Staying for Carnival in Salvador

After a while we left Catu, heading for Salvador just to do some necessary shopping and the official paperwork before heading out to Rio de Janeiro, our next planned stop. On the way there we stopped in Ithaparika, planning to anchor for just a day before carrying on. Well, it did not really work out that way. Ithaparika turned out to be an absolutely beatiful anchorage, and safe too since you could tie up your dinghy at the marina.
The first restaurant we ran into, attracted by the filet mignon advertised outside and the smell of a charcoal barbecue, happened to be run by a South African couple, Wilelm and Robin. So it happened that we had a really good time at “Amigos” and instantly learned all about the place. First of all we learned that the place was now safe, since they had two serious incidents there two years ago which brought in a new police chief with a tough reputation. For us it definitely worked, while we were there it was an absolutely safe and enjoyable place.
We were so happy anchoring there that we started to clear our wheelhouse of rust and paint it again. What a difference it made – when we came back to the boat in our dinghy I almost felt proud of our beautiful boat! Apart from that our stay started to have the cahracteristics of a true holiday. A little shopping, surfing the net and phoning home – and not much else. A real treat. Right behind the anchorage there was a “tidal beach”, a sand bank that only came out a low tides. A kind of self cleaning feature and quite some attraction also for the local boat owners who sometimes put the umbrellas up even before the bank was completely dry.
However, my impression that Brazil would not be for me to stay gathered more reason. We met a gentlemen who was held hostage for a month until he had helped the gangsters clear his entire bank account. Only being robbed a few electronics felt like a treat in comparison.
He also tought us the wisdom to be careful to select a girlfriend from out of town because otherwise her whole family would invite themselves to empty your fridge and then tell you what you should buy for restocking.
It was a good two weeks before we finally lifted the anchor and ventured to motor over to salvador. It would´t be Maverick if nothing broke on the way. This time it was the boost charger, which I noticed since the amp meter stayed locked at 70A, the real reason being that it was blown. When I then ventured to disconnect the belt drive of the generator to keep it from overheating I found out that this is no good idea at all since the same belt drives the water pump of the cooling system. I figured that when the engine overheated. It realised it quickly, but it was hot for long enough to break the seal of the water pump, so after that the engine leaked out two litres of cooling water per hour. As a result we got a nice day sailing against the wind to Salvador, but got there with no further problems and in time before the tide would turn. A couple of days later also Jan and Susanne arrived with “Peter Pan”, tying up right next to us which made our stay so much more sociable.
At that time the carnival had moved so close that we decided to stay on. We also heared that it is the world´s biggest street carnival, so popular that the hotel prices soar ten times for its duration. Having the opportunity to be there with our boat for the regular fare seemed a bargain. And we certainly did not regret the decision! This carnival is one event of its own!
On day one we were a little surprised how many police were around since at the time they outnumbered the spectators. They seem to pull all forces in they can get hold of, making it look like a show of forces. It was a well coordinated effort, though. Throughout the entire event with the streets thronged with thousands of people there was not one moment where we felt unsafe. And this being the only gringos around! This carnival does not smell of tourism at all – it is a truly authentic event. We heared that many people save the entire year to be part of one of those “electricos”. They are lorries converted to carry a stage for the band and a whole artillery of loud speakers. Then they tie a long rope around the whole thing and only those who paid are allowed to walk and dance inside this rope, slowly moving around the city for the benefit of the spectators.
It was also interesting to see what happens when such an event is not monopolised by big sponsors. In Europe we are used to prices going up with such an event. Not in Salvador. Every man and his dog were piling up beer upfront the event to sell it. Stores of all kinds were emptied to take in all the beer cans that would fit and a wooden “bar” put up in front to sell the stuff. With so much competition going on the prices actually dropped rather than rose and a large can of beer was two Reais (0,8 Euro), we even found a very good Caipirinha for only three Reais (1,2 Euro). Needless to mentione that I thoroughly took advantage of that offer.

When the carnival was over I started to develop a real sense of urgency to leave. Working on the engine sweating standing in the draught that goes through the boat I had caugt a nasty cold which made the ever lasting heat even more unbearable, and the time window to get down south as far as Mar del Plata, Argentinia, was closing ever faster. So it was leave now or sail north. The prospect of waiting in or around the Carribean for the next season to cross back over to Europe seemed uninviting, and in my heart I felt that I really wanted to stick to the original plan to go to the South. Also, leaving the boat in Argentinia waiting for the next season is one of your cheapest options, and it puts me right into pole position to go around since Mar del Plata allready sits on the 40th degree.
As it would be when you want to leave the weather seemed against us. Nothing drastic, but a lack of wind to start with and the core of a low pressure system to go through further down.
However, I reached the point where I simply did the paperwork to check out, which means that we had to leave three days later. And so we did, with Rio de Janeiro in mind for our next stop, waving a final good bye to Jan and Susanne who were intending to head north for the Caribbean.

So long!
Andreas