In Manaus

Hilder picked me up from the port in Manaus yesterday in the morning, I live in his flat now. He is not a Couch Surfer, he is friend of a friend of Heber from Fortaleza :)
This morning I woke up early, at 8.30 am as I was invited to a trip in the forest, 120 kilometers outside of Manaus. We went to see two beautiful waterfalls: Cachoeira da Pedra Furada and Cachoeira da Suframa. I had a great time with three of Hilder's friends: Mariana, Eduardo and Leandro. Hilder could not come with us as he had jujitsu competition and he had to fight :)
I absolutely love the Amazon forest, there is so much water in the Amazon Basin, lakes and swamps everywhere so it is a fantastic environment for many species of plants to grow. Great place for hikes too, it was the first thing that came to my mind when we arrived to the first waterfall. Manaus is the only place in  Brazil where I could live I think, just because of the forest (I am not going to call it jungle any more - the name "forest" seems to be more beautiful and respectful :)). I asked guys if they don't feel isolated as the city is situated right in the middle of the Amazon (Amazonas state) and there is nothing around... it is amazing to me that people live here, have their businesses and the most reliable mean of transport is boat on the river. The Guys replied that they felt isolated, especially at the beginning (they came to work here about three years ago) but now they have friends in Manaus so it is different and they also got used to living here.
Last night they took me to Ponta Negra in Manaus, Rio Negro's beach. Rio Negro meets Rio Solimoes, it is a fantastic phenomenon which I saw from the boat yesterday.
http://www.destination360.com/south-america/brazil/meeting-waters
Ponta Negra was very nice and relaxing, I think it is because of a lot of insects which you can hear in the bushes (which don't bite or disturb you). It reminded me of lakes in Poland, sooo relaxing...

Three days on the Amazon River

My trip on the "dodgy boat" was won-der-ful !!! I loved it and I love the Amazon river!!!
But let's start from the beginning... I took a plane from Fortaleza to Santarem. It had two stops: in São Luis and Belem. It all went smoothly and quickly. People arriving at the destination were getting off, new people were getting on and 20 minutes later we were taking off. The pilots fly planes as crazy drivers drive buses - accelerating quickly, taking sharp turns, going up and down quickly in the air, landing from a high speed, breaking unexpectedly... ha ha ha....
The Amazon forest looks amazing from the plane, it is so green, and the rivers shape the environment into beautiful landscapes (in the picture).
Right from the airport in Santarem I took a taxi to the port. It was 4 pm and I was told that the next (and the only one) boat was at 1 pm the next day. At first I was upset that I had to wait so long but as I didn't have any choice I decided to buy the ticket, get on the boat and wait (the port was far from the centre of the city). There was only crew and I on the boat. We had a meal and talked for a while and I went to bed.... errrrrr... to a hammock. I didn't have own hammock so a guy from the crew lent me his. At night another guy came to talk to me. After exchanging names he asked me if I use condoms and if I would like to have sex with him ha ha ha... straight to the point. I said "no thank you" as I could have had some problems if this happened. Then all the crew tried some tricks to get a kiss ha ha ha... but my intuition told me that I was completely safe (and I was indeed).
It reminded me a trip I did 16 years ago: I hitch-hiked all the way from Poland to Morocco. In Spain (Cadiz) I spoke to a capitan of a big ship and asked him if I could work on the ship and get to Casablanca for free. Not only didn't I have to work but I got my own first class cabin and own cook, and I was treated like a princess on a ship full of men only (mainly Arabic men).
I was treated in the same way on the boat to Manaus and I even didn't have to pay for the meals. When I wanted to pay for them, the cooks said that the meals (three a day) were a present for me. I think they liked me very much because nobody else talked to them, they were "just" cooks. Nobody but me. My hammock was on the upper (third) deck and few times a day I was coming down to say hallo to them and to have a chat.

So.... the first night I went to bed... errrrr.... hammock and put earplugs in my ears. I decided to wake up at 6 am and go to an apparently beautiful beach which was one hour away from the port. Well... I woke up at 11 am and I couldn't believe my eyes. There were so many people on the board... so many boxes, bags, motorcycles, hammocks, green bananas and other stuff.... the boat was overloaded in my opinion and I understood why they sink so often... Well, the boat finally moved as planned at 1 pm and I was observing both shores. It was absolutely fantastic, the water and the incredibly rich vegetation. The green was so green!! The Amazon river is very large so it seemed to be on a sea rather than on a river. The boat had four stops: in Obidos, Juruti, Parintins and Itacoatiara. Again, people changing were very quick and efficent. I saw many people working very hard, in Poland people think that South Americans are lazy (and in fact many of them are) but there are also many people working very hard, like those in the ports (and majority of my hosts).
I met some people on the boat, well... when you sleep surrounded by other hammocks it is inevitable to meet people as you either keep your head by their head or your head by their feet... Next to my hammock there was a girl called Dioneia and a men listening to the forro' and axe music all the time. I also met Adriano and another guy whose name I don't remember (typical...). We had really deep conversations, for example about Darwin and evolution of the world, history of some words (for example: Adriatic Sea), life in the jungle. Do I have to say that all of around 200 people on the boat did not speak any English? All the conversations I had were in Portugese. Amazing how people can communicate if they want to. I did not understand some words in Portugese so they made a lot of effort to explain them to me in other words... I really appreciated it, it was wonderful. I understood that I made a big mistake of not buying an English - Portugese dictionary and some books for learning the language. But I never thought that I was going to meet so many local people and have so many conversations in Portugese!!!!
The first night I spoke to Adriano for a long time. He told me that many boats sink indeed and it happens because there are a lot of thick tree trunks floating on the river and they hit boats at night. There is why so many boats did sink and people died in the past. Adriano also told me some stories about anacondas and cobras killing people. When everyone went to bed...errrrr... hammock, I stayed in front of the boat, anxiously looking for tree trunks and anacondas (they can swim). 
My advanture was amazing. I felt very happy, it was the same feeling I had in Petra in Jordan - unlimited happiness and freedom.

Today is my last day in Fortaleza. Tomorrow is my first day in The Jungle.
I am flying Fortaleza - Santarem, distance: 1,801 km, 5 hours on the plane, cost: 105 pounds.
To be honest I am preparing myself for the worst, especially on the boat from Santarem to Manaus.
Plan A: be awake all day and night to make sure that everything is ok with the boat and that it doesn't sink.
Plan B: if the boat starts sinking, make a quick exit to the Amazon river and swim to the shore (should be successful if the crocodiles are not too hungry).
Plan C: if the boat doesn't sink but a snake drops from a tree on your head or crawls into your hammock, be calm and wait until it goes away (hard to do but apparently it is the best option). If a tarantula appeares somewhere near you, again - be calm, calm, calm - don't shout, don't loose your mind, don't jump off the boat.
Plac D: if you see another crazy backpacker on the boat, introduce yourself and be friends during these three days (the more in the group the better).
I am kind of sad leaving Fortaleza, I have been here for the whole three weeks. I made friends, did a lot of dancing (could be more but it was kind of sufficient to keep me contented), went to some events and beaches. I had great time with Adriana, we had a lot of interesting and meaningful conversations.
There is no internet on the boat and apparently the general conditions are not too good either. Lovely.

I had another great evening in the city. I went to the dancing studio where last week I met people who invited me to this private party. There was a lot of dancing going on. As I noticed last week, they do different kind of dances in one night, in contrary to London where usually there in just one type of dance all the night. Initially I thought that the Brazilian system was better (so you know many dances) but yesterday I understood that I prefer the London way much more. The reason was that I love dancing lambada zouk. Yesterday I had to stop dancing many times because they played bolero, tango or samba, which I don't like. I felt frustrated. Later I spoke to a guy who loved tango and he said that they didn't play enough tango. He felt frustrated when they played other kinds of music ha ha ha.... So I think it is better if you dance something you like to dance all the night and you don't have to stop and wait.
Unfortunately for me (unfortunately because I would like to learn other dances), if my heart doesn't beat like crazy and I can catch a breath, I am not satisfied, so I just get bored with tango or bolero. And of course, I have to love the music too.
I met a zouk teacher yesterday, Abdias, and we may meet again in Porto Seguro at the lambada congress in January 2011. He is a great dancer, all the other people didn't really know how to dance lambada zouk (I was observing and comparing with London and Porto Seguro....). There were few couples dancing but they didn't have the special energy you need to dance good lambada. However, they danced a lot of good bolero and tango. There is a strong tradition of these two dances in Fortaleza.
In the picture with all the excellent dancers.

Can I also say here thank you to my best friend in London, Jerome de France, for giving me two extremely good tips:
1. He did read in my blog that I was dizzy very often and that I fainted so he advised me to eat more sugar and salt. I did read on internet months ago that when you sweat a lot or when you have diarrhea, you should drink water with added both salt and sugar. I often ignore what I read but if a friend tells me then I do it. I also realised that in the first two months in Brazil I hardly ate any salt, and I was sweating so much!!
Now I make sure that in all the food I have every day (which is still little because of the heat) I add a lot of salt and sugar to it. The result?... I haven't been dizzy in a week!! huraaaaah!!
2. I met Jerome in Boots in London when I was looking for Johnsons&Johnsons baby bath which I used as a makeup remover. I couldn't find a cheap one so Jer asked me why I didn't use "no more tears" shampoo. I said "shampoo for face? - never!!". Now I use it as a makeup remover, shower gel, soap, washing powder, intimate wash (well, do you really need to know this?...) and...shampoo!! It is probably not the best thing for the skin but it is very gentle for the body, removes dirt very well and I carry just one small bottle instead of five :)

Yesterday I met some of my friends in a bar in Dragao do Mar (the cultural centre of Fortaleza). I had a good time and then Adriana gave me a lift to Kukukaya. There were not many people inside as it was raining a lot, and I thought "oh my god, what I am doing here on my own???". Five minutes later I met a guy who I was dancing with last week. Then I met Carlos, a forro' teacher, and then I met some other people. I start feeling like in London here - when I go to dance clubs I know everyone.. In the picture: in Kukukaya.
In Fortaleza I started regaining trust (which I originally had in London) that some people in Brazil can dance very well and that there are good dance clubs. I am happy for this reason because otherwise I would be very disappointed with Brazil.
I also understood how people deal with the dark reality (observing Adriana's life). If they have good friends around, they don't need anything else, well... maybe a little bit of money. They are happy, even if they can see a lot of poverty and shocking crimes on every step.

I did so much dancing yesterday!! :)) I went to a forro' place called Kangalha with Adriana and her three male friends, two of them great dancers with a lot of good dancing energy. I was disappointed at first because there was little space to dance - it was raining so everyone gathered under not very large roof. However later, although it was still raining a little bit, I took off my sandals and we did a lot of dancing on the pavement in the rain (my feet are so sore now...). I have to say that the guys were great, they knew that dancing was what I wanted and never stopped dancing. In the picture with Paulo.
I registered with Youtube today and posted a short video as well :) It is a little bit dark, I have to learn how to make videos brighter.
Aga in Kangalha

Tomorrow is my birthday, scary 35!!.... :) I invited Couch Surfing people to the Chopp do Bixiga bar where you can order beer mixed with wine, which is lovely... Then I will be dancing of course, in Kukukaya again!! :)
I am not scared of getting older but I am getting very scared of not being able to dance when (if) I am 80 or 90 years old. It is going to be really hard for me to accept that one day I will do a lambada movement and something might crack and get damaged, my neck or back.... brrrrr.... Anyway, I am very happy to spend my birthday in Fortaleza, with a lot of nice people around.
I went for lunch with Adriano today to a nice and cheap restaurant on the beach (I had pancakes with beef, and with cheese sauce) and then we went for a walk. I don't do as much dancing as I would like to in Brazil but I do soooo much walking.... Several miles every day. In the picture with Adriano's dog Lee.
Later in the night I am going to dance forro' with some friends, one of them is apparently a good dancer :)

In Canoa Quebrada

Today  I went to Canoa Quebrada beach (it was a must to visit this very famous beach :)). I booked the tour through Raphael (my previous host who has his own travel company). We left Fortaleza at 7 am (o god, I had to wake up at 6.15 am...) as the beach is far away, 160 km south from Fortaleza. There were only couples on the minibus and I... usual stuff. As soon as we arrived a hundred of waiters from overpriced restaurants jumped towards me to take an order, but I just left my bag in a locker and I went for a very long walk. On the way back I could hear some hissing coming from a bar, meaning that somebody tried to attract my attention. I ignored it but the hissing became louder and louder. So I turned my head and.... I saw my American friend Jaime who I met in Rio de Janeiro. I couldn't believe it... What a great surprise!! The last time I saw him in Rio on the last day of the carnival. He said then: see you somewhere in the north of Brazil. Of course I thought I would never see him again, and he suddenly appeared today in Canoa Quebrada :) I already have his picture in my blog, in Rio de Janeiro section (the guy with the crystal balls :)). I also met Jaime's friend from Israel, Roy, who he met while travelling.
We had lunch and then a walk on the beach. I had a great time with the guys and the beach is amazing indeed, there are red sand dunes and you can have a ride in a buggy, an old car I drove once in Porto Seguro.
In the picture with Jamie, in front of the symbol of Canoa Quebrada (and no, it is not a Turkish flag :)).
Yesterday I had a long conversation with Adriana about the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes in July 2005, right after the terrorist attacks in London. I admitted that it was a horrible mistake and it should not have happened but Adriana (and the whole Brazil I suppose) think that he was killed because he was Brazilian.

Yesterday I went to the dentist again, this time for cleaning and fluorisation. The service was as excellent as a week before and my teeth look really nice now.
In the evening I met Adriano from Couch Surfing and he introduced me to some people, mainy Couch Surfers I haven't met before. There was 284th birthday of Fortaleza on Monday and to celebrate it, yesterday there was a concert on the beach, with some singers performing on the stage. I enjoyed myself a lot but I didn't like the music at all. I called it music for old people, there was no energy in the music and majority of the people attending the event were young people. In my opininon something went wrong there, and my Brazilian friends (and three Italian guys I met!! :)) agreed with me completely.
In the picture with some of the CSurfers I met yesterday.
Unfortunately I drank three caipirinias.... three too many. I got drunk (some people would say: finally!!) and I left the concert at 1 am, about half an hour before it finished, without even saying goodby to the people. Well, it is my birthday on Saturday, for this reason I am organising a meetup so I will see them again. I have been living in Fortaleza for two weeks now and I am already a very active member, I attended some events and I organised three meetings so far :)
Few days ago Adriana made traditional Brazilian sweets for me, called Brigadeiros. When I am back in London, I am going to make them for my friends, it is so easy!!
You need:
a can of condensated milk
good quality cocoa powder
drinking chocolate powder with vitamins (optional)
a little bit of butter
Put milk, cocoa powder and butter in a pan and heat it up until it gets dense. Pour it into small bowls or make balls with a spoon and cover them in chocolate flakes, coconut, icing sugar etc....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigadeiro

I had a very bad morning/afternoon yesterday. I was listening to Polish news and CNN in the late morning and the death of the president and others affected me so much that I suddenly felt deeply unhappy. So unhappy that I didn't remember when I felt like this the last time. It doesn't help that I am on the other side of the world where people don't care what is happening in Europe (well, if it was a war then maybe they would talk about it).
I finished listening to the reports, I went to the beach and I did one hour of chanting. Than I came back home, borrowed some elastic shorts from Adriana, came back to the beach, did one hour of intensive yoga, 15 minutes of running on the sand (I hate running and running on the sand is a nightmare) and an hour of quick walking. I came back home and I felt happy again.

I started taking malaria tablets today. I don't like it hrrrrrr.... I am flying to Santarem (deep in the jungle, I mean in the Amazon Basin :)) next Wednesday and from there I will travel on a boat on the Amazon river to Manaus. Apprently it is not safe to travel on a boat, some of them did sink in the past (with the passengers on the board) but I am taking the risk for the sake of the experience. I met two people who did this trip from Belem to Manaus, five days on the boat, they told me that it was extremely boring and the mosquitos and heat are really bad but that I should do it. So I decided to cut this trip short and do only Santarem - Manaus (three days on the boat).
On the map you can see my route, so far on the coast only: Rio de Janeiro - Porto Seguro (between Rio and Salvador) - Salvador - Recife - Natal - Fortaleza - Santarem (before Manaus, on the river) - Manaus. I will finish my Brazilian adventure in Manaus, in two weeks time.
Yesterday I went dancing forro' to a very nice place called Mercado dos Pinhoes. It is a food market during the week but on Sunday they play forro' for older people. At the beginning I was asked for a dance by two 70-year old men.... then younger people started arriving, thanks god ! :) Although I have to say that older and very old people here are very fit, it is not the same what in Europe, and definitely not the same what in Poland, where most of the people get ready to die when they are 60...
Later on I met Heber in the market and then I went to a kind of dance studio where I was dancing a lot with some very good dancers and dance teachers. It works differently here than in London, back home we do just one dance all the night e.g. lambada or salsa. Here they do different dances a night so everyone knows how to dance salsa, bolero, bachata, samba de gafieira, zouk, forro' etc.

I went to Kukukaya again yesterday. Few days earlier I put a message on the Couch Surfing website and I asked if somebody would like to join me. Two people decided to come, one of them was Duarte. He picked me up on his motorbike and after the party he gave me lift home (in the heavy rain). This forro' club is the best one in Fortaleza, in my opinion. The music is great, it is an open air place and the people who go there are nice too (in the meaning: they are not favela people). It was a special night as it was a concert of a very famous forro' singer. First there was another group playing and then Dorgival Dantas and his group started singing (in the picture). The guy is extremely talented, I couldn't believe how wonderful his concert was!! - the sound was very good and the singer's voice and clothes matched the music and the atmosphere in the club. I felt happy.
You can see him here, singing "Let it be": The Great Dorgival Dantas :)
I hope that the traditional forro' music will never die in Brazil, as lambada did.
While dancing, I had flashes of the tragedy which happened in Poland (every half an hour) but apart from this I enjoyed myself a lot. I met a dance teacher (I was observing him for a while then I asked him for a dance first and then he was asking me) and I was dancing with other guys who were not as good as the teacher but they had the Brazilian rythm and they felt the music in their hearts so it was a great pleasure dancing with them.

I got up this morning, switched on the laptop and.... found out about one of the biggest tragedies in the Polish history, death of many politicians who were flying to Katyn this morning.... I am so shocked.... I called my dad immediately, he was in a big shock too and he couldn't believe it. He said that it was an old Russian plane they were flying on.... well, sometimes old Russian is much better than modern, but not in this case.... I don't really know what to say, it is sooo sad.
I could have been killed too by a television a month ago... (although I am not a politician I consider myself a very valuable person). You never know when it comes and how it comes...
Yesterday I went to a dentist. Before I came to South America I had had a lot of dreams about my teeth falling out as I was nervous that I would have to go to a dentist. Luckily, my teeth are in place but a piece of one tooth broke off, reavilling a beautiful black filling. You could see it when I smiled or laughed and you could see it in some pictures. I am going to take a lot of pictures in South America so I need a nice smile!! When I came to this country I learned that there are excellent doctors/dentists here which was a big surprise to me. The best ones in the world are in the US, then Japan and then Brazil.
My experience yesterday was very good, the only difference (comparing with Europe) was that the dentist was talking to many people during the tooth restoration and that he put his chest on my face several times, when he was grabbing something from the table (unfortunately... it wasn't bare chest as the dentist was bloody handsome :)). Then, when I was leaving, he gave me a big hug, which would not happen in Europe. I am going back next week for cleaning and fluorisation. I paid 40 pounds for the tooth restoration including a new white filling and I will pay 15 pounds for the next visit. I decided that before my return to London I will fix all my teeth in Brazil.
At night I went to a club with live forro' music where a lot of prostitutes go, I didn't have much choice as other places were just discos. I was very upset because the zouk party I was waiting for so much appeared to be in Sao Paolo, not in Fortaleza.
In the picture with Adriana, my host, and her friend who she doesn't like very much. He is German, a friend of Adriana asked her if he could stay with her as she lives in a big flat (but she didn't know that for the whole month!!). He is shy and he doesn't talk much, he doesn't eat much, he just drinks beer and he barely goes out. He lives with two snakes in south Berlin and he feeds them alive mice which he buys in a shop. For me, somebody who does this kind of thing..... well, I couldn't do it.

On Wednesday night I met Adriana from Couch Surfing, I asked her out for a drink some weeks ago. We went to a bar where she said that I can't live so far from the centre and that I should move in with her. She lives in the centre of Fortaleza, ten minutes from the Iracema beach and very close to Dragon do Mar (cultural centre of the city, my favourite spot). "Dragon do Mar" is a name of a man who was one of the first people fighting against slavery and against bringing people from Africa to South American ports.
So... I live with Adriana now. She works as a civil servant for the goverment in a new created department in Brazil - anti corruption department (much needed here). Her work sounds very interesting, she was telling me how they do it - it is not all roses.
Yesterday Heber took me to Praia de Caça e Pesca (in the picture). There is a point where the river meets the sea and the river water is separated from the open sea by rocks. I really liked the place, it is very peaceful and you can swim quietly as there are no waves.
There are not many people on the beach because it is close to a slam (well, women I saw were shaving their pubic hair in the water.... no wonder nobody goes to this astonishing place).

In the picture: Fortaleza Cathedral.
I learnt these interesting facts about Brazil:
1. There are many Italians in Brazil, they have bad reputation as they are associated with trouble - they contribute a lot to the sex tourism and drugs (o my dear Italians in London, I am so sorry for the bad news...)
2. You don't joke about sex in Brazil as this is too delicate subject and a joke may turn into a problem. In fact, when I was told this, I realised that I haven't had a good laugh since I came here and this must be the reason. I miss friends I shared so many dirty jokes with!!
My pictures from Recife:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37219358@N07/sets/72157623776092870/detail/

I moved to the house of my second host in Fortaleza, Raphael, and his wife Samara. The family I lived with was absolutely fantastic, I felt like a part of the family but from the beginning I had an agreement with them that I would stay for one week. Tomorrow they are going to host a guy from Israel. Rorix's mum was feeding me very nice food every day (but I still feel dizzy few times a day) and when I offered to do shopping in a supermarket, she looked offended so I stopped insisting....
My new hosts are not much different to be honest, very very hospitable. They live a little bit far from the centre (40 minutes by bus) and there are not night buses here so I will have to take a mototaxi to come back home from dancing parties. Mototaxi is a great way of travelling, it is like taxi but instead of a car you get on a motorcycle and you pay less.
I think I will stay in Fortaleza for another week. The reason is that there will be a zouk party on Friday (I dance lambada zouk in London which is a mix of lambada and zouk, and on Friday will be zouk only) and forro' party on Saturday. Next Monday Raphael can get us free tickets to an expensive and famous forro' club so I would like to go (everything what is free - I have to go to :)). Raphael is self-employed, he has own tourism company so he can also get me a cheap flight ticket to my next destination (which I don't know yet what is going to be...).
Today I went to Praia do Futuro (beach of the future, nice name...) with Samara, in the picture. Samara is not working at the moment and she doesn't speak any English.
The beach was nice, very long, but the water was polluted.

Well... the club where we wanted to dance yesterday was closed hrrrrrrr.... and Heber could not think about another place which would be open so we went for a four-hour walk instead. We walked alonside the long beach, on the promenade, the sea and the lights were beautiful. Heber is very talkative and I am not quiet either so we had great conversations. I really liked few big beautiful sculptures of Iracema, one of them in the picture above.
http://www.visitfortaleza.com/travel/old-iracema-statue.html

However, I saw a lot of beggers, disabled and poor people on the beach and it really upset me. It distroys the beauty of many places.
I had a very bad (and significant??) dream last night. I was in Poland and my father wanted to talk to me. He used to know some important people (in reality), and in the dream he said that there was going to be a nuclear explosion the next day the latest, but it could happen any minute. He said he found out about it from his important friends, they told him this in confidence and that I couldn't tell anyone about the explosion. My father said that I had to leave my work immediately, take all my savings and go hiding in a flat without furniture and with no windows. I have to buy food, lock myself and I can leave the flat only after a year, when the radiation disappears. When I heard this I was worried sick about my friends....

I had a lot of good quality dancing yesterday!! :))
I was chatting to Heber (the dance teacher) in the morning and then we finally met in the centre of the city to do some visiting. He showed me some interesting places I wouldn't see otherwise. We met an American guy, Jonas, who has been travelling for four years and he is planning to travel one year more. He travells on a small boat, all over the world, on the ocean, on his own... A very interesting individual... He spends little money as he doesn't have to pay for the accomodation (like me...), he doesn't pay for buses or planes (unlike me...), he pays little money for mooring, and he can cook on the boat. Amazing... he said there are many people travelling like him but majority is older, they are already retired.
Here is his blog:
http://www.lucidsalt.blogspot.com/

I met Heber again at night in a forro' place called Kukukaya (name of an Indian tribe). We were dancing all night long... he is a great dancer, he dances salsa, forro', tango and samba de gafieira, and probably other dances as well. I love lambada zouk so I tried to add as many lambada elements to the dance I could..... :) Rorix and his family (my hosts) sighted with relief, they were thinking for the whole week where I could go dancing and be happy with the music and dance. When we came back from the club we went to on Wednesday, I said I didn't like the place so they were upset. Now they are happy because I finally got what I wanted in Fortaleza ha ha ha.... In the picture with Danielle (Rorix's girlfriend who went to the club with me, and with Heber).
I am meeting Heber again today for more dancing :)

I had a very interesting day yesterday. Firstly, I had a Good Friday's dinner with the whole family (some of the family members in the picture). By the way, Happy Easter to all my friends!! - I hope you are having a great time hiking, sleeping, watching TV, dancing or doing nothing :)
Secondly, I chatted for a long time to a tango teacher who found my profile on the Couch Surfing website several weeks ago (my dance curriculum was what attracted his attention of course). He contacted me and invited out so we are meeting today. There is a big forro' party and the tango teacher (Heber) is very good at dancing so there is a hope that I am going to have a good exercise this night.
Thirdly, Rorix invited me to an Easter party outside of the city. When we arrived there I understood that everyone was drunk, there were many children running around and I was generally disappointed as it was more a family meeting than a party. However, the people were wonderful, nobody spoke English but we managed to communicate ("no, I don't want more beer" is what I speak in Portugese best as I have to repeat it constantly and insistently on many occasions). Rorix drank too much beer and cachaça and he was not able to drive so he gave me his car keys and I drove all the way back. There were many police patrols on the road so it was too risky for him to drive. I didn't have my driving licence on me but he said that this was not a problem, the police would ignore it but if they found a drunk driver then this would be a big problem. So I drove... I love driving so much and I miss it so much!! And I miss my yellow Matiz I had sold a week before I left to South America.... I can't wait when I am back in London and I can buy a new car :)
After the "party" we went to see Rorix's friends. They live in a very poor and dangerous part of the city (in a favela) but if you have a friend in this district, nobody will touch you. You can see immediately the poverty - there are dirty children running everywhere without any supervision. O my god, Brazil needs so much education!! - so people don't have millions of children, the country is not overpopulated, there are jobs for everyone and less crime.... Rorix's friends were wonderful and they even spoke some English. They were very interested to know about my dancing, especially lambada, so my eyes were shining when I was talking about the lambada club I go to in London and about Porto Seguro.
One of the guys went to A-HA concert (the group has its final concerts in many Brazilian cities now, before retiring) and he recorded it, so we watched the concert. I always loved A-HA.

I had another wonderful day yesterday. Some days are wonderful, some are great, some are good and some were very bad (for example when I had to go to hospitals). In the early afternoon I noticed a message on the Couch Surfing website about a meeting in the centre of Fortaleza, in Dragon Dumar. I decided to go there so Rorix gave me a lift, few hours before the meeting. I had a lot of time on my hand so I called Raphael from Couch Surfing and I asked him if he would like to meet up. He said he would arrive in an hour so I was waiting on a bench in front of the cinema. A girl sitting next to me started talking to me, she seemed to be very friendly. Then her boyfriend came and we carried on talking (Aline and Bruno - they are both medicine students). Then Raphael came and we went to a cafe' to carry on talking... :) I had a great time, we talked about life in South America and in Europe and about many other things in life (all of us in the picture). I drank a very strange drink, they call it wine but it is actually wine mixed with beer, very sweet (tastes like beer with concentrated juice, commonly drinken in Poland). I loved it but it gets you drunk fast :) Then Geraldo from Porto Seguro phoned me, he is already in London, unfortunately I couldn't understand what he was saying as there were disruptions on the line. Then we went to meet Couch Surfers in a bar. They seemed to be very nice but I didn't spend much time with them as they went to another bar. I went to see this bar (called Orbita Bar) but the music was absolutely not my cup of tea (rock music) so I phoned Rorix and I asked him to pick me up. I am so lucky with him and his family!! - his mum cooks for me every day and he is my personal chauffeur in Fortaleza :) Rorix came with Danielle and we went to eat acaraje' (traditional food of the Bahia region). The acaraje' was not as good as the one in Salvador, well, Salvador is famous for its acaraje' - the best one you can find in the Itapua' district.

Yesterday evening we went out for a drink to a very nice bar with famous Brazilian singers painted on the walls (in the picture). Then we went to a forro' place called Engarrafamento.
As soon as I saw the place I knew that the forro' was not going to be good. The place was too modern and I was right - they played electronic forro', not the traditional one I like. I had few dances but I wasn't satisfied. I am wondering how my heart is coping with a lack of few-hours intensive dance - in London I had a good workout three times a week for several hours, to the point that my heart was beating like crazy and I couldn't catch breath any more. Now I dance and sweat a little bit but my body is not tired at all. After Easter, which I am spending in Fortaleza, I will check flight tickets and if I find a cheap one I will go back to Porto Seguro and then straight to Manaus. I don't care about the Amazon Jungle any more, I don't need to see any more of Brazil, I just want to dance lambada and Porto Seguro is the only place in the country where people dance very well. If the prices are high, then I am stuck and I will go to the jungle... :) Anyway, I am both disappointed with the lack of professional dancing here (which was the main reason why I came to South America) and I am also happy that I came here and now I know!!! Never again to Brazil if you want a good dance, with exception of Porto Seguro of course.

In Fortaleza

My hosts have been so won-der-ful !!! - recently Barbara and Emili, they made my trip whileworthy.
I arrived in Fortaleza yesterday, distance Natal - Fortaleza: 540 km, 8 hours on the bus, cost: 30 pounds. Rorix, my next host, picked me up from the bus station (although it wasn't easy - we were looking for each other for an hour). He took me to his family house where I met his sister, brother, parents and neighbours. They are great people and they all support the Couch Surfing project so much. They don't mind me staying with them for the whole week, including Easter. I sleep in Rorix's bed and he sleeps right above my head, in a hammock :)
Today he took me to two beautiful beaches in Caucaia, outside of the city. On the second beach I got angry with myself. I tried to swim but the waves were so big, almost two meters high. Some Brazilians showed me how to brave the waves, you just dive under them, they pass above you and you are ok. I tried to do it but every time I saw a huge wave I chickened out and I run to the shore as quickly as I could... In the picture with a small "Rysiaczku" (dog) I found on the beach.
I understood that in Brazil beaches are very important, they are like main squares, churches or museums in Europe. Always when I arrive to a city or town the first thing my hosts recomend to see are beaches, all the rest of the city is irrelevant.

Natal in English means "christmas" and you can see a huge artificial christmas tree in the city (all year round) and also Three Wise Men and the star of Bethlehem. Natal is the capital of Rio Grande do Norte region.
On Saturday I went to Centro Storico. I have to say it didn't make any special impression on me and all the cafes, shops and museums were closed (not that I would go to museums :)) and the place was isolated. On Saturdays all the people go to the shopping centres or beaches.  However, I had a nice conversation with two bus drivers (in Portugese) who showed me some historical places from the bus. They were also very interested in finding out some information about Poland (as many people here, they didn't know where it was on the map).
In the evening Zaza came again to pick me up, this time with seven people in his car. So we were eight people in the car and we went to a samba club called Espaco21. I was disappointed that it wasn't a forro' place but as soon as I entered the place I felt the positive atmosphere and I actually enjoyed myself a lot. I finally got the samba step and I was shaking my bum all the night. Then a guy asked me for a dance, he was a good dancer of samba de gafieira. I never danced it before but I saw people dancing in Rio so I tried to copy the steps. When we finished dancing, people were asking me if I was a teacher of samba de gafieira ha ha ha....
Yesterday Emili, Zaza and Vivien (with her little daughter Fernanda) took me to a park where you can see the biggest in the world cashew tree (in the picture). Amazing... I loved it:
http://www.natal-brazil.com/entertainment/cashew-tree.html
Then we went to a bar where I had the best tapioka (traditonal food) in the city, with prawns. The bar was on the beach and because of the full moon period, the tide was high and the waves were intruding the bar. It was so beautiful and magic that in this moment I understood why I am going to miss Brazil when I am back in London.
The guys also showed me a place where years ago Brazil used to launch rockets into Space.
In the evening Zaza picked me up again and we went to another samba place called Sancho Pub, where I met the same people I danced with on Saturday. It was another great night and some of Zaza's friends were teaching me again how to dance samba... so it was a lot of shaking involved again :)
There was also a concert of a very popular samba band in Brazil, called Catinguele. I liked the group a lot.
I have to say I miss lambada zouk like crazy... I can write poems about it. I am making plans to come back to Porto Seguro, either in two weeks or in December for the lambada zouk congress.
I have a high expectation for Fortaleza where I am going tomorrow. I have been corresponding with a tango teacher who promised to take me to many good dancing clubs.
Today I have been to Pipa, 60 km south from Natal. It is a nice town with a beautiful beach and cliffs, however no better than the wonderful Dover cliffs :)

Yesterday I went to Ponta Negra, a very nice beach (in the picture). It has a nice promenade where people jog and the water seems to be clean. However, the best beach I have seen so far in Brazil is the Trancoso beach.
In the evening I cooked dinner for Emili and then I went to a forro' place called Rastape', on my own as Emili was going out with her friends. I was invited to join them of course but they were going to drink only and I wanted to dance, so I decided to go to the club on my own. I didn't regret it. I danced a lot of forro' however I had problems with men. Once they danced with me they thought they were my boyfriends but I wanted to dance with other men. So I was pretending I was going to the toilet and then I was disappearing in the crowd. Eventually I got annoyed and I was telling them straight away that I wanted to dance with others. It was very tireing I have to say. Today Emili got some tickets for a forro' party so we are going with her friends.
My face starts looking human again (after the accident in Salvador and Recife), I have to admit with satisfaction - there will be only a small scar on my forehead. People in the streets stopped asking what had happened to me, although it was a good ice breaker :)
My pictures from Salvador:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37219358@N07/sets/72157623715823300/detail/

Yesterday I did some visiting in Natal. There is no much to see to be honest, apart from Natal's beaches. I went to the city centre first where there is nothing but ugly buildings and shops (Emili tried to change my mind and prevent me from going there but I insisted), and then I went to Praia do Meio (in the picture). It is a very nice beach but near a favela and people from Natal don't like coming to this beach for that reason.
In the evening Emili's best friend, Zaza, took me to a nice bar for a drink. He was very disappointed as I drank aqua de coco (coconut water) all the time, instead of getting drunk :) Then we were looking for a forro' place to do some dancing but it was difficult to find one on Thursday. Zaza asked if I would like to come to his flat and do some dancing with him. As much as I love dancing, it sounded a little bit strange to me and I politely refused (just because it was Emili's friend :)).
Here are my pictures from Porto Seguro:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37219358@N07/sets/72157623583932787/detail/

In Natal

Yesterday afternoon Geraldo left for Barcelona (and then London) so I phoned Danielle who I had been corresponding with for several weeks and she invited me to a flamenco class. I jumped in a taxi because it was already late and I arrived in Danielle's house in a district called Ipsep. We did the class which was a little bit boring for me (flamenco is not lambada...) but it was a great experience and we had fun as the teacher tried to explain the flamenco steps to me in Portugese... (in the picture Danielle on the right, with her teacher). After the class I went to Danielle's house for a dinner and then she gave me lift back to Graças (where I lived in Recife). She is a beautiful 33-year old Brazilian girl and still single!! I thought it was not possible to find a beautiful single girl in Brazil, it is normal for London but I thought not here.
I had a great time with her however (why not?...) I got diarrea and suffered a lot when I got home (the cramps started before we had dinner). The next day I woke up in pain caused by cramps but I was determined to get to Natal. So... here I am!! The distance from Recife to Natal is 297 km, 4.5 hours by bus, cost: 23 pounds. The bus was as comfortable as always and it was not too cold this time. I did fall asleep as soon as I got on the bus and I woke up when we were approaching Natal bus station... very convenient.
I live with my host Emili now in a very big and beautiful house. She works for the University of Natal (doing administration job) which is situated ten minutes from her home.
Her friends came over, we had dinner and some interesting conversations. For example, one of her friends works for a television company (we watched her first on TV and then she showed up in the house!!). Journalists and presenters in Brazil can't work more than six hours a day and they earn little money so many of them have another job (one would think: it is a glamorous job to be a TV presenter but the reality here is different).
Regarding my health, I feel very weak. I force myself to eat proper meals as with this weather I don't feel like eating at all. I just hope I will not faint somewhere in the street and hit my head again.

Yesterday we went to Porto de Galinhas which is located 80 km south from Recife (1.5 hour on the bus). Everyone said that the place was amazing but we were very disappointed. The beach is beautiful indeed but there were so many people, chairs, parasoles and vendors on the beach that it looked like a market, not a beach. Geraldo called the beach "favela" because of many people from favelas on it ha ha ha...
Tomorrow I am leaving Recife for Natal, my next stop. I am getting close to the equator :)

Yesterday Geraldo went with me to the hospital and helped me to get all the documents I need for my insurance company. I also saw a neurologist who had a look at my tomography scan and confirmed that there was no damage done to my brain or skull, however I suffer from chronic sinusitis, which should be treated but it is not really serious. In the picture, some of the scan immages (is it really me???...).
Then we went to another hospital to visit Barbara who had appendectomy done and is recovering now. She will not come back home for at least a week as she can't climb stairs (and there are stairs where she lives, I mean where now Geraldo and I live) and her mother's flat is in the basement which is convenient. We were all talking about our bad luck, me and her in hospitals and Geraldo leaving his laptop in a taxi. He got the laptop back, luckily, but he paid a lot of money for it (to convince another taxi driver to take him to the favela). All this was unnecessary but it all happened. Geraldo said that he was not surprised it all had happened. In his opinion there is a lot of negative energy in the country and it takes its toll on me as I was suddenly confronted by the energy when I arrived. Now many people will think - she is crazy, Brazil is a wonderful country. I agree, if you come here on two or three weeks trip and stay in a good hotel with your friends or in a hostel with other travellers. If you decide to see the life of ordinary people in the way I travel, it all changes. Anyway, this is my personal opinion but even Brazilians agree with me.
Today Geraldo and I went to Olinda, Recife's "twin city" - it took us half an hour to get there by bus. It is a beautiful place. We got involved in a very interesting conversations in a bar on the beach and unfortunately we drank too much beer, after which Geraldo got very sleepy and lazy and I had to convince him to do some sightseeing. We did, and then I convinced him to go to a forro' bar and then I convinced him to dance some forro' with me so now he is dead tired :)

Unfortunately this is not the end of bad stories. I went to the bathroom yesterday at about 5 am and entering it was the last thing I remembered.... I woke up on the bathroom's floor, lying in blood on the left side of my face. My first reaction was relief that it is not the right side of my face where I already had a wound after the accident in Salvador. Then I checked if I had all the teeth; I did. Then I wanted to check where the blood comes from but I did not reach the mirror, I fainted again in half way... I regained conscousness in exactly same position what before, lying on the left side of my face. I don't have to say how painful it was. I got really scared. I managed to get up by holding the wall and I looked in the mirror. I had a big wound on my lower lip and on my chin. I got to the bedroom and I fainted again, luckily on my bed this time. When I regained consciousness, I had blood on my cheeks, chin, chest and pigamas and a big purple bruise on the right side of my face. I looked in the mirror by the bed and I started crying. I cried and cried, and cried.... Then I phoned Barbara who was just scheduled for a surgery and asked her if she knew somebody who could go with me to a hospital, as I was not able to walk properly. Her friend Ana came with her husband, and they drove me to a hospital. First, to avoid the hussle of contacting my insurance company, I wanted to go to a public hospital. We went to three of them but they did not want to see me, they said there was no doctor on premises or that we should go somewhere else. Eventually Ana decided that it was better to go to a private hospital.
She stayed with me for more than six hours, talking to nurses and doctors. It was absolutely wonderful, she phoned work and said that she could not come in because of an emergency, and she stayed with me all day. I had tomography of my head done and it appeared that it was ok but the detailed results will be available next Tuesday. A plastic surgeon did sew up my lip and chin. I paid in total 1000 reals = £370 (the scan was very expensive). I contacted my insurance company straight away and started the process of claiming money back.
Ana's husband gave me lift home and then Geraldo came in the late evening. When he saw me he wasn't very happy, as before, which was strange... - it appeared that he left his laptop on the back seat of a taxi (which already drove away...). He left his luggage in Barbara's flat and took another taxi back to the airport to chase the laptop. He came back after three hours with the laptop!! He asked some taxi drivers at the airport if they knew the guy he went with before, and they said that it was a very dangerous man, living in a favela. So Geraldo took a taxi, paid three times more than usuall to get to the favela and nicely asked the man to give him the laptop back. Honestly, I think it was a miracle that the man gave it back to him....
What a day...

Well....
1. I didn't cook the dinner as Barbara got really sick yesterday and she was throwing up all day, poor thing (and I even didn't start cooking!!). In the evening she went to a hospital to do some tests. As we didn't have water, she moved to her mother's flat for a couple of days (I was invited to join her but it would be too much hussle for me to pack and unpack again so I am staying in Barbara's flat and I am carrying on using bottled water).
2. Geraldo didn't arrive as his second flight was overbooked and he had to stay in Sao Paolo (his flight schedule was: Porto Seguro - Sao Paolo - Recife) where the airline paid for a hotel and dinner.
3. I was invited to join a free temporary dance class yesterday but I didn't go as I was waiting for Geraldo. When he phoned with the news it was too late to join the class (for this reason I was a little bit harsh on him and told him to shout at the agency he booked the ticket with or jump on the leaving plane or do something else to get here yesterday. He already was in a lot of stress so I have to apologise today).
Hrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.....
so instead I chatted to a couple of friends on Skype which was nice and I did some reserch about Recife.
This is what I found out:
"recife" in English means "reef". There are amazing reefs here and a lot of ship wracks so many people do diving in Recife
it's the fifth biggest city in Brazil and the capital of Pernambuco region
it's called "Venice of Brazil" because of numerous waterways and bridges in the city
Barbara wrote thesis about reef corals for her Masters degree (see the picture - it's her work).

I also did some lambada zouk exercises and I found out this excellent video. There are my three teachers dancing in the video (from Porto Seguro but living in London now: Patricia, Solange and Braz). I love this dance and music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bue2FuTlYbs

Today's mission: cook a Polish dinner for Barbara (schabowy, bigos? - I will see what I can find in shops). She cooks for me every day so yesterday I offered to cook, and it was accepted with enthusiasm. The only problem is that we haven't had any water since yesterday. We take showers using bottled water or buckets which is fun but a little bit annoying as the temperature here is again 40 degrees and you sweat a lot. It was more than 40 degrees in Rio, then it was around 35 in Porto Seguro and Salvador and now again it is very hot. I didn't know that 5 degrees makes such a big difference.
So the Polish dinner might be postponed to a later date (in the picture: in Barbara's kitchen).
Today Geraldo from Porto Seguro is coming to Recife to do some business here before he flies to London. I am going to pick him up from the airport and help him to find an accomodation. I am so happy to help, he did so much for me in Porto Seguro. I just hope he will not be too stressed about going to London.
I am getting frustrated as I haven't been dancing for about ten days now (although it is so hot that I became sooo lazy!!). There are some forro' clubs here, they always open on Wednesdays (there is completely nothing happening on Mondays and Tuesdays) so hopefully I will go dancing later in the week.

Today Thiago took me to a beach in Boa Viagem, a district which looks very posh, kind of Copacabana in Rio. However, you can't swim in the water because of sharks. I think it's a big disadvantage when it comes to the tourist industry in this city. I actually haven't seen any tourists here as I think the city doesn't advertise its attractions enough, and it's a really nice place.
All the local people I met here are lovely, I feel very welcome. I hear so many stories from their lives, almost all of them don't like Brazil and think about emigrating. They don't like the political and economical systems, too much working and not enough money, and lack of safety. I understand them very well. Especially when they are not lazy (as many people in Brazil) but ambitious and intelligent people who would like to make a difference but they are stuck because of the system...

In Recife

Before I came to Brazil, I never heard about Recife, and it's a big (and apparently very dangerous...) city with good means of transport. I arrived here by another extremely comfortable bus from Salvador. Distance: 950 km, 13 hours by bus, cost: 50 pounds. It was very cold on the bus, I had to put on two jumpers, jeans, jacket and socks, plus they give you a warm blanket on the bus.
One thing I forgot to say about Salvador is that 70% of its habitants is black, and in Recife you can see some white faces again :) The city is very pleasant, smaller than Rio or Salvador but nice. If only they painted some of the buildings, it would be beautiful.
I live with Barbara and her two gay flatmates Thiago and Daniele in a district called Graças. The guys are all great. Barbara gave me a map of Recife, we sat down for an hour and she told me what I should visit.
In the picture: a very relaxing night out with people from Couch Surfing (Barbara in the red top).

I had a really good time last night, and I even wasn't dancing!! Well, let's start from the beginning. I asked few people to find out for me if there is lambada zouk place in Salvador, where I could go dancing on Saturday. They all came back to me saying "I don't know" (usual answer, which was no surprise to me) so I went to an internet cafe', opened about ten websites (all in Portugese) and found an address of zouk dancing studio in a district called Nazare'. In Brazil, if you don't do your own homework, nobody will do it for you... (I have to say here: Renato, you are one of a very few people who were extremely helpful, I am talking about the majority of people I have met).
I decided to go to Nazare'. I arrived in the city centre when it was already dark and I asked few people for directions. Everyone told me to take taxi as it was too dangerous to walk. A guy sitting on the stairs of a church started talking to me and he wanted to help. He said that I couldn't walk to Nazare' because of safety reasons. He was going to a concert in Barra district and he said it would be great if I joined him. I had a chat with him on the stairs and I felt I could trust him so we went to Barra. It appeared that the band playing was Buena Vista Social Club!!! - right on the beach in front of me, and gratis.
Josue (the guy) showed me some nice places in Barra and I couldn't believe how beautiful they were. If I hadn't met him, I would never visit the district. Josue was born in Salvador but he lives in Germany now, in Stuttgart, working as a capoeira teacher. He comes to Salvador only on holiday.
He also told me how lucky I was walking with a big handbag and haven't been mugged yet. Everyone I met has been mugged, turists or locals, so I got really scared. Josue told me some stories which had happened in Salvador, for example that the police is too frightened to fight with the gangs; muggers can drag you into a car and if you don't have enough money on you, they will shoot you, etc. I decided that I am not going to play with the fire any more and I am going to buy a small travel bag or a special belt to hide my money (but what about the camera??).
At the end of the concert Josue asked me if I would like to spend the night on the beach with him, and I said yes.
To come back home this afternoon I took a bus which drove by the cost. It was so beautiful (in the picture).

I am a little bit stuck where I live in Salvador. Praia do Flamengo is situated far from the centre and there are not night buses to get home. I went to a forro' party yesterday but before it started I had to come back, otherwise it would have cost me too much to take a taxi. There is no TV, radio or computer in Marcelo's house and I would love to listen to music!! I tried to practice lambada zouk in my room but without music I couldn't do it.
This is the price I am paying for living right next to a beautiful beach, the place is amazing but far from the centre. I started having thoughts of coming back to Porto Seguro and staying there for few months, dancing lambada all the time. But then I think - I came to South America to see places and meet people so I can't stay long time in one town. Lambada zouk in Porto Seguro.... no, meeting people and seeing places... Porto Seguro.... no!!
I may come back to Porto Seguro at the end of my trip....
Tomorrow I am travelling to Recife where Barbara, my first female host in my whole trip, is waiting for me.
I also stopped counting how much money I am spending. I am still very careful of course, as you can't change overnight :) I spend 300 - 400 reals a week = 112 - 150 pounds and about 150 pounds a month is spent just on travelling by buses from one city to another. Well, Brazil is the most expensive country in South America, no wonder there is so much crime here...

I have to say that the transport system in Salvador is very bad. There is no tube (apparently they started building it ten years ago and never finished) and sometimes you have to wait two hours for a bus and at the end it never arrives (it happened to me few times). It is so different from Rio where the transport system is excellent.
Yesterday I went to the Couch Surfing meeting in Rio Vermelho. I met some great people, some of them locals, some travellers (in the picture with Ricardo - a Portugese guy who loves Bahia and spends a lot of time here).
I met a Spanish girl who doesn't have much luck with muggers (as I don't have luck with gangs and flying TVs) - the last time she was mugged on the bus in Salvador. She was sitting by the window and three men sat next to her. One asked for money, another had a strange object in his pocket so she gave them everything she had. I really hope it will not happen to me because I know that I will not give them my property so easily.
I met a Turkish guy who always works seven months a year and travels during other five months. He has seen so much of the world!!

The surfing instructor, Marquin, lives in a small hut on the beach, called lovely: barraca do surf. There is electicity in the hut and it has a landline but apart from this everything is very basic. He takes shower on the beach (using soap, shampoo et cetera.. which all get in the sand) and god knows what he eats (the fridge is broken). Not much I think as he doesn't have much money I suppose. The hut is a surfboard rentals and I have never seen anyone renting his boards. It is very dirty inside; he invites me there and I accept his invitations because he is a great guy. I have been there several times - I was so happy to have all the vaccinations done in London!! This is a horrible thing to say but Brazil is a very dirty country and when you live on the beach, it is inevitable that there is sand and dirt in your house (sorry, hut... :)).
In the picture: place where we go to eat acaraje', apparently the best one in Salvador.
I don't see my host Marcelo at all. He works a lot and I am out at night. Just once he took me to a surfboard "factory"; I was pleased to hear that they stopped using polyester to make the boards as polyester produces harmful for the environment gases.

This is my new face. I hope that for no more than a week though!! Do I look good in purple, pink and yellow? hmmm.... it's not funny!!

I started analysing the shooting and TV accident situations to try to avoid them in the future. It appears that there were similar circumstances when they both happened:

1. I left Trancoso and took a bus to Porto Seguro. I was nervous because I had to look for a hotel, it was already late and I knew nobody. I had a phone number of a guy who I just met a day before (Geraldo). I phoned him, he picked me up in his car and he offered me a room in his beautiful house for as long as I wanted. This was a sudden hit of feeling very secure and also happines. Two hours later happens the shooting.

2. I was lying on the beach on my own for few hours, I felt very lonely. Suddenly my surfing instructor appeared in front of me. He said that if I gave him my USB stick with lambada zouk music on it, he could play it loudly on the beach, using the music equipment in his beach hut. I suddenly felt very happy. Two hours later happens the accident with the television.

Does it make sense??

Yesterday I went out with the surfing instructor. We went to a place in Salvador called Itapuã where you can eat the best typical food of Bahia called Acaraje'. Hmmm...lovely!!!... Then I heard some nice music coming out from a horrible club, kind of a dirty drinking hole. We went there, danced a little bit and actually had a good time.

I realised that I don't have much time any more to spend in this part of the region. I have to be in Manaus in a month time, and I planned to visit few more cities on the way. I think I will have to leave Salvador as soon as possible, probably on Friday. There is a Couch Surfing meeting on Thursday, to which I want to go.

Salvador is sooo different than Rio de Janeiro!! Rio is posh, elegant and snob; Salvador is less sophisticated but I like the vibe here, much more than in Rio. I spent all day in the city and what surprised me a lot was that most of the city is a favela (well, Geraldo told me about this before). I took a bus from Praia do Flamengo where I live - it took an hour to get to the Centro Storico. The last 40 minutes on the bus was favela on the right and favela on the left... Centro Storico is very beautiful, actually it looks European (in the picture).
I phoned Sayuri from Couch Surfing and she gave me details of the Couch Surfing meeting in Rio Vermelha, a very nice part of Salvador. I went there and I met other CSurfers, they were great people.

I went to the beach yesterday evening and lay down in a hammock, as many times before. This time, one end of the hammock was not tight properly to the wooden wall and it untangled. While I was landing on my back, the untangled end of the hammock pulled a television. The TV landed on my head. I felt nothing, I just suddenly saw a lot of blood on my belly and people running towards me. I was immediately taken to a hospital where a doctor did sew up my forehead. I was very lucky that the TV did not crush my face. There was a long que to see the doctor but he decided to see me first. There was a man in the que with his leg in a bandage and it was all red, and there was a constant stream of blood coming out of the bandage. He got really angry when the doctor decided to see me first, he started shouting, came to the operating room and I think he wanted to hit either me or the doctor. A nurse called about ten police officers and they calmed him down. Well, I did understand him and I even wanted to say sorry - I was a foreigner with blood on the face and he was "only" a Brazilian with a bleeding leg...
The doctor told me to do a head scan today but I am feeling all right so I am going to skip it - anything but going to a hospital again!! - although the doctor and the nurse were lovely.
I can't believe it... in five weeks of my travel I saw shooting, killing, fainted in a toilet and got my head hit by a TV. Believe me or not, yesterday I started appreciating my life - I mean I reeeally started appreciating my life. The television could have killed me.
Now some positive news for a change. I live with Marcelo and I have a beautiful room with a big balcony, overlooking the sea. The whole house is lovely and it is located one minute from the most beautiful beach in Salvador, called Praia do Flamengo.
Salvador used to be a capital of Brazil, then they moved it to Rio de Janeiro and from 1960 Brasilia became the capital of the country. Salvador is the capital of Bahia region (Porto Seguro belongs to Bahia as well but Rio belongs to Rio de Janeiro region).
Two days ago I went to the beach with Marcelo and Barbara, and I met his friend who is a surfing instructor. When he found out that I don't have a boyfriend, he became very interested in showing me how to surf :) So I had a proper surfing lesson plus a wave management lesson (the waves are so big here... almost two meters high). I loved it but I can't do it any more because the TV wound on my head has to be dry :( Also no dancing for a week because if I even frown, the blood starts flowing on my face.
I think I am still in shock after the accident, and a little bit angry. Enough is enough!!! - not bad stories any more!!

In Salvador de Bahia

The distance from Porto Seguro to Salvador is 722 km (12 hours by bus, cost: 50 pounds).
The bus was as comfortable as the one I took from Rio but it was very cold this time. There were warm blankets on the bus but despite that I had to put on two jumpers. Many people were coughing and sneezing because of the cold - so why the hell they switch on so much air conditioning???
I was sitting next to a Brazilian guy and it was funny - when you both transform your seats into beds, it seems that you sleep in a bed with a stranger :)
My Couch Surfing host Marcelo and his girlfriend Barbara picked me up from the bus station when I arrived very early in the morning. They are nice people and Marcelo speaks fluent English.
Yesterday, before I left Porto Seguro, Geraldo's mum cooked the best meal I have eaten in Brazil so far, plus she made two kinds of fresh juices - my favourite mango juice and one with lemon and some magic herbs. She also prepared a heavenly dessert, made of passion fruit and condensated milk.
In the picture: view from Geraldo's mum balcony.

Well... I am still in Porto Seguro but I am going to Salvador tomorrow. I decided to stay a couple of days longer here because I met two wonderful people - Geraldo's friend Gloria and her Polish husband Marek.
They arrived from Minas Gerais on Tuesday and we got on well straight away. Gloria is 47 years old and Marek is 45. They married two years ago and the story of their marriage is quite interesting. Gloria needed a visa to stay in London so a mutual friend arranged her to meet Marek just for this visa business. She was going to pay him to get married. However, they did fell in love... and it's not business any more :)
Meeting them gave me a hope that maybe one day I will meet somebody who I will love, no matter how old I am going to be :)
Last night I stayed in Gloria's appartment in Arraial d'Ajuda and we had a great time... it was pouring with rain, crazy tropical rain and we were walking in the centre of the town and laughing, completely wet.
I also tried different tastes of cachaca (alcohol), my favourite taste is definitely cinamon.
In the picture all of us drinking cachaca.

I found out that in the street where I saw shooting, there were three killings in three weeks - two drug dealers died and also a girl who was sitting in a car. The girl was shot incidentally, she was in a wrong place at wrong time when two guys were shooting to each other... There is why not many people do the street dancing any more, apparently.
I am leaving Porto Seguro this week, possibly tomorrow. I had a fantastic time here (despite the shooting...) and I hope I will come back one day. Geraldo's stress starts to affect me and I don't like it. I also had a little crisis yesterday when some friends came for a bbq to his house. We were sitting by the swimming pool and they were speaking Portugese all the time. I felt very lonely and I started craving a good conversation in English, Italian or Polish... . It was great to meet all these people and communicate with them despite the fact that I don't speak Portugese but I would like to have a fluent conversation now. I hope I will find it in Salvador de Bahia.

I couldn't sleep well in the first days of my stay in Porto Seguro (too much excitement) so Geraldo gave me a sleeping pill, chemical but not strong (0.25 mg). I sleep very well now (and I took just this one pill) but he takes too many of them and much stronger that the one I had (1 or 2 mg). He lived in London for five years, then he came back to Porto Seguro eight months ago and later this month he is going to London again. He is selling his motorbike and the cars he owns, and he wants to open a business in London, and start a new life. He says that he is so stressed about it that he has bad dreams or he wakes up at night and he can't sleep for hours. I understand him very well. Before my trip to South America I was waking up in the morning and thinking: what the hell I am doing? - giving up all my life for this trip. I was very stressed but stayed focused on the plan. Of course, now I don't regret my decision at all, but it was so hard to resign, sell the car, say goodby to friends etc. Unfortunately Geraldo is not coping with the stress as well as I did. He takes the pill and he claims that not only doesn't he wake up at night but also when he wakes up in the morning he feels nothing, the pill kills all the stress.
I spoke to him today and told him about my experience, and that he has to stop taking the pills. He says he knows that but sometimes it is irresistible.
This morning he was too doped to give me a lift to the internet cafe' so he gave me his old car to drive. A new experience for me - driving in Brazil :) I drove his new car before but only at night when it was quiet on the roads and I also drove buggy (on the picture) - a very old jeep, it's actually a nightmare to drive it but a lot of fun too :)
I didn't realise how bad the roads are in Porto Seguro until I started driving, you have to be so careful not to damage the car on the big holes. There is no asphalt in the town, all the roads are made of big, irregular stones.