Hello there.
Just to save anyone worrying about us, we are going to be working on a farm about an hours walk from any other civilization from tonighht.
So don't expect any updates or contact for a little bit (about a week?)
Hope you're all happy folk :)
Happy travels dad, Fiona, Naomi and Mike! Who are now in Cuba! We'll give you a little wave :)
Tchau por agora x x xx
Sunday, 22 February 2009
Saturday, 21 February 2009
hello every one,finally!
ola amigos,muito disclulpa para muito tempo sem nada escrever!
every time ive tried the computers havent let me log in=( dont understand.
all's good though =) we're still in lovely Capao,though it is not quite as tranquilo as before.every one from Salvador is rushing here to get away from the carnival madness. Tonight theres supposed to be loads of music and loveliness happening in a few different cafes,town centro and the circus big top. im really looking forward to it! ive been craving a god old boogie for ages,but by the time it gets to the evening ive just been really tired recently. all this hard work,i dont know....falling asleep on rocks in the middle of rivers,lying in the sun,eating locally made halva and tahine,making Now cake and BE Good soup and eating them.......=P
Tomorrow we're thinking of heading up to Camphinhas,the herb farm which is about an hours walk away,to stay and work for a few days.Ran our Isrealy amigo is coming with us too,i think,which should be fun.doing something as a three instead of a pair..ooo radical!
right then im off now but shall write again soon this time! i now have to email Micau(the brzilian Huc) to tell him to come and meet us at Arembepe after Carnival.yessss...we're going back there!
xxxxxxxxxxxx
every time ive tried the computers havent let me log in=( dont understand.
all's good though =) we're still in lovely Capao,though it is not quite as tranquilo as before.every one from Salvador is rushing here to get away from the carnival madness. Tonight theres supposed to be loads of music and loveliness happening in a few different cafes,town centro and the circus big top. im really looking forward to it! ive been craving a god old boogie for ages,but by the time it gets to the evening ive just been really tired recently. all this hard work,i dont know....falling asleep on rocks in the middle of rivers,lying in the sun,eating locally made halva and tahine,making Now cake and BE Good soup and eating them.......=P
Tomorrow we're thinking of heading up to Camphinhas,the herb farm which is about an hours walk away,to stay and work for a few days.Ran our Isrealy amigo is coming with us too,i think,which should be fun.doing something as a three instead of a pair..ooo radical!
right then im off now but shall write again soon this time! i now have to email Micau(the brzilian Huc) to tell him to come and meet us at Arembepe after Carnival.yessss...we're going back there!
xxxxxxxxxxxx
Thursday, 19 February 2009
19th Feb... sorry! from meg :)
Hello lovelies, sorry it's been so long, sorry mums and dads if you worried about us, we're fine and happy just the internet here is very bad...
So just a litle update on what we've been up to :)
my birthday was brilliant, such a nice place to have it :) Everybody seemed to know about it and came to give me hugs and para bens :)
Ash was a star, Ashlee and her made a huge cake it was completely covered in hundreds and thousands, and fruit, and Ashlee and Orion cooked me a birthday dinner which was amazing too.
The 14th (happy valentines day!) was ok, i hitched to Palmeiras, the nearest town, first thing, to get some cash out for us both, but the machine just wouldn't give me any! I went round some supermarkets asking if any of them could give me cashback (posso usar o meu cartao para retirar dinheiro com pagamento aqui?) they pretty much understood but nowhere could do it. Caught a mini bus back to Capao and experienced direct racism for the first time (Ash had a drink thrown on the ground in front of her in Salvador but I didn't even notice that) The minibus was filling up but they would not let me on and still wouldn't until the bus was completely crammed, I worried I wouldn't get on at all. They let me in the end though. Then it was clinging on tight for 15km of bumpy track much worse than the one up to the farm, in a normal size minibus with 42 people and several crates of stuff!
But when I got back I walked with Ashley Orion and Ash to the farm nearby which grows all kinds of fruit and veg as well as loads and loads of herbs, which is really exciting. We were thinking of going to stay there to learn about herbs, but might not have enough time really.
We walked back, got some food on the way, and when we got to Capao there wusic and dancing on the street so we had a little boogie :)
On the Sunday as there was no circus, me and Ash walked to the cachoeira fumaça which is the second tallest waterfall in South America. The walk is supposed to take about 2 hours each way but we spent 6 hours in total, looking at every single thing, and hanging out at the top as well.
It was really really amazing! The whole landscape here is absolutely stunning, these huge rocks jutting out with very steep sides. It's Chapada Diamantina national park if you want to look for pictures, since we haven't got oursa up yet! The camera ran out of battery that day too...
On our way up we found loads of teeny weeny cystasls, perfect clear quartz, i couldn't believe how many there were.
When we got to the waterfall it's like the end of a huge huge deep valley, with rainforest at the bottom and steep sides. You can see for miles- after the great big rocks and mountains it's this enormous flat plain, it looked like you can see further than Britain would have fitted into! Honestly I've never seen such a big space on land. Just as we were sitting gawping a magic green beijar flor (hummingbird) came and hovered right by us, the size of my thumb! We saw loads more while we were there, and loads of lizards, and a capibara too! Very special place.
On the 16th After circus we found Ran, he'd been at Neil (maker of good tahini who reminds me and Ash of Duncan Dragon :) )'s house helping him do hios roof and make lovely wholesome energy balls.
We had a really nice day, i did some reflexology on Ash and Ran which was really good, and we chatted about dreams and Now and things...
Then had the most brilliant evening with many at Sempre Viva, cooked a REALLY tasty risotto with salad and more tahini, and a 'Now Cake'*
What a brilliant evening :)
On the 17th I wrote-
I'm really happy. Me and Ash have talked a bit about Carnaval and have decided to stay in Capao for it. It's going to save us a LOT of money, but our main reason is our so-far experience of Salvador's loco-ness, as well as everyone we speak to warning us about 'Babylon city' and telling us it's 100times worse in Carnaval.
Also the circus here, the herb and fruit farm to learn about, etc, etc... Carnaval at Capao!
And the 18th-
Yeaterday we caught a jeep into Palmeiras and a minibus to Seabra, because I still can't get money out in Palmeiras.
It was nice to go for a bit of an adventure but even better to get back to Capao.
I showed a Russian/Canadian girl to thye campsites, who had been living and studying in Salvador for 6 months (escaping from Carnaval along with hordes of other Salvadorians :)
It was funny to see her reaction to everyone saying oi and starting genuine conversations she'd assume they were trying to sell her stuff or get money off her somehow, like everyone is in Salvador.
Today we went for a walk with Thomas and Ran adter circus. I have been really sloppy and tired, I might have worn myself out learning tricks and trying to do handstands this morning.
We just made a really good soup! It's called Be Good Soup.** lucky you now you know how to make it:)
Lots of love x x xx x x
*Now Cake
ok it's a good one, reccomend this :)
Melt 2b big bars of dark chocolate (if one has nuts in that's cool too) with a big glob of butter (about 1/3 block?)
Add a glug of coconut milk, 3 mashed bananas & 2 eggs, stir quickly and add self raising flour until a good thickness.
Since there's no actual sugar, add a good sprinkling of hot chocolate powder, and put in the oven at about 200degrees.
While it cooks, mash 1 banana with 2-3tbsps honey, a dash of coconut milk, a handful of chopped cashew and a splash of water. Heat up until it smells of cooked banana.
When the cake's nearly done or done, spead nutella on thinly then the banana sauce and pop in the oven for 5 or 10 minutes (the oven can be switched off for that bit, it's just to keep it warm while you have dinner, and maybe make the banana extra gooey.) bon appetite :)
**Be Good Soup:
Fry an onion and some garlic. Add a chopped potato then chopped squash, about 2 big handfuls. Then 3 grated beetroot (bettarraba) and 3 grated carrots (cenoura) and a little salt. Now a litre of veg stock, a pinch of those dried chilli flakes, 1/4 of a nutmeg (of course), a glug of coconut milk. when it's done whizz it up till it's creamy. Would be good with parsley (or gremolata mum!)
yum yum x x x x x
So just a litle update on what we've been up to :)
my birthday was brilliant, such a nice place to have it :) Everybody seemed to know about it and came to give me hugs and para bens :)
Ash was a star, Ashlee and her made a huge cake it was completely covered in hundreds and thousands, and fruit, and Ashlee and Orion cooked me a birthday dinner which was amazing too.
The 14th (happy valentines day!) was ok, i hitched to Palmeiras, the nearest town, first thing, to get some cash out for us both, but the machine just wouldn't give me any! I went round some supermarkets asking if any of them could give me cashback (posso usar o meu cartao para retirar dinheiro com pagamento aqui?) they pretty much understood but nowhere could do it. Caught a mini bus back to Capao and experienced direct racism for the first time (Ash had a drink thrown on the ground in front of her in Salvador but I didn't even notice that) The minibus was filling up but they would not let me on and still wouldn't until the bus was completely crammed, I worried I wouldn't get on at all. They let me in the end though. Then it was clinging on tight for 15km of bumpy track much worse than the one up to the farm, in a normal size minibus with 42 people and several crates of stuff!
But when I got back I walked with Ashley Orion and Ash to the farm nearby which grows all kinds of fruit and veg as well as loads and loads of herbs, which is really exciting. We were thinking of going to stay there to learn about herbs, but might not have enough time really.
We walked back, got some food on the way, and when we got to Capao there wusic and dancing on the street so we had a little boogie :)
On the Sunday as there was no circus, me and Ash walked to the cachoeira fumaça which is the second tallest waterfall in South America. The walk is supposed to take about 2 hours each way but we spent 6 hours in total, looking at every single thing, and hanging out at the top as well.
It was really really amazing! The whole landscape here is absolutely stunning, these huge rocks jutting out with very steep sides. It's Chapada Diamantina national park if you want to look for pictures, since we haven't got oursa up yet! The camera ran out of battery that day too...
On our way up we found loads of teeny weeny cystasls, perfect clear quartz, i couldn't believe how many there were.
When we got to the waterfall it's like the end of a huge huge deep valley, with rainforest at the bottom and steep sides. You can see for miles- after the great big rocks and mountains it's this enormous flat plain, it looked like you can see further than Britain would have fitted into! Honestly I've never seen such a big space on land. Just as we were sitting gawping a magic green beijar flor (hummingbird) came and hovered right by us, the size of my thumb! We saw loads more while we were there, and loads of lizards, and a capibara too! Very special place.
On the 16th After circus we found Ran, he'd been at Neil (maker of good tahini who reminds me and Ash of Duncan Dragon :) )'s house helping him do hios roof and make lovely wholesome energy balls.
We had a really nice day, i did some reflexology on Ash and Ran which was really good, and we chatted about dreams and Now and things...
Then had the most brilliant evening with many at Sempre Viva, cooked a REALLY tasty risotto with salad and more tahini, and a 'Now Cake'*
What a brilliant evening :)
On the 17th I wrote-
I'm really happy. Me and Ash have talked a bit about Carnaval and have decided to stay in Capao for it. It's going to save us a LOT of money, but our main reason is our so-far experience of Salvador's loco-ness, as well as everyone we speak to warning us about 'Babylon city' and telling us it's 100times worse in Carnaval.
Also the circus here, the herb and fruit farm to learn about, etc, etc... Carnaval at Capao!
And the 18th-
Yeaterday we caught a jeep into Palmeiras and a minibus to Seabra, because I still can't get money out in Palmeiras.
It was nice to go for a bit of an adventure but even better to get back to Capao.
I showed a Russian/Canadian girl to thye campsites, who had been living and studying in Salvador for 6 months (escaping from Carnaval along with hordes of other Salvadorians :)
It was funny to see her reaction to everyone saying oi and starting genuine conversations she'd assume they were trying to sell her stuff or get money off her somehow, like everyone is in Salvador.
Today we went for a walk with Thomas and Ran adter circus. I have been really sloppy and tired, I might have worn myself out learning tricks and trying to do handstands this morning.
We just made a really good soup! It's called Be Good Soup.** lucky you now you know how to make it:)
Lots of love x x xx x x
*Now Cake
ok it's a good one, reccomend this :)
Melt 2b big bars of dark chocolate (if one has nuts in that's cool too) with a big glob of butter (about 1/3 block?)
Add a glug of coconut milk, 3 mashed bananas & 2 eggs, stir quickly and add self raising flour until a good thickness.
Since there's no actual sugar, add a good sprinkling of hot chocolate powder, and put in the oven at about 200degrees.
While it cooks, mash 1 banana with 2-3tbsps honey, a dash of coconut milk, a handful of chopped cashew and a splash of water. Heat up until it smells of cooked banana.
When the cake's nearly done or done, spead nutella on thinly then the banana sauce and pop in the oven for 5 or 10 minutes (the oven can be switched off for that bit, it's just to keep it warm while you have dinner, and maybe make the banana extra gooey.) bon appetite :)
**Be Good Soup:
Fry an onion and some garlic. Add a chopped potato then chopped squash, about 2 big handfuls. Then 3 grated beetroot (bettarraba) and 3 grated carrots (cenoura) and a little salt. Now a litre of veg stock, a pinch of those dried chilli flakes, 1/4 of a nutmeg (of course), a glug of coconut milk. when it's done whizz it up till it's creamy. Would be good with parsley (or gremolata mum!)
yum yum x x x x x
Thursday, 12 February 2009
12 Feb...
Just a quick one, to say the memory card is back, yay!
Ash is at the river with Ashlee and Orion, I've got tonsilitis, and I'm trying to upload the pictures, which is harder than I ever thought it could be!
It's my birthday tomorrow, I'm so excited! Just off to get some spices so I can make some chai :) one of my favourite things to do so any excuse :D
This is going to be my hottest birthday in a while! :) :)
miss you mum and dad xxxxxxxxx
Ash is at the river with Ashlee and Orion, I've got tonsilitis, and I'm trying to upload the pictures, which is harder than I ever thought it could be!
It's my birthday tomorrow, I'm so excited! Just off to get some spices so I can make some chai :) one of my favourite things to do so any excuse :D
This is going to be my hottest birthday in a while! :) :)
miss you mum and dad xxxxxxxxx
Wednesday the 11th... later on
Hello again!
Today circus was much better, I was aching but there were much more helpful and patient people there who took the time to make sure I'd understood. Also an actual silks teacher, so I've now got everything I learnt before back, and everything from now on is bonus!
After that me and Ash went back to the river to rest, then found Ashlee and Orion! They'd trecked without a guide all the way to Lençois, and got lost along the way. Aslee's legs are covered in sctatches from a cactus patch they had to battle through. They went without food on the last day, and ate $R80 worth of it when they got toLençois!
Me and Ash made some wholesome soup and had them round for dinner, which was lovely :)
Now Ash is asleep and I can't quite, Ash just told me she's lost the memory card with all our pictures on it. There is a hope, she thinks it might be in the ice cream shop but she wrapped it in looroll so even if it is it might be thrown away. We find out tomorrow- hopefully it will turn up.
Today circus was much better, I was aching but there were much more helpful and patient people there who took the time to make sure I'd understood. Also an actual silks teacher, so I've now got everything I learnt before back, and everything from now on is bonus!
After that me and Ash went back to the river to rest, then found Ashlee and Orion! They'd trecked without a guide all the way to Lençois, and got lost along the way. Aslee's legs are covered in sctatches from a cactus patch they had to battle through. They went without food on the last day, and ate $R80 worth of it when they got toLençois!
Me and Ash made some wholesome soup and had them round for dinner, which was lovely :)
Now Ash is asleep and I can't quite, Ash just told me she's lost the memory card with all our pictures on it. There is a hope, she thinks it might be in the ice cream shop but she wrapped it in looroll so even if it is it might be thrown away. We find out tomorrow- hopefully it will turn up.
Wednesday the 11th
We're in Capao! So far it's absolutely lovely :)
The centre of thre community is like a small street, with a shop or 2 seling all the practicalities as well as loads of local produca (tahini, honey, veg, bread, eggs...) All the restaurants and cafes have got plenty of wholesome veggie options so I get to give my tummy a rest, it's almost like finding a funny little corner of some festival, in that peope from al over are wondering around with didgeridoos and poi, and i won't say I've never seen so many dreadlocks but it comes pretty close! :)
We're in a campsite caled Sau Dai in a little cabin, it's got a stream running through it and mango trees :) a lovely communal kitchen and the buildings have got paintings of goblins and smiling little frogs all over them.
We already got a suprise when we bumped into Neil, Israeli Chucks friend from the Hare Krishna festival (who has offered to host me a birthday party!) and Norah from the Nega Maluca, our funky punky Barcelonan friend, who tes us Aslee and Orion are here but went on a trek 2 or 3 days ago.
On our first morning we wandered into town and we b8umped into Ran, who is in the same campsite as Norah, Aslee and Orion. He invited us for breakfast which was a gostosa (tasty) salad with tahini done the israeli way* ah yum!
While we were eating and chatting about herbs we saw 2 little monkeys in the trees! They came realy close and cleaned up an old bit of banana, they are amazing! Their faces are white like a funny little witch and the rest of them are al silvery and stripey.
Later we went for a walk to the river, which is very different from the one at Arembepe- much colder, and it tumbles down rocks all dramatic. It's practically deserted because there's so many choices of bits of river and cachoeiras (waterfals) for people to go to, so we didn't need our eensy weensy brazilian style bikinis ;)
For some reason I picked up a handful of gravel from the bottom and there was a perfect clear crystal point in it! We found a few more once we were looking!
I went by myself to circus school, Ash wasn't feeling u for it and hasn't got enough money to do lessons every day. I have to admit I was the only beginner- everyone else was balancing contact balls on their heads and dancing around when I got there and the teacher hadn't even arrived!
The warm up was cool, but there was some I couldn't even try- O.K so you're in a crab position which is fine, now point each foot at the ceiling- maybe you can do that if a little wobly- now shake each hand in the air in turn- right, now it's starting to get tricky- the next thingt you know you're being asked to clap your hands! And believe it or not I was the only person who coupldn't do it.
Then we moved on to some more complicated stuff and I had to sit and watch for a bit :S
When it came to actually having a go at the desired toy I climbed the silks and sat there scratching my head for a bit- I couldn't remember any of the knots well enough to trust them.
The teacher reminded me of a basic sequence so I just repeated it a few timesto let it sink in.
Ran and Ash had come to meet me so I clung on to them so as not to sink into the track, went and got some delicious veggie grub and went to bed. Now it's 6:30 and I'm wide awake if a little achey, just eating some energy filled munch and going back to school, if my legs'll take me!!! Tchau for now x x x x x x x
*Tahini the israeli way-
Apparently it's sinful and wrong to eat Tahini as it is, and it must always be mixed with a little bit of water, olive oil and lemon juice before using- easiest done in a pan over a little heat. Garlic too if you want it :)
Thought Bee might want this! It helps it go further too!
The centre of thre community is like a small street, with a shop or 2 seling all the practicalities as well as loads of local produca (tahini, honey, veg, bread, eggs...) All the restaurants and cafes have got plenty of wholesome veggie options so I get to give my tummy a rest, it's almost like finding a funny little corner of some festival, in that peope from al over are wondering around with didgeridoos and poi, and i won't say I've never seen so many dreadlocks but it comes pretty close! :)
We're in a campsite caled Sau Dai in a little cabin, it's got a stream running through it and mango trees :) a lovely communal kitchen and the buildings have got paintings of goblins and smiling little frogs all over them.
We already got a suprise when we bumped into Neil, Israeli Chucks friend from the Hare Krishna festival (who has offered to host me a birthday party!) and Norah from the Nega Maluca, our funky punky Barcelonan friend, who tes us Aslee and Orion are here but went on a trek 2 or 3 days ago.
On our first morning we wandered into town and we b8umped into Ran, who is in the same campsite as Norah, Aslee and Orion. He invited us for breakfast which was a gostosa (tasty) salad with tahini done the israeli way* ah yum!
While we were eating and chatting about herbs we saw 2 little monkeys in the trees! They came realy close and cleaned up an old bit of banana, they are amazing! Their faces are white like a funny little witch and the rest of them are al silvery and stripey.
Later we went for a walk to the river, which is very different from the one at Arembepe- much colder, and it tumbles down rocks all dramatic. It's practically deserted because there's so many choices of bits of river and cachoeiras (waterfals) for people to go to, so we didn't need our eensy weensy brazilian style bikinis ;)
For some reason I picked up a handful of gravel from the bottom and there was a perfect clear crystal point in it! We found a few more once we were looking!
I went by myself to circus school, Ash wasn't feeling u for it and hasn't got enough money to do lessons every day. I have to admit I was the only beginner- everyone else was balancing contact balls on their heads and dancing around when I got there and the teacher hadn't even arrived!
The warm up was cool, but there was some I couldn't even try- O.K so you're in a crab position which is fine, now point each foot at the ceiling- maybe you can do that if a little wobly- now shake each hand in the air in turn- right, now it's starting to get tricky- the next thingt you know you're being asked to clap your hands! And believe it or not I was the only person who coupldn't do it.
Then we moved on to some more complicated stuff and I had to sit and watch for a bit :S
When it came to actually having a go at the desired toy I climbed the silks and sat there scratching my head for a bit- I couldn't remember any of the knots well enough to trust them.
The teacher reminded me of a basic sequence so I just repeated it a few timesto let it sink in.
Ran and Ash had come to meet me so I clung on to them so as not to sink into the track, went and got some delicious veggie grub and went to bed. Now it's 6:30 and I'm wide awake if a little achey, just eating some energy filled munch and going back to school, if my legs'll take me!!! Tchau for now x x x x x x x
*Tahini the israeli way-
Apparently it's sinful and wrong to eat Tahini as it is, and it must always be mixed with a little bit of water, olive oil and lemon juice before using- easiest done in a pan over a little heat. Garlic too if you want it :)
Thought Bee might want this! It helps it go further too!
Monday the 8th, or around then...
It's my birthday on Friday!
We're on our way to Capao now, and so far 3 different friendly hippies have come and given us advice and smiles!
We had a really nice reply from Ran, one of the nice Israelis from the nega Maluca who'se in love with Capao, to say that he's going off to volunteer at an organic fruit and herb farm near here, to learn about medicinal herbs and things. But he's going to wait a few days so we can meet. Yay!
No news on Ashlee and Orion as yet though.
We're on our way to Capao now, and so far 3 different friendly hippies have come and given us advice and smiles!
We had a really nice reply from Ran, one of the nice Israelis from the nega Maluca who'se in love with Capao, to say that he's going off to volunteer at an organic fruit and herb farm near here, to learn about medicinal herbs and things. But he's going to wait a few days so we can meet. Yay!
No news on Ashlee and Orion as yet though.
Monday, 9 February 2009
8 Feb... Rock n roll on the bus
Our time at the Janis Joplin ranch is finished, and again lots of almost difficult goodbyes. We've met some real characters here! There was Diego from the Nega Maluca who so kindly showed us this lovely place, and then hung around for a bit too. Then there is our funky kringlin** rock n roll friend Chacal, who showed me a little bit of how to make pretty satuff out of wire (muito intelligench, babeh!) And the lovely Michael who apart from being so helpful with our Portugese, put a green and yellow (for Brasiw!) braid into Ash's hair :) and reminded us both of our friend Huck!
The days passed by in playing in the sea, learning much more Portugese thanks to Diego and Huck and everyone really, and in the river, or just in the shade of some palm trees. The nights passed by in moonlight dips in the rio, sitting round unneccessary but nostalgic campfires with guitars and drums and singing and talking and sometimes some cerveja too (Mike i finally learnt beer in Portugese, I still haven't had to use it though!)
But now we're on the bus back to Salvador, to catch a coach to Lençois where we may meet up with our brilliante amigos Ashley and Orion and may not, either way we'll be off to Capao in a day, to do some circusry and shenanigans, yes!
Everyone who we've mentioned the circus school or Capao in general to has spoken very higly of it (except when we told Chacal we were leaving he said it's a horrible bad place, don't go there no, stay in Arembepe, yes?)
Lots of love :)
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
**Once upon a time on a train somewhere, me and ash thought it would be fun to rub my phone on the table to see what words came up. it was fun, and the best word was kringlin, it means a pixieish sort of person with a good sense of fun and definately a cheeky smile :) :) :)
The days passed by in playing in the sea, learning much more Portugese thanks to Diego and Huck and everyone really, and in the river, or just in the shade of some palm trees. The nights passed by in moonlight dips in the rio, sitting round unneccessary but nostalgic campfires with guitars and drums and singing and talking and sometimes some cerveja too (Mike i finally learnt beer in Portugese, I still haven't had to use it though!)
But now we're on the bus back to Salvador, to catch a coach to Lençois where we may meet up with our brilliante amigos Ashley and Orion and may not, either way we'll be off to Capao in a day, to do some circusry and shenanigans, yes!
Everyone who we've mentioned the circus school or Capao in general to has spoken very higly of it (except when we told Chacal we were leaving he said it's a horrible bad place, don't go there no, stay in Arembepe, yes?)
Lots of love :)
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
**Once upon a time on a train somewhere, me and ash thought it would be fun to rub my phone on the table to see what words came up. it was fun, and the best word was kringlin, it means a pixieish sort of person with a good sense of fun and definately a cheeky smile :) :) :)
Saturday 7th Feb- what involves us
I'm sorry, I haven't written in a while, we've found some hippies!
We decided to have a little scoot around some of the coastal towns near Salvador before going to Capao, to Arembepe since it's only a relatively short bus ride from Salvador.
When we chatted to the helpful folk at the Nega Maluca it turned out Diego and Maheus were going for the day as well, so we could travel down with them. Lovely to be able to just follow, instead of figuring out Portuguese bus logistics again! (they helped with our snail sahells too which is always good :) )
Our last night in Salvador was a good one. There was a massive party on the streets of Pelourinho . It was really exciting, loads of people and yes yes! 2 really really funky Samba bands parading, with plenty of dancing to be done of course ;)
We paraded around for a while, dancing in the pounding brilliant Samba, woo! Found our absolutely lovely Canadian friends Ashley and Orion in the crowd with their beaming smiles and jiggled with them for a bit, met some nice Brazilian boys who were a bit less forward than most, which was refreshing!
We danced to some jazz, we danced to some salsa, but always went back to the street parade and bounced around to the beat of the drums. I love it!
A funny little man with a smiley face did some crazy dancing with Ash and told us about a Praça do Musica which was supposed to be good, as soon as we set off the leader of the Samba dancers who we saw dfoingf the Capoeira display in Praça do Jesus when we first got to Salvador, came and introduced himself as Schokolatsh and whisked me off. He was a verey crazy man, told me he would teach me to dance, the rest of the evening was a little bit scary and very intense but i may well be a little better at dancing and it was fun overall. I did need a cup of tea when we got home to the Nega though.
Now though we're in Arembepe, in a lovely little hippie hangout called the Janis Joplin ranch (because she came here once) And it's blissful! The first day we spent with Diego and Maheus which was fun, (we went to a turtle sanctuary which was a bit sad but amazing. i never realised how BIG they are!) but now there's 2 of us so we have been meeting the many lovely people here.
The setting is amazing, just set back from the long white beach behing a windbreak of coconut palms, with a warm river to swim in, and a shady camp site too which is only costing us $R5 a night.
Our various friends here live in beautiful houses built from driftwood and palm leaves, with hammocks and windchimes and lovely stuff made of old stuff everywhere.
Last night we were invited for a night swim in the rio, which was gorgeous in the bright light of the almost full moon (Lua cheia) and we saw a really huge toad, the size of a small rabbit! It was hard to get very close,we were cracking up´about the name of it - toad inPortuguese is huh :) really not sure if the others could appreciate why we were laughing so much.
I saw another one when I was pumping some water.
Later we went to Luis's house where there was a jamming session to celebrate everything and nothing in particular, and that was really nice. My new favourite thing is people who don't speak englisah singing english songs- it's brilliant, it sounds more like the original because they don't even try to say the words properly, just hopw they sound!
I overheard a girl from Norway who I had been chatting to, who had ended up here not knowing what to expect, say to her friend-
"It's so surreal here
like a paradise, almost
in the silver light"
I liked that.
So today it's chilling out in the shade (sombre) chatting and learning Portuguese, with the occasional dip in the mar or rio, until it's cool enough to walk into town and maybe use an internet to figure out how to get to the next place (and maybe even write this up!) It's less than a week till my birthday now so it would be good to be settled in somewhere lovely then.
We decided to have a little scoot around some of the coastal towns near Salvador before going to Capao, to Arembepe since it's only a relatively short bus ride from Salvador.
When we chatted to the helpful folk at the Nega Maluca it turned out Diego and Maheus were going for the day as well, so we could travel down with them. Lovely to be able to just follow, instead of figuring out Portuguese bus logistics again! (they helped with our snail sahells too which is always good :) )
Our last night in Salvador was a good one. There was a massive party on the streets of Pelourinho . It was really exciting, loads of people and yes yes! 2 really really funky Samba bands parading, with plenty of dancing to be done of course ;)
We paraded around for a while, dancing in the pounding brilliant Samba, woo! Found our absolutely lovely Canadian friends Ashley and Orion in the crowd with their beaming smiles and jiggled with them for a bit, met some nice Brazilian boys who were a bit less forward than most, which was refreshing!
We danced to some jazz, we danced to some salsa, but always went back to the street parade and bounced around to the beat of the drums. I love it!
A funny little man with a smiley face did some crazy dancing with Ash and told us about a Praça do Musica which was supposed to be good, as soon as we set off the leader of the Samba dancers who we saw dfoingf the Capoeira display in Praça do Jesus when we first got to Salvador, came and introduced himself as Schokolatsh and whisked me off. He was a verey crazy man, told me he would teach me to dance, the rest of the evening was a little bit scary and very intense but i may well be a little better at dancing and it was fun overall. I did need a cup of tea when we got home to the Nega though.
Now though we're in Arembepe, in a lovely little hippie hangout called the Janis Joplin ranch (because she came here once) And it's blissful! The first day we spent with Diego and Maheus which was fun, (we went to a turtle sanctuary which was a bit sad but amazing. i never realised how BIG they are!) but now there's 2 of us so we have been meeting the many lovely people here.
The setting is amazing, just set back from the long white beach behing a windbreak of coconut palms, with a warm river to swim in, and a shady camp site too which is only costing us $R5 a night.
Our various friends here live in beautiful houses built from driftwood and palm leaves, with hammocks and windchimes and lovely stuff made of old stuff everywhere.
Last night we were invited for a night swim in the rio, which was gorgeous in the bright light of the almost full moon (Lua cheia) and we saw a really huge toad, the size of a small rabbit! It was hard to get very close,we were cracking up´about the name of it - toad inPortuguese is huh :) really not sure if the others could appreciate why we were laughing so much.
I saw another one when I was pumping some water.
Later we went to Luis's house where there was a jamming session to celebrate everything and nothing in particular, and that was really nice. My new favourite thing is people who don't speak englisah singing english songs- it's brilliant, it sounds more like the original because they don't even try to say the words properly, just hopw they sound!
I overheard a girl from Norway who I had been chatting to, who had ended up here not knowing what to expect, say to her friend-
"It's so surreal here
like a paradise, almost
in the silver light"
I liked that.
So today it's chilling out in the shade (sombre) chatting and learning Portuguese, with the occasional dip in the mar or rio, until it's cool enough to walk into town and maybe use an internet to figure out how to get to the next place (and maybe even write this up!) It's less than a week till my birthday now so it would be good to be settled in somewhere lovely then.
Saturday, 7 February 2009
ash again....
im back,=P just read through all the comments....
you're all so lovely !
sounds like you're all making the most of the snow,im loving the sound of sledging on portfolis)bex comment..) heheh nice one!
miss you all,
am going now to get a motorbike taxi home =D
boa noitexxx
you're all so lovely !
sounds like you're all making the most of the snow,im loving the sound of sledging on portfolis)bex comment..) heheh nice one!
miss you all,
am going now to get a motorbike taxi home =D
boa noitexxx
Arembepe love!
ola minha quiridos!
sorry tis been so long, im not going to go on about everything since last time though as Nutmeg just said she'd done a pretty long one,so no point repeating.
i di have to say though,we're in such a lovely place,so many lovely pessoas(people). where we are staying,the hippy village in Arembepe,is situated inbetween a river and the oh so blue sea. the sand is white,the sun is hot and the shore is lined with cocopalms.
we've met so many good people which is really helping with the Portuguese.neither of us are that good yet,dont get me wrong but its coming,and im really lovong it!(Dutchy minha bonita,can you help me continue when i get back??=P)
today a hilarious geeza who makes wicked jewelerry made me a spider that i can wear onmy belly and around my neck,he also made me a ring which was presesnt(the spider i paid for). then he set about teaching meg how to do wire work!
i saw a monkey!!!!!
whilst i was on a toilet trip....most exciting walk back from the loo i've ever had.
lots of love,i hope you're all having fun in the snow!
sorry tis been so long, im not going to go on about everything since last time though as Nutmeg just said she'd done a pretty long one,so no point repeating.
i di have to say though,we're in such a lovely place,so many lovely pessoas(people). where we are staying,the hippy village in Arembepe,is situated inbetween a river and the oh so blue sea. the sand is white,the sun is hot and the shore is lined with cocopalms.
we've met so many good people which is really helping with the Portuguese.neither of us are that good yet,dont get me wrong but its coming,and im really lovong it!(Dutchy minha bonita,can you help me continue when i get back??=P)
today a hilarious geeza who makes wicked jewelerry made me a spider that i can wear onmy belly and around my neck,he also made me a ring which was presesnt(the spider i paid for). then he set about teaching meg how to do wire work!
i saw a monkey!!!!!
whilst i was on a toilet trip....most exciting walk back from the loo i've ever had.
lots of love,i hope you're all having fun in the snow!
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
3rd February... Maistarde, talvez!...from Meg
Hello!
So Salvador lives up to its reputation!
There is some sort of a party or festival literally every day, we went to a hare krishna festie the other day with Chuck one of the Israeli guys and Orion and Ashlee, this stunningly lovely smiley couple from Canada.
It was fun, dancing down the street and pulling the colourful float. Then music and dancing at the end. The people there were lovely, and I could just imagine Kerriann being there, that would have been perfect :)
The chanting though I wouldn`t join in with, partly because I`m not a Hare Krishna devotee, obviously, and partly because I just have a thing about chanting, it gives me the shivers. Never mind though, it was really fun to dance all afternoon and evening. It was really fun at the party afterwards, they were playing some clasic music (not classical, just some really classic old tunes) but with the words replaced with hare krishna hare hare hare rama... like over the top of Pink Floyds the wall ande things. a bit weird but it made us laugh.
Yesterday there was another festival, for the lady of the sea, where teems of people went down to the sea to put flowers on little boats that were sent out to into the water. There was a huge parade down the street with a huge lorry pretty much made of speakers, and a very very good samba band. The streets were absolutely packed out (both me and Ash felt a hand in our pockets at least once (I want to get some monopoly money and print a little message on it to keep in my back pocket fro when people try and nick it!) ) , just hundreds of people, many dressed in white; people at the sidelines would just wipe their cool cans of beer on you as you went by as a sort of sales technique. It was so so hot!
I actually went home after the main parade, it was fun while I was there and nice to hear some samba even if it was too crowded to dance, but I felt a bit overheated and just felt I`d rather be at the hostel for the afternoon and lie in a hammock or something. I pushed my way through the crowds, asked some various helpful looking people where I might be able to get a bus to somewhere I at least knew how to get home from, and was back within half an hour or so, with some help from a friendly Chilean couple I met at the bus stop.
I made some more of the highly successful chocolate and banana ice cream we did at Ouro Preto for when the others got back, but only just got in the freezer when they came back, turned out they`d just relaxed in a coffee shop and on the beach since I left anyway, I might as well had stayed!
Ash has practised her Portuguese with Diego from the hostel who sort of took us to the party, I need to do some catching up. We are getting there.
We had a blissful evening! Both me and Ash got a scrummy massage off Diego, I made some ratatouille and then we all ate the ice cream yum yum!
Ashlee amazingly brought watercolour paints and watercolour paper postcards so we sat in the morroccan corner of the hostel and all painted little postcards they all turned out really pretty :)
So we are staying another night because we only just made our minds up what to do, and will go up the coast slightly to Arembepe and then to Praia do Forte (where we have a hug to deliver!) over the next couple of days, then probably to Capao (yes yes yes), the hippy valley with circus school etc :) I think it will be good to have the time limit of coming to Salvador for Carnaval when we go there, I can imagine it might be the sort of place to get stuck for a while :)
Tchau amigos! (thank you for your help Dutchy!) :) x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxxxx
So Salvador lives up to its reputation!
There is some sort of a party or festival literally every day, we went to a hare krishna festie the other day with Chuck one of the Israeli guys and Orion and Ashlee, this stunningly lovely smiley couple from Canada.
It was fun, dancing down the street and pulling the colourful float. Then music and dancing at the end. The people there were lovely, and I could just imagine Kerriann being there, that would have been perfect :)
The chanting though I wouldn`t join in with, partly because I`m not a Hare Krishna devotee, obviously, and partly because I just have a thing about chanting, it gives me the shivers. Never mind though, it was really fun to dance all afternoon and evening. It was really fun at the party afterwards, they were playing some clasic music (not classical, just some really classic old tunes) but with the words replaced with hare krishna hare hare hare rama... like over the top of Pink Floyds the wall ande things. a bit weird but it made us laugh.
Yesterday there was another festival, for the lady of the sea, where teems of people went down to the sea to put flowers on little boats that were sent out to into the water. There was a huge parade down the street with a huge lorry pretty much made of speakers, and a very very good samba band. The streets were absolutely packed out (both me and Ash felt a hand in our pockets at least once (I want to get some monopoly money and print a little message on it to keep in my back pocket fro when people try and nick it!) ) , just hundreds of people, many dressed in white; people at the sidelines would just wipe their cool cans of beer on you as you went by as a sort of sales technique. It was so so hot!
I actually went home after the main parade, it was fun while I was there and nice to hear some samba even if it was too crowded to dance, but I felt a bit overheated and just felt I`d rather be at the hostel for the afternoon and lie in a hammock or something. I pushed my way through the crowds, asked some various helpful looking people where I might be able to get a bus to somewhere I at least knew how to get home from, and was back within half an hour or so, with some help from a friendly Chilean couple I met at the bus stop.
I made some more of the highly successful chocolate and banana ice cream we did at Ouro Preto for when the others got back, but only just got in the freezer when they came back, turned out they`d just relaxed in a coffee shop and on the beach since I left anyway, I might as well had stayed!
Ash has practised her Portuguese with Diego from the hostel who sort of took us to the party, I need to do some catching up. We are getting there.
We had a blissful evening! Both me and Ash got a scrummy massage off Diego, I made some ratatouille and then we all ate the ice cream yum yum!
Ashlee amazingly brought watercolour paints and watercolour paper postcards so we sat in the morroccan corner of the hostel and all painted little postcards they all turned out really pretty :)
So we are staying another night because we only just made our minds up what to do, and will go up the coast slightly to Arembepe and then to Praia do Forte (where we have a hug to deliver!) over the next couple of days, then probably to Capao (yes yes yes), the hippy valley with circus school etc :) I think it will be good to have the time limit of coming to Salvador for Carnaval when we go there, I can imagine it might be the sort of place to get stuck for a while :)
Tchau amigos! (thank you for your help Dutchy!) :) x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxxxx
Sunday, 1 February 2009
1 Feb... Nega Maluca! ...from Meg :)
Hello dears, poor you I hear it`s 0degrees there. At the moment I can`t even picture it.
We`ve been in the bustling Salvador now for a day and a night and have been for just a little explore yesterday before we flopped from our tiring coach journey.
It`s good from what we saw, much more african than the other places we`ve been and the way it influences the town is really exciting.
Drumming and capoeira and colourful everything!
But I have to be honest, we`ve spent most of our time in the hostel, nega maluca.
Ooooh it`s really nice! It`s a perfect traveller-y folk environment, and while it`s been supremely blissfully lovely spending time in the quiet beautiful Olivenca, and while it was just what we both needed, we`re starting to know what each other are thinking and we are really happy to see some new people, and get some advice on even more unmissable places to go in this endless country! Apparently 3 months isn`t going to be even nearly enough!
We met 2 more Israeli guys who were at the same festival as I was at in Portugal, Boom, so they`re nice and hippyish and like minded, and they were raving about Universo Parallello, the festival we were thinking of coming over in time for during new year, but decided to do Christmas at home instead, a little twinge on my part there...
But they reccomended highly the valley and Capao town in a National Park, that I happened to have been reading about just before, as it is meant to be a proper hippy gathering spot with a waterfall that`s so high it dissappears into nothing, many lovely crystals and all that jazz, and the one that really got me is that they have a really good and very affordable circus school!
So basically we now have the most brilliant choice ever of what to do in the next 2 or 3 weeks before Carnaval! We go and pick fruit and learn about organic farming in brazil at a woof if we hear back from one, or go exploring the gorgeous beaches in Bahia for a while, or go and chill out man with some hippies in the hills and have a quick dabble in general circusry :)
It`s very hard to actually get round to making any kind of move in terms of decision making, because none of the options have got any down sides really, we both want to do all of them loads!
This hostel has Skype which is a real blessing, I`ve spoked to my mum twice now which was so nice, it had been too long. I can`t get hold of the others though! Don`t worry, i`ll try again.
Lots of love :)
We`ve been in the bustling Salvador now for a day and a night and have been for just a little explore yesterday before we flopped from our tiring coach journey.
It`s good from what we saw, much more african than the other places we`ve been and the way it influences the town is really exciting.
Drumming and capoeira and colourful everything!
But I have to be honest, we`ve spent most of our time in the hostel, nega maluca.
Ooooh it`s really nice! It`s a perfect traveller-y folk environment, and while it`s been supremely blissfully lovely spending time in the quiet beautiful Olivenca, and while it was just what we both needed, we`re starting to know what each other are thinking and we are really happy to see some new people, and get some advice on even more unmissable places to go in this endless country! Apparently 3 months isn`t going to be even nearly enough!
We met 2 more Israeli guys who were at the same festival as I was at in Portugal, Boom, so they`re nice and hippyish and like minded, and they were raving about Universo Parallello, the festival we were thinking of coming over in time for during new year, but decided to do Christmas at home instead, a little twinge on my part there...
But they reccomended highly the valley and Capao town in a National Park, that I happened to have been reading about just before, as it is meant to be a proper hippy gathering spot with a waterfall that`s so high it dissappears into nothing, many lovely crystals and all that jazz, and the one that really got me is that they have a really good and very affordable circus school!
So basically we now have the most brilliant choice ever of what to do in the next 2 or 3 weeks before Carnaval! We go and pick fruit and learn about organic farming in brazil at a woof if we hear back from one, or go exploring the gorgeous beaches in Bahia for a while, or go and chill out man with some hippies in the hills and have a quick dabble in general circusry :)
It`s very hard to actually get round to making any kind of move in terms of decision making, because none of the options have got any down sides really, we both want to do all of them loads!
This hostel has Skype which is a real blessing, I`ve spoked to my mum twice now which was so nice, it had been too long. I can`t get hold of the others though! Don`t worry, i`ll try again.
Lots of love :)
bom dia slavador
ola minha quiridos!!
hello every one of you lovelies,sorry i havent blogged for a while. im not entirely sure what megs last one said,but it probably told you that we`re now in the fabulous city of Salvador. we arrived yesterday at half 5 in the morning ugh! its mad here,quite different from everywhere else we1ve been,very very African nearly every one is black. the northan Brazilian coast is where most of the slave trade came to,so their descendants are all still here. there are drum/percussion shops everywhere(i got very exciting by them,found a little drum made out of a coconut!),beads,hair wrap stalls,women wearing huge crazy white dresses and loads of make up waiting outside restaurants to invite you in!
the nega maluca hostel is really nice,they have a lovely fat cat and dog which is so goood,made us both feel very at home=) there are lots of funky people here as well wich we`ve been really looking forward to,as its just been us two for a while,which is loovely too,but refreshing to meet new`ens. it was actually quite emotional leaving the last place,in Ilheus,they had all been so lovely,giving is some proper brazilian mothering! and the two gorgeous boys,they gave us a beautiful rubber tree seed each that they`ed found, when we went.
right now we have the best and hardest descision to make in the world......right now we are in salvador but are going to leave for a bit,then return for carnival. our choices are do we find a woof and live on a fruit and cacao farm,go beach hopping around some little white sanded palm treed islands,or...go to this hippy valley that we`ve found out about,where there is pretty much the cheapest circus school in the world,and loads of shared houses......hmmmmm
yay! ive just had a chat with my lovely mum! made me very happy =D nut meg is just sitting next to me talking to her lovely mum now. Ben,tried to phone you too just incase...but thought propbably not as its sunday morning! and pops,tried to phone you too but it was engaiged, but ill try and call you before too long=D
much love and brazilian sunrays xxxxxxxxlove ash
hello every one of you lovelies,sorry i havent blogged for a while. im not entirely sure what megs last one said,but it probably told you that we`re now in the fabulous city of Salvador. we arrived yesterday at half 5 in the morning ugh! its mad here,quite different from everywhere else we1ve been,very very African nearly every one is black. the northan Brazilian coast is where most of the slave trade came to,so their descendants are all still here. there are drum/percussion shops everywhere(i got very exciting by them,found a little drum made out of a coconut!),beads,hair wrap stalls,women wearing huge crazy white dresses and loads of make up waiting outside restaurants to invite you in!
the nega maluca hostel is really nice,they have a lovely fat cat and dog which is so goood,made us both feel very at home=) there are lots of funky people here as well wich we`ve been really looking forward to,as its just been us two for a while,which is loovely too,but refreshing to meet new`ens. it was actually quite emotional leaving the last place,in Ilheus,they had all been so lovely,giving is some proper brazilian mothering! and the two gorgeous boys,they gave us a beautiful rubber tree seed each that they`ed found, when we went.
right now we have the best and hardest descision to make in the world......right now we are in salvador but are going to leave for a bit,then return for carnival. our choices are do we find a woof and live on a fruit and cacao farm,go beach hopping around some little white sanded palm treed islands,or...go to this hippy valley that we`ve found out about,where there is pretty much the cheapest circus school in the world,and loads of shared houses......hmmmmm
yay! ive just had a chat with my lovely mum! made me very happy =D nut meg is just sitting next to me talking to her lovely mum now. Ben,tried to phone you too just incase...but thought propbably not as its sunday morning! and pops,tried to phone you too but it was engaiged, but ill try and call you before too long=D
much love and brazilian sunrays xxxxxxxxlove ash
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