Today the nurses from the health post we are working at arranged for a van to take us all to Itacare (a beach town an hour or so up the road with some of the best rated beaches in the world.) So we piled in at some ungodly hour of the morning and ended up at a place that I am fairly certain I could not ever find again even if I had step by step instructions. We pulled off the main road at some point and drove between a couple of restaurants in a dirt parking lot which put us on a little dirt road. We drove down that for awhile and took some turns that looked more like driveways (or like nothing at all) and twenty or so minutes (and various wrong turns and highly skilled backup maneuvers later) we parked in the yard of a family. They charge three reais (about a buck fifty) to park as long as you want. Plus they lent us knives for our fruit and took us to their natural spring when we got back. And the whole family - the little barefoot boys, the old men, and the assorted canines all wished us a fun day and pointed us down the hill towards a particular barbed wire fence.
We had quite a steep hike down (especially for the flip flops that every one of us was wearing) which (surprise!) made for an excellent hike back up. I loved the hiking as this was a part of life that was severely lacking in Salvador. And once we hit the sand even the people who weren't quite enthused about the hiking part perked up considerably. It was a gorgeous little beach protected by hills on either side. White sand, a little warm river meeting the ocean, and even little huts to sit under. And absolutely no tourists and no one selling anything but coconuts. Plus a herd of small children using a low powerline as a volleyball net. Excellent.
We climbed on the rocks and played in the waves and the sand and then were told that poisonous jellyfish live there. They usually chill further out but were washing up today. They are really gorgeous things - kind of like shiny blown up balloons - and came in purple, pink and blue. The poison part is a little bit of a turn off but we touched their backs and tried to save some (which washed up again.) And then we climbed on the rocks some more, played some more, ate some fruit and cookies and chips (with the help of the borrowed knife) before making the hike up. And by return hike time the sun had decided there would be no shade available so we all arrived up top glistening. Lucky for us our friends showed us to the place they gather their water from a spring and we got to feel fresh again.
We headed to town for a bit before taking off again for Ilheus (because we obviously needed some ice cream and more food in our lives.) And then on the way home we stopped at an empada place (which equals deliciousness cooked in a little shell.) I prefer tomato, basil and arugula myself. But there is something for EVERYONE. Yum.
Oh and the first hotel we were at in Ilheus was kinda grody (actually very) and a bit of a security hazard. But yesterday we moved and now are in a happy lavendary hotel with a yummy breakfast and a pregnant resident cat. Perfect.
We had quite a steep hike down (especially for the flip flops that every one of us was wearing) which (surprise!) made for an excellent hike back up. I loved the hiking as this was a part of life that was severely lacking in Salvador. And once we hit the sand even the people who weren't quite enthused about the hiking part perked up considerably. It was a gorgeous little beach protected by hills on either side. White sand, a little warm river meeting the ocean, and even little huts to sit under. And absolutely no tourists and no one selling anything but coconuts. Plus a herd of small children using a low powerline as a volleyball net. Excellent.
We climbed on the rocks and played in the waves and the sand and then were told that poisonous jellyfish live there. They usually chill further out but were washing up today. They are really gorgeous things - kind of like shiny blown up balloons - and came in purple, pink and blue. The poison part is a little bit of a turn off but we touched their backs and tried to save some (which washed up again.) And then we climbed on the rocks some more, played some more, ate some fruit and cookies and chips (with the help of the borrowed knife) before making the hike up. And by return hike time the sun had decided there would be no shade available so we all arrived up top glistening. Lucky for us our friends showed us to the place they gather their water from a spring and we got to feel fresh again.
We headed to town for a bit before taking off again for Ilheus (because we obviously needed some ice cream and more food in our lives.) And then on the way home we stopped at an empada place (which equals deliciousness cooked in a little shell.) I prefer tomato, basil and arugula myself. But there is something for EVERYONE. Yum.
Oh and the first hotel we were at in Ilheus was kinda grody (actually very) and a bit of a security hazard. But yesterday we moved and now are in a happy lavendary hotel with a yummy breakfast and a pregnant resident cat. Perfect.
1 comment:
I so want to be there with you. It sounds like a fairy tale, but a real one. Yo quiero!
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