Pousada Pilar Arraial do Cabo

Woke up to a lovely sunny day. Temperatures around here average about 30 degrees year round so you don´t need to bring any warm clothes! Olivia headed to the beach again and found a great spot. The golden sand with the blue water makes a spectacular vista. Ah bliss. Taj wandered off to catch up on some news via internet. We met up around lunchtime and visited Projeto Tamar as Olivia didn´t see it the day before. On the way to lunch, Taj could not resist trying an ...

... les musiciens battent le rythme sur leur tambour. Et l'assemblée d'accompagner leurs mouvements de mains. Le cercle s'ébranle autour du maître de cérémonie. Les femmes entament un mouvement lancinant. Pas sur le côté, bras battant l'air de chaque côté. Elles tournent en rythme autour du cercle. Leurs volumineux jupons blancs se balançent au rythme envoûtant des percussions et des chants. Emmenés par les battements de mains de l'assemblée, le cercle tourne ...

There is a saying in Portuguese. If you wash it, it is new.... Today, I announced to our housekeeper - I am laundry. Yes I mixed up the verbs I have and I am. Thank goodness I only told her that I temporarly was laundry. I wouldn´t like to be Laundry forever... :-) Getting used to Salvador. Starting to laugh more. Starting to realise that when I walk into a bar, all full of men - because I need water after class - I have to expect they will be all staring at ...

... and her 2 friends. Tati and 1 friend went home, but I stayed with David and we went on fitty hunt in the gay quarter. Still got comments, but more like Í like your bracelets, could we have one each because they match our tops´. And they kindly tucked my hair back and handed me a tissue to wipe away the shine lol. Met some very nice guys to do the usual loony dancing with. Lots of kisses, but on the cheek TG! Gtg to meet friends on beach now, APU! Love to all xxx

... the church possesses. I get back to the lower part of the city and I decide I need to buy a mirror as Amanda broke mine in Pipa. Now, a mirror may not seem like a big deal to you, but when you are as vain as I am, a mirror is as important to me as to the Queen in Snow White. I find this store with a bunch of random **** everywhere and the lady asks if she can help me. Man, I don´t know the portuguese word for flippin mirror, ah, but I know it ...

Well our time is nearly over and shortly back to reality, but in the meantime Ilha Grande is lovely! The island is unspoilt and beautifully green and lush teeming with wildlife - parokeets, red and yellow birds, huge crabs and tiny little monkeys as small as your hand. The sun is shining and we have a room with hammock overlooking the sea. Our hotel has humming birds, a puppy, a sausage dog and a cat that seems to live on our bed (Anna - it ...

Arrived in rio late afternoon and checked into our hotel at the airport. a cosy little place with friendly staff. An amazing city sprawled out in every direction contained by breathtaking inhospitable lanscape of dramatic mountains covered in atlantic rainforest. we got a taxi into rio then which was a bit on the expensive side( especially since we were paying in 2 currencies niether of which were brazilian) we ...

... and Cafes lined the one road, all were done in great taste, but none got our business. We did a couple of walks, one to a remote beach which was without doubt a top 5 beach on my comprehensive and steadily growing "worlds best beach" list. Lazing around was the order of the day, and a definite highlight was catching up with the obnoxious Cape Townian - see the Salvador travelblog entry. We found him and his Brazilian sidekick strolling down the main road ...

... he was soaking wet and white as a ghost. Apparently he got a high fever for 5 minutes, what I though was water all over his body was sweat! I later learnt that he was sleeping in a hammock so I offered him my bed as there was no way he could stay outside in the cold in a hammock. He accepted so I put my backpack on and went hunting for another place at 9pm!!! Luckily I found a ...

Well then finally we got out of La Paz, flew to Cochabamba, then Santa Cruz, then Puerto Suarez, then Sao Paulo, then Rio de Janiero, then took a bus to Buzios, and then got a cab to Arraial do Cabo. Woke up at 3 am got in at 2 am. Crazy to say the least. Our taxi driver was awesome, he stopped to let us play in the beach, and gave us the shirt off his back (it was of the Buzios jazz fest after we told him we were in our jazz band) Brasil ...