The Carnaval and Salvador

We left Porto Seguro 3 days ago and headed north to Salvador, the 3rd largest city in Brazil while Ofri and Idan went back south to Rio de Janeiro. I guess the next time we will meet them will be in Israel or in Lima - Peru for LEL HASEDER. Who knows.

To tell you the truth the carnaval was not what we expected it to be. We left Rio like most travellers do and went to Porto Seguro. A seven day party having Brazilian bands playing music from trucks that were going up the main street and loads of people on the streets dancing and singing along. If we would have known some of the bands it could have been better i guess but despite that it was ok. It is the same all over Brazil except in Rio and Sau Paulo. Over there the carnaval is the way everyone knows like on TV.








Salvador is nice. We are staying in Pelourino, the old city center where all the night life happens. You can find plenty of restaurants and Cafes which are quite nice. Live music is being played in most pubs and restaurants where you can relax and listen to Brazilian samba while drinking caipirinia.




On Friday we even went to BET HABAD and did kabalat shabat. It was really nice.
Hilla:
It was a very exciting experience. After almost 3 months of traveling, i really felt like home. The rabi and his wife made sure that everything would be perfect. We sat at a big table, with lots of other Israeli travellers, and sang Jewish songs.. That night reminded me that no matter where i am, how long I'm travelling, or how amazing the places are, there is no place like home... :-)

Tomorrow we are taking a bus and boat to Moro de Sau Paulo - an island which is suppose to be amazing according to many people we have met. We are going to stay there a few days and then instead of taking a 30 and something hour bus to Rio de Janeiro we are going to enjoy a 2 hour flight which will make our lives much easier.

Updates from Porto Seguro

As you all know, the carnaval has started 2 days ago. The problem is that it hasn't stopped raining up until now.

Yesterday we took the buggy for the last time to the ancient city here in Porto Seguro. A nice place with old churches sitting on the cliff. We walked around tasted cacao and came back to return the buggy on time.



Today was the first day it hasn't rained in a long time so we decided to go to the beach which was loads of fun. The water was not as clear as we expected it to be but it was fun to sit and just relax with water melon and a glass of caipirinia.




We even enjoyed a couple of hours at the hotel pool when we came back from the beach and will go to the city center later today to get in to the carnaval feeling which is different than we thought. We found out that the carnaval that everyone knows is in Rio or in Sau Paulo. All the other places are just big parties with loads of people and music all over. A 7 day party that starts everyday in the evening.

Anyway, enjoy the pictures and check for new updates.

By the way:
I forgot to tell you that Arrial Dajuda is also called Israel Dajuda because of the tons of Israelis you have there.
Yes. Last time was the first time Hilla got to write something in the blog. Yeepee.

Arrial (Israel) Dajuda

A 7 day rest in Arrial Dajuda (also called Israel Dajuda) was a little too much. We had 4 days of sunny weather resting at the pool and in the hostel which were really good. On the 5th day while we were at the beach it started to rain. Rain that didn't stop up until today. There was not much to do other than going to the beach, pool and in the evening taking a walk in town which was full of pubs and restaurants. It was fun though to sit in a different pub or restaurant every day listening to the live music that was being played.





Idan got to teach Moshe that speaks a little Hebrew (his nickname) how to make HUMUS. He is one of the managers from ARIEL (all you can eat) restaurant that kept on asking him to teach him. He even got a free lunch for it.


Two days ago, we got back to Porto Seguro which is 5 minutes by ferry from Arrial Dajuda. Here we will be staying another 7 days until the carnaval will be over.
We rented a buggy for 2 days and took it to Trankoso today. Not much to do there other than driving around in the muddy roads to the town. It was fun even though we got soaked while it rained.




Today is the first day of the carnaval. It is suppose to start in the evening. The whole city is full of trucks and people preparing for the big event. We cant wait to see it so i will write some more next time.

HILLA - Until then, we wish you all a TRANKILO (calm in Portuguese) week..

The never ending bus ride

We arrived at Rio de Janeiro bus station at 15:00 and bought a bus ticket to Porto Sagero which is north from Rio. It was not exactly Porto Sagero. It was Eunopis or something like that. 1 hour from Porto Sagero and from there we were suppose to take another bus to Porto Sagero. There were no tickets for the direct bus so we had to take this option that as they told us was suppose to take 16 hours. After waiting at the bus station from 15:00 until 21:00 we got on the bus. That was when the whole adventure started.

We were 9 Israelis on the bus, 1 Argentinean guy and the rest were all locals. As we got on the bus, Hilla and i found out that by mistake we picked the seats that were just next to the toilet. Behind us was a very loud family that i thought were immigrants from another country. They were 4 people occupying 2 seats and were sitting just behind us shouting and kicking the seats all the time. From that time we knew this would be a hell of a bus ride with no sleep at all.



Just 1 and a half hours after our departure, the bus suddenly stopped. There was a problem. The front door of the bus could not be closed. We got to wait 2 hours on the side of the road waiting for another bus to come from Rio. As we all got on the other bus Hilla and i waited to get on last to see what seats were empty so we could sit somewhere else. There were no other seats empty but we were lucky enough to find someone willing to change seats with us. It was not at the other end of the bus but 1 seat away from the ones we sat before. Better than nothing. Later on in the middle of the night, i don't exactly know when cause i was half asleep, the bus stopped for half and hour and 2 cops got on the bus. A routine check i guess. Then they told the Argentinean guy to get off the bus and open his bags. For some reason they thought he was someone they were looking for. Luckily they didn't find anything. He later told us he had 1 joint in his bag.

A few hours later the bus stopped again. There was a car accident in front of us. 2 trucks crashed and the whole road was blocked. We could not believe it. 2 hours of a standstill. When i say standstill i mean the cars where not moving at all. People got off the bus and just sat outside on the side of the road. Only 10 minutes after we got to drive again, our bus stopped for a 40 minute break at a gas station. The bus ride just didn't want to end.

In addition to all that, there was KASSIA, a 7 year old Brazilian girl running back and forth on the bus. Her mom kept on shouting KASSIA, KASSIA STOP but that didn't help. She then threw up on the bus 2 seats away from us. Horrible. She and her small brother wiped everything up and threw it into the toilet your were not suppose to throw paper in and made the whole place look like a mess cause there was no more water to flush.

Later on, after a couple of stops, we found out that the 16 hour ride as we were told was not really 16 hours. No one could tell us exactly how long it would be. We had to find out ourselves.


At 22:00 local time (There was a change in time) we got to Eunopis. From there we took another 1 hour bus ride to Porto Sagero and finally got to our destination after 26 fucking hours.

Today after booking a place to stay in Porto Sagero for the carnaval, we are going to Arraial Dajuda with Ofri and Idan. A place that is suppose to be really good full of good beaches. I hope to write soon so keep checking the site.

Florianopolis, Bara de Lagoa and a little of Rio de Janeiro

Yes, i know i haven't written for a while but i didn't have any time or at least didn't get an Internet connection for a decent price. I dont have a lot of time so this is only a small bit of what we did in the last week.

After being at the amazing Iguasu waterfalls on both sides (The Argentinean side and then the Brazilian side), we kept on travelling with Huan the Columbian friend we were with since Puerto Madryn to the Brazilian boarder and from there to Florianopolisand then Santa Catarina island where we stayed on Bara de Lagoa beach.

All 3 of us rented an apartment 30 seconds from the beach but didn't like the place that much. It was too touristic and was totally different from what i expected it to be. I thought it was going to be like the beaches in Thailand but it was not even close. Loads of Argentinean families with kids running all over. The total opposite of what we were looking for. We left as fast as possible (after 4 days), and took the bus to different places. Hilla and I took an 18 hour bus ride to Rio de Janeiro and Huan went back to Argentina.



The next day after our arrival in Rio, we took a taxi to Copacabana area to the hostel we booked on the Internet but as not expected - bad luck. The hostel was full and our booking was no good. The reception told us that they had problems with our online booking and that they were now going to find us an apartment for 2 days. We should just wait 2 hours and everything will be fine. 4 hours later, we found ourselves still waiting. After being taken to an apartment that belonged to a girlfriend of one of the workers and being offered to stay there, we got fed up with everything and decided to leave. We got our money back and were taken to another hostel.

Later that evening at the Bamboo hostel where we were taken to, we got to know Ofri and Idan, another Israeli couple that just got to Brazil a week earlier. We soon made a change in plans and instead of staying in Rio we decided to go together to Ilha Grande, an island which looked much more like the Thai islands and was only 3 hours by bus and then 1 and a half hours by ferry.

The island was beautiful with no cars and almost no families. Just a small town with beautiful beaches and many backpackers. We went on a 3 hour walk through the forest to get to some lonely beaches where we got to drink Acai - a great tropical Brazilian fruit shake with granola and bananas (Kraus do you remember i told you i will drink it in Brazil. The first time i tasted it was in TAAM HAIR in Israel. The black fruit shake that looks like chocolate. You also tasted it. Here it is much better and bigger. My favorite).


On one of the days we took a day trip by boat going around the island. We ate Melons and Ananas and i even got to drink Coconut milk from a bamboo straw. As you all know, it is paradise for me. Fruits all over.



After staying there for 4 nights, we got back to the bus station in Rio de Janeiro and from there decided not to stay in Rio but to take a bus to Porto Sagero which ended up to be a 26 hour nightmare.