After few fun days in Cordoba the time came for my return to Brazil and of course I also started to have doubts whether I was doing the right thing going back to the places I have already visited and to the country I already knew and temporarily abandoning the discovery of new places. But as soon as I landed in Sampa I knew I did the right thing. I needed a break and some time in familiar place. So I passed the time in the city not really doing much, catching up with friends and visiting some of the places I failed to see during my previous travels. It was so nice just to chill in a proper house rather than staying in yet another hostel. I did attempt to do some capoeira training but as it was national holiday the academia was being painted. Capoeira would have to wait till Kilombo. I also got to experience a bit of winter in the city and it was not a pretty sight. Kind of like London - cold (20 degrees) and wet, very wet. The one scary thing was that, predictably, my Portuguese was completely gone and replaced by Spanish. I was really hoping that by the time I get to Bahia it will be back. All in all I was ready for some proper sun and heat. I nearly didn't get it as I completely misjudged the time it would take me to get to the airport and got to check in 20 minutes before departure. Its weird how quickly you forget the restrictions of air travel when all you do is spend hours on the buses moving slowly through the countryside. Was so lucky this was Brazil and not London and after some desperate begging I was let on the plane. It was so nice to arrive to Salvador and its 30 degree weather. It also has a very special smell of sea mixed with acaraje. Was happy to be back. Managed to share the taxi with some fellow travellers back to centre so avoided the hassle of shuttle bus and in no time was back at one of the first hostels of my journey. It was interesting to see how the vibe changed there. The party crowd of the holiday season was gone and only long time travellers were left. Within 30 minutes of dropping my bags I was dancing samba on the streets. This is the Brazil I was longing for for such a long time now. But the fast changing of climate took some toll on me and next morning after breakfast I found myself back in bed with zero energy. The only thing that got me out was meeting with Zoe for some London catch up in the afternoon. It was great to see a familiar face and to see her enjoying Bahia as much as I do. We made some arrangements to meet next day for training with FICA but sadly I did not manage to get myself out of bed in time... I know, lazy, but then I already had the perspective of 1 month of training every day so I thought I could be lazy for one more day... Instead I spent the day hanging out on the beach and enjoying the sun. Only made it back to hostel for the caipirinha happy hour. Before heading to the beach I did make an attempt to go and buy some seeds for Kilombo but of course, very predictably, got totally lost and ended up at some strange bus terminal. I don't know what it is that I always, ALWAYS go the wrong way!!! Not very surprisingly I ended up overstaying in Salvador. Was meant to head to Kilombo on Saturday but didn't actually make it till the next day. Other than my usual pattern of not being able to leave the place I think it was also down to the fact that Salvador charmed me much more this time around and in comparison to Sao Paulo seemed like a small and manageable place. Not to mention samba and the beautiful old centre... And so on Sunday morning I grabbed my bag and headed for Bonfim. I remember someone mentioning that the boat journey from Salvador to Itaparica can be pretty rough even in good weather and I was ever so grateful that I do not suffer from seasickness as it was a bit of a roller coaster ride. Two bus changes later I was stood at the gate of Kilombo and man, it did feel like being home...
