Trip in a little boat
October 12, 2008
Today, I got up late at approx 6:00 AM. Alas it was too late to see the sunrise. I went downstairs and saw that the tide was low.
Low tide is so much differant from high tide on the island. I took pictures from 2nd, 3rd and 4th beach.
Then it was breakfast time. The owner again served breakfast to me--coffee, a jug of fruit juice, bread, cheese, ham, cake, coffee, milk, scammed eggs. Breakfast here was one of the best that I have had so far on my trip. Walking on the beach, I saw an early football game. People were also going swimming even though the weather was not that great. In the distance, I saw people getting ready to do my tour. I wished them luck---with the weather. Alas--it started to rain--but what can you expect on a tropical island. You wait no more than 30 minutes, the rain slows down and you go out again. I did however manage to catch a picture of the men transporting goods from the boat to the land--chest high in water. I wonder who pays if they drop it?
I went to photograph the catamaran, but it had not came in. There is a shop that gives you free internet for 5 minutes--i tried it out, but when I went it was down. I then went back up and walked up to the Lighthouse. Alas, you cannot see the beach from it. Again it started to rain.
While waiting I meet up with my friend from London. We chatted for a few minutes, and I gave her my internet mail address to give to Phillippe--i missed him yesterday night. I don´t know if she gave him my address, but it was the best that I could do. Since it was raining it was time for some internet. I guess I was missing my craving. I spent about 1 hr on the net--catching up. I did manage to catch a pictuire of my favorite restuarant. Then it was time to finish packing.
2:00 PM--one last beer and it was time to hit the road. Guess what---it started to rain again---but alas I had to brave it and keep going. On the way to the docks-I saw other people braving the rain. We we start--walk a little. The rain would come down and then we would stop.
2:30 PM--I was at the dock and it was time to pay the exit tax. A couple of people were inline--and like a good london person--I was willing to wait. A couple minutes later, and I was dry waiting for the catameran. The docks though were busy with other people going to other places.
At approx. 3 PM, the catarmeran came. Alas--it had to wait for the other boats to leave. The fumes from the boats---yuck! On one boat--I saw someone have her life jacket put on--I hope that she did not have to use it. :-)
The catarmeran was only 1/3 full with approx 40 people. Drinking that beer did not seem such a good idea now. Well--time for 1 more sea sickness pill. I only wished that I had taken it an hour ago. Well, I tried to sleep--but could not due to all the rocking of the boat. I wondered to myself--did this boat have a radio in case we really needed it? There it was! I wonder what they would say if the captain lost the boat? I did not really want to find out.
About 1/2 way though we could see Salvador in the distance--but it looked very far. I would continually look at my watch--and just pray that the time would just speed pass. The crew put the Brazil football game on the tv. I cheered when Brazil scored--the rest of the passengers were pretty emotionless. I guess from all the rocking. Before we knew it--it was 3-0 at half-time and we were still not near Salvador.
Slowly it got darker--this was one place that I did not want to be at night! Once we were past some lights--the captain put the metal to the thottle and we were safely docked within 15 minutes. When we reached it was approx 6:30 PM, and another boat was docked to the left of us.
I hurriedly went up to the upper level--I was a little afraid since they said not to use the Elavator late at night. Soon--my hostel was in the distance.
After checking in, it was time for a quick shower. The streets were rocking tonight. Then it was fun trying to make a call. First I had to buy a card. Then, I had to dail it. What I did not know, where the city code started and what numbers I needed to dial. I managed to get a hotel staff to do this for me. And guess what? I was disconnected about 3 times before I could make plans with my friends from Lencois.
7:30 PM and my lencois friends came by the hostel. We descided to go to Clube de Sumba. It was just a short walk over the square from where I was staying. We ordered some food and some Skol and it was time for some fun. I had a great time there. I did feel somewhat sorry for 1 lady, she was there all by herself. I wanted to say hello--but it would have been inapporiate. Well--I ended up paying--the girls did not have that much money. Total cost for the night--30 reals--approx $14--I did not care. What was differant was that I/paid the cover charge as we left the club. They gave us a little card after we paid for the drinks. This we had to show to the bouncer.
I did a little internet --then it was time for bed.
Low tide is so much differant from high tide on the island. I took pictures from 2nd, 3rd and 4th beach.
Then it was breakfast time. The owner again served breakfast to me--coffee, a jug of fruit juice, bread, cheese, ham, cake, coffee, milk, scammed eggs. Breakfast here was one of the best that I have had so far on my trip. Walking on the beach, I saw an early football game. People were also going swimming even though the weather was not that great. In the distance, I saw people getting ready to do my tour. I wished them luck---with the weather. Alas--it started to rain--but what can you expect on a tropical island. You wait no more than 30 minutes, the rain slows down and you go out again. I did however manage to catch a picture of the men transporting goods from the boat to the land--chest high in water. I wonder who pays if they drop it?
I went to photograph the catamaran, but it had not came in. There is a shop that gives you free internet for 5 minutes--i tried it out, but when I went it was down. I then went back up and walked up to the Lighthouse. Alas, you cannot see the beach from it. Again it started to rain.
While waiting I meet up with my friend from London. We chatted for a few minutes, and I gave her my internet mail address to give to Phillippe--i missed him yesterday night. I don´t know if she gave him my address, but it was the best that I could do. Since it was raining it was time for some internet. I guess I was missing my craving. I spent about 1 hr on the net--catching up. I did manage to catch a pictuire of my favorite restuarant. Then it was time to finish packing.
2:00 PM--one last beer and it was time to hit the road. Guess what---it started to rain again---but alas I had to brave it and keep going. On the way to the docks-I saw other people braving the rain. We we start--walk a little. The rain would come down and then we would stop.
2:30 PM--I was at the dock and it was time to pay the exit tax. A couple of people were inline--and like a good london person--I was willing to wait. A couple minutes later, and I was dry waiting for the catameran. The docks though were busy with other people going to other places.
At approx. 3 PM, the catarmeran came. Alas--it had to wait for the other boats to leave. The fumes from the boats---yuck! On one boat--I saw someone have her life jacket put on--I hope that she did not have to use it. :-)
The catarmeran was only 1/3 full with approx 40 people. Drinking that beer did not seem such a good idea now. Well--time for 1 more sea sickness pill. I only wished that I had taken it an hour ago. Well, I tried to sleep--but could not due to all the rocking of the boat. I wondered to myself--did this boat have a radio in case we really needed it? There it was! I wonder what they would say if the captain lost the boat? I did not really want to find out.
About 1/2 way though we could see Salvador in the distance--but it looked very far. I would continually look at my watch--and just pray that the time would just speed pass. The crew put the Brazil football game on the tv. I cheered when Brazil scored--the rest of the passengers were pretty emotionless. I guess from all the rocking. Before we knew it--it was 3-0 at half-time and we were still not near Salvador.
Slowly it got darker--this was one place that I did not want to be at night! Once we were past some lights--the captain put the metal to the thottle and we were safely docked within 15 minutes. When we reached it was approx 6:30 PM, and another boat was docked to the left of us.
I hurriedly went up to the upper level--I was a little afraid since they said not to use the Elavator late at night. Soon--my hostel was in the distance.
After checking in, it was time for a quick shower. The streets were rocking tonight. Then it was fun trying to make a call. First I had to buy a card. Then, I had to dail it. What I did not know, where the city code started and what numbers I needed to dial. I managed to get a hotel staff to do this for me. And guess what? I was disconnected about 3 times before I could make plans with my friends from Lencois.
7:30 PM and my lencois friends came by the hostel. We descided to go to Clube de Sumba. It was just a short walk over the square from where I was staying. We ordered some food and some Skol and it was time for some fun. I had a great time there. I did feel somewhat sorry for 1 lady, she was there all by herself. I wanted to say hello--but it would have been inapporiate. Well--I ended up paying--the girls did not have that much money. Total cost for the night--30 reals--approx $14--I did not care. What was differant was that I/paid the cover charge as we left the club. They gave us a little card after we paid for the drinks. This we had to show to the bouncer.
I did a little internet --then it was time for bed.
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Trip back to Salvador
The catemaran trip from MSP to Salvador cost approx 50-60 reals.
Some pousada´s will get you your ticket or you can get it from most of the travel agencies that will take cash/credit cards. I was not charged an extra fee for purchasing the card from a credit agency.
Take sea sickness pills as the journey can get a little rough in good weather. When there is a storm, beware of the seas.
The journey is meant to take 2 hrs. I went twice and the journey, took between 2.5 and 3 hrs. This means if you are taking the 3:00 PM trip back to Salvador that you might not get into port till 6:30 PM. This delay can be caused due to time loading, and the catamaran having to wait to dock due to other small boats.
Some pousada´s will get you your ticket or you can get it from most of the travel agencies that will take cash/credit cards. I was not charged an extra fee for purchasing the card from a credit agency.
Take sea sickness pills as the journey can get a little rough in good weather. When there is a storm, beware of the seas.
The journey is meant to take 2 hrs. I went twice and the journey, took between 2.5 and 3 hrs. This means if you are taking the 3:00 PM trip back to Salvador that you might not get into port till 6:30 PM. This delay can be caused due to time loading, and the catamaran having to wait to dock due to other small boats.
