Salvador`s Scene

I`ve been in Salvador da Bahia for several days now.  Standing in sharp contrast to Rio de Janeiro, the Bahia region is more colorful (literally the buildings and dress are noticeably brighter), lively, and unique (a big city that hasn`t lost its roots).  It`s also cheaper than both Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro, which makes my pockets happy.

Salvador oozes with culture unlike any other place I`ve seen.  (I`d insert a few pictures here for reference if the computer I`m working from would allow me to do so.)

Like Rio, Salvador is a beach city, with 900km+ of coastline to explore.  Although the beaches here are not as pretty as Ipanema and Leblon beaches in Rio, spending a day at one of the many beaches in the area is definitely a must-do activity and something I have been doing a lot of as I`ve been ill since arriving in Salvador.

A fever and chills, sore throat, and excruciating headache hasn`t stop me from wasting away hours on the beaches, soaking in the fascinating beach culture.

Drinking coco (coconut water straight out of the coconut, which will be chopped open for you to savor the meat once the water is gone) is a popular activity.  Quiejo coalho, my favorite beach snack, is addictive!  It reminds me of halloumi, the sort of rubbery (bad but best way of describing it), salty Greek cheese that doesn`t melt.  It is grilled on a skewer and sprinkled with oregano and sometimes drizzled with molasses.  At only R$2, it is a daily indulgence.

The Pelourhino, the heart of the city (and also the supposedly very dangerous place), is filled with old churches, colonial buildings that have been made into shops and restaurants, teenagers dancing, and barely-dressed children begging.

In the late afternoon, the squares are overflowing with stands, where people are selling everything from acaraje (shrimp fritters, the most famous street food in Salvador) to enormous paintings.  And at night, the center is alive with live music (reggae is huge here).

It is an artsy city, to be sure, the streets dotted with art galleries and artists working outside.  Original cotton T-shirts with sweet designs and canvas bags thoughtfully-decorated are on every corner.  It doesn`t seem as easy to bargain here as in other places I`ve been, like China for example, but it can be done.

One afternoon earlier this week, when it seemed the medicine I was regularly swallowing had alleviated my aches and pains, I headed into the Pelhourino with Mitchel, a guy from New Zealand, currently based in London but moving to NYC in the fall (follow that?) and watched him test out his bargaining skills.

We headed to an open market, where I intended to browse but not buy.  On my last day in Rio, I got talked into buying fancy earrings on the beach simply because Isaac was such a stellar salesperson (I can be a sucker for a compliment) and finally met my price.  I figure if I start buying things now, I`ll never have room in my backpack by the time I get to Chile, the fourth country on my agenda.

Mitchel did quite well with the cool ring lady, who let me get a picture with her.  I admired some of the wooden pipes in the stand next to hers, and when I indicated as much, the maker, a short, dark-skinned, long-time dreadlocks man with some serious stoner eyes, told me that here in Bahia he was free.  To get high.

I didn`t buy anything from him, but I did manage to let him talk me into getting a picture of him in front of his creations.  (It is necessary to ask before taking photos of people in Brazil and maybe most of South America, and as Erin and I have discovered, many people refuse to be photographed.)

Mitchel`s bargainning for a beach towel was met with failure.  The man selling the items shook his head and looked insulted when Mitchel named his price.  When Mitchel persisted, the man gestured towards his mouth and said, comida.

For the number of people living in poverty here, it is astonishing how much certain services cost.  To ride a city bus, for example, is R$2.20 (no air-conditioning) or R$4 (air-conditioning).  Travel from one city to the next, as I believe I mentioned in a previous post, is also quite costly.

I can understand why the man selling the beach towels did not want to lower his price, but he didn`t make a sale with Mitchel.  As for me, I`m holding out on making any purchases (save for safety-ensuring taxi rides and pricey Pantanal tours) until I get to Bolivia, on or around July 13th.

Brazil on a budget

After only three days in Sao Paolo, I’ve learned that enjoying Brazil on a budget is not so easy.  Obviously, I am saving money on accommodations by couchsurfing; furthermore, the family that is hosting me has invited me to consume any food I find in the house.

Last night, Patrick was working late, so I enjoyed dinner with Sylvia and Mark, his lovely parents.  My contribution was a bottle of Malbec that ran me about $8 USD.  I realize that I am in a fortunate situation.  Jardins is, indeed, a ritzy area, much like the upper east side near Central Park, I imagine.  All of the buildings are highly secured and gated.  I am buzzed in and out every time I come and go, and it feels safe walking around during the day.  It is questionable at night, which helps with staying on a budget because I won’t venture out and about by myself, but as I’m sure all of you know, it doesn’t take much time to spend a lot of money.

On my first night, I attended the couchsurfing meeting.  They call it a meeting, but it’s really a bar gathering.  I am happy to confirm that Brazilians are as nice as everyone says.  Aside from a Greece couchsurfer and a guy from Westchester who was doing what I’m doing until he landed a job editing a Web site for an American company based in Buenos Aires (I know, pretty sweet, right?), the group consisted of Sao Paolo folks.  I ended up staying for several hours and spent about $30 USD, which I understand is not terribly expensive for a Tuesday night out, but the caipirhinha deal didn’t apply to me because I ordered it with the Brazilian liquor.  (Patrick would later tell me I was overcharged.)

I met some of the couchsurfing people for lunch today and ate a pastel de baccalau, a fried rectangular pie filled with dried, salted cod, onion, and plump green olives.  At about $5 USD, it wasn’t exactly as inexpensive as I’d have liked.  A filling slice of pizza in New York City, after all, will run you about $2-3 USD.

Food and drink aside, the main cost is proving to be travel within Brazil’s borders.  For example, bus rides are pricey and pricier depending on the amount of luxury one chooses.  I’ve decided to fly from Rio to Salvador because I found a flight for only $82 USD, whereas a bus ticket would have been close to $100 USD.  At this point, I have little idea of where I’ll go from Salvador, but I’ll probably end up spending a pretty penny to fly to Central West Brazil.  Fortunately, all of my couchsurfing requests have been accepted, and before I meet up with a friend from the states in Rio on Monday, I’ll be staying with Marcelo, who lives in Ipanema Beach.  Gabriel, a resident in Salvador, an African-influenced area, has agreed to host me for a couple of nights.  I’d couchsurf in every city if I could, but the problem is that only the big cities have a lot of CS hosts.  Outside the Pantanal, where I’d like to do an ecological expedition, there are few, if any CS hosts.

After Brazil, I’ll be in Bolivia, which *should* help me stay on budget.  My budget, in case you are curious, is about $25-30 a day, not including tours or excursions or flights.  What I need to do is sit down and do some math.

Not everything in Brazil is as expensive as it is in New York, however.  This afternoon I got a bikini wax for only $7 USD.  That’s unbelievably cheap!  Tomorrow I need to purchase a Brazilian bikini, something I’m not looking forward to donning.

When in Brazil…