Chapada Diamantina (11-13/oct/2006)

La Chapada Diamantina es uno de los parques nacionales más famosos de Brasil y nuestra única visita al interior del país aparte de Manaus. La zona fue una de las mayores minas de diamantes del mundo e hizo de Brasil el primer productor mundial de esta piedra a comienzos del siglo 20. Su extracción está actualmente prohibida.
El parque tiene tepuis, praderas, cataratas, cuevas y muchas rutas de trek abiertas por los garimperios o extractores de diamantes. Como no teniamos tiempo para hacer ninguna caminata larga hicimos pequenas excursiones de un día desde Lencois, el pueblo base. Visitamos ríos de agua color coca-cola con pequenas cascadas y toboganes naturales muy chulos. Josh le cogió el gusto a los toboganes a mi me hicieron menos gracia y opté por proteger mi coxis.También vimos una cueva enorme llena de estalacitas y estalagmitas, jugamos con las arenas de colores que los artesanos usan para hacer botellas y vender a los turistas y subimos a un mirador con vistas al parque donde el guía hizo el paripé mientras nos contaba la historia del cerro y por un momento creimos que se tiraba al vacio. El pueblo de Lencois es muy agradable y coincidimos con un puente así que las calles estaban muy animadas.

Cumple de Josh y Puerto de Galinhas (6-10/oct/2006)

El día del cumple de Josh nos levantamos con calma en Olinda, desayunamos en el jardín cerca de la piscina y nos fuimos a Puerto Galinhas, el próximo destino.

Puerto de Galinhas era el antiguo puerto de llegada de los esclavos africanos y “galinhas” era el nombre que los contrabadistas de esclavos utilizaban para designar a aquellos. Ahora este pequeno puerto no es más que un destino playero familiar famoso por sus increibles piscinas naturales. Las mareas en Brasil son muy fuertes y en este lugar en particular cuando la marea está baja quedan al descubierto miles de piscinas naturales de todos los tamanos con peces de colores atrapados dentro y puedes pasear y bucear por allí. Es precioso! Entre piscina y playa nos quedamos alli 3 días. Una noche le compramos al dueno del hostal 1 Kg de langostas por menos de 6 euros y nos dimos un festín, y aunque la langosta por aquí es un bastante pequena nos supo a gloria!

Olinda (4-5/oct/2006)

Olinda es una pequena ciudad colonial a las afueras de Recife declarada Patrimonio Nacional de la Humanidad por la Unesco que no nos podiamos perder. En un día se pueden visitar todas las iglesias y puntos de interés pero nosotros nos lo tomamos con calma porque teníamos una posada muy mona con piscina donde se estaba muy bien. En Olinda hay como 20 monumentos para visitar pero sólo fuimos a los más recomendados. El más bonito fue el Convento de San Francisco recubierto en casi su mayoría con azulejos azules portugueses lo cual le daba un aire muy diferente. Por la noche fuimos a la plaza principal en busca de capoeira y samba pero no encontramos nada...aun así nos tomamos las caipirinhas de rigor y descubrimos la tapioca, una especie de crepe hecho con harina de yuca que tiene un sabor muy interesante.

Morro de Sao Paulo (19-22/Oct/06)

Valença, Brazil

Said goodbye to Ramiro and got the ferry to Morro de Sao Paulo, an idyllic beach to the South. Some people had told us it was mega-touristy and not that nice but we loved it. Yes, pretty touristy, but not more so than many of the other beaches we've been to. Found a nice pousada and headed straight for "beach number two", which we thought was the best of the 4 beaches.

Next day we did a small tour round the island next to ours, Boipeba. One of the nicest tours we've been on - relaxed, pretty, and with plenty of opportunities to sample the local lobsters and oysters. The third day was cloudy, so we got up late and didn't do much. By the evening we were full of energy and all four of us went for a final goodbye pissup. Got sand everywhere from a competition of rugby tackles. The next morning we said our final goodbyes to Ainhoa & Niall, who headed back to Salvador and from there to Madrid, and we went on to our next destination.

Salvador, Ramiro, Ainhoa & Niall (14-18/Oct/06)

Valença, Brazil

Ramiro, our mate in Salvador (there perfecting his percussion skills), received a nice early morning call from us at 7am on a Saturday morning. He put on a brave face and showed us around his house & neighbourhood. Then we went off for a small walk into the historic centre, Pelourinho. It's a really pretty area of cobbled streets and colonial houses, buildings and churches. Didn't spend too much time as Ainhoa & Niall were arriving the next day from Madrid and we'd see it all together. After lunch we were so knackered we needed a short siesta before heading out again for beers & to see a local salsa band (Ramiro's neighbourhood is full of musicians from all over South America).

Next day we headed for the local beach. Not as wonderful as all the other's we've seen, but not bad for a city beach. It was a bit packed because it was Sunday, but we had a nice relaxed day while we waited for Ainhoa & Niall's flight to arrive that night. Went to their hotel to wait for them, and had a great little party without emptying too much out of the mini-bar (thanks to the booze brought over from Spain). Turns out Ainhoa & Niall are getting married! As we were pretty drunk, tired, far away from Ramiro's, and because it was a 5* we slept on the second bed and then slunk out the next morning.

To ease the jet lag, the next day we all went to the city beach again. Needed sunglasses to block out the glare from Ainhoa & Niall's white skins. The started calling me Cuban. That evening Ramiro took us to a Candomble ceremony. Candomble is a hodge-podge of various African religions plus a bit of Christian influences. Ramiro goes every week to do some "trainspotting" (in clubbing circles this refers to spending the entire night next to the DJ watching and learning his techniques): he watches and learns from the various bongo-type drum players. The ceremony consists of men playing rhythmical music and women dancing. One by one the women (and sometimes members of the public) fall into a trance and are taken away and dressed up to represent the spirit that has possesed them. We only saw this first part as Niall was falling asleep. Or, more probably, into a trance. Apparently afterwards the women reappear, dressed up, and there is more dancing. The whole thing lasts about 4h!

Next day we went to a nicer beach, a few miles North of Salvador. Nice but still not amazing. That night we were supposed to go out in Pelourinho, as Tuesday nights are the big night, with loads of live bands in the streets & a lot of caipirinhas. We only saw a few seconds of the various bands on our way to our meeting point with A&N, waited for an hour, and then phoned the hotel. Turns out Ainhoa was ill. Oh well, at least we got a glimpse of the party.

Our last day in Salvador we went to a nearby island called Itaparica. Pretty OK beach, but dirty and with scummy water. A bit pointless really. Spent the evening round Pelourinho and got an early night in preparation for the early rise for the ferry next day.

Playas de Natal (29/sep-3/oct/2006)

Después de ver las playas de los alrededores de Fortaleza fuimos a ver las de los alrededores de Natal. La primera playa fue Pirangi do Norte a media hora de la ciudad. La verdad es que la playa no es nada especial comparada con las del norte pero el pueblo tiene el cajueiro (el árbol que da el fruto del anacardo) más grande de todo el mundo y con la tontería nos quedamos allí dos días.

La segunda playa fue Praia da Pipa también al sur de Natal. Las playas aquí vuelven a ser alucinantes, casi desiertas, con delfines y tortugas marinas. El pueblo es una mezcla entre Puerto Banus y el casco antiguo de Marbella, mono pero muy artificial y con las caipirinhas más caras de todo Brasil! En conclusión un buen lugar para pasar unos días de sol y playa…

Chapada Diamantina (11-13/Oct/06)

Salvador, Brazil

Lençois is the main town in the Chapada Diamantina national park. Lençois means "sheets", and the town has this name because it was an old mining town and during the initial diamond rush most of the prospectors lived in tents, which looked like sheets spread out. The diamonds here are pretty low grade so they are used mostly in industry, not for jewellery. A lot of the drills' heads used in the London Underground's early years came from here. Production now is virtually zero because the area is protected so the town has turned to tourism.

The first day there we were pretty tired so we just went to a nearby rock pool which has a cool natural slide. Slid down that a few times, jumped into the pool from some rocks, and generally sunbathed for a bit. The next day we did a van tour of the edge of the park, taking in the sights from the top of one of the mountains, saw a couple of caves and some more rock pools, and had lunch by a river. Could have been a bit more adventurous and done a few days trek but after so much trekking we couldn't be bothered. You have to go with a guide as well, which we don't really like doing. The third day we went up to see more rock pools near Lençois, and an area with coloured sandy rock where the local "artisans" get their coloured sand and make pretty pictures in a jar to sell. The same afternoon we went back to the slide for a last few hours before getting the night bus back to Salvador.

Sposh 2006 & Porto de Galinhas (6-10/Oct/06)

Salvador, Brazil

So no last-minute surprise visit from any of my so-called friends, exactly the same as what happened to poor Esther on her birthday. I cried a bit less than her though, as I was expecting it. Hope you are all happy.

Didn't actually do much on my birthday, after blowing out the candle at breakfast we spent most of the day in Porto de Galinhas. The weird name (chicken port) comes from the fact that, after slavery was banned in Brazil, the trade continued illegally here and the codeword used for "slave" was "chicken". It is basically a family beach town, a bit like Brighton, but obviously a billion times better which explains why tourists flock to Brazil's beaches while riding donkeys to the end of the pier and eating rock in the rain is a privilege enjoyed only by a handful of brits.

Spent 2 days on the beach and strolling round the town's shops, as is our custom lately, and most of the third day as well before heading towards Salvador on the night bus. Near the beach are some amazing rocks which are above water when the tide leaves, with loads of small rock pools full of fish.

The bus broke on the way so we were a few hours late, but no matter. Spent a few hours in the bus station (not because it is a wonderful tourist attraction but because we were waiting for a bus) and then continued on to Lençois to visit the Chapada Diamantina national park.

Olinda (4-5/Oct/06)

Lençois, Brazil

Got the bus down to Recife, which is a major city round here, of about 9 million. Pretty horrible and poor (there are serious droughts every few decades and thousands of subsistence farmers are forced to flock to the city) so we went straight to Olinda, which is a small colonial town next door (and much older than Recife). Olinda is really nice, a bit like Valparaiso (Chile), or Lisbon. Hills, cobbled streets, colourful houses, and loads of pretty little colonial churches have earned it respect in the form of UNESCO heritage status. Got a nice cheap hostel with a swimming pool and garden (need open spaces after so much beach - sun is a habit hard to kick).

Lazed about to relax from the ordeal of travelling and next day did the full-on tour of 2 monasteries and a billion churches. Then celebrated with some caipirinhas at the top of the hill (pretty strong ones - only 2 and we really noticed them).

Praia da Pipa (1-3/Oct/06)

Praia da Pipa, Brazil

It's quite a luxury when you can say "naah, not to impressed, lets just stay a couple of days" in a place with amazing long semi-deserted beaches, beautiful weather, and where you can swim with dolphins in one bay and with sea turtles in the next. But that is what has happened in Pipa, billed as "second to Jericoacoara" in the wonderful Lonely Planet. It's not bad here at all, just a bit too classy (and expensive-ish) for us. The town itself is a bit like Puerto Banus / Marbella (lately I seem to be comparing everything to Spain, am I getting homesick? I think not, more like life's a beach and therefore easy to compare to my home country), but smaller and with beaches a million times better. A couple of days seem enough, plus we have a few things to see before Ainhoa & Niall arrive in Salvador...

Playas de Fortaleza, Jeri y Canoa (15-28/sep/2006)

Nuestra primera visita a la playa en Brasil fue en Jericoacoara, destino famoso por el surf, la fiesta y la belleza natural de sus alrededores. Teníamos pensado quedarnos allí una semana y hacer un curso de portugués, pero al final lo del curso acabo en unas horas autodidactas con un libro de bolsillo de frases prácticas de portugués.

Jeri tiene un aire hippie pero sin llegar a agobiar, las calles no están asfaltadas y las vacas y burros pasean por ellas tan libremente. Nosotros nos quedamos en una habitación muy sencilla enfrente del mar pero con jardín particular donde colgamos nuestras hamacas y disfrutamos del placer de no hacer nada durante 7 días mientras nos poníamos morenos hacíamos barbacoas, veíamos capoeira en la playa al atardecer, caminábamos por las dunas y tomábamos alguna caipirhina que otra, aunque no muchas porque estábamos un poco mal del estomago.

Después de una semana de no hacer nada el cuerpo se acostumbra y te pide más así que proseguimos hasta la siguiente playa llamada Canoa Quebrada. La playa y los alrededores del pueblo son muy similares a los de Jeri, playas vírgenes y desiertas rodeadas de dunas, pero el pueblo es bastante diferente. Se respira un ambiente mas real que en Jeri, donde las posadas y los restaurantes de guiris ocupan el 75% del pueblo. Por la calle principal de Canoa pasean y turistas y brasileños a la vez y hay un movimiento cultural y social mucho mas fuerte que en Jeri donde es básicamente inexistente. En Canoa nos quedamos 4 días y sería difícil decir cual de los pueblos nos gusto más aunque creo que Josh y yo preferimos Canoa…

The world's biggest cashew nut tree (29-30/Sep/06)

Praia da Pipa, Brazil

Continued out trip down to Natal. From there we went to Pirangi do Norte, world famous for having the largest cashew nut tree ever. It's about a whole block in size and, needless to say, not very interesting. The beach is no where near the standards set by Jeri or Canoa, but still nice. Went to a nearby lagoon and another beach a bit further South which was nicer, but only stayed in the area for a couple of days as bigger and better beaches await...

Belem (12-14/sep/2006)

Sólo nos quedamos 2 noches en Belem porque la ciudad no tiene mucho atractivo y teníamos muchas ganas de ir a la playa.

Sólo hay, a mi parecer, un lugar digno de mencionar y es la Estacao das Doças o bien los restaurados almacenes de carga del puerto de Belem. En el 2002 estos almacenes se transformaron en unas galerias donde ahora se combina el arte, con la moda, la cultura y la gastronomía y no tienen nada que envidiar al SouthBank de Londres o a los más vanguardistas edificios de Europa.

Canoa Quebrada vs Jeri (25-28/Oct/06)

Praia da Pipa, Brazil

Canoa Quebrada is the not-as-famous-as-Jericoacoara beach 3h away from Fortaleza. It is slightly more built up, the main streets being paved (with flagstones, so it's still got a charming feel to it), and altogether a more "real" feel to it. Jeri felt a bit like an idyllic spot just for tourists (the whole centre is purely hotels, restaurants and shops). That's why I think I prefer Canoa, though there isn't much in it. The town beaches here are nicer than in Jeri, but away from the town Jeri wins hands down. But in Canoa Quebrada the wind is just weak enough to not kick up the sand in your face so you can sunbathe without the pain. Also Canoa Quebradens seem to do a bit more with their lives - there is a circus skills school for the kids, a lot more local artists (one of Jeri's best artshops is in fact a branch of a Canoa artist), and one of the bars was in the process of filming some home-made candid camera which they would show in the evenings. Canoa also has more bars; in fact the nightlife is famous, though we missed out not being there on a weekend.

Anyway, 'nuff said. If you go to Fortaleza try visiting both says I. We had a nice time on the various beaches, and are now down to suncream factor 6! Though I got burned, but this was because I didn't put enough on my face and none at all on my back.

El rio Amazonas (8-11/sep/2006)

“5 días y 4 noches en hamaca recorriendo 2.500 Km. del río Amazonas desde Manaus a Belem”

5 días sin hacer nada en un barco puede sonar aburrido pero la verdad es que el tiempo pasa volando, entre los varios desembarcos diarios en los que se suben vendedores ambulantes, el tiempo que pasas tomando el sol en cubierta y el tiempo que pasas en la hamaca viendo la vida pasar vas recorriendo Kms. sin darte cuenta. El barco es el único medio de transporte en esta parte de Brasil así que un 99% de nuestros compañeros de viaje eran Brasileños lo cual nos sirvió para practicar portugués o portuñol que es más bien lo que chapurreamos...

El río Amazonas es tan grande que cuando navegas en él no ves un pimiento de selva, incluso si te acercas a una de las orillas tampoco ves mucho porque esta zona está tan poblada que selva queda poca. Para los desembarcos hay que tomar pequeños afluentes desde los que se ven las poblaciones rurales y es muy interesante. Es una zona muy pobre y los niños se acercan en balsa para que les tires lo que puedas. Había gente que les tiraba comida, otros sandalias...nosotros no lo sabíamos así que no íbamos preparados, pero este uno de los consejos que la Lonely Planet debería dar en vez de mandarte a comer al restaurante mas caro del lugar.

También hubo momentos de aventura cuando en un chequeo de la policía brasileña detuvieron a un tipo que estaba traficando mercurio (usado para la extracción de oro) y nos metieron en un camarote a otros dos individuos esposados que les habían pillado en otro barco la noche anterior con 25 kilos de cocaína!