"What's' your name", I asked after handing him thirty Reais.
"Chocolate"
Chocolate, had just given my group of six the taxi ride of there life in return from our evening's festivities in the Pelourinho. The end of a great night in Salvador.
The first significant task of the day was to find Connor an authentic Brazil jersey. Connor has been having the trip of his life, but he has been patient with me while the nights slip away in conversation with friends new and old. Those conversations have little interest to a fourteen year old youngster. We agreed that we would take care of this important piece of business today. Understanding the magic an authentic Brazilian jersey "from Brazil" can have I was enthusiastic to get this taken care of today for my most important traveling companion. After all when you worship soccer like we do how can you deny the opportunity to have a piece of voodoo working for you, a totem from the birthplace of soccer. The adventure for this purchase took us to two malls in Salvador. Unfortunately we did not find the jersey at the closest mall to our pousada, but instead found it at Shopping Salvador. An upscale mall about thirteen kilometers from our place. The jersey was verified to be in stock with some help from the man at the front desk off the Magna Rosa. We located the shirt in of all place the Nike Town store in Salvador. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that we would not have to race there to pick this jersey up because they would hold it for me until we got there. All we had to do was ask for Jane. Evidently the retail gods at Nike Town Brazil are different from those in Seattle. Liking Brazil more by the day we headed off and accomplished the first task of the day. The attitude of my traveling companion improved the minute we picked up the jersey. One of the most important requirements of this trip having been accomplished for him.
We headed back to the Magna Rosa and off to a group dinner before a candomble' and capoeira performance by the Bahia's regional dance company "Bale' Folclorico Da Bahia". Dinner was arranged by Amy for the group at an Italian place in the Pelourinho. Bruschetta, octopus, pasta, and filet were on the menu. The meal was outstanding made more valuable by the friendship we were building.
From there we were off to the Bale Folclorico. The performance was without a doubt one of the most athletic things I have ever witnessed on a dance stage. Magnified by the fact that I was only two feet from it. The entire stage may have been difficult to see from where I was sitting but the relationship you have with the performers when you could reach out and touch them is tangible. You can see their eyes and their expressions like you were setting across the counter from them. They were powerful and balanced, limber and graceful. To describe the male dancers as having defined bodies would not do them justice. They were all beautiful in movement and body. The education in dance vocabulary we got from the more authentic version a few evenings before came in handy. I understood some of the story lines a bit better watching this performance and the fact that the performers were professional dancers helped the movement come through a bit cleaner. Every attempt could be made to describe what I saw but they would all fall short of the mark. I was completely enthralled by it. A rapturous performance. It got my heart pumping and by the time we had reconnected as a group outside the theater it became clear that the feeling was shared with everyone in our group. Most of the adults who were dance fans were wide eyed with a fair bit of adrenaline pumping through their systems as well.
Chocolate was a rather large statured guy. His cab held six so we had to split into four groups for the cab ride back to Porto De Barra. Evidently Chocolate was in a hurry and so were the other three drivers. Traffic had dissipated enough that we were given the space to race in a diamond shape formation of four cabs through the streets of the Pelourinho on to our destination. Passes were made, car doors dodged, pedestrians spared but only barely. Our bodies were shifting and heaving inside the cab like we were on a Disney rollercoaster. Needless to say much of the time we lost in San Juan to American Airlines was gained back in the reckless but entertaining ride. We got back from the Pelourinho in about a quarter of the time it took us to get there earlier. Maybe faster. Then we got ice cream and discussed the evenings events. A festive night. Good vibrations abundant.
Signing off from Salvador, Brazil wishing you fun times on summer evenings. Know that you will always have more than you need and never have less than you want
"Chocolate"
Chocolate, had just given my group of six the taxi ride of there life in return from our evening's festivities in the Pelourinho. The end of a great night in Salvador.
The first significant task of the day was to find Connor an authentic Brazil jersey. Connor has been having the trip of his life, but he has been patient with me while the nights slip away in conversation with friends new and old. Those conversations have little interest to a fourteen year old youngster. We agreed that we would take care of this important piece of business today. Understanding the magic an authentic Brazilian jersey "from Brazil" can have I was enthusiastic to get this taken care of today for my most important traveling companion. After all when you worship soccer like we do how can you deny the opportunity to have a piece of voodoo working for you, a totem from the birthplace of soccer. The adventure for this purchase took us to two malls in Salvador. Unfortunately we did not find the jersey at the closest mall to our pousada, but instead found it at Shopping Salvador. An upscale mall about thirteen kilometers from our place. The jersey was verified to be in stock with some help from the man at the front desk off the Magna Rosa. We located the shirt in of all place the Nike Town store in Salvador. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that we would not have to race there to pick this jersey up because they would hold it for me until we got there. All we had to do was ask for Jane. Evidently the retail gods at Nike Town Brazil are different from those in Seattle. Liking Brazil more by the day we headed off and accomplished the first task of the day. The attitude of my traveling companion improved the minute we picked up the jersey. One of the most important requirements of this trip having been accomplished for him.
We headed back to the Magna Rosa and off to a group dinner before a candomble' and capoeira performance by the Bahia's regional dance company "Bale' Folclorico Da Bahia". Dinner was arranged by Amy for the group at an Italian place in the Pelourinho. Bruschetta, octopus, pasta, and filet were on the menu. The meal was outstanding made more valuable by the friendship we were building.
From there we were off to the Bale Folclorico. The performance was without a doubt one of the most athletic things I have ever witnessed on a dance stage. Magnified by the fact that I was only two feet from it. The entire stage may have been difficult to see from where I was sitting but the relationship you have with the performers when you could reach out and touch them is tangible. You can see their eyes and their expressions like you were setting across the counter from them. They were powerful and balanced, limber and graceful. To describe the male dancers as having defined bodies would not do them justice. They were all beautiful in movement and body. The education in dance vocabulary we got from the more authentic version a few evenings before came in handy. I understood some of the story lines a bit better watching this performance and the fact that the performers were professional dancers helped the movement come through a bit cleaner. Every attempt could be made to describe what I saw but they would all fall short of the mark. I was completely enthralled by it. A rapturous performance. It got my heart pumping and by the time we had reconnected as a group outside the theater it became clear that the feeling was shared with everyone in our group. Most of the adults who were dance fans were wide eyed with a fair bit of adrenaline pumping through their systems as well.
Chocolate was a rather large statured guy. His cab held six so we had to split into four groups for the cab ride back to Porto De Barra. Evidently Chocolate was in a hurry and so were the other three drivers. Traffic had dissipated enough that we were given the space to race in a diamond shape formation of four cabs through the streets of the Pelourinho on to our destination. Passes were made, car doors dodged, pedestrians spared but only barely. Our bodies were shifting and heaving inside the cab like we were on a Disney rollercoaster. Needless to say much of the time we lost in San Juan to American Airlines was gained back in the reckless but entertaining ride. We got back from the Pelourinho in about a quarter of the time it took us to get there earlier. Maybe faster. Then we got ice cream and discussed the evenings events. A festive night. Good vibrations abundant.
Signing off from Salvador, Brazil wishing you fun times on summer evenings. Know that you will always have more than you need and never have less than you want
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