Runton surf

Was heading home and there was chance of some surf.  The biggest of it was Friday night before and looking at the webcam there was not much hope.  However the tides were on my side (for once).

So I chanced it- and scored (for Norfolk anyway).  1-2ft and clean, warm and sunny.

Few other guys- took the 6'10 orange rocket out.  Waves were kind of weak but got a few ones.  Got out as my parking ticket ran out.  Having not easten or drank I headed back rather than topping up the meter.  Wished I had stayed longer!

Last night in Rio

It was a big bonus arriving in Rio early.  It made the evening more relaxing.  I was keen to have a proper Brazilian meat dinner having never had the experience before so we headed to Porcao. Initially we discovered that the jockey club one was not the complete one, so we headed to the Ipanema branch.  It did not disappoint.  Lots of meat and a buffet that included sushi- was in the element.  I ate less than I would have expected- but still very good.  Meat ranged from cuts of beef, to chicken hearts, pork and great lamb- served Brazilian style.

We awoke reasonably early the next day and headed to Leblon beach.  The waves were small and clean.  Had an average Leblon session catching a few waves and was pleased to get in the water.  Headed back to finish packing before lunch at Pizzeria followed by ice cream and time by the beach.  We even built a sand castle and I got my last coconut. 

I got taxi quite early to arrive at the airport in good time, and fortunately I was able to get him to drive to both terminals as I couldn’t remember which was BA.  BA fly from terminal 2 at Rio!

Salvador- the verdict

Regarding Salvador, we had had passed through on the way but not really seen it.  I was unsure exactly what to expect.  I had heard mixed things from dodgy, historic and culturally completely different.  The centre is certainly much older than most of what I had seen in Brazil.  It kind of reminds me a little of Lisbon.  There are plenty of churches, colourful buildings.  But the place is really grotty. 

We checked in to our hostel, which was a bit weird as we were just up the street in another building.  At first we lucked in and ended up at a free concert.  The night we arrived was a festival night.  We grabbed some beers and followed locals from concert to concert all open free and happy.  

We continued our walk around eventually looking for a restaurant.  In one of the squares a guy came up to us- beware of the friendly ones.  Then he started saying he sold Marijuana, so politely tried to move on.  I could not get Maria to move on fast enough.  The guy then started wanting money for no reason at which point I knew we should leave.  He went on some rant, which fortunately Maria told me the next day translated as ‘I am going to stab you with a knife so you get my AIDs’… charming.  I may add we were in the centre among people and the guy looked quite pathetic, but still.

We had a Bahian dinner in a restaurant near the hostel.  When I got back I fell straight to sleep and slept until the next day.  Clearly the ferry took it out of me.

The next morning we explored the town.  To be honest it was a bit disappointing.  We did not go into any of the Museums and didn’t really leave the small part of the centre where we saying- due to safety- which was probably a bit over precautious.  

We did the famous elevator.  At the bottom there was not much the market was touristy and here were a lot of abandoned buildings.  At the top we also got hassled by this woman in a Bahian costume.  She got photos with us but then tried to demand a stupid amount of money (10 reals).  Fortunately Maria got her to bugger off in the end, but I’m sure many have fallen to her scam.  We wandered around before getting the taxi to the airport.  In general Salvador was quite grotty and poor. However the worst thing was the rudeness of the people in general.  Compared to Itacare which was so clean and happy this was a world away.  Even the hostel owner was rude to Maria.  As an English guy had said the night before of Salvador: ‘see the centre and then get the f*** out’.  I have no idea what the beaches or Barra area are like- they could be quite nice, but I doubt they would compare to Itacare.

However we lucked in at the airport.  My insistence we arrive early, meant seasoned traveller Maria was able to get us on an earlier flight to Rio.  No hanging around, straight onto the plane and great seats to ourselves at the front.  It was an easy flight and we even got our luggage right away.   The wait for an accredited taxi was a bit long unfortunately.  However I made my moment on Iranian TV.  I was interviewed regarding the World cup and Rio airport infrastructure- I was quite blunt in my assessment- sorry Brazil, but it is true.

Itacare- the last day and to Salvador

Final full day in Itacare.  Kept seeming to wake up slightly queasy.  Not quite sure why- maybe Bahia water?  I have called this ‘Bahia belly’.  Most of the day was spent at Tiririca- with 3 separate surf sessions and time on the beach. 

The first session was quite fun in small but fairly steep waves.  Didn’t catch a lot at first but it picked a few waves.  A local photographer caught some shots- which show my lack of style in the water.

The second session was less successful.  There was this weird rip running through at low tide- everything was closing kind of Rio style.  After sitting on the beach the rain arrived- and there was a heavy shower.  This was the point we headed to have lunch (latish) at the bar.  We had a fish stew which was pretty nice and avoided most of the rain.

The wind had got up a bit and the waves were slightly larger.  I paddled out- I think I was the only non-local.  The line-up was really competitive with Brazilian rippers, which was frustrating.  The best wave I had I was dropped in on although after some shouting the kid pulled out.  I think this was the best session of the day- but the ultra-good crowd slightly curtailed the wave count.

I got back earlier to watch the Chelsea Atletico game which sadly went the wrong way.  This was followed by a light Tapioca dinner.  The evening was passed at favela bar where the music was good.  I had a fair few beers and we chatted with some English guys at length who were staying in the hostel. All in all a good night.

The next morning we were due to leave.  Originally I had planned to surf but again Bahia belly ruled that out.  After breakfast we opted for the earlier 11 bus.  It was really smooth journey, the only thing that annoyed me was 3 reals extra for the board- just the principle.  On the way we passed the same towns, including one which seemed to have a football match/ festival.  The bus was quite comfortable so no complaints.

On arrival in Bom Despacho we got straight on the ferry which was handy.  However as previously documented the ferry is grotty, crowded and hard work with luggage (especially the amount and size we had), so something I’m glad to do one last time only. 

At the other end a taxi whisked us up the cobbled streets of Salvador.