Highlights:
Cycling 44km to Gruta do
Lagoa Azul
Inverno Festival
Balneiro Municipal
Lowlights:
The Inverno concert was so
loud I thought my ear drums were going to blow and Jaoa kept trying to push his
way closer and closer to the speakers. The sound was deafening and I had that
high pitched ringing sound in my ears for almost 2 days after the concert.
Places:
Rio Formosa: we entered this
river (illegally) from two different points.
First Point: we cycled about
7km to an entrance to a lagoon under a bridge. I was amazed by the clarity of
the water. We swam in the river and Bruno and I decided to jump off the 10m
bridge into the lagoon.
Second Point: Gustavo drove
us, amongst other backpackers, to a spot. We also swam here, however the bugs
got the better of me at this one.
Gruta da Lagoa Azul: we
cycled 22km there and 22km back. It was much easier cycling there than cycling
back. The cave was spectacular, as we got closer and closer to the lagoon (by
walking down a multitude of steps); the bright blue colour of the water became
more and more imminent. It was beautiful. We got ripped off on a photo for $R10
but it was a good one, so we decided to get it.
Balneiro Municipal: We
cycled about 11km to get there. This river was swarming with fish. I have never
seen such a high concentration of fish in one area, granted there were only 3
or 4 species (mostly Piripitanga), nevertheless it was marvellous. We
snorkelled down the river stream twice, taking as many photos as we could with
Bruno’s underwater camera. We also had a bright spark idea to shove fish-feed
into our pockets so the fish would be attracted to us. They indeed were drawn
in and frantically attacked us to get the food, haha. We also saw a Macaw here.
Ilha Bonita: we came here
with Daniel and Tracy. Daniel didn’t want to swim because he refused to present
himself to nature with clothes on (he’s a naturalist). Daniel took pictures of
us jumping off the diving board, I did a somersault into the water.
People:
Gustavo: long hair, thin,
gaunt face, extremely friendly.
Luciano: glasses, walking & lip impediment, very helpful.
Paula & her friend:
Spanish girl, were also travelling through South America, could hardly
understand them because their words sounded like they were slurring them all
together, one was learning to juggle.
Activity:
Cycling 44km to Gruta do
Lagoa Azul on a bumpy dirt road was one of the hardest things I have ever done.
I wanted to shoot myself for suggesting it but it was worth it retrospectively.
Eating dust from trucks wasn’t fun though as well as one of my gears breaking
on the way back. The reward: a big bowl of Acai tigela and I saved R150 ;)
Saw my first Toucan at Sao
Jorge backpackers.
Drinks:
Acai suco: we had this for
the first time at Balneiro Municipal. It was as amazing as Acai tigella.
Terere: greenish, grinded
tea leaves that are put into a metallic cup. You drink it through a metallic
straw that acts as a filter. First you put the crushed leaves in and then pour
ice water over them and sip from the metallic straw. Usually the first few sips
are quite bitter but you usually spit them out..
Music:
Inverno festival: This
festival was bursting with entertainment and was welcomed by a fairly large
crowd. It featured the following artists:
Monoblock: a samba band
Nando Reis: a crazy rock
star who had crazy stage presence.
Urapa: A Brazilian artists
who uses a mix of reggae, rap & rock in his music.
