The last couple weeks in Brazil were phenomenal, difficult, easy, fun... just about everything rolled up together. Carneiros was the perfect break for us. The whole time that we were there, we got the royal treatment and were amongst one of the coolest families that I have ever met. They were always smiling and whenever they got the chance, they grabbed any kind of bucket, bench, drum, etc. and started playing percussion, singing and dancing. It was beautiful.
From Carneiros, we hitched a ride on a boat back to Rio Formoso. We visited some family of family for a night and then continued south. We tried to hitchhike again, which resulted in us advancing about an hour and a half on the road during an entire day. We spent the night on a beach in some random town and then took a car the next day to Maceio.
Maceio ended up being an amazing place for us. To begin with, we had been camping for almost 3 weeks straight and were thrilled to finally stay at a hotel, in beds. The city itself isn't your usual dirty city, and it has some really pretty beaches that aren't totally swarming with tourists. Finally, we might as well have been the most famous musicians in Brazil, because we got the royal treatment everywhere we went. The very first night, walking along the beach with our instruments, a guy called out to us from a really nice restaurant, invited us to dinner, bought some drinks, took us to hear live music... all because he used to be a backpacker too. Now he works in Public Health, does research about AIDS and was at a conference. Super nice guy. After that, every time we played in restaurants or bars, either the owner or a client would invite us to eat or drink. As it turns out, we ended up eating in the nicest restaurants of all of Maceio, which would have been impossible otherwise. We met some really interesting people too- a German guy who is organizing a bunch of community bands throughout the state, a guy who illustrates children's books and a guy who travels the world setting up ethanol systems for cars (or something of that effect). The people were nice, the views were pretty, the food was great, and we weren't in a tent... what more can you ask for?
View of a neighborhood in Maceio on our way to work:
From Maceio, we took a bus to Salvador. I had been to Salvador in 2003, but it was nothing the same. I'll just leave it at that. However, I did have the nice surprise of going out to see a flamenco concert at a cultural center and running into one of my best traveling friends, Kike. Kike is Peruvian and I met him in Ecuador in 2001. He's actually one of the first 3 people that I met when I started to travel on my own, and we're still great friends. I ran into him again in Peru in 2006, when we put together a band. Then I ran into him here in Salvador, Brazil. It really is a much smaller world than we think. He's a great percussionist and a phenomenal juggler and is now traveling with a Brazilian guy, doing some street performing and trying to figure out how to get to Africa on a boat in order to take some percussion lessons. I'm not joking either. Good times in Salvador despite some things being really different.
From Salvador, we headed an hour to the south to a small town called Arembepe. There's actually the modern town, and about 2 miles down the road, the "Hippie Village." The village is about 20 or so palm thatch huts, stretched across the top of a long string of sand dunes. On one side of the sand dunes is the ocean, with some really beautiful reefs, and on the other side is a meandering river, so you get the best of both worlds- salty and fresh water. There isn't any electricity and almost all the people who live there are artists. (Janis Joplin used to go there and hang out too). It was a nice escape from the hustle and bustle, and a great place to celebrate Arturo's birthday, other than an unexpected encounter with a candomblero, but that's a novel in itself, and not for the weak of heart!
View of Arembepe beach, reefs, sanddunes and a thatch hut in the background:
Arturo jamming out on his 28th birthday:
A view from the top of the sanddunes:
Arembepe at sunset:
After a good couple days in Arempepe, we packed up to escape the heat and head inland.
We took a bus to a small town called Lençois, which is in a national park called Chapada Diamantina. The park is full of interesting rock formations (including "pink bubblegum rock," I coined that scientific term), swimming holes, waterfalls and natural waterslides. It was a phenomenal place and in the town we met some really cool artists from all over the world.
A strange hole in the rock with a tree growing out of the stone and a girl growing out of the tree. Ha ha.
Arturo ponders the meaning of life. Lençois in the background.
Me in a swimming hole below the Waterfall of Spring (Cachoiera da Primavera):
All in all, this trip was phenomenal. They always are, in their own way, but I'm really glad that I finally traveled down the Amazon (without getting dengue again!!!). I had some amazing opportunities that I never would have imagined and met some really great people. Now, I'm ready to take a little time to soak it all in, reflect a little and figure out what the next step is. I've been traveling for nine years now (it's crazy to think it's been that long!) and I don't think I can just aimlessly wander about anymore. Until the next adventure... Until the next and greater mission...Thanks for following along. Thanks for your support and prayers. It's not all as easy as it looks, but there's always something to be learned, always something to be shared, even at times just a smile.
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