Salvador

Salvador, Brazil

Ahh, finally, something like the postcard Brazil.
Im rolling with two Belgians, they give me joke with their accents (`Germansh, eh? Fucking Bashtards!`).

The streets of Salvador are cobblestoned, and the buildings old and in pastel colours (apparently before street numbers, the colour of your hose was the way to address the mail to you).
We arrived on a Tuesday, a big party night here, and this old towen gives great acoustics for the drums and Frohha (?) rhythms echoing from every square.

Theres a lot of touts and salesmen, but mostly good natured: When trying to get rid of one of them, he said `maybe tomorrow?` Yeah, maybe tomorrow. ´Maybe never!!!!´ he said, then laughed as we walked away.
The most obscure thing someone tried to sell was a kind of marionette set piece, two caricature figures in black and white like something from a nightmare before Xmas, one bent over and the other with a big pole, and when you jiggle the wires the pole smacks against the arse of the bent over one over and over... puppet soddomy! Tim Burton would be loving this!

In the main square there's live music, people who want to sell you things, including themselves.
One short prossie we saw grinding someone earlier waltzes over, and asks for a little bit of one of the belgian guys drinks (pocito?)... she then snatches his caiprinhia, and tries to down the whole thing, but almost chokes, and starts coughing andd spluttering. Im sure theres a lesson to be learned there. She recovers quickly tho, and is onto me for my drink. I think Im being dead clever by holding it too high for her to reach: she then pinches my nipples hard. Im in a tug of war over a can of beer. I win!!!!! I feel like such a man.

She goes to the other Belgian, and starts trying to seduce him: she moans in cliched porno ways, then finds herself so funny she cant stop laughing at herself, then moans again, then cracks up, etc.
Normally I have no time for hasslers, especially prostitutes that arent even pretty (Im in Brazil, WTF???) but she gave me jokes, maybe she was on some decent drugs, but she had a fun energy about her, and I didnt mind her craziness.

When the live music started to wind down, we made ourt down hill toward the hostel.
Everyone says this town is kinda dangerous, the north east of Brazil has massive unemployment, and theres loads of tourists in Salvador, ripe for the taking.
Theres a big sign at the hostel saying to be very careful after midnight, especially when its rainging, cos the police go indoors and youre a walking target. You cna kind of feel it in the air too, the midnight thing is so true that its like some kind of fucked up CInderella story, after 12 the magical town turns into muggers alley.

Despite all this, one of the Beligian guys tries to buy some weed from a sketchy random.
After he tries to sell us tobacco, and the strets feel empty and people are eying us up as ambulatory wallets, we leave.

Well there you go. Music, beauty, party atmosphere, crazy prostitues, a mild sense of danger... that's what you expect from Brazil, no?