February 15, 2008 - Recife & Salvador, Brasil

February 15, 2008 - Recife, Brasil
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I wake up late and finish breakfast by 9 AM. I inform Francisco that I will check out at 12 Noon. As MasterCard is accepted, I could pay by Credit card as well. I decide to explore a bit of Boa Viagem and walk along its Beachfront. Nothing strikes me as being great or extraordinary. The surprising aspect of the beach is that it is a very short one. There is hardly 15-feet of sand before one reaches the water´s edge. I head to an Internet cafe and blog for 2 hours. I have completed my blogs of Paraguay and have commenced Iguacu.

I get back to the hotel by Noon. The front desk clerk offers me a discount of 10% on the bill, if I pay by cash. I take the offer and pay cash. While the clerk calls a taxi for me, I bid adieu to Renato - the restaurant manager of the hotel - who, like Francisco, is also from Italy and has been in Brasil for 10 years.

The taxi arrives in 10 minutes. It is a flat R$10 fee to the airport (as it is very close to Boa Viagem). It is certainly cheaper than the incoming ride from the airport to the hotel that cost me R$15. We reach the airport in 15 minutes.

TAM´s automatic check in kiosks are not working. We stand in Queue. However, there appears to be no one at the counters. Talk about being disorganized! All the pretty faces and killer dresses cannot hide the basic inefficiency. Of course, their excuse for sloppy service could be Carnaval - even though it has been over for a week now!

The queue finally starts moving and I get my boarding pass. There is no vegetarian food option possible on TAM flights. I go looking for LUNCH. I find a cafe and have a grilled cheese sandwich and hot chocolate for Lunch.

The flight appears to be full. As always I have a window seat and (as always) I doze on and off. One gets a very good of Recife while taking off (remember I landed in the night and could not see much) and we also had a good look at Salvador while we were circling before landing.

February 15, 2008 - Salvador, Brasil
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The flight was just 10 minutes late. The flight time from Recife to Salvador was an Hour and 10 minutes. I collect my bag and find that no locks have been broken on it - to my huge relief. I obtain a map of Salvador from the tourist office at the airport as well as the various transport options to my Hotel.

The "ONIBUS" (yes, they cannot seem to pronounce the M in "OMNIBUS") appears to be the cheapest option to get to my hotel. I must also mention (in case I have not already) that they pronounce the letter "R" as "H". Therefore, "RIO" is pronounced "HEO" and "Recife" is pronounced "Hecife". The RIO pronunciation as HEO appears to apply only to the City, as they seem to Pronounce the names of the Rivers (Rivers are called Rio in Portuguese and Spanish) properly - As in RIO Negro or RIO Amazonas.

I digress. I wait for 20 minutes before an ONIBUS shows up. The fare is R$4 to a place in the centre of the old city called - Praca da Se (in English - Plaza of Se). The ride from the airport to the Praca da se takes 90 minutes - More time than my flight from Recife to Salvador! Hey, I am on an extended vacation here - no sense in rushing it.

On getting down at Praca da se, a local (who travelled with me on the bus and who speaks good English) helps me find a taxi and gives the appropriate directions to the driver (in Portuguese) on how to take me to my Hotel. There is a Heavy albeit brief downpour during our ride to the hotel. After a few wrong turns, we reach my hotel after 30 minutes! It should have taken 15-minutes at most. The taxi fare is R$13 (and the longer bus ride was R$4). The Taxi from the airport would have cost me R$85. As I said before, Rio and Amazon have spiked my expenses and if it has to bread and water, so be it!

I chat with Zelina (Wife of Jean-Paul) who greets me and shows me to my room. I have had many conversations (via e-mail) with Jean-Paul and Zelina before booking this Posada Baluarte.
I have a nice big room with a fan. There is a mosquito netting suspended from the ceiling that covers the entire bed. Nice bathrooms. In all, very tastefully done place. I am paying R$100 per night (US$57 approx.).

I freshen up and head out for dinner. Although the tourist office listed a few Vegetarian restaurants, none are open for dinner! The old city is called Pelourinho. I walk around Pelourinho. Great colonial edifices and cobble stoned streets. I visit "Al Carmo", Italian restaurant. I pay R$47 (US$28) for BAD penne, wine and dessert.

I walk back to the Pousada. As they have free e-mail, I spend some time checking my mail and reading the news. I am not in the mood to blog. I write my diary for the day and read up on things to see and do in Salvador for the next 4 days before going to bed.