Boipeba - Bahia

Hello all...it´s been a while!

We left Salvador a week ago (or so....lost track of time!) and took a ferry across to a place called Bom Despacho. From there we caught a bus to Valenca and from there took a speedboat to the island of Boipeba. Once here, we were greeted by a group of wheelbarrow boys who haggled with us for the right to carry our backpacks up the hill to the tractor stop (the island´s taxi service as there are no cars or roads). The poor kid wheeled our heavy packs for a good 20mins in the blistering sun, pushing the wheelbarrow through the sand! (a relief for Nikky as it would not have been good for her thumb)

The old Ford tractor spluttered it´s way up the hills and across to the other side of the island to a small fishing village called Morere. We were met by the really friendly English owners of the Pousada called Tony and Susanna. Their guesthouse was set in oasis of palm trees, tropical flowers and fruit trees!

They showed us to our ´room´, which turned out to be the family sized bungalow with 4 beds, lovely bathroom, no less than three terraces and two private hammocks!! We couldn´t believe our eyes! Only 150yds from the beach, nestled in the palm trees with humming birds buzzing all around us!

We are 2 of 4 tourists in the village, which consists of a church (without a vicar because he couldn´t be bothered to trek out here every sunday) a shop, and a handful of small restaurants dotted along the deserted beach. From our beach we can walk for miles across empty beaches and swim in the turquoise water that is beautifully calm and protected by a reef. The water is so warm, it´s like getting into a bath! It´s around 26 degrees!

Back at the pousada, Tony and Susanna prepare amazing breakfasts for us everyday. The kind of breakfast feast you would normally only have once a year, at Easter or a Birthday! We have fresh tropical juices, fruits, cakes, homemade bread and different jam everyday made from the fruits that grow in the garden. All this accompanied by a very tasty coconut coucous thingy that tastes delicious! A breakfast fit for a King (and Queen)!

For dinner, we usually wander down the beach and see which restaurant is open. It´s still low season here, so most of them are closed or only open on request. All of the food is seafood here, but we are starting to love it! Most dishes involve prawns, octopus, crab or lobster accompanies by rice, beans and erm...dust. The dust is actually called Farofa and everytime it comes we try to figure out how to eat it. It´s basically fried flour and tastes, well, like fried flour! It sucks all the moisture out of your mouth and even if mixed with a liquid just turns to paste. I´m sure we´re missing something (Sammy? Help!!).

Most evenings are spent reading our books (at a rate of one book a day!) or playing Uno until late. So far Nikky is the Uno-Queen and will fight her throne to the death! Lasty night´s score was 7 games to 3!

Our hosts took us to a party in the next village on Saturday night. A rare occasion for some nightlife on the island! The village was a 20minute walk away, over the hills through deep sand. Once there, we were told that they rarely venture here as it´s a bit ´scary´. Apparently the village was started by one family and now that family consists of 250 people! A good gene-pool? I think not!

The party was a bit slow to get started, but when it did....it did! There was a band (a guy with a keyboard) playing reggae music. We have never seen people dance like that! I swear they found rhythms and beats that weren´t there! We just sat and watched the women (and men) shake their behinds to the reggae beats! It had a great vibe and we gauped in awe until 1am!

The following day we were introduced to a frail old fisherman who barely had any teeth, but promised to take us out over the reef to do some snorkeling. He took us out in his canoe that was made of a hollowed out tree trunk and anchored a couple of miles offshore. Here we donned our snorkelling gear and explored the colourful underwater world! The fisherman had a little trick up his sleeve and started throwing bread near us. All of a sudden we were surrounded by hundreds of yelllow tropical fish! Beautiful!

We have made a couple of friends in the village. Including the only gay in the village! Typical. A flamboyant old Brasilian who is sure that I´m from Sao Paulo!

Needless to say, we have extended our stay here. We were supposed to only be here for 5 nights, but will end up staying for 10! It will be hard to drag ourselves back to Salvador on Sunday, but New Zealand awaits!

We had better end this post now, as the tide is rolling in fast and it´s a two-and-a-half hour trek along the beaches back to our village. But, a cold beer awaits, some more seafood and some more ice for Nikky´s thumb (which seems almost definately to be broken).

Next post will be from the mainland on Sunday or Monday. Hopefully get some photos up then too!

Love to all! - Nikky and Jan.