Brazil - Beautiful Bahia

PORTO SEGURO

Brazil is an ecological goldmine. It's kilometres of white sand beaches, clear waters, flora and faura diversity along those miles is a feast for any nature lover. Most would head to Rio de Janeiro to experience the capital and chaotic city life with some stark slums in Sao Paulo but I headed safely for the less known Porto Seguro in the Bahia region in 2004.

Brazilians are friendly, their beach parties are free and everyone is invited. With so many perfect beaches, with their restaurants, gardens and cafes it's hard to choose which one to go to once you head off on foot along the winding coastline, where you can walk for hours. My hotel was two minutes from the beach so I barely spent any time at their pool, exploring the beach for miles instead. The hotel areas are amass with tall elegant palm trees, and the smaller surrounding areas which we'll visit later are literally nature reserves first, with commercial shops and cafes situated  around tree roots and rambling vines.

You can take jungle excursions but there is so much to explore just along the beaches that you might not need any extra adventurous entertainment. There are charming beach parties under kind cool sprinklers while entertainers lead the dance, and cyclists on the beach offer trinkets or drinks or grilled corn on the cob carts, which are always  within a few steps reach if you're too lazy to queue at the cafe or restaurant to sit down formally and eat. Things are laid-back as beach life should be, and even in public transport people are dressed in a sarong and bikini top, all the windows are open and music plays.  Along the beach, no gyms or people showing off their bodies, because most Brazilians are naturally beautiful, contoured, brown and in good shape.

 

RICH FAUNA EVERYWHERE

  
A COCONUT PALM WITH NEW SHOOTS 

BAUBLES AND BEADS SOLD BY FRIENDLY SMILING LOCALS

 GRILLED CORN ON THE COB

 

BEACH DANCING UNDER SPRINKLERS

 

Once you've explored the beaches in your hotel area,  with all their diverse natural scenery you can head off into town to climb the hill and drink coconut juice whilst wandering around the small village of colourful pretty houses, visiting the local market. Buses are easy to catch, things are inexpensive and shopping is a delight. Locals create many beautifully croqueted edges for shorts and dresses and styles in dresses, shorts, and pretty tops are tasteful. The way of life in Porto Seguro is tranquillo and non-commerial. A petrol station looks like a safari stop and barely resembles a gas station. Everyone smiles and moves around slowly in the warm heat with most commercial activity being outdoors instead of air-conditioned shops. 

THE BUS STOP

 

HOUSES ON THE CITY HILL 

 

AMAZING VARIETY OF FLORA

 

One should also take day visits to surrounding attractions/villages with memorable walks through beautiful coastal properties in rich natural surroundings all leading onto to more stunning coastline beaches. Take a bus and then the boat to Praia de Santo Andre which is a gorgeous serene place along a river. The boat ride takes one through a mini-jungle on calm waters and in different areas boats are just moored, floating gaily, their music being heard from afar and everyone likes to move. Brazilians seem cheerful life participants, always dancing, smiling or enjoying life, even though they barely seem to be materially that rich.

 

THE BOAT TAXI

 EN ROUTE TO SANTO ANDRE

 

LUNCH ON THE RIVER 

The village Arraial D'Ajuda is another place worth doing as a day tour. You can do it yourself and I would advise it because then you are not subjected to staying within tour parametres but can wander all the streets, shops, and beaches at your own tempo. It really is special and because I don't have a good enough photo to capture the ambience, this one copyright of Trip Advisor, shows an aerial shot of a tiny piece of it which I think speaks volumes. The beauty is also within and beyond the rich vegetation along the beachfront.

I have really just seen a snapshot of Brazil but I loved every second of my trip. It's a massive country and it's music has to be in the top 5 of favourite genres amongst true music lovers of the world. The smooth sophisticated jazz and Bossa-Nova rhythm are Brazil's heritage and who cannot enjoy the legacy in Gilberto's Ipanema's "Tall and tanned, and young and lovely...." Put it on, imagine yourself lying of one of these beaches watching the sunset and that is a Brazilian holiday in a nutshell.  Got any worries? Mas-que-nada, everything is gonna be alright, Portuguese is also such a poetically inclined language that fits superbly with music.