Arrival in Salvador - Terminal nautico

Believe it or not, we met Angelina Jolie! You don’t believe it? You are smart! She was a pregnant woman who introduces herself as Angelina to tourist to get a laugh out of them and hopefully some dinheiros. She is quite successful. We are still in Brazil were the rich are very rich and the poor very poor. This doesn’t take away from the charm of the Pelourinho or historical center of Salvador. On each street one will find stores with T-Shirts, African art and Bahia dolls in between churches and restaurants. There are 365 churches in Salvador. I guess we don’t have to tell you that we didn’t visit all of them! The marina, Terminal Nautico, is right in the center of all the action next to the Mercado Modelo which is a big artisan market and the Elevator which is a giant lift from the down town to the up town were the Pelourinho is located. The prices are reasonable if compared to the brand new Bahia marina next door which is three times more expensive. What makes this marine a great place to land is the proximity to the three offices that we need to visit on entry. It’s rare we can do everything by foot. Ramone who welcomes you to the marina speaks a bit of English and French. However, the hawsers have to be protected or tired have to be added because there is a constant current in the marina that will tear the hawsers to shreds. Also, the tap water is not free and the quality is doubtful. It is easy to visit on foot from here but only during the day. At night, using a taxi in recommended. Armed robbery for wallets and jewelry is quite common. So much so that even the Brazilians hide after sunset. It’s almost as if vampires come out after dark and keep everybody off the streets. Still, we managed to spend a nice evening in the Pelourinho listening to a guitar player on a terrace with Maguy and Patrick of sailboat Graffiti. We took a cab to get back and saw no signs of vampires. This might be a good time to tell our avid followers who are wondering were Bruno and Elise from Lakatao are that we had different travels plans so we parted ways. We made the acquaintance of Maguy and Patrick in Jacaré and since they were heading in the same direction, we decided to do part of our trip together. They are slowly returning to the Caribbean where they will do some charter. They have a beautiful Gib’sea 42 feet with two back cabins and two toilets. But even more important, Maguy is an excellent hostess and cook! If you are interested in visiting some of the French Island with them, you can reach them at graffitimp@gmail.com. Of course, you will have to brush up on your French because their English is basic. So we sent one week at Terminal Nautico and moved on the Itaparica Island...