La Vida Afro-Brasilena

What can I say about Rio de Janeiro? Well, its exactly as you would expect it to be. The Miami of South America. Beautiful people, living in beautiful homes, wearing beautiful clothes and working hard to keep looking beautiful on the beach. Then there are all the tourists, there to peek at the beautiful people, maybe pretend to be one of them for a little bit and then go home and say they went to Rio where the beautiful people are. Its great, but its also very predictable and after a few days a little sickening.

I had a fantastic time there, thanks to my wonderful dorm mates Melissa, Sonia and Jennine and Ama and Cleo who are now safely but possibly miserably back in England! A few gems Ipanema and Copacabana have to offer include the night market, on every night till midnight and the hippie market every Sunday, loads of amazing hand made jewellery and leather items, nothing is cheap here but if you`re anything like me, you could spend hours wandering and browsing and trust me there is alot to see! Plus going out in Lapa was loads of fun, save for the harrasment of kids wanting money. The beach as ever was a wonderful experience, although I did start to feel a little like I was in a glass cage where everyone wanted to see and be seen!

I knew I couldn`t live in Rio, but I didn`t realise exactly why until I got to Salvador in Bahia, north of Brazil. This place is all soul. It combines everything I love about the Caribbean with everything I love about Brazil and is making me wish I never have to go home. For one, since I arrived, there has been no shortage of a soundtrack. In Jamaica earlier this year, Aish pointed out the fact that in the Caribbean (but especially Jamaica) there is always a soundtrack, music is always coming from somewhere and its exactly the same here, round the clock. Don`t come if you`re a light sleeper!

I`m staying in Pelourinho which is the historic centre of Salvador and it is absolutely heaving with soul and talent. On every street there is art that will take your breath away, I feel like I want to buy everything. But (rightly so), the best of it isn`t cheap and you can see why. You turn a corner and right on the street there is a band complete with drums and percussion having an impromptu concert on the street. You can`t help but love it and the people who create it.

Today I took a ride in an elevator that takes you from the Pelourinho, to the `Cidade Baixo`(bottom city), can you imagine an elevator in the middle of town?! Well, its bloody good idea, because one thing you will get sick of here is hills! The markets blow Rio and anywhere else`s out of the water. I fell in love with about a thousand things in the model market in Cidade Baixo and could afford absolutely none of them! And the view of the sea and the beach.....sorry..having a slight Homer Simpson and a donut moment just sitting here thinking about it. Its stunning.

I also took a personal wander around all the museums and galleries I could spot in this area. Absolutely fantastic, my favourite was the Museu de Afro-Braseilero where you can find wooden carvings of all the Orixàs followed in Candomblè. There are also a lot of classical works (both paintings and furniture) in the various museums where you can see European influences as well as African in a few pieces. The galleries have loads of amazing modern art (I`ve decided I`m a modern art person really) and the graffiti on the streets will sometimes blow you away!

Candomblè (Orisha worship, but they spell it Orixà) is definitely taking my interest, its as big here as it is in Cuba and I`ve already seen graffiti written in Yoruba as well been told that it won`t take long to come across someone speaking it here. I`m trying to go along to an Orixà house for a ceremony. Apparently you get to see them invoking the spirit of the Orixà and it can take anywhere between 3 and 10 hours. Its not a spectator show here and you won`t find leaflets floating around inviting you to it. Its a serious religion that people follow and its hard to attend a cermony, but it is possible. I`m told they sing old Yoruba songs and wear traditional costumes. I would never be able to see this in Nigeria, one because its believed only to be a negative custom these days and two because my mother would never allow it, but while here...sorry Mum, gotta try and have a look!

And finally, dropping all traces of refinement, lets talk about eye candy. My oh my are my eyes feasting!! I didn`t realise I had such a sweet tooth! Firstly before you all decide my moral standards are slipping, I`m looking not touching (I have no money to be anyone`s Sugar Mummy!), I`m happy to be a bit of a perv while I`m here as I don`t know when I`ll be back and there are just so many beautiful men to look at! (Giggle giggle!). Its for these kind of things that I wish my girls were here to salivate with me, it feels like it should be a group thing, but in your abscence I shall do my best to ogle at as many hunky men as I see! lol! ;-)

I`m exactly one month from coming home now....one month! I don`t wanna!! But I can`t afford to stay, Brazil has chewed up my budget in no time and its time to go back to earning money...*sigh. I guess I have to come back to the real world sometime, but for now...at least I don`t have to make believe I`m in Paradise, I`m actually here!!