Itaparica and Real Futbol

We went to the Island of Itaparica located in the bay and stayed in a pousada called Zimbo Tropical. When you first get to the island, you catch a taxi for probably 20-30 minutes along the south side of the island, where you get to an area where businesses are sparce and slow. Where it feels like only the locals would go. We then turned onto a dirt road with dense foliage on either side then we arrived at a tall concrete wall with a single black door embedded in it. The taxi stoped and we got out and hopped over muddy puddles to the door where we pulled a chain to ring the bell. The owner came to the door and opened it to reveal greenery and foliage you expect from the Amazon. The pathway is made of wooden planks and each room is a small cabin with a hammock in the front patio area. There is a "bar" which is the area where she served dinner that she cooked for us and where we ate breakfast in the morning. There is a parrot who lives just outside the owner's house, and a turtle in a little pond thing by the entry. In the morning we mentioned that we had read in a travel book that there were monkeys there, but we hadn't seen any. She lit up and said "Oh, you have to see them, come to the bar and I'll call them." She put a little plate out with some yogurt on it and whistled. They leapt down from the roof and out of the banana trees to the plate. They were the size of small cats, with long, striped tails and tufts of white hair coming out each side of their head. SOOOO Cute! The beach was a short walk away and we spent Saturday after lunch at the beach, which was virtually deserted. It was warm, but not too hot and we had a nice, relaxing time. We could see the cityscape of Salvador along the water on the horizon and yet we were hundreds of feet at least from the nearest person, what a difference!

We came back and then went to a soccer game here in Salvador. It was crazy and a little more unsanitary than in the states, but exciting whenever a goal was scored.