Brazil

Brazil was incredible…Not only because of the food, beaches and the old buildings, but because of the people. Literally, I did not expect to have such a wonderful time as I did…it was awesome. So let me start from the beginning.

Day 1: Once we ate breakfast it was time to explore Salvador. We got off the ship, we were greeted by Brazilian women dressed in authentic clothes and drums being played in the background. Once we finally got out of the customs area to receive our currency, Ryan, Ryan’s roommate Jon and a couple of other SAS’er guys hopped into a wild taxi cab ride down to the lighthouse where we grabbed some food. All of us went to this beautiful restaurant overlooking the crystal blue ocean, right next to the jampacked beach. Ryan and I ordered steak since Brazil is supposedly known for there meat, and boy was it good! It comes really really close to Ruth’s Chris’ Dad…may even beat it. After lunch, we walked around some of Salvador, explored the town, then went to Carnaval, which was required by my poetry class and was definitely an experience dancing around with 3 million people in the streets! it was exhausting. Oh and we got on Brazilian tv even though we had no clue what they were saying! haha

Day two we headed to the bus station to go to Cachoeira about 2 hours inland. It was nice to see a lot of the country of Brazil along the way too, instead of just the city of Salvador. Once we got there I was a little nervous, since it was a really really poor town. The locals looked at us like we were aliens…they must not have many tourists there. It was a poor town like I said, but next to a beautiful river… The people in this town must have been so poor though, just like the slums in Salvador. It’s really hard to explain over a blog, but really, I can’t believe how much we have in America… because many of these Brazilians come from nothing and have nothing and can’t seem to work there way up, but kids are still jumping around in the streets having a great time, kicking a rock because they can’t afford a ball…so crazy. I was so happy that we saw this town, and got out of the city and instead saw how real Brazilian people live, instead of staying in touristy Salvador.

Day three Ryan, Jon, Skylar who also goes to Ptloma, Paige and I all went to the beach and hung out there all day long. It was so relaxing going to the beach with the locals. When you are at the beach, you buy an umbrella for about 1-5 ray-al, depending upon how big of an umbrella you want. Also, there are vendors constantly coming up to you on the beach wanting you to buy there stuff… when you go to Brazil that is a constant thing to have locals bombard you with trinkets…some even keep following you. Also, locals come around and pour buckets of water on your feet to keep your feet cool in the sand because of how hot the sand is. Oh by the way…Brazil is HOT. So we went in and out of the water quite a bit, especially since it was really warm. You can also see fish swimming around your feet because of how clear the water is. But the beach was beautiful. Once we finally had enough sun, all of us went back to the ship, showered and got ready for the futbol (soccer) game. Yes, I went to a soccer game in Brazil…but… it wasn’t a pro game, only a minor league, but still a lot of fun! The locals at the game were the best part, just having a grand time. I also got a jersey for the local team so I could blend in a bit…

Day four was pretty much the greatest day ever…seriously. Skylar, Ryan, Paige, Jon and I all went to the bus station again and were off to the Atlantic Rainforest. It was about a couple hours, and the bus driver pretty much dropped us off in the middle of no where…by a bunch of trees. Once we found the “entrance” (although not much of an entrance) this little 11 year old boy starts guiding us through the forest. Vitto was our tour guide and a little dramatic kid who knew the forest like the back of his hand. He pointed out monkeys, pointed out plants that help with healing wounds and help your teeth, he even brought us to his house and showed us his Dad’s potato farm…he then brought us to this beautiful rapid river…which by the way we had to cross over by walking on some logs held together by tree wrap. I still can’t believe I crossed that thing…it was insane! We also jumped into the river a few times to swim around and have some fun…I can’t really describe this day because of how awesome it was. We jumped off rocks in the river, ran through the beautiful forest, crossed rapids walking over logs, ate fruit off of trees, and saw monkeys all for about a 1.50 in US money. It was such an amazing day…the best day yet. We then caught the bus on the side of the road back to the ship in Salvador. That night Ryan, Jon and I went to this all you can eat meat place…it was unreal. The waiters just surround you with skewers full of meat, and are constantly coming by your table to give you more and more. It was awesome.

Then finally day 5 Ryan, Jon and I woke up late and roamed around the city one last time…stopping by this baroque style church and convent. It was absolutely stunning, drenched in gold leaf on the inside…I’ve never seen anything like it. And now, I am on the ship, waiting for dinner, as we’re suppose to have a bbq on the ship tonight…It should be fun! I have some tests coming up soon…but soon enough I’ll be in South Africa! Can’t wait