It would be an offense akin to a felony not to go to the beach while visiting Bahia. Bahia is the fourth largest Brazilian state in size. It is located right on the Atlantic Ocean, at its junction with All Saints Bay. It is never cold in Bahia; therefore, the water is never too cold for a swim. Even in the winter months, as we are in now, the thermometer often rises to the 80s...
Fourth most populous Brazilian state, third largest in size, Bahia does not have a overpopulation problem. Its numerous beaches are pure, natural, clean, and crystal blue, which is part of its attractive package. Over the last two decades, the reputation of Costa do Sauipe has soared as the future Brazilian Riviera. Sauipe Folia, a three-day September fest, has grown into a statewide event.
Today's journey started at Praia do Forte, located at 80 km from the city, and commands a very scenic two-hour costal drive... What used to be a fishers' village has morphed into a highly sophisticated tourist-oriented beach development.
At Praia do Forte, there is the beach; there also are the boutiques whose primary products are the bikinis and the souvenirs. However, you can also enjoy other activities such as horseback riding, surfing, paragliding... As peculiar as it sounds for a beach resort, you can also take classes of capoeira and transcendental meditation. Praia do Forte offers some curiosities such as the huge sea turtles you can befriend at the Projeto Tamar and the rain forest you can explore at the Sapiranga Ecological Reserve.
The morning hours flew too fast. The 1:00 PM game was coming. The group installed its quarters at Guarajuba Beach, a short drive away, for lunch. That is when the news broke that a pair of sunglasses and a cell phone were left behind at Praia do Forte. While sunglasses come with the territory in Bahia and Rio, expensive cell phones on the beach are items that could have been done without.
Guarajuba is plain dead gorgeous. It is an image of anthology, a magazine shot coming alive. On this "winter" football day, it is empty and tranquil. It is like being on a private beach. A few in the group jumped into the water. Most remained cropped around the table savoring with jokes and stories on what was in fact the last nature outing of this Brazil World Cup Adventure...
Lunch was copious and delicious... The service was faster than predicted. Whole fish or crustaceans, meat and side dishes, all for cheap... Always remember, wash it down with guarana... Abacaxi and caipirinha are suitable alternatives
Team USA advanced to the knockout phase despite losing 0-1 to the well-organized, almost flawless, German winning machine. Portugal and Ghana said goodbye.
The game ended at 3:00 PM. It took the buses almost two hours to get back to Festa Bahia Hotel. In the bus, the AARP people were sleeping in the front. In the back, the jokes resumed, fusing, exploding in intensity, in an unending blasting pattern.
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THE LAST SUPPER
In our souvenir collectible, this one will also be a keeper. It happened at the Coliseum in Pelourinho, the old city, the colonial jewel, the UNESCO World Heritage Center.
We had dinner and attended a Capoeiera & Orixas show. The 90-min spectacle was stunning...
It included the capoeria demonstration. Capoeira is the dance and martial arts combination that was invented during the years of slavery. The slaves were rehearsing their fighting skills under the amused eyes of their masters who then believed they were dancing. The show also showcased different Bahia dances and other cultural artifacts.
The night at the Coliseum in Salvador is in the same cultural dimension as the evening at Plataforma in Rio, but less fancy, less pricey, more genuine... The next time you are in Salvador, you should not miss it...
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(The Traveller, Thursday June 26, 2014)
Thursday, June 26, 2014
BEACH DAY AND CAPOEIRA.. by Odler Robert Jeanlouie
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Salvador da Bahia, Brazil... by Odler Robert Jeanlouie
First and foremost, Salvador da Bahia is not the capital of El Salvador, the South American republic. It is the capital-city of Bahia, a Northeastern state of Brazil, one of the 26 Brazilian states.
By all measures, Salvador, formerly known as Sao Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos, is the World Capital of Alegria. You just cannot afford being sad in Salvador; there is always a party going on; if there is none, someone will invent one by day's end. What if you don't like the party scene and the beaches? Well, feel free to drop by one the 365 churches recorded in the city, a different one for every day of your year.
One quantum day in the future, the Count of Saint Germain will return. He will reveal that below the ground of Salvador, exactly beneath the Elevador Lacerda, linking the Cidade Baixa to the Cidade Alta, lies the Agartha where the aliens live. From the Agartha flows a fountain of youth that radiates the energy, the joie-de-vivre that every day fluffs out over Salvador da Bahia...
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Salvador da Bahia is where Brazil started. That is where Pedro Alvares Cabral accosted his caravel in September 1500, in Porto Seguro. It became the first capital of Brazil and remained so for more than 200 years.
After living here for three centuries, land owners and slave masters abandoned the city around 1860. For an entire century, Salvador, along with its quasi all-black population, sprouted in a closed vase, like on a Petri dish, with no contact with the external milieu.
The experience resulted in the making of the most African city outside of Africa. The return of the white citizens in the mid-20th century eventually begot a singular society with a unique culture, a unique music, and a unique religious syncretism.
The mostly African population is shamelessly poor, but unbridled, radiant, joyful, happy, and welcoming. In Salvador, the air is always loaded with sun, music, color, adding up to a kaleidoscope of joy, to an anthem of exuberance.
Soteropolitanos (citizens of Salvador) invented samba, a form of music that is better known through the Rio schools of samba. They also invented axe (pronounce ashay), a kind of terrific music that sounds like a fast compas, played on a psychedelic tempo
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In Rio, for carnaval, at the Sambadromo, the Cariocas have the Greatest Show on Earth. Here in Salvador, we have the real carnaval, we have the Greatest Party on Earth, with millions dancing in the streets around the clock for seven days, in the week that precedes Lent.
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Officially founded on March 24, 1549, Salvador is home to 2.6 million citizens, or 3.8 million in the larger metropolitan area. It covers an area of 273 sq miles and has an elevation of about 8 meters above sea level. Despite this relatively low set, flooding does not happen here.
It is a fascinating, but somewhat anarchic city. It is difficult to find a pattern here. One would say the city is unpredictable, except in its unpredictability. Here thrives a constant change in motion.
The population of Salvador is 85% black, but a peculiar brand of black.
If you have just one hour to spend in Salvador, spend it in Pelourinho, the center of the Old City. With its cobble-stoned streets, its vendors, its funanbulists, its musicians, its old buildings, its bars, its restaurants, its scenery, it brushes the painting of an exotic landscape from a dated movie. Most of the streets are closed to automobile traffic.
If you drive around Salvador, you will promptly discover many schools, universities, and hospitals. This translates the fact that the birth city of Dani Alves, Ivete Sangalo, and Carlinhos Brown is not a tourist trap, but a real metropolis that belongs to you as well, in its universality
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What do you do in Salvador?
Easy. Day and night, hang out in Pelourinho,the Old City. They have everything there, and more.
There are a number of excellent restaurants in the city, but service is usually slow. Always, go ethnic.
For your shopping, concentrate on Barra Mall, Iguatemi Mall, and Mercado Modelo.
Night clubs are not plenty, the best ones are in Pituba and Rio Vermelho. These days, everyone is talking about the Pink Elephant. Unfortunately, a good night club where you could enjoy genuine axe music all night just does not exist anymore. Nowadays, if anything, you hear too much of Pitbull and Don Omar.
The beaches are legion, and most of them are genuine and gorgeous; they offer non-expensive services and exquisite meals. Praia de Forte and Guayajuba are the most famous. However, anywhere on Costa de Sauipe will be good enough.
On the America Continent, only New York in more expensive than Rio de Janeiro, for a foreign tourist. In comparison, spending time in Salvador is more affordable than spending time in Port au Prince.... Food for thought... Just be here...
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(The Traveller, Tuesday, June 25, 2014)
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Game Day in Bahia..... by Odler Robert Jeanlouie
Okay... Who does not sin? You can call us sold-outs, but are you, yourself, without sin? If you are, please dare throw the first stone, you will quickly see how many stones will be thrown back at you...
Here is the story.
This morning, we woke up at 9:00 AM which is highly unusual during this trip. We had breakfast. Half of the group embarked in Bus I, for a shopping trip.
Forty of us embarked in Bus II. Destination: Arena Fonte Nova, the jewel stadium built for the World Cup. Stated goal: Attend to Iran-Bosnia the closing game for group F. We did not choose this game, it just so happened that was the game in town. Several people however flew to Porto Alegre to attend the real game of the day, between Nigeria and Argentina.
A decision was to be made: What team are we going to support? Iran or Bosnia? Bosnia or Iran? Logically, but loosely, we were to support Bosnia since a win by Iran would eliminate Nigeria. Then it started raining. It was one of these flash rains common in Brazil, that last 30-45 minutes, wash your soul out of your body, then is quickly replaced by the laughing sun. Only few of us had umbrella, and none of us brought a raincoat....
That is when we saw the stage, a makeshift stage where a group of Iranian where distributing cheap plastic rain breakers along with a bag containing an Iranian flag and other items of Iran national footballistic rituals... It did not take three seconds of reflection for the entire group to convert to the Iranian cause, with their rain breaker on, while waving their flag in support of the Ayatollah deities.
The rain abating, we took free pictures at the Sony station, ate some hot dogs, and gained access to our seats, waving our Iranian flag. Indeed we were not alone. The Iranians were all organized. Every section of the stadium had some kind of crowd leader that would stimulate the pro-Iranians. The Bosnian supporters were shut out with alegria.
However, we were the loudest to scream "Go Iran" whenever the Iranians went on attack. Our Iranians neighbors were snatching pictures of us. They could not understand why we were so vocally Iranian. One of us asked us where we were from... We said New York.... Hmm! They became even more puzzled trying to establish that commonality of interest between the Great Satans from America that we were and the Devout Saints of Allah defending the noble cause of the Caliphate.
Iran lost the game. We almost cried. Almost, like good moles would do. After the game, we folded our Iranian flags, stuck them in the bags as precious souvenirs, and went party with any quidam who would savor the progression of Nigeria to the knockout stage....
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Leaving the stadium who went to Mercado Modelo where you can find anything you want as far as souvenirs from Bahia are concerned. At the hotel, we reunited with the "shopping group"... They came back with about 2.5 million packages... from the malls? What is here to buy?
Later, we packed in both buses to have a typical dinner at Yemanja... Jokes fused all the way to the restaurant... The atmosphere was quite festive, and all the ladies looked radiant... There was something in the air...
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(The Traveller, Wednesday, June 25, 2014)
WC14: Then They Were Four... by Odler Robert Jeanlouie
... and the last four are: Germany, Brazil, Argentina, and Holland.
Before the competition kicks off, the predicted likely winners were Brazil, Germany, Argentina, Spain, in that order. No one gave a bone of Holland's chances against Brazil in the first knockout phase.
Not much has changed since then, except that Spain unraveled in the first round and yielded its position to Holland. Holland will remain that fourth unforeseen knight that always come out of nowhere. A the end, the world order was preserved. Power to the powerhouses!
At the conclusion of the quarterfinals, the Old Continent and the New Continent have remained in parity: Americas: 2, Europe: 2... Which one will win?
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Exited: France, Colombia, Belgium, Costa Rica...
The amazing story of these quarterfinals remains the tale of Costa-Rica the Cinderella. Playing a non-scintillating football based on defensive pragmatism, with no recognizable star, Costa Rica held Holland for 120 minutes and was one penalty short of entering the last four, intead of Holland. THIS would have been a major surprise and a pride for the American Continent in its derby against Europe. These heroes from Costa Rica, akin of the 2010 Ghanaian avengers, played their luck, their heart, their soul, and their tears, and eventually lost... But no one will forget their feat of coming from nowhere.
It is unfortunate that we cannot have two or three Champions in the World Cup. Colombia should have been one of them; they deserve it. The only side in the tournament playing highly technical offensive Brazilian jogo bonito is out, after a high pace joust lost 1-2 to the host nation. They were deprived of Falcao; that was a blessing in disguise. A new star is born; his name is James Rodriguez; he has been the MVP of this tournament. This fresh, enthusiastic young team has a terrific future. After an absence of 26 years, is it only the beginning of the Colombian revival?
Belgium is another side with a bright future. They should continue their integration policy and come up with the most capable gladiators. With Courtois, Eden Hazard and Ogiri, they already have some glorious substrate for the 2016 Euro Cup that starts in two months and for the 2018 World Cup that begins in two years. Their unlucky quarterfinal against Argentina was a tactical masterpiece lost against Messi, arguably the best player in the world. It was a clean 0-1 in regulation that they could never find a equalizer for.
Shameful France! For the quarterfinal against Germany, their neighbor d'Outre Rhin, the African Team of the Republic of France did... nothing. Football fanatics, from the world at large, were anxiously awaiting a re-edition of the (3-3) 1986 classic, with maybe a different outcome.
What happened on Saturday was not even a bad sequel. Germany scored early (13th) with a Hummels' header. For 77 flat minutes, there was no response. Complete apathy on both sides. The Germans were happy to cruise into their record fourth consecutive qualification for the semis. The young French, who never read anything about WWI and WWII, were content to have made it to this unexpected far. Happy, happy...
The merry-go-round of top football nations has remained unbroken. Pick your tune: Brazil cannot beat France, France cannot beat Germany, Germany cannot beat Italy, Italy cannot beat Brazil. Ole! Now repeat...
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The sideshow of these quarterfinals has been mostly sad.
Neymar, the Brazilian wunderkind whose shoulders carry the hope of an entire nation of 201 million Brazilians is out. The Barcelona player was carried off the field after a shock with Camilo Zuniga, the Colombian full-back of Napoli.
Intentional or not, the shock was violent enough to cause a fracture of Neymar's third lumbar vertebra. It should not be. Though the injury does not require surgery, Neymar is out for four weeks, and thereby will miss the reminder of the Cup. Zumiga has received death threats and FIFA is looking into the incident for a possible lengthy sanction.
The captain of Paris Saint Germain and of the Brazilian national team, Thiago Silva, will miss the semi final against Germany, after two cumulative yellow cards...
Argentina, a serious contender among the last four, has also lost a major piece of its wonder machine finally tuned in Brazil. Di Maria, the Real Madrid play maker who plays so much like Oswaldo Ardiles, is out of the semis due to a hamstring sprain.
With two matches remaining, German veteran Miroslav Klose has been, since last June 21, a co-record man, with Brazilian great Ronaldo. They both scored the most World Cup goals. Klose, 36, is at his fourth World Cup, and his 15th goal was scored against Ghana. He has feverishly looked for his 16th against France. It never came; he was substituted.
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Brazil-Germany (2002) and Argentina-Holland (1978) were historical World Cup finals. This year, they are obligated path to the finals.
Will the absence of Neymar, Thiago and Di Maria affect the performance of their respective team? Being locker room leaders and key players in the tactical scheme hatched out by their coaches, the answer seems to be a resounding yes. But the history of the World Cup is fraught with precedents that brings a different answer: probably not.
In 1962, in Chile, Pele was injured during the first round of the competition. He was ruled out for the rest of the tournament. Garrincha (Manuel Francisco dos Santos) rose to the challenge and delivered. Brazil became the second and last country to win two successive World Cup titles.
In 2010, Michael Ballack, the German star, beau garcon, and play-maker, was ruled out for the World Cup. A young Turkish-German, Mesut Ozil, was called to replace him. Germany reached the semi finals with brio. With Ozil a new star, on his way to Real Madrid, was born.
In 2014, Radamel Falcao, 28-year old, who scored 9 of the 16 goals of the Colombian qualification campaign sustained an ACL injury a few months before the Cup. Despite efforts of national dimensions and prayers of national intensity, Falcao could not recover on time. A 22-year young man, James Rodriguez, stepped up to the plate, scored six goals in five games and took Colombia to the edge of the semifinals. Falcao was forgotten.
For Argentina, Maxi Rodriguez will replace Angel Di Maria. Argentina will be just fine.
Dante Bomfin, born in Salvador da Bahia, a center back for Bayern Munich, will replace Thiago Silva, with honor and efficacy.
In the shadow of Neymar, strikers such as Willian, Jo and Bernard are waiting for their moment. It may be their golden opportunity to shine on the grandest stage of them all, watched and adulated in an intercontinental deflagration watched by 3.5 billion emotional Earthlings....
What about Willian (Manchester City) scoring twice in the final and giving the Sexta (the sixth World Cup) to Brazil?
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(TheTraveller, Tuesday, June 24, 2014)
Sao Joao in Salvador... by Odler Robert Jeanlouie
Sao Joao is Saint John the Baptist. Fiestas Juninas are June festivals.
In Brazil, the second largest catholic country in the world after Mexico, in the month of June, are held wide celebrations for three important saints: Saint Anthony, Saint Peter and Saint John. Though the different celebrations are regional, Bahia takes a significant part in the celebration of the Saint John's birthday. Saint John is the prophet who announced the coming of Christ, and eventually baptized him in the Jordan River.
Bahia makes everything into a party, Sao Joao's Junina is no exception. It is a party that lasts several days and peaks on June 24, on the prophet' s birthday, in Pelourinho, the cultural and historical center of Salvador. This is not a party to miss.
June 24 was our second day in Salvador. By 9:00 AM, we were already en route for our city tour.
We drove through different areas of Salvador, the City of Happiness. The guides made a highlight of Barra a neighborhood of millionaires where lives Ivete Sangalo, the diva of Bahia. We learned about Pituba, Itaigara, Ondina, Rio Vermelho, Amacao, Corsario, Itapua... We drove by too many churches, administrative centers, museums (most closed), tourist areas, and learning centers.
The tour could not stop at the Digue dos Torrero Park where stand the statues of seven Orisha gods. We were looking forward to taking memorable pictures. Close to the stadium, an area of heightened security during the World Cup, parking and additional crowding were not desired. Next time, we will not miss that important stop...
Mercado Modelo was closed. Sao Joao is a holiday.
We ended up at Cidade Alta (Upper Town), right in Pelourinho. Yes, it seems like everything in Salvador ends in Pelourinho, not unlike everything in Paris ends at the Champs Elysees.
Pelourinho is Little Pillory. It derives its name historically from the whipping post set in the central plaza, where slaves used to pay the price of their indiscipline or simply of their uppity. Nowadays, no one seems to remember.
On that morning of Sao Joao Day, Pelourinho was already partying hard. Small bands and performers occupied every street corner. In its numerous restaurants, waitresses wore the typical ethnic outfit of Bahia. Life was bustling with joy, laughter and rhythm.
On the pavement of the cobblestone streets between pastel-painted houses dating back to the 17th century, we danced to the root music of the street performers, but they were not Olodum. We visited the Basilica Cathedral and had wish ribbons (fitas) tied on our wrists. By Mario Cravo's cross, we admired the beauty of the sprawling Lower Town.
With lunch, we watched the game between Italy and Uruguay, two former World Champions, two blue squads, La Squaddra Azzura fending off La Celeste for a spot in the knockout stage. Godin scored. Uruguay won 1-0 and advanced. But the match folklore will not be the excellent performance of the actors, or the lack of it. It will be Luis Suarez sticking his teeth in the right shoulder of Giorgio Chiellini. Suarez, vampire-at heart, was expelled, likely for the rest of the Cup. Without him, Uruguay will go nowhere.
Later, in the evening, we came back to Pelourinho. The small bands had yielded the scene to the big ones. Jose Flavio, a forro king, assembled thousands on the large plaza. He was not the only performers... There were too many of them.
I ate dinner from a plate bought from the stall of a street vendor. Hmm! It tasted delicious, it costed me $3. It was made of chicken, rice, flower, tomatoes, sauce, and other ingredients. I washed it down with a can of guarana. You need to have a can of guarana, believe me....
It was a full day of fun and fest. At near midnight, after a group picture, we boarded the bus to return to the hotel. Some remained behind to wish goodbye to the sole Festa Junina they may ever attend. It was a moment of pure delectation...
We are due in the stadium for in a few hours; it will be a rainy day...
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(TheTraveller, Tuesday, June 24, 2014)
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Touring Rio de Janeiro... by Odler Robert Jeanlouie
We stopped by all the main neighborhoods. We spent an inordinate amount of time at the Maracana, the Mecca of Football, taking football related pictures (with fake FIFA Cups, among others). We also spent an hour at the Sambadroma, the Mecca of Carnaval. The ladies rented sexy carnaval costumes and shot fantasy pictures.
We enjoyed lunch time at Marius, a very curious and famous overpriced restaurant, right on Copacabana Beach. Most of the fuss about Marius is focused on its restrooms! The patrons take more pictures of the lavatories than they take of the elegant facade. What is so singular about these bathrooms? Everything. Beyond this word, it is difficult to explain.
During our delicious churrascarria lunch, we loudly supported Costa-Rica beating Italy. The Italian customers at Marius were stunned by the invasion of American customers who were in fact preventing the Azzuris from winning. "Coooos-ta-Ri-ca" was the effective battle song. It worked.
After Marius, we stopped at a souvenir shop not far away on Copabacana. There we spent some precious minutes. Our guides were not in a hurry to visit any more venues; obviously they were running the clock. Thereafter, we were stuck in traffic for another hour, before we could make it back to Corcovado, allowing those who did not visit the Cristo on day one, to hug the big man, and say a prayer.
Visiting the Cristo by night, without the rain, is an extraordinary experience. We learned by experience that going up and down the mountain via train, takes twice longer than the time spent on the platform, having fun. Waiting in line to board took awfully long. From the train going down, we could admire the staggering illumination of the Rio Hippodrome. French fans on board never stopped singing "Allez les Bleus" so happy they were about the romp that their team bestowed on Switzerland, an hour earlier. Quelle affaire!
Then we drove more than an hour, by bus, back to Niteroi. We should by then be so tired that we would have to call it quit. Right? Not quite... After a brief rest, a shower, some diner, two dozen of us were on our way back to downtown, to 40 Graus, a night club a la mode.
Beyond the highway, into Lapa, the area was crowed with pedestrians. The crowd, mostly young, average 25, mixed with football fans of all ages paralyzed the place. Restaurants and bars are thirteen to the dozen. Clubs empty their music onto the streets. Lapa looks like a painting of Carnaval sous Champ-de-Mars.
We opted to walk to the club, instead of sitting in the bus driven at 2 mph. We were walking in Indian line through the crowd and between the cars, when we heard a bump. A car had driven over the right foot of a member of the group. Quelle pouasse!
After multiple exams by several readily available physicians, it was diagnosed that the car did in fact drive over her foot, completely squashing her right shoe, but creating only soft tissue damage to her extremity. No broken bone. What a miracle that was! She could not bear weight on her swollen right foot, but there was no bleeding, and no gross deformity. What a relief. She refused to go to the ER. Between two strong shoulders, she made it to 40 Graus...
40 Graus (40 Degrees) has three dance floors and a restaurant. No less. They play all kinds of music. We invaded and annexed the front floor by the large window onto the street. The band, in our honor, switched to American music, Sinatra-type. No thanks. Quick, quick, revert back to Ivete Sangalo and the fast rhythm of Bahia.
We danced a storm releasing gallons of adrenaline accumulated during the long trip and during the wait times. Soaked in sweat, we left the place at 3:30 AM... Driving back, not a single soul was awake in the bus... Today was a much better day, we only had one car accident and no rain...
(The Traveller, Saturday June 21, 2014