Brazil page 1 of 2
We arrived on Wednesday, but because the boiler was broken we had to conserve energy so the boat was running slower than normal. This means that we got there a little bit later than expected, but it wasn't that big of a deal. We landed in Salvador and that's where I spent my first day. Everyone talked about how unsafe it is and how the street vendors are too pushy. I have to say though that I didn't feel uncomfortable at all. I love Brazilians (except for taxi drivers). When we got there we went to the old part of town. I went to an Internet cafe to check my email quickly and then explored the rest of the town.
We went to the famous Sao Francisco church which is known for it's Baroque architecture. Then we went shopping and hit all of the little stores. We went to this one place that sold homemade liquor. It was great, we got samples of all the different types of liquor they make. We got samples of coconut, chocolate, white chocolate, banana, mint, and pineapple liquors. We were little buzzed after that but far from drunk or even tipsy. I wanted to buy the chocolate liquor but we can't bring alcohol back on the ship. After touring Salvador we decided to go out for a nice dinner. The port recommended us the best restaurant in the area. I went to this restaurant with eight of my friends, which was thirty minutes outside of Salvador. I had the meal of my life at this restaurant. I had to fill up since I had crappy food three days prior. It was all you can eat so I got lobster, mussels, caviar, cheese, salad, filet mignon, top sirloin, roasted chicken, dessert, and cocktails for $15. Obviously this wasn't like an "Old Country Buffet". $15 in the U.S. would barely get you a couple of cocktails. The dollar goes extremely far in Brazil. It was an all you can eat buffet, and waiters came to your table with skewers of different kinds of meat. The service was great; the waiters brushed the crumbs off our table after every course. After that we went to this huge outdoor mall where they played music in the streets. We danced and went to a club where they played Brazilian music. I got home at around two and I left for Lencois the following morning at 7:30.
It was a seven-hour bus ride before we got to Lencois so I got to sleep on the bus. I really had no idea what to expect about Lencois, I didn't know how to pronounce it, and there wasn't a lot of information about it on the Internet. We got there and it was incredible. Nothing short of being one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. Our hotel was the nicest one in the whole town (which only has a population of 6,000 people). Lencois is a tourist destination but a very small one so it still has a lot of its charm. There were barely any tourists when I was there. Lencois seems to attract a lot of hippie Brazilians, it kind of reminds of Boulder. Our hotel was small but extraordinarily beautiful. There were palm trees everywhere and since it's so hot in Lencois the hotel is completely open. My room was a good size for a hotel room and it overlooked a natural rockslide, which are basically long
pieces of jagged rock with water flowing on top of it.
We went for a hike later that day on hilly terrain with rocks that were billions of years old. Diamonds were discovered in Lencois twenty years ago so diamond miners destroyed almost all of the plant and animal life to find them. Much of what was destroyed has been regrown; in fact you can't even tell that anything was cut down. At the end of our hike we ended up at a natural rockslide. A rockslide is just water that flows over rocks. The rocks are so old that they've molded together and they are called conglomerate rocks. Since water has been flowing on top of them for such a long time the rocks are completely smooth and you can slide on top of them. The rockslide ends into this rock pool. It was beautiful and with 90 degrees temperatures the water felt great.
When we got back we were starving. The hotel provided all of our meals for us. The food was out of this world; it was the best hotel food I have ever had. I had many ethnic Brazilian dishes as well as all sorts of exotic Brazilian fruit. That night we walked around town and went to a bar and drank beer with some friends. Lencois is extremely safe. Beer in Brazil is cheaper than milk. Drinking in Brazil is communal so when you but a bottle of beer it is a large bottle of beer for you and your friends and it only costs 75 Reais cents which is about 25 cents in the U.S. That night we fell asleep with our patio door open so we could here the rockslide.
The next day we went on a long hike on a deep river canyon to Sossego falls. Sossego Falls in Portuguese means hidden waterfall. The hike is about three hours each way. Our field book said strenuous and they were not exaggerating by any means. The hike is unlike any hike I've ever been on. The best way to describe it would be nature's playground but no one knows that it's there. It was awesome being secluded in nature. The river is a clear brown color not because it's dirty or muddy but because water passes through natural tealeaves on the ground. It's safe to drink the water, and believe it or not it also tastes like tea. We had to scale a lot of rocks and one of them I actually fell off of and landed on my crotch. I think that was the most testicular pain I have ever been in, and believe me girls you have no idea what it feels like. It really does hurt. After three hours we finally got to Sossega Falls. There were only a couple of other Brazilians and the rest were semester at sea kids. The waterfall was amazing. I went cliff diving and got to swim underneath the waterfall. There was a slippery rock bed near the waterfall and I slipped on it and twisted my ankle. That kind of hurt, it's still a little bruised but not as bad as it used to be. After an hour or so we left and made the same hike back. We went out again that night to the local bars and had a great time.
The next day there was another hike to a mountain but I and some friends decided to do independent travel and go horseback riding. I love horseback riding but it had been some time since I had done it. We went on these huge open trails with trees and occasionally hit some open fields. About 1/3 of the way we ended up at another river with some rocks. I didn't bring a bathing suit so I just laid out in the sun. It turns out that I'm actually pretty good at horseback riding. At one point I noticed that my saddle was a little loose but didn't say anything because I didn't think it was a big deal. On the way back I decided to race my friend Jimale and we were both going faster than a gallop. We made a left turn but since my saddle was a little loose it fell to the right and I was on the side of the horse instead of on top of it. I was right next to a dirt wall so the horse was scraping my back against the wall and cut it up pretty good. Then I didn't want to get bucked by the horse so I decided to throw myself off the horse but I was still holding onto the reigns and got dragged on the ground a little bit. My back got cut and scraped but it wasn't that serious. Our guide was far behind us and didn't see anything that happened. Some guy on a horse in the opposite direction helped my put my saddle back on. Even though I got hurt and scraped up my back I still had a great time. That was our last day in Lencois and we went back home.
After coming back from Lencois we still had one more day in Brazil. We went shopping in Salvador and went into the pricey Jewelry stores. Since we were Americans they assumed we had money and gave us a private tour of the stores including showing us their private collection and art gallery. We got the royal treatment and you know they wouldn't do that to us in America. I did end up buying a stone for Alicia, one of my greatest friends. I bargained with the jeweler and got a great price. Then we went to a soccer game in the afternoon. It was a championship game but surprisingly there weren't a lot of spectators in the stands. It was a lot of fun though, I met some cool local people, they gave me a flag to hold for Bahia's (the region I was in) team. Then I went out to dinner one last time because I know that I wouldn't be having good food for a while.
That concludes my trip to Brazil, I'm sure I'm leaving out some minor details but I can assure you I had a great time and I can't wait to go back to Lencois.
Now if you've read the email I applaud your patience. I've been very busy with school and such so that's why it has taken me such a long time to get back to you all.
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EVERYONE- I have been in bed for the last 48 hours unable to move or eat. I finally got up this evening to join my friends for dinner� my first meal in 2 days. I laid in bed with a thrown out back, a broken toe, a sore wrist, and depressed and lost in my own thoughts. Sounds great right? Well actually it was� in the last 24 hours I have started the revolution inside my self and experienced my first civil war of thoughts. I did not want to eat or do anything because my body, mind and soul were exhausted after all I have seen in the last month. I cried myself to sleep the other night after leaving S. Africa and just stayed in that position for 2 days�.. so I suppose I should start my story now and at least explain what�s going on�
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The Vacation Away From the Vacation!
We arrived early in the morning and watched the sun rise over the city. Around 9 AM we were cleared by customs and stepped foot on to the pier. I spent the day going up the �elevator� into the upper part of the city to do some shopping with my roommates Kristen and Amy and also my friend Julie who is a student at the U of M! I was very disappointed at the site of cheap tourist trinkets and pressuring venders. I was beginning to really miss Cuba even more. We had a WONFERFUL lunch in an outdoor caf� where I enjoyed Filet Minong for about $4.00!
We then split up with Julie and went back to the ship to freshen up for our welcome reception to Salvador. When we got to the reception we were greeted with drums and locals doing Cachoeira (a martial arts form that I discussed in my last email). We spent the night eating the local dishes buffet style and an open bar with a live band. I met several other Americans and some Brazilians and we took off together, all 8 of us, piled into a small car to a local club called the Rockin' Rio. We had a blast! I used a few of my salsa moves that I had learned in Cuba and really had a good time!
I was split up from the group and later found out that they left me, 20 miles from the ship and with no money! Luckily I spotted a guy from Rutgers University from my ship and we left together. We could not remember the name of our pier nor could we communicate to the taxi driver what we were trying to say! We drove all over the city and Ko (Rutgers) reached into his pocket and realized he had lost all his money�. So now we are lost in the city in a cab with no money! Finally I was able to communicate to the taxi driver that we were by the elevator in broken Portuguese and we made it back to the ship where we were able to pay him what we owed! Whew! Needless to say I learned my lesson to make sure and be aware of the name of the port that we dock on in each country!
The next day I wandered the city a little on my own and with Kristen. One thing that I really noticed was that the most dangerous citizens were the children themselves. Brazil has a high amount of abandoned kids that form gangs and rely on each other to survive through robbing people and such. Families cannot afford their children so they leave them to fend for themselves at a very young age. I encountered many that had beat themselves up just to make themselves better beggars�. a way to look more pathetic to tourists. There is also a sever issue of the police killing the street children. They drive around at night and shoot these young kids in effort to �clean up their streets�. It was very hard to deal with seeing these young kids who have to be such little terrorists to survive. Also the AIDs population is out of control in Brazil. Beggars will approach you, cut themselves with a razor and tell you they have AIDs and you better give them money. Needless to say I hated being in this city. I wanted to get out.
That night I attended a Capoeira performance that was AMAZING! This form of discipline is unexplainable. The people were so athletic and beautiful. The men�� I can�t explain! LOL! AMAZING! One of the guys kept pursuing me through the whole show which made me very nervous. I have never blushed that hard! LOL! He waited for me outside the building and tried to kiss me�. I ran away from him like a little schoolgirl! LOL! Besides all that the show was very interesting and really told of the African Brazilian struggle through slavery. I met 2 other girls there and ended up going into the city with them that night. They really weren�t my style but I was glad to not be alone� we ran into another group of people who I ended up tagging along with instead. Later we were at a restaurant/bar and I ran into some girls from the ship in the bathroom. We recognized each other and immediately clicked! Melanie was a 6 foot tall Mongolian girl from Pitt. She turned out to be my twin personality wise�. Khiran is Indian from D.C. She is originally from Vancouver and an exact replica of how my old best friend Lisa Lopez was before when we were inseparable. Ellen is 5� 10� and very Euro looking. She is from Montana and the calmer, sophisticated one of the group. We had a blast together that night!
We ended up jumping from place to place and meeting all sorts of locals! This guy spoke Spanish so we were communicating a little bit but he really was bothering me. His body language made it appear that we were a couple and I hated it and continued to ignore him and give him the cold shoulder but everywhere I went he followed. In a last attempt to politely make him go away I started talking to a guy that was a resident of Salvador� he was very interesting to talk to and also performed Capoeira. The Spanish speaking guy got so pissed he called over a police officer and tried to get the local Salvadorian that I was conversating with arrested! By this time my Portuguese was improving and I told the guy to shut up and explained to the police officer that there was no problem and I was fine in Portuguese. Needless to say this got rid of the bothersome guy and the rest of the night was spent in peace with my new girlfriends!
The next day me and my new friends, Ellen, Melanie, and Khiran woke up early and decided that we wanted to get out of Salvador. We went to the station and bought a ticket to Sao Paulo. We packed city clothes thinking we were going to another big city! Little did we know we were in for a big surprise! At the station we met a couple from Canada that was here working in Sal. for the last year and a guy from Israel. We spent the next hour getting to know these very interesting people. When our tickets were called we went to board and to our surprise we were loaded into a small boat! We started the 2 � hour boat ride through the rockiest waves I have yet experienced! It took all my energy not to get sick! When we docked I got out to see the most beautiful island I have ever seen lay before me! It was amazing and there was not a tourist in site! The streets were made of sand and there was not a car on the entire island! It was amazing! Granted we definitely did not pack right for this excursion thinking we were going to an island, but this would have to do!
The Canadians showed us to a good hotel to stay at which was very small accommodations, bunk bed style with no sheets or amenities! There was a hammock swinging outside our door and the ocean out front and that was all we needed! All I had packed was high heeled shoes and dressy clothing so we spent the next 3 days shoeless and in swimsuits... the less the better on this island! What a treat! It was a vacation away from a vacation! I can not explain to you the level of peace I reached in Sao Paulo de Morro! If you can imagine a small island with the softest sand filling the streets, no tacky vendors, delicious food, Bob Marley�s music everywhere, men in tiny underwear and girls in their thong bikinis and the aroma of marijuana everywhere. It was mad CHILL! I spent these three days lounging around, never rushing. It was the best. At night people set up stands with fresh fruit and blenders to mix up the tastiest drinks. Bottles of liquor were all a dollar and we spent the evenings sipping cold drinks, hanging with the locals, learning Portuguese and dancing to reggae on the ocean! I met a young girl that was about 8 yrs old who followed me around the island wanting to play patty cake games with me all night! She was so cute! Also I had a personal bartender named Govani that made me the best drinks and even watched my belongings� I gave him a pair of my flip flops to watch and when I returned to get them he was gone! Oh well! I figured I did not need them here anyways. I did not have a care in the world. Granted I did not get to do any charity work in Brazil, I spent the time learning how to relax, how to breath and how to properly chew your food to full enjoyment.
The second night we met 5 Italian/ Israeli guys� some from Italy some from Israel and some from NYC� they were a lot of fun! I really got to know my new girlfriends well and we realized that this group was a group of women that are going to be friends for a lifetime! I saw Govani�s friend and asked him in Portuguese where Govani was? He pointed him out and I came running towards him yelling in Portuguese, �Govani! Where are my shoes!?!?!??!� It was quite the site! He quickly pulled them out from underneath his stand! He had brought them back for me! I could not believe the honesty here�. Even when I bought drinks from him, sometimes he would not have change so we would just keep track of what I owed or he owed me and kept it up throughout the weekend. We danced in the rain and jumped in the ocean at 4 AM to take a dip! It was the best�. Until we got out of the water! LOL! My friend�s clothes were gone and so was my wallet! I knew I deserved that one! Ha ha ha! The thoughtful thief did leave his dirty work shirt in place of my friend�s clothes so I kept it as a souvenir. I just had to laugh at that one. Our friend did not find it funny since he was stuck wearing his underwear through the town! We all watched the sun rise over the ocean. Me, Melanie and Khiran went for another dip at 6 am and noticed that there was a group of German guys on the beach taking our pictures... they yelled to us and mistook us for models so we played along! LOL! We ran along the beach posing and laughing as me and Melanie went to pose and the waves pushed us head first on top of each other in the water! Then Melanie went to run down the beach and tell our other friend the story... she was running and yelling �They think we are models!!!!!� As she tripped over a boats rope and dove head first into the water again cutting up her whole front side!
The following day we came upon a �farm� that had horses and paid the guy to let us ride them down the beach�� little did we know the whole camp was flea infested including the horses! But we rode anyways all up and down the island watching the sun set over the ocean�. I had a big white horse named Crystal in Portuguese. He decided to start running and I thought I was going to die but I made it back safe! And I had a blast! The next day we awoke to find out the Canadians had paid for our hotel for the three days! We took the ferry back to Salvador and did some last few minute errands. We ended the night with a beer and a bite to eat before we loaded back onto the ship for another long stretch of days at sea before Cape Town South Africa! What a wonderful self experience I had! We really learned a lot of Portuguese and a lot about the Brazilian culture. I would love to come back sometime to this hidden paradise unknown to other tourists! I think fate is a strange thing sometimes�.. my new travel partners are amazing and it is funny to think how I ever stumbled upon such great new friends!
I miss you all and hope all is well! I will write about S Africa another time and shipboard life another time! Hopefully I will find a caf� in Tanzania so I can properly respond to you guys! But for now abrogado! Chow!
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I received a short call from my daughter, Tara @ 6:pm pst. Only 2 payphones at port, with long lines waiting to make calls - so very rushed! Then we were cut off, which she mentioned was happening to others. So...phonecalls may be sparse in Salvador.
I only got a quick thumbnail, not many details. This morning was spent visiting a "Favela", must be the "Service visit: Calabar Favela" listed in the field program section . Next, She attended the "Welcome Reception". Really enjoyed the "capoeira" , since she is a martial arts student. She was very excited about her 5 am call time for the Amazon trip. It was midnight and she needed to get "home" to pack... yes, she referred to the Ship as home
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Tara W [item 4]
My daughter, Tara West, called @ 3:00pst. (sun.). Just returning from the Amazon Explorer trip. She also said the hammocks were GREAT! She even purchased her hammock for $10. The trip was "AWESOME", she was very excited. The saw pink dolphins, alligators, piranha and more. Not many mosquitos :) due to the high acidity of the Rio Negro. She explored the jungle and took a "shower in the rain". Because of the smaller more intimate nature of the trip she was able to connect with some others. I'm relieved, since normally she is more reserved in a new situation and (particularly in such a large community) and has felt a bit isolated and homesick. She now has "25 new friends". She wasn't ready to get back on the Ship. So much to see in Brazil! They had to return to the Ship by 9:30 p.m.(brazil time) to set sail.
Again , long lines at the phone, poor connection so...
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Tara W [item 5]
Hi again everyone,
We arrived in Salvador earlier than expected so everyone was still asleep when we came into the port, but soon woke up because we weren't moving anymore. When at sea that long (10 days), a stop of motion is very noticeable. Everyone was so excited to get off the ship and embark on a new adventure, but we had to wait for the Salvador government to see each one of us holding our passport before anyone was allowed to get off. This delayed our disembarkment, so when we did get off I went straight to the "favelas", one of my field trips for my classes. The favelas, or the slums, were very interesting and we were able to see the culture of poverty in Brazil. In Brazil, during the day a lot of people just sit outside in front of stores enjoying the sun. It seems like this is good because it promotes community, even though they are probably doing it because it�s extremely hot and humid there. There was a large shopping mall called "shopping baha" where everyone seemed to be heading towards even though it was 1:30pm, when everyone should be at work. The beach was beautiful! It had a lot of tide pool areas; everyone was swimming in between these areas.
Once we reached the favelas, we went to their school, which accepts anyone from ages 3-14 even if they do not own a pair of shoes. This is rare in Brazil because most schools cost money, about $300/month and require a uniform or at least shoes. The woman who was in charge of this school gave us a background and invited us to play with the kids for a while. We gave them a box of donations including toothbrushes, clothes, toys, crayons and candy...they were very grateful. The children gave us a performance of Capoiara on their cement gym floors and took many pictures with us. Most of the SAS students have digital cameras which the children loved because they could see themselves. We spent about 30min taking pictures of each on of them doing different gymnastic moves. After exploring the school, we went out to see where these children lived. The streets were made of dirt and they had a radio broadcast for everyone playing Garth Brooks and Lenny Kravitz for "us". It was really hard not to be able to give them anything, but I did let them write their names in my journal, which they really enjoyed. To see where these children lived was a shocking reality and became extremely appreciative of what I have, supposedly part of the journey. That night we went to the welcome reception given by the city with dinner and entertainment. The dinner was much better than the one Fidel provided us, with a lot more food. After dinner, a little cart (its hard to explain) that looked like it was a part of a circus that served us VERY strong coffee. I guess that is the tradition in Brazil, in the evening a cart goes around that serves coffee to people on the street. The entertainment we received was an all girls band called Dida. They played for about an hour and then the DJ started playing American songs for us for another hour. My first day in Brazil was wonderful, but long, so I went to bed as soon as I hit the pillow.
The Amazon trip in one word was AMAZING! It was not just the beautiful sights and sounds but also the inner self we all got to know by the adventures we had there. We left for the Amazon the next morning at 4:30am because we had to catch a flight at 7am. Sitting in the airport I got a Brazilian coffee drink that was so good, but I don�t know what it was called but it had cinnamon in it. We were all warned about the ice and water in Brazil, not to drink it, but everyone got ice in their drinks by accident. Fortunately, no one got sick on the way there, but the way back is another story.
Our guides names were Joe (who was born and raised in an Amazon village) and Enny (who loved the Amazon) were also amazing and very funny. They really made us feel comfortable and taught us a great deal of interesting things. As soon as we got to our boat we came up with a name--the "Tambague" tribe--, we found our hammock (the picture I sent is of me and my friend Shana on the last day) and changed into something cooler. Tambague is a type of fish in the Amazon that is very reliable and honorable, that�s what our boat (tribe) was the rest of the exploration.
The first thing we saw of the river was almost supernatural. This was called the "meeting" of the River Negro and the Amazon, yet they did not mix. I attached a photo of the spot where the two rivers met; it looks like black coffee meeting coffee with creamer in it. Because of the difference in the acidity and the way each river flows they meet, but do not mix together which I found hard to believe, that�s why I sent the picture. We then got off the boats and walked on a wooden bridge that leads to a pond with giant lily pads of Victoria Regia. It was really interesting because right next to two lily pads there were crocodiles just floating in the water without movement. I got a beautiful picture of the ill pad flower and the crocodile right next to it (but not on my digital camera). We then went piranha fishing on motorized canoes with covering, which is good because it poured while we were out there. I didn�t catch anything because I was on the deep end of the boat and all the fish were being caught closest to land. One girl, her name is Friday, caught 6 fish out of the 9 we caught as a boat...she had a lucky fishing day. Before going fishing we actually stopped at a little cove where we were shown a huge tree that is used for communicated throughout the jungle. This particular tree has very large and tall roots that stick out so that you can hit the root with a stick and make a very loud sound in case you are lost. There were also little kids who came up to us with a variety of animals that we took pictures of. Unfortunately, these children were trying to make money off of us by putting their hand out after taking a picture of them. I think they were all part of a very small village that made money off of selling pictures and souvenirs of their pets, which included a three toed sloth, snakes, a monkey, crocodiles, and a parrot. The sloth was the funniest thing because they look like a stuffed animal...they don�t move fast at all, very slow (its hard to explain), but they were the weirdest things.
I was a little confused because after we left, our guides discouraged giving the children money because they believed that if we encouraged it, it would continue to happen and would be there when our grandchildren came to visit. It was controversial in our canoe.
After piranha fishing our guide took us crocodile hunting! That was very intense...and I was excited the whole time. Our canoe caught 3 different types of crocs, they call them jacares, and then passed them throughout the canoe to hold and look at. That was weird, because what we did was grab the neck and tail right in our hands. The way you find a jacares at night is by using a flashlight for finding the reflection of the eyes. It was kind of scary because once we found a set of eyes we went into the weeds with the canoe and you were able to see little eyes all around you, right next to the boat. Luckily, those were babies so they would not hurt us, they were just scared of us. For entertainment after dinner that night, we made a fool of ourselves by trying to dance like our Brazilian guide...its funny what you will do for entertainment when there is no TV.
The next day, we woke up to one of the most beautiful sunrises (one of the only ones) I have ever seen. This was about 6am, when we all got up, took pictures and went back to bed until 7am. The first night on the hammocks, no one slept well; they were a little hard to get used to. Shortly after breakfast we had another downpour (it�s the rainforest :)), and once it let up we headed out for our "jungle trek". I actually really liked the rain because it was so beautiful how it came so quick and left the same way. So, the "jungle" is just another name for a "forest", with a more "wild" meaning to it. One of the theories is that the "white-man" named the forest with villagers and tribes jungles to associate their lifestyles with the idea of wild...it�s under discussion though. A side note---we have learned about many words that can be said in each country that may be offensive in another. For instance, coloured (Brazil) and Negro (Cuba) are used without any second thoughts, while tribe in Brazil is ok, but is very demeaning in South Africa. Thus, I must be careful with my word choice--
In the jungle we learned about many different uses of the trees and other life around, the same guide that teaches the military and pilots to survive in the jungle taught us. The one that I found very interesting was the weapon used against an Anaconda. Before this trip, I really didn�t know much about these types of snakes, but supposedly they have very tough skin that can not be broken by a knife or sometimes (depending on their age) a gun. So, they use a certain type of palm tree with huge spikes on it to make a weapon to hit off the Anaconda with so that it won�t crush your bones and leave you as a blob of meat to die. We found a tree that aides in protection from Malaria, relieves back pain and a sap that lights on fire since it�s impossible otherwise in the "rain� forest to start a fire. In addition, there is a tree known as the "jungle cow" that has sap used for milk to feed babies and fight against tuberculosis. Unfortunately, I can�t remember what all these trees are called, but I do remember what they looked like just in case.
We trekked through the jungle for about three hours while we sweated until we were drenched, it was disgusting. We stopped at a small waterfall where people who had bathing suits with them refreshed themselves in the water. After the trek, we went to a small village, called caboclo, where we played a game of soccer and learned how they made their cornmeal. To get there we climbed up about 200 old stairs on the side of a very steep cliff where the villagers were waiting to great us. There were huge ants that bit everyone with sandals and shorts on, it was so funny, but supposedly they stung a lot. It was pouring when we were there, but we still played the soccer game and got completely soaked. No girls played from the village, it seemed to be a predominately male sport there. It was amazing how strong and fit the people of that community and some of the others we saw were...without working out or anything. From the work they did and the way they ate, they were more fit than expected. We then went to a luau on a white sanded beach. Sitting around talking on the beach before dinner reminded me of being at home with a bonfire going, just hanging out. It was nice to on dry land for a few hours just relaxing. The food was really good, and they had music playing for us from the boats all night.
In the morning, we were awaken by a loud screeching bird that was going back and forth right next to our boat at 6am.Then it rained again, so we waited for it to stop (for a little while) to start another, shorter jungle trek where we would end up at another small village. On this hike we were lucky enough to taste a real Brazilian Nut, that fell right from the tree there. Also, a few people in the group ate a maggot...they said it kind of tasted like a nut except it was "juicier". Afterwards, our shoes were CAKED with mud and clay so we had to stick them in the river to clean them, thus, I had wet feet the rest of the day (which included the plane ride home). We headed off to the "lodge" where another group stayed instead of the hammocks and ate lunch there. It was pretty rustic but they had showers and nice clean, sterile sheets unlike us.
Before going to the airport we saw a musical performance of a traditional dance called Boi Bumba, very interesting. The group performed in traditional Indian clothes and then got most of us out on the dance floor, attempting to teach us how to move. I find it very interesting how everywhere we have been so far, we have been taught how to dance. And if someone was to come to America I highly doubt we would teach them a dance...let alone dance ourselves. I guess its really not part of our culture. We got ice cream, which was really good and very popular there, then sat and watched the skateboarders at the skate park until 12:30am. Our flight left at 1:30am and we traveled through the night and returned to Salvador around 1pm, when I went shopping there.
I bought some Capiora pants which happen to be about the most comfortable pants I own now and a few other small things. While we were in the city we had pizza for dinner and got more ice cream...it started raining again and the "attack of the flying ants" happened. There was literally thousands of what looked to be flying ants around the city. We bought milk for some guy who was basically skin and bones and then found out that milk is used in making drugs. So hopefully he wasn�t going to use it for that, but instead drink it for nutrition. We then went back to the ship, sad about leaving Brazil and compared our stories with one another. Unfortunately, the next morning I woke up sick from the Amazon with a fever a nausea...which most everyone who went did. And, I just found out that Survivor is in the Amazon (we are a little slow here), so that will be really exciting to see when I get back.
Ok, so I will let everyone go, and just to let you know I will be sending this the first day in South Africa because it is less expensive to use the internet there than on the ship.
Talk to you soon,
Tara
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My daughter, Erin, called from Brazil yesterday, around 2 pm EST. She, also, said the lines for the pay phones were awful, so she had gone back to the ship and "rented a cell phone." I'm not really sure where/how she did that. She had just returned from a tour of the area, including a visit to a local school. She said the kids were on vacation now, but came to school to meet the Americans. She said the school visit was very disturbing. It was almost impossible to communicate with the kids, no one spoke any English. Also, at the end, the tour guide brought in a large bag containing individual size bags of potato chips. Erin said pandemonium broke out, as the kids rushed the bag, trampling and fighting one another to get a bag of chips. She had never seen kids behave so out of control, and the sad thing was, most of the chip bags ended up breaking open and spilling everywhere. After our brief 5 minute call, she was rushing off to get ready for the "welcome reception," then home to pack for a 4am wake up to leave for the Amazon trip. Guess all is well, she's still rushing around, just like home, to fit all her activities into a very busy day! She sounded very happy and content, and when I asked her if she needed anything sent to her, she said "no, she was extremely well prepared."
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Tara C [item 7]
I recieved a phone call late last night from my daughter Tara. She is having a great time. She was exploring Salvadore with a group of friends and found a restaurant with entertainment that they all thought was great.The call was disconnected after five minutes. She had been shopping earlier in the day and using a credit card. I returned home from work last evening to a call from the credit card company checking on her activity. I called the credit card company back fearing that her card had been stolen or lost. They assured me that they were merely checking because of the activity , as this was a new card. They also noted that they had talked to her at one of the stores when she was making a purchase. The women on the other end of the phone was so nice. She told me that my daughter had landed safely and by the activity on her credit card was having a good time. I did fnd this reassuring and funny while I waited until 10:00 o�lock to hear from her. She should be on the Amazon by now, therefore no more credit card calls.
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Kimberly [item 8]
My daughter Kimberly called last night at 7:30 est from Brazil. Guess what? She was putting me on about the head shaving on Neptune Day...whew, what a relief!
Anyway, she sounded great , despite the poor phone connection. It was very hot and humid there. Many of her friends were going off on field trips and would be gone for a few days.. She is scheduled to do some things in Salvador, and was hoping to hook up with some other SASers who hadn't booked overnight field excursions to "explore" the area. It sounds like they are having a wonderful time and "only feeling homesick sometimes." I hope we get more reports from Brazil . It is so interesting to hear what everyone is experiencing.
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Kimberly [item 9]
Greetings from Brazil, How are you? I'm good but getting tired from all the walking and the hot sun. I just got back from a field trip to a youth center for street kids. It was amazing! The girls danced and the boys played instruments for us. Some of the instruments were made from soda bottles! The kids have a lot of talent. I am enjoying Brazil, but still can't believe that I'm here and that I will be in SA in another week! It is a different world that I am seeing. .
I met a nine year old girl today. She was very smart and since she knew some English, she was trying to translate for us, but she couldn't even write her name. When she was dancing, I said "excellent" She was so proud! Then she tried to teach us how to dance. Unfortunately, I don't have the rhythm they have! Tomorrow I'm going to Caheiora so I'll see rural Brazil.. We're going to a cocoa farm and a cigar plantation. You can roll your own cigar, so Dad I guess that you'll be smoking a homemade cigar! Last night I went to Bropeia had dinner and saw dancing. It was amazing! It was right on a dock, so we got to see a beautiful sunset. (I will have lots of sunset pictures) This a.m. I went to the market and found a really cute sundress for only $5. Yesterday I went with 2 others to to a mall and supermarket. The mall was outdoors with the ocean a few feet away. We walked along a strip parallel to the ocean. The beach had lots of tables, huts and lounge chairs. The natives don't carry anything to the beach so you don't see coolers, they go home for lunch. We stopped for some pizzza, eaten with a fork and knife(they never use their hands). Sunday I'm going to a soccer game . Right now the boat is really quiet b/c people are off to the Amazon or Ignaussi Falls They"ll be back Sun. Then it will be another 9 days at sea. I will try to call you before we leave Brazil.
Love you, miss you Kim
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Courtney [item 10]
hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! molly and kyla (two of my best friends here) are in an internet cafe, and so i figured i would drop you a line. crossing the equator was crazy, but tons of fun. i am still afraid that i am going to wake up in the morning with a shaved head. i cannot get over the amount of people who did it. it is nice to be off the boat, although salvador is run down and hotter than - - - -!!!!!!!!! i want to jump in snow right now......erie anyone? just kidding. it kinda smells here too. kyla, me and a group of people are heading to lencois tonight. i cannot wait to get out of the city and into the jungle. it is going to be great. we may even get to go to a soccer game on sunday....which would be outta control, b/c brazil is like the best team in the world. i am going to try to call you in the next few days..and it should work. but who knows. i hope you and dad and, of course, maggie are all doing well. glad that you talked to jess. it is so weird being cut off from the world, but know that i am having a great time and meeting some great people.
love courtney
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Rusty [item 11]
Hey,
Let me tell you about our last stop, Brazil! My time in Brazil was great. I still haven�t caught up on my journaling about it yet. I missed watching our arrival in Salvador because we got there earlier than they had said we would. However, when I went out on the ship it was very interesting. Salvador is unique because there are two cities an upper and a lower city. The lower city is the more industrialized and the upper city is the older and more historic one. A big elevator connects them. I spent a lot of the first day there walking around the market, and I spent a little time in the upper city. I had met a few Brazilians who had volunteered to take me to a phone and so we (myself and two of my friends Brady and Kyle) spent the afternoon with them. Not too surprisingly they asked for a little money when we got back to the port. That evening I spent some more time in the market and then went out with three girls to an open-air mall where we had heard there would be some pre-Carnival stuff going on. We ended up going to a concert where we were almost the only Americans among hundreds of Brazilians. Apparently the two bands that were playing are really popular and everybody knew all of the words and everything. More than once I had to pretend to be a boyfriend to fend off an eager Brazilian guy.
The next morning came really early because I had to be up to catch a 7-hour bus to Lencois, a small town toward the interior of Brazil. Let me just say that if you are ever in Brazil, you have to go to Lencois. It is right in the middle of a national park in the Diamond Mountains. It is full of waterfalls, caves, red water and of course, the traveling Rastafarians and hippies. On our first day we went to a natural waterslide down a rock slab and did a little jump off of a rock, nothing compared to what I would get to do later. I spent the afternoon hopping around on the boulders in the river and sitting under little refreshing waterfalls. I got some good pictures and don�t worry mom I am trying to get in some of them. Our hotel was definitely the nicest place in Lencois. When Semester at Sea puts you up in hotel, they don�t mess around. I had a great view of the mountains and our lagoon swimming pool out one window and the cascading river that rushed passed our hotel out my other window. We had a buffet dinner that night and complimentary Tai Chi the next morning in the garden. I went, but I don�t think I would do Tai Chi again. Somehow my chi just didn�t harness very well.
Anyway, day two in Lencois brought a long hike through a beautiful river canyon. The whole SAS group went on the hike, but a few others and myself went with our own guide so that we could move a little more quickly. The hike was pretty intense, but it was definitely worth it. We finally arrived at our destination, which was a giant cascading waterfall. The falls cascaded down the rocks for like 100 feet and then the actual falls was about 30 feet. Huge canyon walls covered in hanging moss surrounded the entire pool at the bottom of the falls. The swim over to the falls was tough for me because the current was pretty strong, but I huffed my way over there and it was great to stand underneath the cold water. I also followed the lead of a few natives and jumped a good 10 feet or so from a rock above the natural pool. We hiked back out and still had time to go horseback riding that evening. I went riding with a couple of others and it was quite an experience. One of the guys had a 40-pound backpack on and it was hilarious to watch our guide whip his horse and then watch Kyle bounce around while trying to slow down his old, decrepit horse. We did survive, though, and after we ate a good dinner at the hotel I hung out at an outdoor caf� dancing and mingling with other SASers who had chosen to come to Lencois.
The third day I stayed with the bigger group and we hiked to another lagoon and waterfall. There I did another cliff jump, which was higher. It was like 20 or 25 feet. It was great. We also hiked a small mountain for a great view of the area. Then, we checked out of the hotel and drove the long, dusty road back to Salvador. That night I walked around until early in the morning with a group of about five girls from the ship. I ran into a few street kids who loved jumping on me and hanging around my neck, which was really great. That was something that I had been missing up until that point. I had really wanted an opportunity to love on the kids.
On our last day in Salvador, I slept in and then went back out to the market with my friends Brady, Kyle, and Mark. Brady got his pocket picked by a little kid, which when we look back on it is a really funny story. Remind me to tell you that story later. When we got back, we got ready for our final adventure in Brazil, a soccer game. It was neat to go and see soccer in Brazil because that sport is such a big deal there. It was a little crazy, but not nearly as bad as SAS had warned us it might be. That has often been the case. The ship left Salvador and I felt like I would have liked another couple of days. People had been to the Amazon and Rio and Iguassu falls, and Itaparica Island, and everyone seemed to have had a good time. And, while I think Lencois was the best (shhh) I would have liked to check out some other places that people really enjoyed. In comparison with Cuba, I liked Brazil better. I didn�t make the close friends in Brazil that I did in Cuba, but I enjoyed it a little more. It is hard to compare the two, because they are so different.
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Here's the latest email just received from my DD (Sunday am PST): just a quick note to tell you all that i just got back from the amazon, and i am still in one piece (so no, i did not get eaten by piranhas). i will be sending a longer email sometime in the next day or two to tell you all about it, and hopefully will have some pictures attached too. can't write more now, i have to enjoy my last few hours in brazil. i love you all and have been terribly entertained by your emails, so please keep them coming. and don't forget, snail mail makes a girl at sea feel really wonderful!!!!!!! and mother, grandma, and jessica, i got the stuff you sent. thank you so much! ok, off to explore salvador:)
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Abby D [item 13]
So now for the details of Brazil. We arrived last Wednesday, slightly late because of a problem with one of the boilers. After clearing customs (which we all had to do individually, so it took forever), I was free the first day to walk around Salvador with my friends. It took us awhile to figure out how to change money, and in the process we met a Brazilian tour guide who agreed to help us find some of the souvenirs we were trying to collect. Doing this allowed us to see much of Old Salvador, which was fun. That night we went out to dinner and then went and sat outside and had drinks and talked to people � let me tell you, trying to understand Portuguese is difficult, particularly when you don�t speak Spanish. So that was an interesting experience for all.
The next morning, I woke up early to meet my group and catch an 8:25 flight to Brasilia, then a 10:30 flight to Manaus. [Amazon Trip] From there, we headed to the river to board our boats, our home for the next few days. Basically, they were like ferry boats. The bottom deck had the kitchen, the dining area, and the bathrooms, and the top was a big open area where all the hammocks were hung. There were 25 SASers on our trip, so it was a pretty tight squeeze up there. A couple of times during the trip we hit rough waters, which was funny because the hammocks do not swing in unison (why Mr. Goode?) so there were some rather interesting collisions.
Anyway, the first day we saw the meeting of the waters, which is where the Rio Negre joins up with other rivers that all form the Amazon. This part was really interesting. The Rio Negre is black, and the other river that hits is brown. Also, the Rio Negre is colder and has a much higher pH level (around 4-4.5), so when the two hit they do not mix automatically. So when you get to the meeting of the waters, you can see where the two are mixing. Hopefully there will be a picture attached to this email so that you can all see what I�m talking about.... After going up the river a bit more, we stopped at a village and saw a rubber tree, tried part of a coco plant, and collected fresh lemongrass for tea later that evening (which was the best hot drink I have ever had).
Once we were done in the village we went back to the Rio Negre, which is what we traveled on for the rest of the trip. Since that river has such a high pH level, mosquitoes can�t survive there so we didn�t have to worry about being bit by them. So we went up the river and saw the giant water lilies, caymans (alligators), and then set off on the trip you�ve all been waiting to hear about, piranha fishing. Let me tell you, when we got on the tiny little boats for this, I was slightly worried. They drove us way out in the middle of nowhere, gave us each a bamboo stick with fishing line attached to it and a piece of raw meat on a hook at the end, and showed us that in order to catch them you stick your pole in the water and then thrash it around a bunch (like a dying fish, I guess). Then you wait. And wait. And in some cases, you feel a little tug and yank them out of the water and then try not to get bitten. In others, you wait and wait and wait and still nothing happens. The latter described my situation for about 45 minutes, and then I FINALLY felt a tug, but by that time I wasn�t paying very much attention and had lost all faith in my fishing skills, so I was completely thrown off by the bite. I yanked the pole out of the water, but the boat had a roof on it so my pole hit that, and the string started swinging towards me, piranha and all, and I freaked out and tried to catch the line but right when I caught it the damn little fish either jumped off the hook or fell off of it. I suck at fishing. So theoretically I caught a piranha but I didn�t get a picture so I�m afraid no one will believe me.
Later that night we went cayman hunting. Now some of you may have seen Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter � it was similar to this. Here we are, a bunch of helpless American college students, speeding around the Amazon in a tiny canoe FAR too close to the water, with a guide, a cayman catcher, and a boat driver. Now, in order to catch the cayman, the catcher guy has to get in the water. That means that the boat driver has to drive the boat practically on shore, into all these weeds and bushes, so that the catcher can jump into the water, thrash around and find a cayman. Then he gives the cayman to the guide, who wants everyone to hold it and touch it, but who insists that freaking people out is the most entertaining thing he can possibly do. Needless to say, we caught one, I took a picture of it, and I was pretty glad when they put it back in the river. Once back on the boat, we enjoyed the stars which were perfectly reflected in the still water of the lake we stopped on to sleep.
We woke up early the next morning and enjoyed the sunrise in our hammocks (picture enclosed). After a great breakfast, we went on our first walk through the rainforest. This was a really fun experience � our guides painted our faces with natural paint and we saw all sorts of different plants that cure various diseases. My favorite part of this hike was when some people decided to try to pick up a giant furry caterpillar. Fortunately our guide saw them going for it and yelled at them to stop, because apparently touching those things can kill you. From then on the rule was �don�t touch ANYTHING� unless they tell you it�s ok. My question is, why would anyone want to pick up a strange bug in the middle of the rainforest? It seems like common sense would tell you that�s a bad idea.... After trekking around for awhile, our jungle guide Fabio got lost. So he wound up hacking a trail for us with a machete, which was pretty fun. The next day our hike was a thousand times better though, because we went in small groups of 12, which meant we went a lot faster and it was a lot more personal.
Also that day we went a lot deeper into the rainforest, which was more like what I had expected it to be like. The trees were enormous, and there was greener than I can possibly describe. Shortly into the hike our guide cut a branch off of a tree and showed us that it produces water. When hiking around the forest for days at a time, if they need water the natives use these trees. So then he let us drink the water from the tree, which was incredible. We started on our way again, hacking through the forest, and then all around us we could hear the soft patter of rain, but we weren�t getting wet because the trees were so thick. Pretty soon though, we came to a clearing and within seconds we were completely soaked. At this point I was in absolute heaven. There is no way for me to do justice to the feeling of breathing that absolutely pure air, rain pounding all around, brilliant green completely surrounding us. I have honestly never experienced anything more beautiful than that moment in my life. All I could do was smile, because it was so completely pure and basic.
After the hike and visiting another village, we had to head back to Manaus to go to a big party to �celebrate our return to civilization.� On the way there we went through a really big storm which was pretty exciting (I got some great pictures of it). After the party we went back to the airport for our red-eye to Brasilia. Once we got there we had a four hour layover, so they decided that we should be kept busy (even though we had only had like 2 hours of sleep) so they took us on a three hour tour (when are those ever good?) of the city. Most people slept through this on the bus, but I toughed it and got out at all the stops and took pictures until my batteries in my camera died.
So that was my trip. I had an absolutely incredible time, and I can�t wait to get to South Africa! --------------
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Nanga''ah [item 13]
leaving bahia, brasil later on tonight, and i�m a bit sad. however, cape tqwn should be awesome. bahia is a great city with a strong african influence in the food, music.... basically the whole culture. the city is 80% black (because of all the slaves brought there). i�ll miss it. i have to find a way back here.....
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Scott [item 14]
Recd brief phone call from Scott. He was on Group B to the Amazon River. Said it was great and amazing.
The river was very interesting and the hammocks great.
The city tour of Brasilia was fun. Arrived back to the ship for clean up and lunch and then several hours of sightseeing before sailing tonight. He sounds great. So far he had not received all the mail that we sent. Phone lines long
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Jaclyn [item 15]
I finally spoke to my daughter in Rio on Saturday. She e-mailed her phone number & I called her. I was disconnected 2 times. I felt that I was calling Fawlty Towers. All is well & everyone is having a great time. She was on the SAS trip & it appears that it was well run & organized & the hotel was very nice. She even went to the Carmen Miranda museum!! Looking foward to hearing about other adventures.
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Krissy [item 16]
Krissy just called us from Brazil. She sounded great and is having a wonderful time. The connection was crystal clear. Apparently there are cell phones available on board the ship when in port at about $1 a minute. Here's what she said about the trip:
- She said it was really amazing and lots and lots of fun. She was still excited even though she hadn't slept.
- The Amazon was so big it was like a real big lake.
- They caught Piranha (she caught one) and ate them for dinner.
- She ate a big grape that made her mouth numb (but didn't hurt her -so she said).
- They ate grubs and larva and learned "survival techniques"
- They swam and "took showers" in the river.
- They slept on the boat in hammocks.
- They got to hold a crocodile (a baby I hope - she didn't say).
- When it rained they poured soap on the deck and everyone slid around.
- The bugs weren't bad at all but did say she got bit on the foot but by the next morning she was fine.
- They visited a beautiful village where people held candles at night.
- They all went to a bar when they got back from the River, then got on the plane and flew to Brasilia, toured the city, then flew to their port where they had a huge dinner. No sleep.
They are now back on the Ship now and headed across the Atlantic to South Africa (about a 10 day trip) so it may be awhile before we hear from her. We can track the position of the ship via the web.
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Whitney [item 17]
My daughter, Whitney called on Sunday. Her report was much like Krissy's. She assured me she would write a long, descriptive email. I am waiting patiently. I then received a short instant message yesterday (Mon). She said the wireless service for internet was not working well and the Amazon email would be delayed. I don't think she had gotten out of bed since the ship left port. They were absolutley worn out. She also mentioned that she was dealing with some Amazon revenge, the type of digestive problems that go with foreign travel. Combine those facts and I am not surprised the news is taking its sweet time being relayed. But I do know she was ecstatic (sp) about the trip and assured me my imagination could not even get close to what she had experienced. "Like National Geographic, but so much more, and you just can't believe what you are seeing.".
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Kirsten [item 18]
Hey,
We left Brazil last night, and immediately returned to classes. Brazil ended way too fast. Five days is definitely not enough, but it is enough to know that I want to spend a lot of time in Brazil and the rest of South America in the future. The first day there I did what is called an FDP, which is basically an assigned trip from one of your classes. We can replace FDPs with independent trips to places related to our classes, but it is recommended that we try to fit in as many FDPs as possible. Anyway, the trip went into the Favela, which is basically what they call the shanty-town neighborhoods of Salvador. The trip went to a school that I guess you could call an elementary school. There were kids of all ages there, but only grades one through four are taught. Most of the kids that I saw were fairly young though. I am sending a picture of three little girls. You can�t see much of the room we were in from the picture, but when you get the CD you will see the condition of the gym.
After visiting the Favela I went out with a couple friends to kill some time before heading to the bus station. We ended up at a little outdoor caf� drinking beer, and we were swarmed by little kids who kept asking us for money. They are little scam artists here, having mastered the art of looking sad. When we say no they run away and laugh amongst themselves only to return a few minutes later as if we had never interacted. Finally we headed to the bus station. The bus trip to Lencois wasn�t so much fun, it was overnight and the bus was comprised almost entirely of Semester at Sea students. We did, however, meet a traveling Argentinean at the bus station who recommended a great little pausada (basically a little hostel/bed-and-breakfast type place) for 20 Reales a night (about six dollars). We followed her when we arrived, but it was still very early, and the owners hadn�t yet woken up. We ended up just sitting on some steps for about an hour, deliriously tired but overly hyper from adrenaline. Finally they woke up and showed us to our room. I passed out right away, but when I woke up I noticed how great our room was. Each bungalow is its own little building, comprised of a room and a bathroom. Since the place is situated on a mountain, there are paths leading to each place where you essentially have to climb up to stay on. Our room had three windows looking out to an absolutely beautiful view of the mountains, but there was no glass in any of them. I ended up loving this feature because the sounds of the night were so great. You could hear so many animals, and the family that owned the place would sit out on a patio lounging around in hammocks playing the guitar and laughing. My roommates had more trouble with mosquitos than I did, so they weren�t as keen on the openness of our quarters. We wandered around Lencois that first day, chit-chatting with locals and trying out new foods. In the afternoon we decided to head up to the most famous waterfall in Lencois, which is a natural slide you can slip down (I�m sending a picture of that too). We almost paid a guide to take us, but luckily we met a couple of Israeli backpackers who knew the way. It was about an hour trek through the mountains, so we all arrived thinking we would be pretty isolated. Unfortunately, the official semester at sea group was there so it was pretty crowded. We had a lot of fun though. I found an adventurous companion in Yonaton, one of the Israelis. They were, by the way, the most interesting companions, but I will tell you more about them another time.
The next day we rose early to have a day of sightseeing. Our first stop was a mountain we had to climb, but we drove most of the way. We ended up climbing for only about 25 minutes, but it was practically straight up. The view from the top was incredible. Rather than the tree covered mountains we were used to seeing in the area, we found cliffs and canyons all around us. Mom, you would have loved the rock formations. After this we drove to another place and hiked for an hour into a canyon where a waterfall awaited us. Theresa and I didn�t hike all the way down though; there was a zipline connected from the top of the waterfall down to the swimming hole, which only cost us 10 Reales each. The first step off the cliff was quite a rush, but after the line stopped you from falling it was fairly tame. At the bottom I tried to get Theresa and Nina to swim under the waterfall with me where a ledge was waiting to be rested on, but they weren�t into it. Luckily Yonaton was, so we headed over. Even his girlfriend wanted to stay on the shore.
After hiking out we got �lunch,� which was a sandwich consisting of bread, butter and a slice of cheese. Oh, and a banana. Then we went out to another swimming hole. The water here ran through a cave, and after we were done swimming we hiked up from our side and down to the other side of the cave. I am sending a picture of me with our guide and a Brazilian tourist that was taken right after I fell. You will see our guide holding my arm. When I slipped on the red clay type ground that covers everything, I fell flat on my back and ruined my shorts. With mud all over me he insisted on taking care of me for the rest of the day. He even wiped me off with the shirt off his back. I kept trying to say no, that I had a towel, but he wouldn�t hear it.
Our last stop was a hike through an underground cave. Our guide turned off the lamp toward the end so we could experience blindness, and man, it was DARK. You couldn�t see your hand half an inch from your face. Then to climb out we had pretty much 35 feet of vertical climb up rocks. We were lead through the safest route, but by that point we were so exhausted! There was even more hiking out after that, but that was just straight uphill. By the time we got back to town it was 8:30 at night. What a full day we had. Exhausted and dreading our bus trip back to Salvador that night, we had a final dinner with our Israeli friends. Then we showered and came back.
Nina and I caught the same bus, but Theresa had to wait a half hour for another one as they were completely out of seats. We were all the way to the back in ours, and ended up getting harassed by a drunk local guy. He kept bothering us, getting with an inch of my face blabbering in Portuguese, and we never understood him. Finally he passed out with his bottle rolling around on the ground. Back in Salvador the next day we went to the mall, then Theresa and I met up with other Semester at Sea students and went out to a reggae club with a great live band. You could tell most of the locals that went there were in the lowest class, and it was all outdoors. We danced our asses off until about 2 when they closed. Then we walked around to find a massive block party in old Salvador. I learned to Samba and brought back my salsa skills I had learned in Havana. At one point I was dancing with a local guy and we had a little audience around us. There was also this drunk woman who ran up to Theresa and I to give us a giant bear hug, and she watched out for us the whole night. Whenever a guy from one of the lower classes tried to dance with us, she shooed him off (we couldn�t have cared less, but we liked hanging out with her). I employed the sentence �tengo esposo� numerous times that night, which roughly means I have a husband. It was all in all a great time.
The next day we did some shopping around Salvador, then went to a soccer game independently (there were a couple semester at sea groups going). There were five of us, four girls and a guy, and the guy annoyed me terribly because he was the most paranoid about us getting robbed or something. The soccer game was a lot of fun, but I was surprised to find the arena wasn�t packed. We heard it was because the two teams that were playing weren�t very good, and one of them was actually a brand new team. None the less, I got to see a professional soccer game in the soccer capital of the world, so I am very glad. Anyway, since this is so long I am going to send the pictures in a separate email. I miss you guys and I�ll talk to you soon,
Love Kirsten
