Sofitel Salvador

... just so we could try all the interesting afro-brazilian dishes. On Tuesday, we had some drinks, and watched live music all over the Pelourinho. It was just an over-all great time.
I took Lareina to the airport on the 26th, and we said our good-byes. It was sad to see her go, since I had a great time travelling with her, but I still have a month to go, so I'm carrying on.     

... Afro-Brazilian culture, means 2 weeks of street parties all over Salvador, mainly in the Pelo! There are 8 stages set up around the city with live bands performing every night from 7pm tp 3am free of charge! Our hostel was about 5 minutes from the main stage with 10,000 people partying it up every night. It was amazing to see these okes going for it! Beer stalls and vendors made a fortune with their 3 beers for 5 Reals (Ģ1.50) specials. Vendors ...

... jaded monosyllabic response. But eventually Catherine arrived all smiles, we got a room in the back and got ready to see what carnaval would be like in this fishing village where we were the only white people.  it turned out that Grasola was a former philosophy teacher who now stayed at home to look after her blind mother, she didn't get any more talkative but the house was cool and there was plenty of entertainment. Carnaval turned out to be one stage an unreasonably ...

... Well he didnīt turn up the other day, as you know, and his phone was off and I just assumed we were done... Turns out there was a massive fight in his neighbourhood and one of his friends got stabbed and he had to take him to hospital and things were manic... I spóke to him yesterday and he came visiting for me with Neidi and Beto (both whom I met in Australia and really love) and then also Emerson joined us later. What really surprised me was that ...

... go to the rocks of praia paciencia (my favourite beach) for my offering, as the queue to make the offering at Casa Branca goes for two blocks, plus that location means more to me. I made three simple wishes, throwing three flowers, one for each wish. I wished mainly to continue along my path, but I didnīt know what to offer in return. It was in that moment of confusion that a red rose washed up on my foot, so I offered that. It felt right. Goodness knows I worked hard ...

... a trained teacher, it makes me feel better about the progress that we made. On June 18th I took a 2 hour boat ride to an island called Morro de Sao Paolo where I spent my last week in Brazil. The trip was pretty rough. About 5 people spent the whole trip puking. It was all worth it in the end. The island is absolutely gorgeous. Around every corner, there's a postcard-worthy view. It's pretty touristy though, with 90% of the businesses having something to do with ...

... our things but it was great fun jumping in the waves. The journey back was a nightmare! It took almost three hours, largely due to the rush hour traffic. But the bus seemed to go down every street in Salvador and stop at every stop! When we finally made it back, we went to dinner at a restaurant around the corner. We had steak, rice, beans and chips - it was lovely and cheap!

... intentional comunity, cultural exchange, sustainability of cultural and environmental forms. All the teachers we learned from were so happy that people were interested - they keep their forms, itīs taken for granted in Brazil almost. Anyway time is nearly up. Much love to all. I miss Olinda, I miss Loi and my friends - but I have a beautiful bead necklace around my neck to remind me of it all. And Loi has my orixas necklace, he has my protection and I have his. Love to all Soooz

... duck out of but, thankfully, decide to go for it and just make a fool of myself anyway. Am glad I did know, not just for the laughs it provided, but also to help me switch from Colombian vallenato, cumbia, salsa rhythms to Brazilian samba, which is very different. Salvador is apparently the home of samba, as it has the greatest African heritage of Brazil, and itīs everywhere. Felt reall eurgh when got back home with incredible headache so couldnīt do anything but lie ...

... I really donīt know where Pelourinho is as I donīt have a map of Salvador. There was a large map at the bus station but it was very confusing and it was like 4 feet tall and behind plexiglass so I couldnīt really stuff it in my pocket and my memory is shot because I just had a 20 hour bus ride, I almost ******* myself and I feel a little weird, so there is no remembering anything on that map. I figure I will just take the bus for a while and see ...