from Belem :)

We arrived in Salvador, got scammed all over again by the taxis- especially by trying so hard not to be! And returned to the Nega Maluca once we managed to wake Diego the dedicated night-shifter up with the doorbell, to a card off Rhiannon and a parcel off mum- which was SO nice :)

Stefan who we met at Venetius & Catarina`s house in Capao arrived not long after, which was really good as we thought we`d missed him - we were expecting to be on the same coach as him from Lencois and then all of a sudden he was gone.

We met a really lovely Finnish girl Alex who was telling me she got to South America by getting work on a sailing boat- apparently if I get to Caribia there`s loads of boats going back to Europe in May time... if I do stay a little longer (which is looking more and more likely...) (the idea of actually coming back in only a month is a bit mad for me at the moment) then I could do that to get home!! It would be pretty exciting and maybe even save me some money!
Much to think about. It would be very different travelling by myself.

We went to get Ash some new pockets because she sold hers to a leather worker to copy the design, found a bin full of scraps of fabric, scrounged them, & went home to make clothes in the morroccan corner all afternoon.

The next day we went with Stefan & Alex on a cheap food mission.
We finally tried cashew fruits! They`re horrible, I really didn`t like it, it was kind of like pepper but when you bite it all this super acidy juice spills out but no substance it`s all stringy. Me and Alex really burnt our hands and mouths too, trying to get our cashew nuts- don`t ever try that! Slimy acid all over us burning and nowhere to wash it off.
Later me and Alex went to an African cafe and Ash and Stef went to a cake shop, then after all bumping into each other again just in time to watch a stunning sunset, caught a bus here, and Alex came with us to get a break from her super intensive capoeira training. Stefan had to go back to get back to Nega the sick dog, although he was tempted to come with us. We sent plenty of love back with him to Capao!

We had such a great welcome in Arembepe! Everyone was sitting round a campfire and there were a couple of guitars, and Annie and Stefanie the amazing Italian girlies were there as well as all the Arembepe faces, they were all so suprised to see us!
It turned out to be Annie and Stefanies last day there, they were going back to Italy the next day!
So a lovely evening of chats & songs & goodbyes in the firelight.

In the morning it was the usual difficult Arembepe decision of sea or river first? We opted for sea first, river later, and some more wire jewellry making learning of Chacal inbetween :) I made a little wire spider the same as the one he made Ash last time, but littler.

There was a festa last night, we drunk Cachaca and had a really fun time, might have learnt some more Portuguese but might have forgotten it all too :S had fun trying though!

One more day in Arembepe though, because our coach to Belem leaves on Friday- we did some sea, some river, walked Alex into town to go back to Salvador, then me Ash Chacal and Edge went back to make a fire by the river and cook some plantain, yum. Saw some more giant toads, had a little moonlight swim & slept.

In the morning we ate a huge coconut we found, & caught a bus back to Salvador- used the Nega maluca (shower and) internet for a bit to sort out the phone thing
(when they were looking after it for me before, someone who worked there took it. They didn`t tell me until I asked though, so loads of money`s been spent on my contract... Aaaaaaa! So Chris (thank you thank you thank you!) has put it on hold so they can`t spend any more of my money, and I need to find out whether my phone insurance covers unauthorised calls, and if not does my travel insurance... otherwise i`ve lost about 2 weeks worth of spending!!!)

8 March
Now we`re in Belem!
Big huge exciting purple tropical storm happening right now- you must gthink they happen all the time but it`s more that once we`ve watched the lightning for a bit, it`s a really good time to write.

That was the worst coach journey of my entire life- not just because it was 40hours long, but I got a horrible stomach bug and was in the disgusting hot toilet throwing up all night. It was pretty grim as far as places to be sick go, but at least I wasn`t somewhere with much better things to do.

We`re having quite a chilled out day in Belem as it`s Sunday, but tomorrow we`re checking out hte market to see what exciting fruit and nuts we can find- apparently there`s more fruit than there are names for them here, I`m so excited!

Then on Tuesday or Wednesday we`re catching a boat to Santarem, where Rio Tapajos meets the Amazon, to do some exploring, before somehow getting to Cuiaba to see the Pantanal (there is no road in the wet season)

Love to Tess, it is odd to think of you being back in the UK- it`s been nice trying to picture you in Peru :)

9th
Aaaaaa. Today`s been reasonably grim. yesterday I thought I was better but it turns out I`m not, unless another spiteful bug came and bit me while I was busy kicking off the last one!
It`s really frustrating, we were going to catch a boat to Santarem tomorrow but that doesn`t look like a good idea any more. Also loads to see in Belem that I just can`t really, I want to go and see the markets and all the amazonian fruit, I want to get a hammock for the boat ride, I want to explore Belem! But I haven`t even left the building all day, I feel all horrible and trapped.

The really nice girl from Hong Kong who we`re sharing a room with, Sim, made me a cup of hot orange and ginger, which made me feel loads better, & I even managed to eat a bit after that.
Ash has been a star and found some spinach, which I hope I can get in later! Yummmmm. It`s the one food I`ve been craving most in this country!