Pousada Samambaia Trancoso

... and do they wait around to eat locals who die of indolence. Pictures will better tell the beauty and charm of the place. So, few words on the subject, when I asked Claire could she live here she said she couldn´t because it was too perfect. The other is a Braislian expression ¨sinistro¨ which is something akin to our use of deadly. Carol looked at a particularly beautiful view and called it sinister. I understand. I´m not sure what´s ...

I tired to get up to Salvador as a last big ride, the bike had other ideas as I got through two sets of bearings. I can´t remember the last time I covered 1000 miles without a problem. Car park rear wheel off has become the norm. Someone helicopter me in a Speed Triple.

... en culturele traditie van Ilheus is al ettelijke jaren op de terugweg nadat de cacaomarkt ingestort is in de jaren 50 door de concurrentie met Afrika en een verwoestende ziekte die alle cacaoplanten ongeschikt maakte voor consumptie. Bovendien was Ilheus het thuisfront van de internationaal befaamde schrijver Jorge Amado (ondergetekende had er schandalig genoeg nog nooit van gehoord...), die met zijn roman Gabriela, Cravo e Canela Ilheus op de ...

... to Rio, arrived at 9am, caught the bus to the airport, dumped our bags and headed back to the centre for the few remaining hours we had. Then it was time to get the plane home..via a quick stop in Sao Paulo. 2 movies and a sleepinig pill later, we arrived back in rainy Londres...both sad and happy to be home..and already planning our next trip..Columbia and Argentina are the current favourites!

... hippy hang out it may have been five or ten years ago but these days if the average Trancoso punter were rocking past about nine thirty I´d have been very surprised. This is a very well-heeled (and middle-aged) crowd. Still, it is very much a lovely place. We have a gorgeous room in a pousada (guest house) which includes a pool and nice garden. The town is centred on the ´Quadrado´ - a grassy square with a church at one end and surrounded by boutiques and ...

Well we had a pretty decent night in Porto Seguro at one of the local bars and a decent night´s sleep in our luxury accomodation. Porto Seguro is apparently where the Portuguese originally landed in Brazil although they seem to have high-tailed it out of there leaving lots of cheap hotels in their wake. Porto Seguro is, apparently, the Blackpool of Brazil. Although without the tower. Or the trams. Or the ...

... make the trip to Porto Seguro for a celebratory holiday skite. Anyway, we were on a flight early the next morning to Rio, on our way to Buzios. That concludes our trip of Bahia on the north east coast of Brazil. Trancoso and Arraial d'Ajuda had lovely beaches, but not much for us to do at night. Porto Seguro didn't have much to offer, but then we didn't really give it much of a chance, opting to join the oldies in the bingo hall instead of going to a party.

For anyone looking for updates... I'm sorry for being so lazy about this travelogue but, it takes a long time to type things out and internet access is either not easily available or is somewhat expensive. A lame excuse but basically the truth. It's also tough to sit in hot internet cafes at times. After a kinda crazy morning in Illhéus, I decided at the last moment to just continue down the coast to Porto Seguro. I'd originally planned to stay for another day and catch the ...

After a few days in Salvador, we planned on hitting both the popular backpacker spots of Morro de São Paulo and Itacaré further south along the coast. But because the time is flying down here in Brazil, and since we also couldn't be bothered to hang around for hours waiting for a bus and/or boat, we ended up skipping them both, and headed for Arraial d'Ajuda instead, about 11 hours ...

... of windows on two walls opening into a tropical canopy. It's like staying in a breezy tree house. Trancoso has a large village green, about 100 x 300 m, lined with huge trees and colourful colonial bungalows. At night it's lit by candles and paper lanterns. Don't think I have ever been somewhere quite so tranquil. It felt like a holiday within a holiday.