A week in Camaçari

The first day back in Camaçari was an early start for some as Kat took Charlotte to her Jiu jitsu class. For those of you who don't know, Charlotte is not by any means inexperienced in martial arts - she did Judo right up to the middle of University. It's been a while for her but I'm told she held her own pretty well. I'm taking that as second hand information though as I did the sensible thing and stayed in bed.

The Brazillian custom of heading to the beach was adheared to beautifully this week as three were visited. The first, Guarajuba was my favourite of all the beaches we'd been to. It had no stones/rocks/sharp shells but instead white sands, big waves and the water was warm. Warm sea water is a bizarre feeling if you're used to the Arctic temperatures of the North Sea. Charlotte, Kat, Bruno, Nigel and myself bobbed around for ages, experimenting with different ways of jumping the waves. We visited another beach, Arembepe the next day but it was too rocky and the waves too big. They would have been great to play in but there was a very high probability of being smashed to bits on the rocks. When even the Brazilians think it's a risk you've really got to listen. We did have some beach food there though - wee fried and battered fish with more fantastic meat and some kind of root which was like giant chips. It's a hard life.

Salvador feels very different to Rio, much more down-at-heel. Looking over the city from a high point you could see that the buildings really neaded some repair. It's an interesting mix of people though. In the past, slaves were brought to Brazil from Africa and most of them landed in Salvador. This keeps the city a very African feel and you can see evidence of African origins in the people. It even has a market selling African/Brazilian crafts. Despite the down-at-heel-ness there were some very pretty bits of Salvador including an area with the buildings all painted different colours. There were Hawkers everywhere though - the classic tactic was to offer you something as a "gift" and then take the gift back when no money was forthcoming. At one point there were folk doing Capoeira which is like a cross between fighting and dancing. We stopped to watch and the leader said we had to give him money for watching. When Bruno said "no" (it was a public area after all) he threatened to beat him up. We just wandered off and it seemed to pass OK.

A particular highlight of the week was meeting some of Bruno's family. We first visited his aunt, uncle and cousins who he and Kat had stayed with when they first arrived in Brazil. We then visited his mum and sisters, one of who has a baby on the way. His mum had made a very keen meal with some fantastic fish which even Sandy enjoyed, despite her fish dislike. We also sampled some of the freshest coconut ever as it was cut off the tree by Bruno and cracked open by his mum. More significant meetings were on another beach day-out with two of Kat's pupils (she teaches English here) who relished the opportunity to practice. Sandy and Nigel were particularly good at helping them find the right words and making sure they were pronouncing things correctly. They exchanged Skype addresses so perhaps the lessons will continue!

Incidently, there's an election here next month so it's been interesting to see the canvassing. It's quite a different style to the UK. The politicans employ people to drive around in their cars with big speakers on the roof blaring out election messages at full volume. The voting is done by number so the politicians have songs and jingles including the number so that folk remember. I was trying to think what a UK politician would have as their song...

Gordon Brown, Gordon Brown, he's the man to run the town,
If you're lucky he'll smile, not frown,
Actually, maybe that's not a good idea.

It's been a huge pleasure to stay here with Kat and Bruno and see a little bit of how they live here. Sandy and Nigel have also been great to hang out with and particularly helpful to our budget as the "free stuff with mum and dad" maxim has come into play big style. A huge thanks due to all but now it's time for Charlotte and I to head off on the next stage of our adventure. Tonight we fly Salvador-Sao Paulo-Lima-Cusco and a new country - Peru. Witha ll the Inca relics it's a tourist paradise and we've had lots of people telling us how wonderful it is and some saying how dreadful it is. We'll be the judges ourselves and you'll find out what we think her in due course. Keep up and keep checking out the photos on Flickr.

Love to all.