Wait...There Are No Hippies Here!

Yesterday was truly an experience. After three weeks of settling in and becoming comfortable with Salvador, Mary and I decided to embark on our first "out of the box" adventure, as I like to call it. We asked Vini, the Volunteer Manager, where we should go that is different, fun, and has beautiful beaches. After going through about every place he knew within a close proximity to Salvador, we finally decided on Arembepe.

Arembepe is a unique town, and a popular destination for locals as well as tourist (although there are very little tourists in Salvador). A close walk from the main square of the town is a hippie village that was visited often by famous hippie musicians such as Janis Joplin and Mick Jagger. The hippies live in their village without the help of electricity or showers. They bathe in the natural pools and ocean that surrounds the village. Many survive off of the local fishing industry and of course the handmade craft market. And apparently, the beaches here are one of a kind. White sand, towering palm trees, tide pools, what could be better?

It was 9 A.M and everything was set. Just as we were about to leave, Emanne, a new volunteer arrived, so Mary and I invited her to come with us. After she got ready, we were finally on our way with specific instructions from Vini on where to go and how to get there. Unfortunately, these precise instructions were not enough to get three Americans to Arembepe successfully.

We had survived yet another taxi ride, so what could go possibly go wrong? We managed to get inside of the Rodoviaria Bus Station and ask three different people where the desk to buy tickets for Linha Verde Company. We did this without any struggle. We even bought the correct tickets, and made it to the correct bus without standing in the wrong line. It was a miracle. After getting on the bus and settling in, I knew that it was too good to be true. Something was about to go very wrong.

Arembepe came and went. Just like that. After an hour and a half of traffic to get out of Salvador, we made it onto the Coconut Highway. The bus kept pausing, briefly, on the side of the major costal highway to take and leave passengers. The three of us were extremely confused. We were warned to get off at Arembepe Square, but we saw no square. Just homes and a restaurant here and there. No place for three young girls to get off a bus. We passed three stops in Arembepe. Then it was gone.

Despite the major disappointment, we were all relaxed though still curious as to where this hippie village was. I knew we had to walk once the bus dropped us off, but we had no idea it would be on the side of the highway (to put this in perspective, it would be like going to Connecticut, and getting dropped off from a bus on side of the Merritt Parkway, and told to walk two kilometers into town).

We once again used our wits and realized that this bus also stops in Praia De Forte, a popular tourist destination, and a place where some other volunteers had previously traveled to. We decided it was a great idea to just spend the day there, even though we didn't want to take the bus for two hours (which really ended up being three because of the traffic) just for the day. That was the reason we decided to go to Arembepe in the first place. It was close.

We got off of the bus with the rest of the passengers and found paradise. Praia De Forte was beautiful. The streets were filled with beautiful stores and restaurants and happy people. After being in Salvador for a week, it becomes a necessity to see people walking down the streets smiling and without anger and fear. The beaches were magnificent. I managed to get away from the other girls for a while with my camera. This well needed alone time turned into a photo shoot with the fish and crabs that I found in the tide pools. We also managed to spot some monkeys, which are comparable to squirrels in New Jersey, and have lunch at a great Brazilian restaurant. I tried Moqueca, which is sort of like a curry, but better! It is one of the only places that I have seen a vegetarian option for this dish. We looked for a hotel or pousada to stay in when we come back in two weekends. A few of them looked nice and were close to the beach, so hopefully they will not be too expensive! There were also men dressed up in scary Halloween masks with garbage bags around their necks and beer in one hand and rope in the other. They chase around children with bells and scare them! We even had three children hiding in front of us when we were on the beach. We later found out that this was because of Carnival, despite it being a month too early.

The bus ride home was smooth, despite the fact that I had to stand for the full two hours. Mary and Emanne got lucky and found seats after a while. So...moral of the story? Don't get off the bus at the side of the highway. Always have a backup plan. Finally, do not be afraid to just go with the flow!

Here is my other update! Today, Mary and I are just going to relax. We slept in..well, Mary is still sleeping, and then we will go to the beach! I am going to buy the drum that I have wanted since I first got here. I feel like if I have wanted something for three weeks, I think it is not a problem to buy it, especially because it is only R$35 ($20 U.S.). Transporting it to Miami, and then back to Costa Rica, and then back to New Jersey should be quite the interesting task. Also, do not expect more pictures on Facebook anytime soon! My free trial of Lightroom has expired, and now I have no way to watermark (copyright) my photographs. I would invest in the program, but its $300.

The other day at the orphanage, one of my favorite children, Ariel (the one in my main Facebook photograph), had a febrile seizure. At the time, the caretakers were unsure of why he had the seizure, but after a medical exam, they were told it was because of an infection on his leg. Later that day, I saw the infection and was completely shocked that he had not been taken to the doctor earlier. His entire leg was covered in scabs. Other than that, the kids have been a lot better since the watercolor mishap. They were able to keep it together enough on Thursday that I brought them word searches and mazes to do as well as puzzles and building blocks! They were even able to handle that much! Hopefully from now on, they will be able to behave a little better!