2/23/2007
15° 38.98S
035° 22.73W

Welcome back! Well, I am now back on the ship after 5 unbelievable days in Brazil. My first experience in the southern hemisphere was more than I could have ever expected. Right from the beginning, I was in awe at how different the culture was in the area. We had a lady from the U.S. State Department join us before debarkation for a diplomatic briefing on Brazil. She told a terrible story of a Brazilian child being murdered in Rio de Janeiro (I will spare you the details here), which scared the heck out of everyone. I have no doubt some students didn’t even get off the ship as a result. It was a totally inappropriate start to our visit. As we were coming into the harbor, I was shocked to see the size of Salvador. Music was still filling the streets as the Carnival festivities wore on from the night before (it was 7am). It certainly was not difficult for me to come to the realization that I was no longer in the states.

The first day we hit up Carnival in Salvador. Salvador is considered to be the original party city where 2 million locals celebrate the coming of Lent with music, food and dance. After exploring the local culture all day, we headed off to Bahia for the evening’s festivities. Musical floats circled the city as people ate cheap food, drank cheap beer, and danced to Brazilian/African dance music. At one point, my friends and I were the only Caucasians in a crowd of 200,000 or more. Talk about feeling like a tourist! Many, many of my peers were mugged...some at knifepoint. Did you know there is actually a law that one doesn’t have to stop at a red light at night when driving in Brazil? I guess the idea is to keep citizens from being jumped while stopped at the light. Yikes! Although Carnival was a rather sketchy experience, I don’t think the true nature of Brazilian society can be judged off this annual party. I met many locals who were very kind and genuinely wonderful people.

The second day I headed to Lencois, a town 300km inland of Salvador. Lencois is located in a beautiful national park where I did a ton of hiking, swimming and checking out the local culture. The local food was amazing, the people were wonderful, and our hotel was immaculate. We had a guide, named Roi, who was super gnarly and hiked us to death. One day we hiked for 9 hours, half of which was in a downpour. Unfortunately, the rain happened to come during the first half of the hike leaving us to hike in soggy running shoes for the rest of the day. Words can’t explain the beauty of the area. Rivers, waterfalls, caves and cliffs fill the surrounding wilderness landscape. The town of Lencois was a fun mountain town with stone streets and small, bright colored buildings. The nightlife was mellow, but very welcoming. Many of the locals spoke decent English and were very fun to talk with. On the way back to the ship, we drove through Salvador’s favelas. The favelas are endless slums built on the outskirts of Brazilian cities, only some of which are supported by electricity and water. Talk about an eye opening experience.

Now I'm back on the ship and headed for Cape Town, South Africa. We should be there in 7 days or so. Classes, sleep and many, many papers will occupy my time. I'm totally exhausted! Sleep doesn’t exactly take priority in this lifestyle. Check back soon. I’ll keep you updated on my transcontinental travels.

Till then,
Mike