio than here but still......), suspicion of mugging and constant need to defend onself against the commerical interests of hundreds of street sellers made carnaval a bit of a challenge for me. I had some flu-ish symptoms when we first arrived here in Salvador which didn´t help either! Our amazingly well located pousada (accomodation) was MUCHO appreciated for its balcony views and ablution facilities. I did enjoy the many delicious caipirinhas and especially sitting back and watching all the action around me rather than necessarily walking around constantly.
I will lastly mention the candomble ceremony that we witnessed last night. A mixture of voodoo and catholic influences, the 2 hour ritual took place in a room 3 x 5 m with about 30 people either of whom were sitting and watching or actually participating or a bit of both. gregory was asked to get up and dance (which he did very well!). we were hugged and sipped some communal beer which went around several times. let me just say.....the room was VERY HOT. VERY HOT. I went through a religious experience just dealing with the heat of wearing long pants and a long sleeved shirt. We were told to wear white if possible and dress generally respectfully. which we did. I will not be so respectful in this regard next time! Our guide gave us an amazing explanation for what we saw- which included popcorn, cigars, a square tile in the centre of the room, much incredible drumming, singing, dancing and trance-like behaviour. Gregory was particularly intererested in the Yoruba and Bantu lyrics and drum beats. Our guide´s ability to place the whole experience in an historcal and cultural context was impressive. more thoughts on that later.
amazing.
learning everyday.
stay tuned for photos!
Ciao for now.
Briony
*********Numbers*********
Cheese on a sticks eaten: 2
Monkeys seen: 0
Attempted muggings: 0
Camera Obscurae in our bathroom: 1
Times we got on the wrong bus/train: 1
Mosquito bites: 3 (gregory)
Different Beaches visited: 2
Different Waterfalls visited: 0
Bottles of water purchased: 13
Dominos/Playing cards found: 1
