Olodum - Baihian group!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bEFQc9N70A&feature=related

A video I found on youtube of the live drums in Pelhourino

This is where I am staying in Salvador! Now you get a glimpse of the atmosphere that is literally here every night!
IT IS AMAZING

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaR0IAmF1rk

The excitement never ends

Quick update:
We hastily relocated from our hostel in St Antonio to Cobreu Hostel in Pelhourino (down the road and still in Salvador) as the hostel manager is violently angry and kicked us out when we asked to pay for two nights NOT another five! (we have just given him ten days worth of custom) ...
Gemma is unable to walk due to an ankle injury so we are not sure what this means for the Amazonian excursion as we are having to carry her and her pack.
I am still nursing two rather large open graze wounds on my back and knees thanks to a rainy night in jandals dancing the Samba on a cobbled hill! In this heat the healing process is slow so we are staying put until Wed before going on to Belem (36 hour bus ride) at the mouth of the AMAZON!! Once there we will spend 2 lazy weeks getting down to Manaus and then on to the basin and up to the Colombian border! YAYYYY
I am really sad that no volunteer work has eventuated thus far, however, once we are in Colombia and henceforth, it will all go ahead as planned!
I am missing home quite a bit, but it is restlessness I think!
Please send me your SKYPE details (if you have SKYPE) or a contact phone number as I will be calling home in the next few days.
:)
Love to you all xxxxx

A Brief History of Pelourinho

First a little background of Salvador's European/African history. Around 1510, Portuguese settlers arived in the area around what is now Rio Vermelho, and by 1540 a government was formed. By 1550 settlers began importing slaves from Africa. Salvador was the first capital of Brazil and remained so until 1763. The city of Salvador de Bahia, (São Salvador da Baía de Todos os Santos, in English: "Holy Savior of All Saints' Bay") was divided by the upper city and the lower city. The upper city, which is where we are located, was the religeous and administrative area where most residents made their homes. The lower city, exactly as it is used today, was the financial district with ports and markets. The market São Joaquim is one of the oldest markets in Brazil and although it smells like it, it's also a facinating and worth the ensuing vegetarianism that often follows a trip there. The vast majority of Salvadors population (80%) today has African roots from Salvadors devastating significance as the main port of entry for the slave trade. I've heard it said from many people who have traveled both continents that Salvador feels more like Africa than it does South America. Within this context is the picturesque colonial gem called the Pelourinho, which literally means "whipping post", which was where slaves were tied and tortured publicly. Pretty heavy. Especially considering the cobblestone streets are framed by some of the most beautiful churches in the New World. Pelourinho was once the wealthiest area of the city when Salvador was the country's capitol, and the wealthiest of the heavy-weights (sugar barons, slave traders, etc...) made their mansons here until an outbreak of cholera evacuated the wealthy and they abandonded their beautiful mansions. Anyone who was willing to live in a toxic atmosphere moved in. The few visitors the Pelourinho received were seeking drugs or prostitutes, as it was cosidered too dangerous; desperate people lived short lives of suffering and despair. Although some capoeira academies were functioning in those days (Academy of Mestre Bimba was in the Pelourinho) history doesn't paint a very pretty picture of daily life. It's easy to imagine what sort of place the Pelourinho was as parts of it are still unchanged (please see our Pelourinho Survival Guide). In 1985 UNESCO declared Pelourinho a World Heritage site due to it's collection of colonial architecture trumping any other city in the world. In 1991, the renovations began. Millions of dollars have been dumped into cleaning up the Pelourinho, making it now the 3rd most visited site in all of Brazil. Modern day Pelo is a magical and thrilling place. Kids can be seen rushing out of a noisy capoeira school, drum troops fill the streets with random parades for no special occasion, and at night theres no other part of the city that can even come close to the live music (usually free of charge). African culture and traditions that were oppressed for years are celebrated here in tireless homage. There are countless dance and capoeira schools, bars and restaurants, and more holidays than anyone can keep up with, and honestly, what better way to recover it's sad and tumultuous past than to live in a constant state of celebration?

STILL IN SALVADOR

OI OI
A quick update...
Sorry been a bit off the radar this past week - I'm utterly immersed in the life here! I dont want to leave! I would love to come back here and live for 6 months and study Samba and Capoiera properly.


It is forever sunny and super hot so we spend the days at the beach and then the nights are alive with music and dance.

I finally heard re volunteer work and at this stage I wont have enough time before I go to get stuck in (considering they are a week and a half late I'm very disappointed).

It's made a massive difference having jeremy here. I think the fourth person, and a second boy, has helped Neil feel more relaxed and less like a chaperone for us girls.
We are aiming to leave here bout 10th April and head north to Belem to begin our amazonian adventure...i'm so excited about the next leg of the journey. It's awesome being settled here but I am getting too comfortable already and we have so much to see! Itching to get into working when we reach Colombia as it'll be the best way to really get to know people and the 'culture' especially if we are staying for a full month.

Anyway I don't have much to tell atm...I'm safe, happy and loving it :)