Our experience in Morro de Sao Paulo and Tinharé Island was curious to say the least:
Delayed flights, knee-deep water, inaccessible houses, foot bugs under toenails, and motor oil baths…
If you had a laugh with the misfortunes that happened to us during the first part of this trip across Brazil, along the Belo Horizonte – Iguazu – Rio de Janeiro route, what's coming next won't disappoint you.
Remember, all of this happened in 2010, so it's likely that most of the accommodations I talk about below have changed owners and, along with them, the quality of their services. In the same way, the prices I mention are almost certainly out of date as well.
Ready?
Day 17: Family honeymoon
Flight to Bahia, version 2.0
Let's just say this wasn't our lucky trip when it came to flights.
The Belo Horizonte-Salvador da Bahia plane we were supposed to take broke down, which resulted in a 4-hour delay.
And this set the precedent for what was waiting for us on that adventure:
In the dark, every man for himself
When we arrived, night had already fallen. The driver we had hired was waiting for us to take us in his van to the small town of Valença… 4 hours driving in the dark!
Add to that the lack of direction, the potholes (we almost lost a rear axle), and the fact that dinner consisted of bagged chips and cookies; well… what a trip…
Upon arriving in Valença, the owners of the speedboat that was going to take us to Morro de Sao Paulo, on Tinharé Island, demanded much more money from us than agreed, because we were too many hours late and it was already pitch black.
Good thing half the group spoke Portuguese (the Brazilians, that is) and were able to negotiate the price, because otherwise, I think we would've been left stranded on land.
And off we went, 11 people on a very slow boat, in the middle of the night, surrounded by mangroves in complete silence… I was terrified! I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one…
Knee-deep in water
They dropped us off at the Ponte das Pedras pier, the closest one to our accommodations.
We had rented 4 cottages tucked away in the Atlantic forest between Morro and Gamboa. Very idyllic, but we didn't think about how accessible the place was…
Arriving so late, the tide was at its highest point, and to get to the houses… you had to get wet.
Yep, really. You had to get into the water; just a bit, up to your knees. And the worst part wasn't the shoes or pants. After all, it was summer, we were wearing shorts, and everything dried fast…
No. The bad part was the luggage and that giant suitcase I already swore to you in the first part of this story I will never take on any trip again.
You should've seen poor Nahuai heaving that 25-kilo beast above his hip as best he could to keep it from soaking… Never again…
That night we split the houses up as best we could, without overthinking it, because neither our brains nor the rest of our bodies were responding anymore. What an ordeal!
Day 18: First contact
That morning, almost nobody woke up happy with where they had slept. The good thing is that, being such an eclectic family, we managed to redistribute ourselves in a way that better suited our tastes.
Even if it sounds silly to you, right above the door of the room where I spent the first night, there was the nest of a kamikaze bird. Every time you approached the door (meaning, you opened it or walked down the hallway to reach the next two bedrooms) it would dive-bomb straight at you to attack. Completely crazy!
The rental houses
Do I recommend our accommodation? Generally speaking, no.
Out of the 4 houses, 3 were pretty well maintained. One of them, called Alambique, was larger, so it became the hub for hangouts and family dinners. All the apartments offered great privacy, were surrounded by beautiful nature, and were just two steps from the sea.
However, the one we got was the one where Nicolás, the guy in charge of welcoming guests, usually lived. And I assure you he didn't bother to clean it or tidy up before we arrived. Plus, he was living with a couple of toads (there was no way to kick them out of the house) and a pair of bats that slept every night on the bedroom ceiling.
On top of this, when the tide came in, the only way to reach the houses from Gamboa or Morro de Sao Paulo was by getting your feet (or rather, your legs) wet or by cutting through private property (complete with a grumpy dog).
And there's something else that happened in the «Trip Aftermath» part that also prevents me from recommending this accommodation to you. But for now, I'll spare you the spoilers…
Discovering paradise
On our way to Gamboa, we found a pink and yellow mud cliff perfect for homemade skin treatments.
When we arrived at the beach, we were blown away. Absolute bliss! Turquoise water, white sand that seemed endless…
And right at the beginning, still away from town, there was Pousada Gemeos, an idyllic beach bar with a shaded hammock area perfect for spending the day by the sea doing nothing at all.
At that time, it was run by 3 sisters from León who also run a restaurant in Barcelona's Raval, Las Fernández. The woks and breakfasts were delicious, so we had already found our favorite spot in Gamboa.
We swam back home during high tide, and that night we grabbed a pizza at Restaurante Bianco Nero in Morro, plus a celebratory caipirinha at Kilombo One Love (a beachfront bar).
Day 19: Keep it on the down-low
As soon as we woke up, we slipped into our swimsuits and headed for Gamboa, where we spent the day enjoying the sun, the beach, and the food at Pousada Gemeos.
We also took the opportunity to explore the town and do a mud therapy on the way back.
In short? In absolute heaven, as my grandmother would say.
Day 20: Boat trip
Our boat trip around Tinharé Island started at 9 in the morning (60 BRL/person).
Snorkeling in natural pools
We stopped a couple of times along the way to snorkel around the island. At first, the experience was perfect: the crystal-clear water and its marine life all to ourselves. However, as the morning went on, the area got way too crowded with boats and divers.
Garapuá Beach
They also took us to Garapuá, a moon-shaped white sand cove surrounded by palm trees… In other words, straight out of a paradise postcard.
Watch out for the lobsters they offer at the bar, it'll cost you an arm and a leg. If you want my advice, stick to having a beer and strolling along the shore.
Around the island
For lunch, we made a stop in Boipeba, the island right next to Tinharé, where we tried the local fish.
Afterward, we continued sailing through the mangroves between islands.
We refused to stop at an oyster stall near Canavieiras (they try to make you spend more money than you planned, no matter what) and we still got to see another local village.
Swimming back
As if the day hadn't been long enough, some of us (myself included) decided to stop in Gamboa to swim all the way back home. We didn't really think it through… What an exhausting ordeal!
Day 21: Fourth Beach
We spent this day enjoying some snorkeling at the fourth beach of Morro de Sao Paulo.
Here, they usually feed the fish to the delight of tourists. They've learned their lesson so well that just by putting your fingers in position, they all swarm over in droves.
To wrap up the day, my new family taught me how to make authentic Brazilian caipirinhas and caipiroskas. And it seems I wasn't half bad at it, because from that moment on, I became the official ‘barwoman’ of the house.
Day 22: Tropical Christmas Eve
Can you think of a better way to start December 24 than diving among corals and colorful fish? I sure can't.
This time we went diving in the lagoons of the third beach.
The highlight? 4 spotted purple squids moving forward in formation with their tentacles pointing right at us… We got the heck out of there! 🙂
Christmas Eve dinner ended up being a delicious mix of Spanish and Brazilian food, accompanied by guitar chords and traditional family songs.
Day 23: Operation jigger flea
We spent Christmas by the sea, lounging on the sand in Gamboa. What more could you ask for?
To get back, we had to take the boat-bus that runs from Gamboa to Morro, and wait for the return trip to get dropped off at the Ponte das Pedras pier. Since the tide was too high, we were forced to cut through a private property, asking for permission first so they could hold tight to their guard dog…
And at night…
What's this on me?
After dinner, the bride's mother starts complaining about a sharp pain in her big toe…
And it turns out she had not one, but two sand fleas under her nail.
These parasites are colloquially known as ‘bichos de pé’ because, living in the sand of some beaches, they burrow into their victims' feet to lay eggs. And of course, we were lucky enough that the area around Morro… was infested with fleas!
With a lemon tree thorn, the most experienced Brazilian in the group removed both fleas. I don't want to dwell on the details, so I'll just say that the victim didn't enjoy the process one bit…
Day 24: Beach and nasty fleas
We spent the day again at Pousada Gemeos in Gamboa, while our own personal 'surgeon' stocked up on needles and disinfectants…
That was only just getting started…
4 more fleas, always on women (myself included).
Were the guys just immune…?
(Spoiler alert: No!)
Day 25: Bottled tan, farewell and wrap-up
Our adventure had come to an end… but there were still hurdles to overcome.
We caught a direct boat from Morro de Sao Paulo to Salvador de Bahia.
We squeezed in as best we could in the rear outdoor area. I don't really remember how long it took to reach the port. I closed my eyes and just drifted off. When I opened them…
Note: I'm very fair-skinned and when the sun hits me, rather than tanning, I turn bright tomato red. So I had never seen myself like what I'm about to tell you.
Motor oil
First I felt the stares, then the whispers. And then, I touched my arms.
I was completely covered in a layer of black motor oil that the boat had been spewing out all along the journey.
The issue wasn't the clothes, or even my hair. The worst part was that every single pore on my skin was greasy. I grossed myself out, and there was no running away.
Pelourinho Elevator
We dragged our luggage as best we could under the scorching Bahia sun (I was on the verge of spontaneous combustion), all the way to the Pelourinho elevators.
And there we got the second piece of bad news of the day:
One elevator was out of order and the other had a mile-long wait line due to a cruise ship with 3000 people that had just docked.
For a few seconds, it felt like that was the only way to get to Pelourinho, so some of us (especially me) panicked.
The rest of the family reacted just in time and we managed to get a couple of taxis that took us as close as possible to the historic center of Pelourinho. As I understood later, very few vehicles are allowed inside.
Pelourinho
That's how we arrived at the Hotel Pelourinho, where the rest of the family would stay for a few days. Those of us leaving that night had to rent a room between 4 of us just to take a shower and wash off the layer of oil covering us.
Despite having very simple rooms, the hotel's location was spot on, right in the heart of one of the most iconic and beautiful neighborhoods in Salvador de Bahía.
We had typical Bahian dishes at O Coliseu and said goodbye to Brazil until our next visit with a caipirinha and a coconut water… 🙂
Trip aftershocks
Did you think that once the route through Rio-Iguazu-Belo Horizonte and the getaway to Morro de Sao Paulo were over, the mishaps that defined our trip would end too?
I thought so too… Oh, how naive!
- The mother of the bride had her purse stolen right in the middle of a street batucada in Bahia.
- Nahuai unknowingly brought a jigger flea (bicho de pie) into the country under a toenail, and I had to remove it right before New Year's Eve.
- Right after arriving, the father of the bride suffered from biliary colic and ended up needing surgery.
- The newlyweds went back to Morro de Sao Paulo to enjoy a well-deserved, private honeymoon, but this time they stayed at Pousada Gemeos. A great choice, because at our rental house (mine!), the guests spending New Year's Eve there were tied up and robbed at gunpoint. Talk about a narrow escape!
All's well that ends well
Nowadays, every time we get together and the topic comes up around the table, we all laugh and look back on this adventure with great affection.
What's more, 4 years later we returned to Brazil with a great excuse (the family was growing), and we had a blast.
Useful links
- Flight deals to Brazil: Trabber, eDreams and Momondo.
- Pousada Gemeos, in Gamboa.
- Hotel Pelourinho, in Salvador de Bahía.
- 5% discount when booking your travel insurance with IATI.
Planning your trip to Brazil? You'll want to check this out:
- The first part of this odyssey: Rio de Janeiro-Iguazu-Belo Horizonte Route.
- Ilha Grande: A secluded paradise off the coast of Rio de Janeiro.
If you have any questions about this eventful itinerary through Brazil, drop me a comment right here and I'll try to help you out as soon as possible.