Date of Entry: August 4th 2016
Date of Writing: November 23rd 2016
After a last night in Lencois playing cards and eating tapioca in the hostel with Annie and Isabella and Hoang and some others (tobias has sadly left) we head out to the bus station and get the night bus back to Salvador and check back in to Acai Hostel again. Annie and I spend a quiet day sleeping and end up out in the streets of Pelourinho watching locals dance Samba. I’m exhausted and head back early then say goodbye to Annie who is headed to Morro do Sao paulo before heading to the local bus station to meet my girlfriends awesome kids and her incredible mother who have arrived in Salvador ahead of Renata. I’ll see Annie again in a few days and she’ll tell me that I should have gone to Morro do Sao paulo, still the next few day’s with Renata’s family are a lot of fun so I have no regrets.
I have to say it has been incredibly sweet and wonderful how warmly I have been welcomed into their family. Renata’s mother and two sons are super fun and cool people and so when they changed their trip to be in Salvador at the same time as me I was thrilled and when they suggested I should come along on a day trip to Praia do Forte and the turtle conservation centre (one of many in Brazil) I jumped at the opportunity.
We meet early in the morning at the bus terminal in Salvador before hopping on a roughly two hour bus ride to the seaside getaway of Praia do forte. We wander through town and head directly to TAMAR Project center to get up close and personal with tons of beautiful sea turtles and some other unexpected sea creatures. Really it’s a pretty cool place and well worth the entrance fee of 22 reals (cheaper for students and kids).
All quite excited, with me thinking of my time snorkelling with turtles in the galapagos and easter island. It doesn’t take long as we wander through statues and models for us to get tot he real animals. They are beautiful creatures and we have lots of fun as I try to express my enthusiasm in somewhat broken portuguese.
Together we get to watch sharks and turtles swim, pet some sting rays and learn all about the plight of the sea turtle and the conservation struggles it’s species is facing all through south America. We learn some cool info on whales too and after a fun few hours eventually head towards the exit before getting a friendly staff member to take a photo of all of us.
From Project Tamar we head out towards the charming little tourist town towards the second and maybe biggest attraction of this place, the incredible, seemingly never ending beach front. But first things first we all get a fresh coconut because what’s a Brazilian beach without a big green coconut in hand. It only adds to the incredible beauty of the golden palm fringed sand, backed by the clear azure waters and deep blue sky.
The boys and I go swimming and discover the one flaw of the beach, the uneven rocky bottom under the sea, though it only makes swimming more difficult, not impossible. Still the cool water against the heat of northern brazil is worth the risk to our feet. Dona Ana perhaps wisely watches from the beach as we come out and decide to take a walk along the beautiful golden sand heading out of town.
As we walk a talkative and overly friendly Brazilian man joins us, talking to all of us and making clear how interested he is in Renata’s mum. Vinny, Felipe and I pretend we are all Canadian which is great fun while our new friend makes his overtures and tries to get us all to come to his restaurant, promising free caipirinhas and juices for the boys. We make our excuses as we wander back to town to beat the tide and as soon as our friend is gone all have a good laugh at our Canadian deception and at his direct and flirtatious approach.
Together we wander back through the main strip of town and are lucky enough to find two cute little monkeys playing on a lamp post and darting up and down the wooden pole with incredible speed, making photos somewhat difficult. We stop for a minute to watch them then grab a geladinha (brazilian ice cream popsicle hybrid) before climbing into a minibus heading back to fortaleza (it’s cheaper though doesn’t take us exactly to the main bus station.)
It’s been a great day with Vinny, Felipe and Dona Ana and I’m happy to say it’s not the last adventure we’ll have in Bahia state before Renata’s arrival this coming weekend. Stay tuned for some Olympic fun. We may not be in Rio, but don’t worry, that won’t stop us.
