Days 26 - 29 The long drive to Salvador 30th May 2011

So the late start from Olinda meant a long drive to Salvador. We were due to bush camp over night but the decision was made to keep driving through to make up for lost time. I had a couple of hours shift in the front passenger seat keeping look out for pot holes and speed dumps (usually sighnposted but not always and Brazil has thousands of the bloody things!) You get a good view from the cab but it was dark. We stopped at a trucker place on the way for dinner which was 9 reals for a plate piled high with ….can you guess….. yes more rice, beans, spaghetti , salad and meat. That’s about £3.50! There was enough for about 3 people to eat well on each plate. The drive to Salvador was much faster than expected so we stopped in a layby for a couple of hours and then again at a petrol station just outside Salvador. We were not keen on arriving in the dark. It did mean that we got to our Pousada at 9 am and gave us an extra day in Salvador. The pousada staff were so helpful and suggested we all had breakfast at the hotel. This was very welcomed after the steep climb from the street to the hotel. Did I mention that Salvador is very hilly and very steep? We had a lazy day by the pool (whats new!) and late afternoon we headed into town to find a cashpoint! We were told that if you are going to get mugged on the trip then it would be in Salvador! We arrived on a Tuesday which was great because in the Salvador Tuesday night is the new Saturday night! So off we went with our maps which the hotel staff had kindly highlighted with big crosses the roads we must not go on after dark!!!!

Arrving in Salvafor also marked the end of our Manaus to Salvador trip where James and Charlie where leaving us and a new passenger, Ray, was joinging for the trip to Rio
After Some food in town some of us decided to go back to the hotel and were about to go down “piss alley” to get to it when the police told us we could not go down there. We showed the cards the hotel had given us and one of the police knew where it was and said that we could go but to go straight there! Scary! I went on a city tour in the morning with Gwen but the best bit was our guide took us to the best icecream place in all of Salvador. It was started by a Spanish man about 100 years ago and the coconut icecream was sublime!
My last day in Salvador I went to the shopping mall and bought a pair of straightners!!!!!! My best purchase to date. I could not cope with the mess my hair turned into since arriving in Brazil!

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