Carnival

We continued to bum the beach, visiting Porto de Gahinhas where we swam out to the reef and over a field of SEA URCHINS, to snorkel in jade coloured tide pools teaming with fish (Talia was brave to go but vowed ´never again´). Next it was off to Praia de Frances for a literal crash course in surfing. With only a couple hours, no instruction, incorect boards for learning and a lack of athletisism, most of the waves we caught were on our bellies. We did manage to come close to standing a few times and the thrill left us wanting more while the bruises left us in pain, so we headed down the coast to Salvador and Carnival!
We arrived the day before the giant festival began and the found an apartment close to the action. The city was ready for action with capoeira demonstrations, decorations, percussion parades and an air of excitment everywhere you looked. The first night of Carnival was magical. We found ourselves invited on top of a bloco, an 18 wheeler truck dressed up as a moving stage that rolled through the streets of Salvador with hords of people dancing infront, behind, beside and hanging out of their apartments cheering us along. In a crowd of millions, we were among the fortunate few to experience Carnival as a part of the show, complete with band T-shirts. We partied and rocked with our Reggae band for hours. We provided the dancing and waiving to the onlookers fo the parade root, while the band provided the beer etc. and the warning when to duck as we passed under telephone wires and street lamps. The parade root round trip that would take an hour to walk on a normal day, took us 5hrs on the bloco and as the sun came up we dismounted the truck a few blocks from our apartment. AWESOME!!!
For night 2 of Carnival, we were "popcorn" in the masses. We entered the parade and found ourselves in a feverish intense pandamonium. It took only minutes for the police to pick us out of the crowd and drag us out. They explained to us that we were in the wrong part of town for a foreigner and guided us to a taxi bound for Barra, where tourist were more welcome. In Barra which looked more like the pictures we had seen than the menacing and dangerous Capo Grande, we walked against the grain of the parade, seeing all the blocos with their different musics and costumes. The energy was palatable, and before long we were bouncing through the parade to samba beats, singing and waiving our hands. Againg we returned home a sunrise with filthy feet and another unforgetable experience under our belts. The days inbetween the long nights were just as exciting as the streets were filled with small samba groups parading through the smaller streets. Everywhere you looked was music and costumes and fun. Mostly Brazilians young and old and a few tourists gathered in the streets to sing and dance. Everytime you felt exhausted, the energy of the festival picked you back up to dance some more. Viva Brazil!