Sean's Motorcycle Journey: Boa Praia

After Vitoria, we had nice rides through the hilly jungles of northern Brasil, where skin tones darken and poverty increases. There is a lot of history in these jungles along the coast line. The Portuguese in Brasil used slaves well into the late nineteenth century, and the living situations have not improved dramatically since.
Thursday night, we stayed in a cheap hotel outside of Euphanopolis, ate a big meal, repaired the bandages on Ted´s foot, watched the geckos climb the walls, killed hundreds of mosquitoes, and went to bed early.
The ride on Friday to the beach town of Guaibim was short and sweet, and the small town was deserted from tourists. We found a Pousada that was open and booked into a few rooms across from the white sand that squeaks when you walk on it. Coconut palm trees line the beach and the salty water breaks out from the shores, so surfing is popular here. The beach was beautiful, and the Brasilians are incredibly hospitable. It was difficult to push on the next morning.
Saturdays ride was a short 70 mile run to the ferry at Bom Despacho that took us into down town Salvador. Christi had been outside of Salvador in Barra, a beach suburb and hot spot, for a few days already. She directed us to a lovely Pousada a few blocks from the beach next to the lighthouse Farol da Barra. I took a walk and found some rocks that sat behind the lighthouse where the Atlantic came crashing in, and watched the sunset over the ocean.
You may ask, `how can you watch the sunset over the ocean from the eastern side of the continent?´ Well, Salvador and Barra sit out on a peninsula that raps around, so you can actually look across to the mainland and see the sunset to the west over the water.
Sunday morning was alive and beautiful as we walked through the historic streets of Salvador. The port was a major hub for slave trading, dating back to the seventeenth century, where bones of sick African voyagers are still being excavated around the peninsula. The Portuguese tax dollars were at work, when building the dozens of cathedrals that flood the two layered city. Half of Salvador is built on a bluff that overlooks the harbor, while the rest sits down below along the shoreline. Certain sections are known to be a little dangerous for tourists, and we were thankful for the number of locals who politely warned us before wandering off too far.
Returning to Barra, I took a walk along the beach, filled with sun bathers and male on-lookers. Coconuts with straws are a popular treat down here, and the milk is refreshing in the extreme heat. At the end of the day, the sun sets over the harbor, drums beat with Caipoera money handlers rockin´, and pink straws in coconuts rest in the sand.

BR-101 south of Euphanopolis