Fisherman's Wharf District

Yesterday I went back to the area where the fisherman of Porto Seguro tie up their boats and bring their catches to the fish plants and markets along the wharf. To renew her drivers licence Elci had to pass some written tests at a drivers school in the area. Elci told me I should walk around and take pictures of the historic homes in the area.

The slide show titled Fisherman's Wharf District begins with pictures of a boatyard, where a carpenter is shown working on a new wooden boat. There was also a finished fishing boat in the boatyard, which I took a picture of. Next to the boatyard there is a square where I took a picture of a fisherman repairing his nets. The sign in one of the pictures says that the square will be restored in 2007. Looks like they are a little behind schedule. Opposite the park there is house for sale, which I think has an art deco fascade. It could probably be picked up for $10,000 or so. Great location I think.

I think this area which parralels the riverfront will undergo a facelift in the near future. Many of the houses in the area have already been restored.

Beaches and Porto Seguro harbour

The weather has been getting hotter, though not uncomfortable thanks to cooling breezes from the Atlantic, and we have been going to beach every chance we get. So far the only beach where I have been able to snorkel was in Arraial d'Ajuda, which is across the river from Porto Seguro. As you can see from the first photo the water there is calm because of the reef which is close to shore. You only need to go out a few meters, just beyond the boats, to meet up with the reef and its inhabitants. The next photos are pictures of one of the ferries that cross the river and the harbour.

We have a great view of the harbour from Elci's rooftop deck. The schooners, whose masts you can see in the two pictures from Elci's deck, take tourists out to a reef and marine park where they can walk around the reef and snorkel. I haven't gone yet as the schooners tend to be packed.

I think we may have found what I have been looking for at the beach shown in the last two pictures. The breaking waves in the distances mark the reefs of Coroa Vermelha. They are a little too far to swim to and the day we went was rough. However, there is a spit of sand from which you can reach the reefs when the tide is low. I haven't talked about the tide before. The difference between the low tide and high tide here (I know there is a name for this but I can't remember it) seems to be about 2 meters.

Carnaval begins sometime next week when thousands of tourists will again fill the streets of Porto Seguro. Carnaval here is supposed to be quite spectacular. I will try to get some good pictures to show on the blog.

Feliz 2008

Brazil celebrates the New Year big time. Every city has fireworks displays that are huge. Elci and I watched the fireworks in Porto Seguro from her rooftop deck. We were right in the middle of the action. We spent the weekend in Cabralia, which is about half an hour from Porto Seguro, with Elci's friends Amilcar and Lea. Lea is a good cook. On Sunday afternoon we had a feast of some traditional foods. Afterwards, Amilcar and I went fishing on the river in his 3,5 meter aluminum boat with a 4 HP Yamaha. The mouth of the Rio (river) is separated from the Atlantic by a reef. In the picture you can see waves crashing on the reef as we motored down the river.