Before I flew to Salvador I read about various destinations close to Salvador. One of these destinations is Morro De Sao Paulo, one of the 5 villages on an island called Tinhare.
After a day or two in Salvador with my new traveling buddies from Canada and France, we woke up early and caught a taxi to the port. After negotiating the boat fare down 20 Real’s, we paid, and waited another hour before boarding our boat.
60 km later we arrived to a beautiful and sunny tropical island!
Of course there were tens of people waiting on the docks to hound us with hotels and their wheelbarrow taxis wanting tips.
I have been through this a few times before. I quickly walked past them all and rested by bag on the sand street to wait for the others.
The next to hours was a disaster and reconfirmed that I made the correct choice to travel alone and meet people once I got to my destination. We hiked a good 2o minutes through the beige, sandy streets, until we reached the beach lined with restaurants and hotels. We left one Canadian behind and the three of us searched for a decent and inexpensive hostel.
They were all so indecisive and I became frustrated. Two of them had no opinion and the other was so set on these two hotels. After an hour of walking down the beach and revisiting the same hotels, we eventually chose a hotel. For $20/night per person, the four of us rented a room in a hotel (WITH HAMMOCKS!) right on the beach. The view was spectacular!
Taken from my the balcony of my hotel.
Our lack of decision making meant the sun set before we could enjoy a day of sunbathing on the beach.
I won’t lie. The island was touristy with lots of people, hotels, expensive restaurants, etc. I think I preferred it this way, rather than an isolated beach with no infrastructure ‘s like in Colombia.
I felt so privileged to live this lifestyle. Wake up at 10 for a big breakfast of fruits and cakes, a dip in the ocean, and shower afterwards. The next part of the day was sunbathing, spotting the occasional topless sunbather or listening to music and audio books. We would head for the dock to watch the sun set and then eat some fish or chicken for dinner. Afterwards we would return to our hotel after purchasing a bottle of rum at the supermarket next door. We brought the bottle on the beach and listened to the excellent live music coming from nearby restaurants or visit a club later in the night.
One big regret was not attending this party, held in the middle of the vegetation, overlooking the island.
Near the docks to watch the sun set.
Spotting sea lions or dolphins.
Ruins.
Watching a soccer game as the sun sets.
Coffee after dinner.
A stroll around town at night, sampling various deserts and snacks.
Chilling on the balcony of our hotel.
A sample menu. Peixe= fish and Frango= chicken
Fresh fruit cocktails.
Partying on the beach.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJs3EKDrs_I]
Sunbathing during the day.