[20:31] yag0tmilk: so i traveled to this beach town on a whim because someone i knew for a day was going down to chase a girl he'd met, and i thought it mightg be cool to have a travel buddy
[20:31] yag0tmilk: i'd wanted to come here anyway, but now i was jkust going a little earlier than i'd planned
[20:31] yag0tmilk: when we left, we met some other kids on the bus who were going to the same place. we hung out on the way down and ended up goin gin on an apartment when we got into town. half the price of any other place we coulda gotten
[20:32] yag0tmilk: the apartment was erserved for the next night, so we had to find another place to stay. as we were packing out, a couple poked their head in the apartment
[20:33] yag0tmilk: we told them that it was rented out for the night so they were outta luck. then the couple told us they knew of a house with room for 6 poeple, so we followed them out thinking we were going to look at this place
[20:33] yag0tmilk: instead they brought us next door to a pizzeria, where the owner offered us a great deal to rent out the room above his pizzeria
[20:33] yag0tmilk: later, we found out it was actually his room. the four of us plus another friend we met in town slept on this lunatics floor, while he slpet in the bed
[20:34] yag0tmilk: crazy crazy guy. huge pothead too. the floor of his room is like full of holes and he's not careful about ash or anything, so his kitchen is fucking filthy, even after shit gets washed. shit just falls from the cieling all the time
[20:35] SaintMp3: so why are you staying there?
[20:36] yag0tmilk: we only stayed one night
[20:36] yag0tmilk: tonight we're trying to buy pot from him to make some pot food for the 7 hour bus ride we're taking outta here tomorrow
[20:37] yag0tmilk: he was really funny man, but a total sketch ball. here's how we found out it was his bedroom:
[20:38] yag0tmilk: we split up to go to the beach. when my friend and i got back, i asked him for the key, and he goes "its open." so i ask if our friends had gotten back, and he's like "no, i just took a nap"
[20:38] yag0tmilk: later he was trying to convince us to buy one of his expensive dirty pizzas, and we were talking about where we were all sleeping, and i jokingly asked him where he was sleeping, and he points to the bed

the short version, for the time being:

i tried to leave morro on the 11th to go to barra grande, but i took too long getting off the island and by the time i got to the bus station in valenca i was already late for the boat from camamu to barra, so i decided to go back to morro where i had friends. i changed hostels because the place i was staying at sucked and was really expensive, and at the hostel i met Juan. the next day we were hanging out and he mentioned he was going to itacare to chase a girl he'd met at morro (romantic, right?). i had thought about going there anyway, so i decided to jump on the wagon.

we left the next day (the 13th), early this time. on the way to valenca we met these to mineiros on the bus who it just so happened were also going to itacare. we took the bus down together, which took ALL DAY. we started hostel hunting together, and by a stroke of luck found a guy renting an apartment for 4 with a kitchen and bathroom: R$15 a piece.

our group expanded when we met up with juan's friend richard later that night. we also found his girl with her friends, and awkward vibes were exchanged. sad, huh?

itacare is a great little town. laid back, filled with surfers, mineiros and chilenas. the beaches are gorgeous, and almost all have big waves and are lined with palms. last night we made caipirinhas in a cooking pot and served them out of a big water barrel then went to a forro. did i mention we were staying above a pizzeria, on the floor of the owners bedroom? that little adventure deserves its own entry, which i'll probably never get around to writing.

I met some really nice Danish girls in Itacare, who visited me afterwards in Cordoba. One night in Itacare we went out for seafood. After a delicious meal, Marie went to use the bathroom and moments later emerged stating that there was water all over the floor in the bathroom and there must be a problem with the toilet. I don't know what inspired me in this moment to say what I said but all I offered was "Sometimes you just have to say 'sorry I messed up your toilet' and move on" Wow Sara! How profound! Fortunately, Marie thought it was one of the funniest things she had ever heard. She informed me one month later that is how she would remember me, because I made her laugh a lot. Good thing I guess.....
I would highly recommend Carnaval in Salvador. The street parties are really crazy. If you are not quiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiite sure if you like crowds of thousands of people crammed together in a small space or aren't familiar with the penetrating scent of that many people's urine mixed together on the street, just come to Carnaval in Salvador to find out. Definitely one of the most intense experiences of my life, but well worth the hassle. I saw some really beautiful things and some really really ugly things. I also smelled some really gross things. But it comes with the territory.
One night I went out with some people from the hostel. One of the girls asked me to hold a maxi pad for her because she didn't have any pockets, and I agreed. Ewwwwwwwwww, I hate the word maxi pad and this is the second consecutive email where I have used that word. It's like when you are trying so hard not to say a word that you end up saying a lot. This happened to me in high school. It was my sophomore year and I had to stay after school to work on a biology project. I was working with petri dishes and obtaining help from my bio teacher, who beared a striking resemblence to Ned Flanders. Anyway, as I began to ask Mr. Sprangers (yes that was his real name) about my 'organism' I blurted out 'orgasm' instead, while in the meantime thinking in my head, "Don't say orgasm, Don't say orgasm" so I guess it's kinda the same thing with the word maxi pad. Ewwwww, I hate it. Anyway, back to the story. We went to the less touristy Carnaval circuit. Because of the maxi pad in my back pocket, I became a pickpocket's bullseye. More people groped my butt that night searching for the wallet (maxi pad) in my back pocket than I care to be reminded of (I know what you are thinking, Shut up). One guy grabbed ahold of my button pocket so hard that I thought he was going to rip my pocket off. So I reached behind and ripped out the maxi pad to show the idiot that was trying to rob me that it wasn't a wallet after all, but he was furiously scanning the crowd for cops and didn't see me flashing the maxi pad in front of his face and that my pocket was now empty. After that I tossed the damn pad back to it's owner and told her to deal with it. Carnaval in Salvador is a theif's playground. Most people staying at the hostel had something stolen, most without knowing it, while a few girls had knives flashed at them and had to give up their bags. Whoever would be stupid enough to carry around a bag during Carnaval is just asking for it, but anyway, it's not a nice thing to happen to anyone.
Because of the strong scent of urine that was ever present, we renamed Carnaval 'Pisstoval'. We even wrote a song about it. Because that's what they do in Salvador for Carnaval is write songs each year. All the different trio electricos play these songs, along with their own material of course, so after a few nights you get to know the songs because you hear them all the time. This year's songs included one about cachaca (pronounced ca-sha-sa) which is the sugar alcohol they make caipirinhas from. All the songs were in Portuguese of course, but you could pick up on the chorus, because it was repeated all the time. da da da da CA-SHA-SA da da da da.........also there was a song about Capoeira, the intricately beautiful martial arts/dance that is practiced all over the country. So that was fun too, da da da CAPOEIRA! da da da CAPOEIRA! da da da. I would also recommend going to the beach in Salvador during Carnaval if you are dying to be able to say "Gee, this beach is really crowded and the water is really dirty!" It's not every day that I find an opportunity to incorporate the word "Gee" into my vocabulary. Anyway, since the Carnaval circuit in Barra is along the beach, it becomes the perfect place to eliminate bodily wastes, throw garbage, or buy/sell/ use drugs. I was really lucky while in Brazil, as the worst thing that happened to me was my fierce sunburn. I had some bad luck with buses too, but that happens to everyone.
Does it sound like I had a bad time in Brazil? Jesus, I can't wait to go back.

For those who appreciate the sun, ocean, virgin beaches, rivers and waterfalls, Itacare will satisfy all your tastes. A small town located in the Brazilian Mata Atlantica rain forest, Itacare is home to splendid natural resources (with numerous adventure/eco tourism operators including surf schools, white water rafting, nature walks and waterfalls) and a warm and hospitable population. Within and surrounding Itacare are numerous beaches which are well known as well as some virgin-like beaches not named on the map or frequented by most local tourism operators. The most well know and famous beach in Itacare is Praia da Tiririca. The pousada, located on this beach offers one of the most beautiful and sought out views in Itacare. Praia da Tirirca is considered one of the best local surf spots in Bahia, and is frequented yearly by an international surf population (including the Billabong WCT Girl’s Pro contest held this past August, 2007). As for nightlife and the so called ‘town life’, Itacare has one of the most animated and cultured display of restaurants, bars, cafes and shopping in the region, not to mention the emphases of live music and local musicians.