Golden Park Salvador

... the hostel where I stayed during carnival. Thankfully they had a free bed and I was welcomed back with open arms, they were really happy to see me again. I spend the evening at the hostel drinking fresh fruit juices and Acai which is an amazing frozen Amazonian super-fruit crushed and mixed with banana and cronola, hmm!! Time to get healthy again after the hedonism of carnival.

... mental wreck after 10 days of carnival!! I've been warned by many people about the crime in Salvador. I'm honestly expecting to get mugged at some point during my stay. I'll not carry anything of value around the city except for a little bit of cash separated in different pockets. I can't take my camera, which is a real shame but it's just not worth it. After leaving Rio the bus meandered along some windy roads through some beautiful mountainous ...

... The expensive bit where you are fed, wined and dined and treated like royalty, even though I´´ve paid for the pipoca (literally popcorn as its so crowded you can only jump up and down). Anyway, all is well but I´m glad the classes have commenced again. I need to keep moving, keep sweating, keep dancing. My stomach seems to have settled, I have had mainly carbs today, bread, pasta and potatos and loads of fluid and it is thanking me. The journey continues.. Mwah. Soooz

... the Ciudade Baixa, where the port and the market are located. Not much to see here in my opinion. The place where we really spent most of the time was the seaside neighborhood of Barra. The best beaches are located here and ...

So I returned from Iguacu Falls sometime mid day yesterday. It was such an amazing trip. I was a little hesitant going in because most of the people I've been hanging out with since getting onboard the ship were either going to Rio or heading to Lencois for hiking through the jungle. I knew one person, but quickly met a few more and had a core group of four people. It was me, Shawn, Laura-Flynn, and Sarah. We. Had. A. Blast. It was a four and a half hour flight to ...

... over. I guess, sometimes its just being unlucky and this kind of thing could happen in any major city. its just that no one has ever told me a story like that one. zoiks. Well, after enjoying these past few days of Salvadorian culture and musical fusion, im going to get my last bit of Brazilian surf. im heading to the surf town of Itacare, which main influences are surfing, reggae, and ecotourism. Sounds like my kind of people. =)

... that I was really looking forward to visiting. <br><br>However, since we've been On The Road (move over Jack Kerouac), all we've heard about is how dangerous the place is! <br><br>Lonely Planet says that if you're going to get mugged anywhere in Brazil, it will be in Salvador! GREAT. <br><br>So I guess I shouldn't really have been surprised when a 50 year old bloke ...

... get one. The way Salvador works is that there are two parts of the city, one lower part on the coast and then on higher ground there is another part, so they have an elevator system that takes you up and down between them. The elevator costs five cents to ride and was right near the ship. So we first took the elevator up (which also has a beautiful view of the city from the top) and headed to Pelourinho, the older part of town. First we were in the family part of ...

... is amazing. Everything from absolute poverty to staggering wealth, **** and **** covered streets to beautiful beaches. We pulled into port yesterday morning at about 5:30am. Will and I got up to watch as we pulled past the city which is a lot bigger and more built up than I had imagined. We docked and had our pre-port meeting where they warned us a lot about the amount of crime in the city and how we have to be really careful and watch our surroundings. So far ...

... the next d*y met one of the performers Jody who lives in Ibiz*, is studying tr*peze *nd ribbons in Rio but h*ils from Austr*li*, top wom*n *nd we spent time over the next few d*ys p*rtying with her. One night she surprised us *nd turned up w*lking on stilts in * gl*morous golden goddess costume. Also of worthy note w*s * couple of tr*mpoline experts who did * UV show then performed * ´Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dr*gon´m*rti*l *rts type show on * gi*nt tr*mpoline the ...