Provence Pituba Apart Service Salvador

Oooh boy, have I ever been slacking. I'm almost at the end of my trip, right now, and I'm sorting through note-pad entries, and they end at the beginning of Rio. here's the last entry for Salvador, and I'll start throwing the rest of my entries up, right now. Picture will come later. My camera has all but kicked the bucket, so there aren't tons.

The rest of Salvidor:

Well, I've ...

... the walls and ceilings. The church was built by the slaves and to demonstrate their displeasure they purposefully disfigured the angels and statues throughout by making them look pregnant, having deformed faces or ridiculous oversized sex organs!

Our guided tour of the area was brilliant and we learnt so much more, too much to fill in the screens of this blog. A few more details are in the pictures...

Sadly though, the area is a ...

... Now this was a small town and all we had was the name Grasola written on a piece of paper, this might sound ridiculous but I don't think Bruno was all that bothered because he was going back to work in the bagel factory on Baggot street. So after a few indecipherable comments from locals including the words gringo and negro we asked to old guys for casa Grasola and sure enough they led us straight there. The town has two streets of sand. Grasola turned out to be the ...

... giggling and off they both ran to try out their next victim. Iīve called this entry the cheese man because it was he who alerted me to the kids at first. We love the cheese man. Let me say again, We love the cheese man. He was awesome. There are vendors on the beach that sell these cheese kebabs (on a stick).These kebabs are so awesome, covered in oregano and honey and a cheese that is much like haloumi only not salty. Our cheeseman cooked our ...

... the events progress. Dressed in white and blue, the women in full Baiana gear, each group of dancers and drummers took to the beach drumming until the espirito encorporo (the spirit entered). This meant a lot of vibrading and gyrating, the sprinkling of aqua floresta (sacred water) and the body, now enchanted, was taken aside to be crowned as Yemanja. Then at the peak of dancing and drumming supported in a circle, the circle opened and the dancing spirit of Yemanja often ...

... for work, teaching english or just hanging out. There is the aspect of it too that Bahia is much more representative of the stereotype foreigners have of the country, because, in many ways, it's the cultural center of the country. I spent the final few weeks continuing with the English lessons. I wasn't too thrilled with the progress, but I guess you can't expect too much from a rookie teacher after 5 or 6 lessons. When I think of the 7 years of French I had ...

... bus directly to Flamengo beach. All in all, the journey took about 1.5 hours. It was a beautiful beach and unlike many of the beaches in Salvador, it is set back from the road, so it's very peaceful. As it was quiet, it was the first time that Mike and I could both go into the sea together (usually one of us watches the bags while the other swims). We still had a close eye ...

... connections I have made. Nei, Anderson, Wendell and Berenice and Loi are all looking forward to welcoming the next group. So my dear students start saving... Weīll be doing 4 hours of dance training today. We go to the beach now, and then start class from 8pm to 10pm. Jazzie and I will use the time in between to goto the beach and buy instruments and CDīs. Jazzie is very interested in more of a business partnership a cultural exchange of sorts, which fits with all that I ...

... a bit for interview and classes on Monday at school. Bit of shopping too with Isabella, hostess, but Brazilīs expensive compared to other SA countries, prices comparable to England! And Brazilīs fashion is generally tighter, brighter and louder than Englandīs... Monday-first day at school, a bit nervous to be honest, everyone already in groups, made friends, knows each other etc. As am doing intensive course, I also have lessons in arvo. Followed by a samba lesson that I ...

I get into Salvador at 6:30am and if you read my last entry, not a second too soon. I hop on a bus that this lady said I should take to get to Pelourinho (historical center and touristy) but when I ask the guy taking the money on the bus he tells me this bus is in fact not going to Pelourinho. Hmmm, lying ass *****. This isnīt cool. Salvador is huge and there are many areas that the locals donīt want to be in let alone a gringo traveling by himself ...