pensamentos e fios

praça da se, salvador da bahia

the past couple days of radio silence were a factor of our stay on the tropical ilha of morro de são paulo. two hours south of salvador by boat, it was a breath of fresh air for a couple weary travelers, and even inspired a few pensamentos:

filmadoras e da praia
seriously? you're going to film people (that you don't know) laying on their backs, doing nothing, on the beach? you are either about to bore the shit out of everyone at your next dinner party, or should not live within 500 yards of a school. perhaps both?

agora contratar
one of the least desirable, though perhaps most respectable and necessary, of occupations must be that of boat puke-bag collector. those two hours between salvador and morro de são paulo, e então the island and salvador had to be among the most miserable for a considerable number of our fellow passageiros. on our return earlier today, the boat mostly rocked from bow to stern, while starboard and port joined in on the action for our first trip. standing there, the calm in the eye of the storm, was our trusty puke-bag collector. he would occasionally stand there and survey the thirty odd passengers to see who needed fresh air, who had filled their bag, or just to put the luggage that had been thrown across the cabin back where it had been originally.

sugestões
next time you are threatened with a case of seasickness, remember that chewing gum or sucking on a lime can be of assistance (the former helped me wednesday). however, watching olympic highlight montages featuring gymnasts, divers, or anyone else who spins, twirls, jumps, flips, rotates, etc. may exacerbate the situation. sejam cuidadosos, my friends.

almoço
finally! found a reasonable deal for lunch. on the main drag, leading down to the beach, were a handful of establishments serving 10 reais platos. my dish of choice: moqueca do siri. basically a flavorful west african stew, this variety served with crab, mixed with tomatoes and various vegetables and spices, served alongside rice, manioc, ensalada, and feijão (bean and meat stew) on the side. add the spicy (really) green stuff.....yum.

assinar
if the thumbs-up display has the same translation as it does in the states, these are some of the nicest people on earth. if it translates to the equivalent of showing the middle finger, i pretty much hate everyone in brasil.

chuva
while noone likes it when it rains on vacation, i can't help but remain upbeat despite many consecutive days of the damp stuff. it has never really fallen consistently, but yesterday (our only full day on the praia) was one of the only ones that was nearly entirely dry. even when it did fall, its composition was less than drizzle and it descended from a sunny, cloudless sky. i'm alright with that.

barco, novamente
to death and taxes, we must now add a third reliable entity: i will see a humpback whale when off the coast of a former portuguese colony during the summer olympics. on our return today, i just happened to be looking out the portside window when a huge humpback emerged, then re-submerged about 15 meters away from the boat. i got a glimpse of torso, a tease of tail, then ran out to the back deck but was not treated to another glimpse. four years ago, i got to see a pod flirt with our scuba boat off the coast of moçambique. então, if you're dying to see one from the water (and you really should), follow me to angola in 2012.

until then, boa noite e boa sorte