Carnival!

Hi Everyone!
So after setting up my new blog over a week ago, I finally get to do my first post! Scotti and I are now in Salvador, Brazil after a 16hr bus ride from Hecife in north Brazil.

I had probably the best week of my life up in Olinda (just outside of Hecife) where we spend our carnival week! I owe my Brazilian friend Juliano all the thanks in the world for taking us to Hecife. The carnival up in Hecife is a very traditional carnival, lots of families and almost everyone is Brazilian (very different to Salvador where is an expensive gringo carnival). Our accommodation was far from luxury but it made no difference to how good of a time we had. We slept on the floor until a new friend, Koala, gave us a air bed to use, we had no hot water (not that you wanted a hot shower, it was too hot anyway) and we had no internet or technology, but it was nice to have a break from that for a while anyway!

Each day consisted of waking up around 8 or 9 o'clock, a free breakfast then straight into the beers, which were free from the house we were staying at. On the first day we went to the big party in Hecife, called The morning rooster. It was awesome and we earnt much respect from our Brazilian hosts for lasting the entire parade, after most people had pulled out and gone back to Olinda. The parade was just one big party down the main street, with everyone dressed in crazy costumes. Massive trucks continuously driving past blasting traditional music and with lots of people dancing on top. We got taught a new dance, the fravo, a traditional northern Brazil dance. We finished the night by getting soaked in torrential rain, then eating a traditional meat dinner. Needless to say we had an awesome day.

Day 2 we did our usual morning routine then went and enjoyed the carnival in Olinda, lots of music, color, dancing and of course, lots of beers, even by Aussie standards there was LOTS of beer going around, which helped a little with the sweltering heat. We danced a lot, got crushed in the massive crowd and say the beautiful views the Olinda has to offer.

Day 3 is a little bit of a blur, for a couple of reasons. It started with our 'baptism' or initiation into our house (which was called 'Your Mothers House'). Our initiation was to drink a full glass of pitu, a local spirit, then do a dance on the table. This is one reason things are a big blurry, but the main reason for my confusion came when we found some black plastic outside, one thing led to another and we made a slip n slide of the road outside our house. After successfully surfing once down the plastic, I think I must have gotten a little confident and tried to go faster which resulted in me falling, hitting my head and being out cold for about 3 minutes (apparently). I was very lucky, and grateful, that the house was full of really nice and helpful people including doctors and nurses, they did everything right, checking my neck for damage making sure I didn't sleep etc. (of course everything I just recounted is not in my memory, and comes from other people telling me and photos/videos.

The final day for our Blocks day, were very one from our house came together in the same singlets, got out own band and we paraded down the streets of Olinda dancing and cheering, Heaps of fun. In other, more expensive, carnivals mostly you simply watch the carnival. In Olinda we were the carnival! So happy we were invited up there. I've made friends for life all over Brazil and will defiantly have to come back and visit someday!

Other highlights included being interviewed for the local TV station, learning some Brazilian drinking games, spending ages dancing around in a 'Chinese' style dragon as it paraded down the street and many more that may not be suitable for the blog...

We head to Rio next but are both rapidly running out of money so need to get out of Brazil quite quickly and escape to cheaper Bolivia!

Till next time...Peace!