Tina F.
Semester At Sea
Journal #11
November 23, 2003
And just when I thought this trip couldn't get any better, we land in Salvador, Brazil.
My first day I went on the city orientation (once again) for my Urban Anthropology class. It was all about architecture so we got to see a lot of cool buildings. We got back from it at about 5:00, and met up with friends for dinner. We heard that if we went to Baha street we could find a bar or a place with a T.V. to watch the Brazil soccer game. We spent quite a bit of time looking for a television and failed miserably. We finally gave up, ate pizza, then went to a bar.
The next day I woke up early to pack and get ready to go camping on an island about an hour from Salvador. So Kat, Jeff and I strapped our bags on our backs, found the ferry boat station, traveled to Itaparicia island without any ideas or plans on what to do. We originally wanted to find a campground, but with Jeff and I's limited Spanish (and they speak Portuguese) it was just easier to find any place to stay. The cab driver took us to the north side of the island and dropped us off at the beach. We started walking around and somehow met a man that said he knew of a cheap place for us to stay. He took us about 2 min. from the beach to a bed and breakfast where we stayed for the next two nights. We were the only people staying here, it had a pool and breakfast was ready every morning by 6:00 just waiting for us to wake up and eat.
So, we dropped our stuff off and headed to the beach. We drank, ate and played on the beach all day. Late afternoon we went back to the hotel for a nap before we went to dinner. The man who owns the hotel took us to one of about four restaurants that was open for dinner. We ate and watched a Capoeria performance, then went back to go to sleep. I slept outside on the hammock hanging by our room, it was the best nights sleep ever! That was until I woke up being bitten by bugs.
The next day was about the same, eating, drinking and this time getting sunburned, on the beach. One bar we went to we asked the owner if there was a place to rent snorkel gear. She said there wasn't, but she had a friend who could loan us some. So we did snorkel and saw a whole bunch of sand. Once again, we went to the hotel for a nap in the late afternoon. When we got up we decided to go to the grocery store for some snacks. We walked about a mile and a half to the grocery store during sunset. We went out to eat after our walk, then came home for bed.
Our fourth day in Brazil we got up, ate breakfast, then headed back to Salvador. Apparently it is very hard to catch a cab at the beach, so we ended up walking quite a ways toward the ferry until we caught a cab, which happened to be the same cab driver who took us to the beach the first day. When we arrived in Salvador we went to the ship, took showers and ate, then went into the city. We wanted to buy good coffee for souvenirs so we went to a mall that was recommended to buy the coffee. For dinner we just asked the cab driver to take us somewhere, and this dinner was the best dinner I have had in my entire life! If you are ever in Brazil, go to a place where the serve meat on a stick.
See, you pay about fifteen dollars, and they have a diagram of a cow and all of the parts you can order. You tell them what you want, then they bring it to you on a stick and cut pieces off. You can eat any kind and as much as you want. They also had some chicken and fish. I ate beef hump and chicken heart! They also had a buffet with sushi, cheese, salad, fish, bread, etc. They brought us appetizers, French fries, everything you could imagine. I ate so much that I made myself sick! The food was amazing!
Our last day we went shopping and walking around the upper city. See, Salvador has two levels, and to get to the upper city you have to take an elevator. A few people got mugged here, so you have to be careful. We went to a market, ate lunch and tried to go to mass but we couldn't find out what time the mass was. Next was internet café, and just walking around. It is so beautiful and colorful in Brazil. Kat and I ate dinner at a Jamaican restaurant, met some more friends for drinks, then went back to the boat. Now we are on our way to Cuba, and despite the nasty rumors we are still going to dock in Havana. Ten more days on the boat, and only 2 weeks until I get back!
Pick A Journal: