Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. 13-17 de Enero

Enter Brazil - The final leg of our journey! 

After rather a long and arduous flight south from Colombia - 20 hours and 3 countries we arrived to Salvador de Bahia on Brazils north-east coast. We swear the long-haul buses are less tiring than flying!

Over the next month we will make our way south/west along the Brazilian coast, eventually finishing up the journey in Buenos Aires.

Brazil brings pearly beaches, jandals, 3-tier bunks, cake for breakfast, afro's, braids and butt-floss bikinis! Now I know what you´re thinking and NO, not all body beautiful! 100kg and all ages are sporting the string bottom bikini,
.............and FLAUNTING it!

Very reluctantly Matt and I put the Spanish aside for a month and began speaking what we like to call 'Spanglagese'. We had heard it was similar to spanish - however not so easy for those non-fluent Spanish speakers. Lucky for us every other tourist in Salvador is Argentinian so we leapt at the chance to keep up our Spanish momentum! 

Sadly Salvador is where our little camera gave up the go! The following day we very unhappily discovered my SLR had joined the party when the lens began to sound somewhat like a tractor! Not happy but we will truck on with what we've got! 1 month more.............



Igreja do Santissimo Sacramento do Passo



Pelourinho surrounds

Salvador was incredible and again re-organised our list of favourite cities - with Rio to follow it´ll likely happen again next week. Being the indigenous capital of Brazil, Salvador is apparently the most 'Brazilian city' where you experience the best local culture. Hearing this on day one, we were pretty excited to get out and about to check it out.

As we had 5 days we opted to stay in 2 different locations. The historical suburb of Pelourinho and the seaside suburb of Barra. 

Pelourinho

First day in Salvador and we struck their pre-carnival carnival Lavagem do Bonfim.... on the 2nd Thursday of every January they clean their major church, have a holiday and party in it's honour.
After sleeping-in we heard we´d missed all the action but while out touristing about, we stumbled on a huge street party (more than 3km long) and joined in the festivities. Fair to say we didn´t see any more of the city after finding this!! We had a great time tearing into all the local beers amongst the Brazilians.

It seemed as though we were the only tourists game to venture away from the tourist hub of Pelourinho to party, so it felt all the more authentic!

Matt learning some Capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian dance/art form.
Its derived from a combination of martial arts, dance, sport and music.

Ascensor from Pelourinho down to the waterfront.






It was all too tough for this old fella.....

So after the carnival Lavagem do Bonfim we had one day left to wander about all the colonial architecture (there goes that word again) in Pelourinho. Plus it was packed with markets, plaza's, food and music. We loved it!!


Praia do Porto - Precisely as we imagined a Brazilian beach would be.
The locals beach on a Sunday avo, which we attempted
but there wasn´t even room to lie flat!

Barra is a gorgeous seaside suburb that is hugely popular for tourists and the locals alike. Here, Matt and I had our first taste of what it was like to be at the beach with an 'ozone layer' and lapped up 3 perfect days of sunshine amongst the stifling humidity and heat.
Being at the beach we could finally get back into some running and explored the coastline either side of the main street. Otherwise we just relaxed and took it all in............

Salvador was where the hunt for Matt's new bathers began......when in Rome!!
Waited for ages for the girl behind to lie down but she kept fluffing about with her oil
............so lads, here's one of the better g-string sportings.

Brollymania!!!



 


Barra point lighthouse

You can purchase anything you could possibly dream of on these beaches.



Funky Salvadorian phone booths.

Salvador is apparently the most dangerous city in Brazil but we can honestly say we didn't see anything of this. Definitely a city to put on your itinery in Brazil!

To spare a 1700km bus trip we were lucky enough to get seats on a fairly decent flight from Salvador to Rio De Janiero. Sadly we would've loved have had a few more days to explore Salvadors nearby national park and islands but Rio awaits......

Cartagena de Colombia, 6-9 de Enero

We keep coming across new towns and cities which we like to bump up to number one in our Me Gusto! (I liked it!) ratings and after several brilliant days here in Cartagena, we now have a new number one! Labelled as the most romantic city in South America it was easy to see why with the extremely well kept historic part of the city contained within a an old fortification wall - ye olde Caribbean stoory of kyeepn de payrites awaay. 



 This is Plaza de la Aduana where African slaves were originally purchased and sold.

 

In parallel with the colorful architecture the locals were equally vibrant both in dress and personality. We had a few hints of such culture in Panama - completely different to the Andean people in countries south from here, brought in part from the huge number of African slaves brought here in the pioneering days. 

We bought a couple of fruit salads from these awesome ladies on day one, and from then on each time we passed them we'd get the best of grins and HOLA's!



Back to doing what we do best, our time in Cartagena was spent wandering around checking things out....general loitering and taking photos.


Pedestrians dominate the narrow cobbled streets.

 

Oh how we loved the Mango Man (Men), this served as part of breaky each day (50c for a cup full), as well as a pretty frequent snack. These carts were on every corner.  



 






This colonnade is where we found the best nuts in town. The coconut biscuits were a hit also.





Volcan del Totumo

Quite random, but a great attraction close to Cartagena nevertheless, we visited Volcan del Totumo - a15m high volcano (yep volcano) with a very small crater filled with slowly bubbling, lukewarm mud and people. Essentially, loads of tourists are crammed into the small boxed-in crater where you experience a strange sensation of weightlessness. This is due to the mud having a similiar density to your body. The crater is actually very deep (2000-odd meters deep in fact), so you dont touch the bottom, but rather just bob around and attempt to move. The sound effects were pretty hilarious, and just floating around was surprisingly relaxing!  

Me (left) and Clare (right).




 


Enjoying a $1.50 muddy massage












Clare looking out for Johnny and the Black Pearrrrl.

When in Rome, or atleast close to Cuba, I couldn't resist. Me gusta!

Clare is always finding little friends.

Awesome drum and dance street performers dancing with machetes.








One of my favourite parts of travelling is that every drink and meal during the day is a hot date, somewhere different! This one was a date in the company of a rather large canon.


Unfortunatley our time on the Caribbean coast of Colombia was cut short due the weather delays and boat carnage in Panama (we will definately be back here). So, from Cartagena we headed inland to Bogota via a 20 hour bus ride (we checked that there were no more landslides or potential for protests....). It felt like ages since we had been on any decent length overnight bus rides!
We made sure we were in Bogota with ample time before our flight departed for Brazil, so spent a cruisy 2 days investigating the Colombian capital.

The Darien Gapster - Panama hasta Colombia en el barco (31 de Deciembre - 4 de Enero, 2011).

The Panaaaama, Panaaamaahaaahaaahahaa anthem continues and the afternoon of Dec 31st we get on the boat, destined for Colombia, hoping to see Johnny Depp and Keira Knightly on the way.

This was a trip that didn't quite go according to plan.........perhaps all the drunken sailors at Hostel Portobelo were trying to tell us something in their boozey rants - in trying to convince us to go on their boats instead.

Miramar - very excited to actually be leaving today!

Team kiwi - getting soaked by the swell on the left.
Note, only row not to vomit!

2 days after our scheduled departure, our captain (Marco) takes off without authority to pick the group up from Miramar. At this stage we’re all just happy to get on the boat so the choppy seas were not such an issue for the 3 hour journey to our NY Eve destination. Well at least until we got into the thick of it and the vom bags came out thick and fast.

Laughter and sitting up the front getting absolutely drenched was the best medicine to keep our tummy’s settled. One poor guy down the back was employed as a full time bailer (as the bathtub was taking on water from the swell) and vomiting in between bails.

New Years Eve spot 2010

Day one went well and we had new years on a small inhabited island – and epic it was!!

Next morning Cap’t suggested we add a day to our trip as we were so delayed the previous day, and instead opt to go to an island nearby. Although this may have been our first mistake in terms of the amazing race that we were about to enter into with Dan, it was our first taste of paradise and a perfect day.



Anchoring at our first tropical island paradise.



Crack up! These boys are as white as the sand they stand on.......





  


 



From here there are 3 days of blur where a string of action occurred that somewhat skewed our itinery.

To keep it brief as brief as possible………….

Day 3: One hour in and both engines die. Marco eventually gets one going and we troll to a random island for repair.

End up staying the night as its too late to take off again. Apparent problem – sold dodgy fuel with water in it.

Marco gets rip-rotten drunk and is unable to greet the group to discuss the mornings plans. Addresses the group “I am yer aaa Caperrrtayne”. Proceeds to suggest we add another day to make up for the day spent fixing the boat.

Now 3 days behind original schedule, division hits the group as many are not time bound and many have connecting flights/arrangements.

Discussion becomes heated and the Caperrrtayne then decides to leer into one of the Canadian girls because he simply doesn’t like her (and he tells her this). Very uncalled for!

We decide to head for Colombia the next morning but to reassess in the morning and as we travel. All happy campers and at this stage Dan is on target to meet his flight.

Everyone sheltering from the downpour.
Basketball team from neighbouring island waiting for their canoe home.





The bonus of the bathtub breaking down was that we visited
some gorgeous villages with the sweetest children.

A little laughter amongst the group the following morning as just like in slum dog millionaire (although not quite so voluntary), poor Dominic falls through the floor of the toilet. Standing on the wharf, we all see two feet dangling and a jandle floating amongst the debri. Not so funny for him!

Day 4 (and still only been to one isolated island): One hour in and the engines die again.

This time unable to restart either so we “bob” and we “bob” some more and the vomit bags come out again (Matt). Thankfully 3 local Kuna’s come to our rescue and tow us to a nearby island.
A timber boat with an old 75HP motor towes a 25 person bathtub (and 2 dead 200HP motors) in 8-10ft swell. Refer to Dan's video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZIP0btWQyU

Apparent problem – sold more dodgy fuel with water in it. Hmmm, by this time the sceptics are beginning to think that there may be more to it and the amount of bailing going on in the back might just have something to do with water contaminating the fuel??

  

 

Many of us now a touch agitated and fed-up!

Marco's responsible plan: 10 of us travel the remaining 7 hour with the Kuna's (that just towed us). Hmmm……… timber boat, 75 HP motor, no axillary, no radio, no canopy, notenough life jackets for everyone and large swell. No thanks!!

Meanwhile, Dan lines up a potential insurance claim as making his flight seems unlikely.
A new and external fuel tank is connected on deck. However, not anchored so tips and leaks through the back of the boat as we are about to re-board. Delayed once more....



 
 

  

Later that evening we make it to our second uninhabited island and set up camp for the night. This is where we almost forgot all of the previous days events as it was simply stunning. A local Kuna man starts cutting fresh coconuts, free beer from the captain and we spend the night around a bonfire.

………..an hour or so later, Marco realises one of the anchor ropes hasn’t held and the boat is floating merrily towards the reef.

Marco now had a few too many and doesn’t want to get wet so sends hit mate to check it out.





Camping in paradise

Aaargh, pirate hooch!

Day 5: We are off and the seas are on our side today. Cruisy day of travelling and a visit to another Kuna village for lunch.



Bano el natural....in action (literally)!

We make it to Sapsurro (Colombia) with 15 minutes to spare before customs shuts! The 6 of us in a hurry are tipped into another boat and whisked to the neighbouring bay to get our exit stamp. Tick!


This is where the amazing race gains momentum as we are in Colombia with approximately 30 hours until Dan’s flight leaves. We have to wait until morning to take a 2.5 hour boat ride to Turbo and then approximately 14 hours of bus to get us to Cartagena - broken into 3 buses because of recent land-slides.

Following morning we awake early to buy tickets to find no seats left and we would have to wait another day. Excellent, Dan misses his flight as we can have him for a few more days!!However by a strike of luck (for Dan) people didn´t turn up so we land 3 seats on the boat, enter a mad dash and take off!

La Nina has beaten Colombia and Panama in recent months.
Change of bus no. 1 due to washed out bridge

Finally a real boat! On route from Capurgana to Turbo, final water leg of the trip.

Juliette and Juan. These 2, their brothers and sister and Matts animal
noises kept us all entertained for a good 8 hours.

At 1am we arrive in Cartagena, 5 hours before Dan is scheduled to check-in.


Wander hostels for an hour and eventually retire to a hostel lobby for the rest of the night as absolutely everything is fully booked. Perhaps a fitting end to the shambles that was Dan´s summer holiday.

Sadly for us, Dan made his flight!
Although we didn’t get to all the tropical islands we dreamed of, we spent numerous unscheduled hours and a night amongst some incredible Kuna villages. I think for all 3 of us, these villages and children were a major highlight of the trip.
The boat trip was not quite so smooth but thats travelling and we had a ball anyway. Dan´s left with a pirate scar and some excellent spanish vocab under his belt. Cabeza mierda!