Tuesday, 1st February 2011
Well,well, we had a late start, about 07.00hrs, there were all sorts of people about, the sail makers, who took our parasailor and staysail away to be repaired, plus a welcoming committee, who gave us ribbons for our wrists with wishes to go with the ribbons, plus lots of brochures, etc, etc...
The first impressions of the place as we studied the vast array of buildings climbing up the side of the sheer cliff face, was wonderful. This all looks interesting and waiting to be explored, however, we were warned, wear no watches, jewelry, and if you have any money split it into all your different pockets, and even into your shoes if possible. Oh cripes! A great friggin start. But, but, we know from school days, that this country is fascinating with many, many wonders of the world, including the great Amazon river.
The city is split into two distinct levels, a lower level and a higher level, the higher level which can be accessed by a huge set of lifts. So after tidying up the boat, Heidi, Aileen and Skipper took off across the market to the lifts, which had a que at least 1/2 a mile long. The reason for this, Yes, there were 5 cruise liners in Town, so the place was mobbed. We got a taxi up to the higher level, the cost was about 10 euro's for a 5 min. ride... so we quickly learnt that this place is not cheap. The local currency is just about 2 for every 1€........
Having got our bearings from Paul and Suzana, we made our way to the travel agent and enquired about a trip to the Amazon. This turned out to be much more difficult encounter than expected. It was more like trying to arrange a trip to Mars or even Venus, so after a frustrating couple of hours, we frigged off and had lunch to discuss the options. Meanwhile, Sham & Emily set off about the city early and were in ecstacy land with all the music and bands playing at every nook and cranny. Of course carnival time is fast approaching this City in the Sun...
Another interesting thing about Salvador is the amount of Churches, as much as Rome we would think, and whats more, it has the second oldest Cathedral in the World, outside the Vatican, well that's what they say here.......... The mix of Architecture is amazing, the old city, (a lot of which is in a total dilapidated condition) has some extraordinary pretty buildings and then we have some awful modern stuff mixed into the scene.... yes, interesting.
However, the place was buzzing with people from every corner of the Globe. The white, real white tourists from the cruise liners, coupled with all the coloured locals, and all their colourful clothes, plus a good number Asian and Eastern races, made for a fantastic mix..... Ahhhhh yes, It is all as we imagined it would be........
Back to the boats, as the day wore on, there was no sign of any of the rest of the fleet, the next boat expected here is Lady Ev VI followed by Destiny well that's what it looks like, but a lot could happen out there with the light winds and all our predictions on who will arrive next could change.....
Later, much later, we had a few G&T's on Wild Tigris, then met Paul & Suzana, and off we went all to the higher level where we met Emily and Sham for dinner in this sweet little Restaurant, there were eight of us, and we even got on camera for some TV station doing a programme on restaurants in Salvador. We were lucky to have Suzana with us, as she is Portuguese, so speaks the local lingo.
We had a great night, when finished the dinner, we did some wandering around, listening to the various groups and bands playing their hearts out. The "Crosser Gang" would really love this, and Sham and Em were electrified by it all.......
We eventually made our way back to the boat, Skipper was too whacked to attempt any typing, so after a night cap, we all hit the scratchers (bunks)
That's all for now,
Signed ;- Stephen Hyde (Skipper)