04.06.-07.06.11

Arrail d'Ajuda /Trancoso

When I arrived in PUERTO SEGURO at 7.30am I was still quite sleepy as I didn't sleep quite well on the 8 ½ hour bus trip. The bus was filled with people up to the last seat and I was sitting right next to the toilet and additionally I had a Brazilian guy next to me who always fell asleep on my shoulders.

As I didn't know how far the harbour was from the bus station I took a Taxi. 4 Minutes later when I arrived at the ferry I realized that it was a "rip-off" for 20 Reais (9 Euro) for just 3-4 Min. from the bus terminal to the harbour. Well again I hoped I learn out of my mistakes!

On the other side of the river there was a bus waiting who took me straight to the HI Hostel ARRAIL D'AJUDA. Wow…what a great hostel. I think it was one of my nicest hostels I stayed in so far and the staff was quite nice as well. There was only one girl in my room when I checked in. Her name was LUMA and she was from Sao Paulo….and I asked her straight away if she wanted to go out with me that night to celebrate into my 41th Birthday!

So at 10pm we went to a nice bar in town where they had a brilliant live band. I liked their mixture in-between Rock and Brazilian songs and the bar was packed with locals. I think I was the only Tourists!

Later on we moved on to another bar/nightclub. Here we met two Brazilian guys who were also staying at our hostel ….and LUMA met some other people who she partied with the night before. One of the girls was from Sweden but was and working in a town close to Arraial d'Ajuda….and the most interesting think….it was her BIRTHDAY as well. Wow what a coincidence!!! I found it so great as it has never happen to me before!

We had a great time in the club and danced until 3am. The band was even playing the HAPPY BIRTHDAY SONG for us in Portuguese. At 3.30am I asked one of the guys to walk me home as I didn't feel save to walk by myself.

The next morning when I woke up it was raining! OH NOOO….not again and why on my BIRTHDAY???? Well, as I had an invitation to stay with a Couchsurfer in TRANCOSO, I thought the weather might be better over there.

So I packed my back and took the bus to TRANCOSO which was only 1 hour further south. When I arrived at the PRACA IDENDEPENCIA,Joa Marcos was already waiting for me. He said Hello and walked to his house which was nearby. His house was very simple but I was just happy to have a bed for the next two days and get to know another local person.

Joa Marcos was very nice and I was impressed when he started making a birthday cake for me. While the cake was in the oven we just chatted…..in Spanish, Portuguese and some English! After we had a piece of my birthday cake we walked into town…but unfortunately it started raining again. So he just showed me how to get to the beach and on the way back we had lunch in one of the many restaurants.

As it didn't stop raining for the rest of the day we just stayed at his house and watched TV together and just chatted. Later on I went into town where I bought a bottle of wine for my birthday which we only finished half as we both were too tired.

The next day, Monday, 06.06.11 was a beautiful day and after breakfast I went straight to the beach. Joa Marcos didn't feel well and stayed in bed. I had a fantastic day at the beautiful beach and just relaxed with a "suco" and a book until it got overcast.

On my way back I bumped into LUMA and the two guys from the Hostel in Arrail d'Ajuda. They invited me to another suco and we talked a lot about the crazy night at the club.

On Tuesday, 07.06.11 I could only go to the beach for 2 hours as I decided to take the night bus to RIO DE JANEIRO at 5pm from PORTO SEGURO. I was very sad to leave the beach and Trancoso as it was an absolutely beautiful day….BUT as Joa Marcos was sick and I felt a bit "left alone" I decided to leave.

So I had to say GOOD BUY to another nice Couchsurfer and took the night bus (18 hours) from PORTO SEGURO to RIO DE JANEIRO at 5pm.