Remember Tom Hanks in "Forrest Gump", when he, as he was sitting at the porch of his lovely country house, suddenly got up and started running, out of the blue? Well, I guess this is how I felt last night, past midnight, only I didn't feel like running, but writing. I've put this poor little blog to sleep for more than five months now, but today is time to bring it back to life. Now, the thing is, write about what? Well, the answer is hanging (literally) on the wall, right behind my laptop. A huge Brazilian flag has been winking me good morning ever since I got back from Brazil, late June. June 6 was the day I first stepped on Brazilian soil, today it's November 6, so, that's it, until the end of the month I will travel, daily, back in time, five months back, telling my Brazilian story, with the help of the notes I kept while traveling, and mainly the photos I shot, some 1,500, in something more than three weeks. I?! Greedy when it comes to shooting pictures while traveling?! Naaaaaaaa... What makes you say that?!
Four Americans are sitting close to me, as I'm enjoying my Frankfurt hostel's generous breakfast. One of them says that having a great breakfast is the best way to start off a day while on the road. I won't argue with that... Of course, being perfectly honest, I think having sex right after waking up is the absolutely best way to start off a day while on the road (something I bet this American guy would agree with, his pals too, ANY guy actually...), but... oh well, under the circumstances, a seriously good breakfast sure does the job. It's a lovely morning. I have enjoyed a fun afternoon/night at Frankfurt, I have slept great, my hostel, as you can see in the picture, taken from the window right next to the table where I am having my breakfast, is damn close to the train station (the building on the right), which means access to the airport is piece of cake, I have 20+ days in Brazil waiting for me, and... did I mention how generous my hostel's breakfast is?...
10am
For some reason, I always get embarrassed when I take this kind of pictures, so, I do what I have to do to minimize the embarrassment: I stand last in line, having no one behind my back. This is the reason why I am flying to Salvador da Bahia from Frankfurt, having spent a night here, instead of flying directly from my home city, Thessaloniki, Greece: "Condor". Frankfurt-Salvador-Frankfurt, 398 euros, taxes included! Beat THAT! After having bought return tickets to Brazil for that low, I was more than OK to pay an extra hundred euros for my Aegean Airlines Thessaloniki-Frankfurt-Thessaloniki tickets. Oh, saving the miles for Lufthansa's "Miles & More" program (they co-operate) didn't hurt either...
11pm
I chose to stay at Barra because I am only spending one night at Salvador. Tomorrow morning I am flying to Rio de Janeiro (I am returning to Salvador for the final days of my trip), and Barra looked perfect, because it's closer to the airport, than downtown. Plus, when I return to Salvador, I'll stay at the Pelourinho area, so this is a good chance to see a part of the city I won't see when I return. Salvador's airport... left me wondering, not because I found something weird about the airport itself, but because I got out of the building following the "bus" sign, found the place where I could get a bus to go to Barra, only... there were no buses there, and that alone wouldn't be weird, but, the total lack of people and the fact that not even the lights at that corner were turned on, did look weird. I waited there for twenty minutes, no bus came, so I went back to the airport, and asked a cute girl at the info centre where was I supposed to take the bus from. She had no idea(!), and said I should ask at the Bahiatursa office, the official tourist office of Bahia, the state where Salvador is. Eham, the office at the airport looked great, lots of booklets for the tourists to take, nice pictures all around from all over Bahia, only... it was closed, so I was left "admiring" it from outside. Who cared? I'm in BRAZIL. So what if it'd take me the whole afternoon to figure out how to reach Barra? Say what? Why didn't I just take a taxi? Nnnnnnnope. Taking taxis is not my thing, half because of the cost, half because... it is a too damn easy solution. Finding my way around using mass transport systems is something that gives me pleasure, seriously, I consider it a small "medal" going from A to B in big cities using their mass transport systems, and... I think I already established that cost IS a factor I always take into consideration, especially in Salvador airport's case. To make a long story short, I did find a bus going to Barra, after spending a few more minutes walking around. It was hot, and humid. It's Salvador, after all... The equator is not that far away... The guy who collected the money from the passengers did his circle, he left me last, and as I handed him 4 reais (one euro is about 2.6 reais, at the time), he sat next to me and gave me my first short talk with a Brazilian, which of course consisted of lots of talking from his part, and lots of listening from my part. I could understand most of what he was saying (Spanish, Italian, English too, help you with the vocabulary), but my Portuguese is limited (and limited is an adjective which really flatters my Portuguese). He asked if I've been here before, how long I'll stay, where I'll be going, and didn't forget to pay his compliments on Greece. He mentioned a soap opera, a Brazilian one, which has been shot in Greek isles (I knew about it), and looked genuinely fond of Greece. Who said soap operas are a total waste?! Arriving at my hostel I found a chill out atmosphere, which made me like the place right from the word go. My only concern, as I was getting prepared to go for my first walk, was whether or not I should take my digital photo camera with me. I have read that Barra at night is not the safest place on earth, and I have just arrived, so I am being extra skeptical. I took my small Olympus and went for a walk (the previous picture was shot during that first walk), I took a couple of pictures, and buried the camera in some pocket. I kept walking, only to realize that... things were not that terrible, after all. You know what? Things turned out to be anything but terrible, at least on the coastal road, the well-lit one, the one I stack to. I saw people jogging, I saw people on the small sandy beach exercising, I saw couples, young and older ones, and OK, I saw a couple of weirdos too, who offered to sell me marijuana or something from a distance, but that's all. I felt comfortable enough to take the camera out, and I went a step further. A couple of days before starting this trip I bought a rather old Olympus, which, though, has an X10 optical zoom. Not big enough to fit in a pocket, but what the heck, it feels safe enough, so I went back to my hostel and in a matter of minutes I hit the road again, all anxious to test my new "babe". This picture is shot with this camera. Another aspect of Barra's coastal road, the last picture I took before calling it a day. In Germany it is 2am, in Greece 3am, and I have just made a long trip, followed by hours of hanging around the coastal road of Barra, making short breaks at my hostel for shower and going online (two reais for half an hour, if you have the patience to wait for one of the two PCs to become available). But, there is one last thing I must do before I return to my hostel for good...
Wednesday, 6 June 2007
7am
Four Americans are sitting close to me, as I'm enjoying my Frankfurt hostel's generous breakfast. One of them says that having a great breakfast is the best way to start off a day while on the road. I won't argue with that... Of course, being perfectly honest, I think having sex right after waking up is the absolutely best way to start off a day while on the road (something I bet this American guy would agree with, his pals too, ANY guy actually...), but... oh well, under the circumstances, a seriously good breakfast sure does the job. It's a lovely morning. I have enjoyed a fun afternoon/night at Frankfurt, I have slept great, my hostel, as you can see in the picture, taken from the window right next to the table where I am having my breakfast, is damn close to the train station (the building on the right), which means access to the airport is piece of cake, I have 20+ days in Brazil waiting for me, and... did I mention how generous my hostel's breakfast is?...10am
For some reason, I always get embarrassed when I take this kind of pictures, so, I do what I have to do to minimize the embarrassment: I stand last in line, having no one behind my back. This is the reason why I am flying to Salvador da Bahia from Frankfurt, having spent a night here, instead of flying directly from my home city, Thessaloniki, Greece: "Condor". Frankfurt-Salvador-Frankfurt, 398 euros, taxes included! Beat THAT! After having bought return tickets to Brazil for that low, I was more than OK to pay an extra hundred euros for my Aegean Airlines Thessaloniki-Frankfurt-Thessaloniki tickets. Oh, saving the miles for Lufthansa's "Miles & More" program (they co-operate) didn't hurt either...
6pm
Clock switched three hours back. My first Brazil photo. Salvador da Bahia's Forte de Santo Antônio da Barra, and the Farol da Barra, with Barra being the coastal area at the very tip of the peninsula on which Salvador is spread upon. Isn't it weird when you finally reach a place you have been dreaming for months? As I was searching YouTube for Daniela Mercury and Margareth Menezes clips, I came across "Gita", a song these two Godesses (if you ask me) of Brazilian music sang together, in an event that took place earlier in 2007, right here, right in front of the Farol. Every single day I would go to YouTube to watch the clip, get my "fix", and only then would I be able to go on with my day, waiting for the day to leave Greece. Now, I'm standing here, at THE place. I can't hear Mercury and Menezes' voices, but I am here, and I can whistle the song, a happy guy...
11pm
I chose to stay at Barra because I am only spending one night at Salvador. Tomorrow morning I am flying to Rio de Janeiro (I am returning to Salvador for the final days of my trip), and Barra looked perfect, because it's closer to the airport, than downtown. Plus, when I return to Salvador, I'll stay at the Pelourinho area, so this is a good chance to see a part of the city I won't see when I return. Salvador's airport... left me wondering, not because I found something weird about the airport itself, but because I got out of the building following the "bus" sign, found the place where I could get a bus to go to Barra, only... there were no buses there, and that alone wouldn't be weird, but, the total lack of people and the fact that not even the lights at that corner were turned on, did look weird. I waited there for twenty minutes, no bus came, so I went back to the airport, and asked a cute girl at the info centre where was I supposed to take the bus from. She had no idea(!), and said I should ask at the Bahiatursa office, the official tourist office of Bahia, the state where Salvador is. Eham, the office at the airport looked great, lots of booklets for the tourists to take, nice pictures all around from all over Bahia, only... it was closed, so I was left "admiring" it from outside. Who cared? I'm in BRAZIL. So what if it'd take me the whole afternoon to figure out how to reach Barra? Say what? Why didn't I just take a taxi? Nnnnnnnope. Taking taxis is not my thing, half because of the cost, half because... it is a too damn easy solution. Finding my way around using mass transport systems is something that gives me pleasure, seriously, I consider it a small "medal" going from A to B in big cities using their mass transport systems, and... I think I already established that cost IS a factor I always take into consideration, especially in Salvador airport's case. To make a long story short, I did find a bus going to Barra, after spending a few more minutes walking around. It was hot, and humid. It's Salvador, after all... The equator is not that far away... The guy who collected the money from the passengers did his circle, he left me last, and as I handed him 4 reais (one euro is about 2.6 reais, at the time), he sat next to me and gave me my first short talk with a Brazilian, which of course consisted of lots of talking from his part, and lots of listening from my part. I could understand most of what he was saying (Spanish, Italian, English too, help you with the vocabulary), but my Portuguese is limited (and limited is an adjective which really flatters my Portuguese). He asked if I've been here before, how long I'll stay, where I'll be going, and didn't forget to pay his compliments on Greece. He mentioned a soap opera, a Brazilian one, which has been shot in Greek isles (I knew about it), and looked genuinely fond of Greece. Who said soap operas are a total waste?! Arriving at my hostel I found a chill out atmosphere, which made me like the place right from the word go. My only concern, as I was getting prepared to go for my first walk, was whether or not I should take my digital photo camera with me. I have read that Barra at night is not the safest place on earth, and I have just arrived, so I am being extra skeptical. I took my small Olympus and went for a walk (the previous picture was shot during that first walk), I took a couple of pictures, and buried the camera in some pocket. I kept walking, only to realize that... things were not that terrible, after all. You know what? Things turned out to be anything but terrible, at least on the coastal road, the well-lit one, the one I stack to. I saw people jogging, I saw people on the small sandy beach exercising, I saw couples, young and older ones, and OK, I saw a couple of weirdos too, who offered to sell me marijuana or something from a distance, but that's all. I felt comfortable enough to take the camera out, and I went a step further. A couple of days before starting this trip I bought a rather old Olympus, which, though, has an X10 optical zoom. Not big enough to fit in a pocket, but what the heck, it feels safe enough, so I went back to my hostel and in a matter of minutes I hit the road again, all anxious to test my new "babe". This picture is shot with this camera. Another aspect of Barra's coastal road, the last picture I took before calling it a day. In Germany it is 2am, in Greece 3am, and I have just made a long trip, followed by hours of hanging around the coastal road of Barra, making short breaks at my hostel for shower and going online (two reais for half an hour, if you have the patience to wait for one of the two PCs to become available). But, there is one last thing I must do before I return to my hostel for good...
11:30pm
My stomach is making all sorts of moaning sounds, reminding me that eating comes with the package called "living", no matter if I tend to forget that when I travel. Right next to my hostel (Albergue do Porto), there is a so called "lanchonete", a snack bar, typical of Brazil, as I read in my Lonely Planet guidebook. The place is tiny, but quite popular, apparently. A group of more than ten Brazilian teens is sitting outside in a small yard, having already ordered, so the lady and some guy who helps her in preparing the order are really busy. I don't mind. That only gives me extra time to (try) read the menu, which is big and full of words I have found in my guidebook, only am not sure exactly what they mean. A small TV is showing a soap opera, and two girls waiting for their order to be prepared as well, are watching it as if it is the most important thing in the world. Finally, my time comes to order, and instead of making a total ridicule of myself by trying to pronounce what I have chosen, I go for the all time classic (silly too, sure) solution of holding the menu in one hand, and using my right hand's pointer finger to show what I would like to have. Some hamburger and an abacaxí juice. With the second one, I instantly initiate a "love at first sip" relationship. I'm in Brazil, and I am still trying to realize it. When you go to a place you have been dreaming and dreaming of, don't you need a little time to fully realize that you ARE actually there, in person, that you are not watching images of this place on TV? The lady at the lanchonete asked me what I would like to have, and I had to answer, really pronounce words (or, in my case, point...). Earlier on, a guy named Walter had asked me the typical question "where are you from", as I was strolling around. Black, Brazilian, smiley, slightly high if you ask me, eventually tried to sell me "stuff", "blamed" his father for his non Brazilian name (Walter??!!) when I asked what kind of a Brazilian name Walter is (it happens a lot in Brazil, parents giving their kids names anything but Brazilian, "inspired" by... anyone, actors, athletes, you name it). He talked to ME, and I had to answer, no Salvador related travel TV program's presenter would do that for me, it was I, I, being there. Associating with people, locals, is a step towards realizing that you ARE actually present at some place, and that you are not watching everything through some TV camera, lying on your living room's couch, back home... This is the end of my first day in Brazil, and I feel that if the world had to stop existing tonight, I would "go" a happy man... 
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