Haley has put up a selection of our many many photos on her journal and you are all invited to take a look! Go to www.goringe.net/haley
...And mum, dont worry - i am not as dark as the photos indicate! The hue settings on Haley's camera are skewed! I apply sunscreen daily!
I had heard so much about Salvador from other travellers and through travel books and websites - but nothing really prepared me for the intensity that permeates through this place and through the people. There is real soul in this place that is quite far removed from the dilapidated buildings and sleepy beaches that encircle this city.
Click on the link below to read on....
The day before yesterday was so surreal. We awoke after a hectic few days travelling by bus on brazilian roads (with brazilian drivers) and found ourselves in a samba class with a teacher who looked like he was the lead in Fame and other students who were just as good. Samba involves shaking your boombom continously and unrelentingly! It was SO tiring but SO much fun! We couldnt wipe the smile from our faces for so long!
After that Haley decided to get her hair braided (she looks gorgeous- and we cant work out whether she looks more like a tourist or less like one!). SO there we sat in a make-shift hair salon on a street corner on the edge of the town square (right next to a live samba band playing all afternoon) getting her hair braided by 4 African-Brazilian drag queens. Mona Lisa (the head hairdresser) spoke to us extensively in portugese and gave us style tips all afternoon. It was such a weird experience - but one I will never forget. And yes, I got a few braids done as well (but only a few!).
Its the people wo really make this place and we have been lucky to meet such great ppl in our hostel as well as out on the colourful streets. A lot of ppl think I am a local because of my dark skin. Men are very forward here and so we have learnied that it pays not to be polite all the time. Some of them really never give up.
We have been given lots of warning ab0out Carnival - dont take anything valuable with you, wear pants, drink lots of berocca in the morning etc! I cant visualise the madness until I[m there!
Anyway, its completely safe here and I feel very comfortable! We have been blessed in our travels everyday. God has put the right people in front of us at the right times to help us out and kept us out of trouble!
So much more has happened - but not enough time or space!
xox
We have had a really nice 2 days here in Itacare. I suppose this place is a Brasilian version of Byron Bay (minus the British backpackers). There are hardly any gringo travellers here (gringo means `foreign´) and very very ew ppl can speak a language other than portugese.
Its been so nice lying on the beach, shopping, meeting locals and other travellers and hitting the parties late at night. People really use 24 hours in the day here. They are up very early doing everyday things and party til very late at night. Clubs and backyard parties only start at around 1am-2am and last until sunrise......
Click below to read on...
We met two really nice Danish and Slovenian guys who can speak portugese. So we have been out with them the last couple of nights. Beer and cocktails are very very cheap. You can get a martini here for about $2. There are cocktail stalls that s-use fresh fruit in the cocktails and are delicious.
We went to a party the other night and i think haley and I really disappointed the locals who tried to dance these complicated dance steps with us. We were SO terrible! I had to keep apologising - but they just laughed. It was so funny!
Last night we had som local cuisine and went to the bay area to see a local concert. There are SO many children out late at night. Some run around in their little gangs - doing nothing in particular. Some look for empty beer cans to exchange for cash and some just sit around for want of anything else to do.
But there is such a party atmosphere here! It was only tuesday night and there were concerts and parties! We were literaly awoken this morning by firewrks that signalled the end of the night!
So there it is. Oh yeah - the beaches are amazing. The best I have ever seen! The water is so warm and the beaches so beautiul. We were on a beach yesterday surrounded by jungle. Amazing!
Leaving to Ilheus in about 1 hour!
I love making detailed plans and itineraries - but in Brazil you quicky learn that these are of no help in the art of survival. We were SUPPOSED to take a lesisurely bus trip up the coast from Buzios visiting random little towns along the way. But our itineraries and the bus itinerary certainlydidnt match. So we ended up taking a 16 hour bus ride all the way up to a town called Ilheus ( a beach town renowned for its beauty and serenity).
But again our plans changed. We met some really friendly Brazilians who recommended us going 1 hour further to where we are now (a town called Itaca). They were SO nice! They made sure we were ok on the bus, came and checked out the hostel we were staying at (checked the rate and the condition of our room) and were so concerned about us. Friendly ppl make such a difference on tiring journeys.
Press the link below to read on.....
The scenery was amazing ont he ride up. Everything is so green and lush here! Instead of wide freeways, the bus travels on winding roads and even cobblestoned streets (very bumpy!!!). Its a bit scary sometimes. The roads are single laned 2 direction roads and our bus driver has often overtaken semi-trailers on the bicycle lane!
We are now in a region which is heavily populated by African-Brazilians. It feels very Carribean actually. We just got here so we havent explored much yet! The hostel we are staying at is very cute and very Brazilian - dangerously low ceiling fan, open planned and always noisy. I love it!
Going to the beach now......:)
I dont really know where to start! My first 3 days in Brasil have been an explosion of colour, people, noise, humidity, panic and beauty. I have rebounded from sheer panic to sheer joy in the space of 2 minutes! Its crazy! I have always been fascinated by Rio (ever since watching ´City of God´) and I haven~t been disappointed by the things I have experienced so far.
Rio comes across in all its urban rawness - there are millions of people everywhere who come from all walks of life. The richest parts of Ipanema are just across the water from the poor favelas - and everyone frolicks and struts in the beach together - and I mean everybody! My mother told me to wear clothes approporiate for the localilities I visited. If she saw some of the clothes the women wore here, I think she would change her tune. :)
The airport on arrival was a bit of a disaster. We had to wait in lines for about 3 hours - but thats just the way things get done around here - slowly and a bit painfully. After our 30 hour planes rides we really wanted to get to our hotel to freshen up a bit. Because personal safety is such an issue here in Rio we were very careful to use our money belts and lock up our backpacks to the bed etc. I~m not sure if all the hype is warranted. Sure there are seedy looking ppl around - but everyone who we have enoucntered so far have been so friendly and helpful. They stop on the street and argue with each other about the best way for us to get where we want to go. They are such beautiful people!
The highlight of day 1 for me was the beach party that took place about 30 metres from our hotel. It was SO much fun! There were thousands and thousands of people and we met so many cariocas (people from Rio)!
Yesterday, we got a bus out of Rio to a beach town where we currently are staying. The town is called Buzios and looks exactly like the travel brochure i had been staring at all year! It has so much character! It seems to be a place where wealthy Brasilians holiday - but it has such a down-to-earth vibe to it. We spent most of today at the beach and exploring the town on foot. Our hostel is cute - although without electricity last night. But I guess you cant argue for $10 per night.
Tomorrow we leave for another town called Vittoria and then we finally get up to Salvador in time for next weekend. It has been a bit stressful catching buses from place to place knowing very little portugese. Rio bus station is in the seedy (and i really mean, seedy) part of town and we found it after 2 bus rides. But its really fine! Apart from the massive backpacks we´re carrying - i think we can get away for being locals. I think.
Anyway, i have probably forgotten to write about so many other things. Also, we are still testing the waters a bit regarding how safe it is to pull out our digital cameras. So there have been so many great photo opportunities that we thought were fantastic - but too risky to take. Sorry! I would have loved to share with you some images from our first few days! But I will put some on in the very near future!
That´s all for now! Keep in touch!
Love Tanya xoxo
I cant believe I only have 9 days left before I embark on the biggest adventure of my life! Haley and I have been planning our round-the-world trip for about 10 months now and it always felt like it was so far away in the distance! It still hasn't hit me and I'm not sure when it will.
Yesterday was amazing! Thanks to all my friends and family who came to my farewell lunch. I was truly overwhelmed at seeing so many people take time out of their busy schedules to say goodbye! You all mean a lot to me and I'm sorry that I didn't get a chance to talk to everyone for as long as I wanted!
For those of you who may not know - my friend Haley and I have taken 1 year out of our lives in Sydney to go around this amazing world of ours. We begin in Brazil (holidaying and volunteering) and then visit countries like Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Peru and Ecuador. We then move up to Mexico and Cuba for a few weeks and then leave for USA and Canada. From there we travel to London for 5-6 months on a working holiday. We hope to see a bit of Europe too while working in London. I will most probably return to Sydney in January 2006 via Hong Kong and Singapore.
I'm so excited! But I'm petrified at the same time. I am an only child and have a very close relationship to my parents. Its going to be hard saying goodbye to them but I know that this is the time for me to challenge myself and get some independence. God has blessed me in so many ways and I hope these travels will be a way of passing on those blessings to others.
So - please keep in touch via this journal (by posting comments) or email me on tanya_a_2005@yahoo.com.au
Instead of emailing you photos of my trip - i will post them on this site so your inboxes wont be filled with massive files and you can go through my ponderings and photos at your leisure!
Lots of Love
Tanya
xoxo