Party time in Rio

I am on my third day (and night) in Rio and it has been good fun. Every night I have been going out and really enjoying the Rio nightlife. First night I went to a band called Revelação at the Salgueiro samba school. Yesterday there was forro in Lapa and tonight I´ll head to a samba rehearsal night of the Beija-flor samba school. Improving my Brasilian dancing skills :)In the hostel where I stay in Rio I first felt a bit odd as most people are in their early 20´s and I felt like an old tart but in the meantime I have met some nice people who also enjoy the Brasilian music kind of partying and don´t prefer to get hammered in some electro club as it seems that most of the early 20´s backpackers seem to be into.
Today was a rainy day so I just chilled a bit, recovered from the last night out and after it stopped raining went to the beach to read for some hours.

Gotta go take a shower and get ready for SAMBA!

Back in Rio

Took a night bus - 18 hours - from Porto Seguro (after being in Trancoso) and arrived in Rio in the early afternoon. Walked around for a bit and went to the beach. It is good to be back in Rio but strange to be in a different area as I am used to. Normally I stay in Ipanema, but I thought that Copacabana will be the place to be fo new years.

That´s it, will post more Rio updates soon!

Bicho Geográfico confirmed

After talking to many people, showing Gilberto and Jorge, I was getting tired of all people saying - oh no!!! you will have to have the worm cut out - it will go to your heart - put ice and bacon on it so it will come out - etc, I decided to pass by a doctor last night. Went to the the local posto médico where I saw a doctor right away. He glanced at Gilberto and Jorge and said - Bicho Geográfico. I was happy to get a confirmation from the doctor. He said that the cream I had was good but that it would be better to also take oral medication. So, back to the pharmacy where I bought pills. I hope it wil go away now!

In one hour I will take the bus to Trancoso, just one hour away from here. I will stay there till the 25th when I will take a night bus to Rio. Guess I won´t be much online till I go to Rio.

Creeping eruption

Or also called Cutaneous larvae migrans or Ancylostoma braziliense. That´s what I think that I have. Or in Brasil they call it Biche Geofrafico. Of what I found out on the internet, Gilberto and Jorge should go away by themselves or faster with medication, the cream that I am using now. It is a realief to read this because I was already starting to imagine a doctor pulling a worm out of my finger and foot!!

Still in Arrial d'Ajuda but not liking it so tomorrow I will move to Trancoso. Yippeee!

Meet Gilberto

This picture was taken this morning. At the bottom you can see the dot what I thought was the mosquito bite. Yesterday morning I discovered the bend and this morning the loop at the top was added. I hope the cream will help. If anyone has experience with these things, let me know!!

Gilberto and Jorge

Since two days I thought that I had a mosquito bite on my index finger and since yesterday I thought that I had a mosquite bite on the sole of my foot. Since this morning I am pretty sure that these are no mosquito bites because mosquitos mostly don´t bite on soles of feet and start to form a trail that leads away from the bite! I am pretty sure that I have some worms on those places, some kind of parasite that you get from some of the beaches, especially from beaches where there are dogs. In order to build up a good relationship with the worms I have called them Gilberto (finger) and Jorge (foot). Now I just went to a pharmacy where I got a cream against parasites. In a few days from now, Gilberto and Jorge should be gone!

First Wave!!!

Today I was able to catch my very first real wave of my life! Not the white wash that I have been practicing on but a real wave. Cought it (ok, I agree, with a little push from the instructor) but I managed to get up in the correct position and I rode it all the way down! Great feeling. Now am I exhausted but still planning to go out tonight!

Cya and happy surf to all!

Time to hit the beaches!

After 2 weeks of Portuguese classes in Salvador, and practising my Portuguese with people on the beach in the afternoons I have hit the road again, actually that is already about 10 days ago but have been really slacky with my blog. After Salvador I went to the Chapada Diamantina with a German classmate, Andrej, to scout the place there for the Anders Reizen trip that I have arranged. We did some great hikes to waterfalls and valleys, really pretty. After that, another day of Salvador in order to arrange flights and hostel bookings for New Years in Rio because, yes, I have decided to be in Rio for New Years! It will be expensive but I am sure that it will be worth it. Maybe it won´t be as exciting as Carnaval but still - 2 million people on Opacabana beach, all dressed in white, will be quite exciting. That, off course with lots of good Brazilian music, caipirinha´s and fireworks. You can expect the stories of that in the beginning of January.

Anyway, after that day in Salvador I took a bus - boat - bus - boat to Barra Grande. A very chilled peninsula. I pretty much just relaxed out there - went for long walks on the beautiful beaches and layed in my hammock reading books. I finished my first book in Portuguese there!!! Yes, I think my Portuguese has improved! I had a lovely room, right on the beach with the perfect view and perfect hammock.

A few days ago I traveled a bit further South in Bahia (actually only 50 km but since there is no direct route I had to go all the way around : boat-bus-bus-bus, and that took me about 8 hours!). Here in Itacaré, THE surf spot in Bahia, I didn´t have a choice but to join a surf class. Today I´ll have my 3rd day of classes - lots of sore muscles and bruises, but LOTS of fun.

I think I´ll stay here a few more days and then head further South in Bahia, on my way to Rio.

Below a few pictures:
1. Milton, one of the people on the beach who I daily practiced my Portuguese with
2. A view of Vale do Capão in the Chapada Diamantina
3. One of the long beaches on the Maraú Peninsula close to Barra Grande