We arrived in Salvador and checked into the Estrella Do Mar pousada owned by Vic´s brother´s friend Sean in the Barra district. As we´d missed Carnival we decided to put the wedding money from Sam and Sarah towards a nice few days in Salvador (thanks Sam and Sarah!). We caught a bus up into the old town and had a lovely stroll around soaking up the local atmosphere (and some coconut milk to keep hydrated!).
We had our first taste of Mocqueca, a local dish of fish stew which was absolutely delicious. In the evening we ventured out to a local bar for our first proper Brazilian caiparhina cocktails and then
onto another great restaurant (all this food is not helping our beach physiques...!).
The following morning it was time to say goodbye to Salvador and journey out to enjoy our wedding present from Vic, Janine, Rob, Arthur (although he wasn´t technically around we like to think he contributed), Soph, Eric, Cat, James, Katie, Tom and Annabelle, a stay at another one of Vic´s brothers friends places (thanks Gavin!) on the island of Boipeba!
We left early and caught a ferry across the bay to Bom Dispachio, then hopped on a bus to Valença before jumping onto a speedboat bound for Boipeba. Pulling up onto the beach there we realised we had truly arrived in paradise, and we walked down a quiet little path at the back of beach to the Pousada Santa Clara owned by a lovely guy called Charles.
The place is totally stunning, lots of little buildings set hidden amongst the greenery, connected by a network of wooden paths.
Charles greeted us and showed us to our two-level tree house along with a lovely terrace area with the obligatory hammocks!
He told us that we weren´t allowed to worry about anything as Victoria had ´sent me a bunch of money and told me to make sure you guys have a really special time´!
And we certainly did have the most amazing few days there walking around the island exploring various beaches, eating beautiful food both at Charles´s restaurant and in the local village and also making sure we had a least one caiparhina a day to celebrate Sophie´s birthday!
It was the perfect romantic place to spend a few days chilling out now our honeymoon is nearing it´s end. Thank you so so much guys for a totally amazing present!
With a large degree of sadness we had to bid farewell to Charles and his piece of paradise, and it was time to hit the road (and water!) again. We went back up to Salvador for another night and have just enjoyed a monster 28 hour bus journey down to Rio De Janeiro.
Looking forward to catching up with you all in a couple of weeks or so!
Lots of love,
Al and Jo x x
