Brasil - Salvador Carnival

Our first stop on the trip - Brasil.
The reason - the famous Carnival.
Pictures from the Brasil trip (Feb 14 - March 1) are in:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lotanc/BrasilCarnival


Arriving about a week early, we had some time to do some touring.




Feb 14 at night we land in the violent city of Salvador. Taking a taxi at midnight and arriving to our hostel. The next day we spent around Salvador, walking around the old city, the beach etc.



I also decided to shave my head for the first time (as can be seen in the pictures)..


February 16 we took a boat to an island called Morro De San Paulo, mainly for relaxing before the carnival. The main reasons for going to the island are beaches and parties. There are no cars in the island..


Returning from Morro on Feb 19 directly to the Carnival in Salvador.


The Carnival in Salvador is CRAZY!


It is a huge crowded street party with a lot of people, beer, cops , thiefs, not enough toilets and no trash cans.





As can see in the picture the cops are always walking one after the other in groups of at least 4 in an orderly fashion (numbered a,b,c,d) and everybody is afraid of them and lets them pass.

There are big trucks (around 25 meters long) that come with bands and singers on top of them all day. Either you go with a truck (called bloco) or stand outside watch the trucks pass, and give yourself to the mercy of the pickpocketers (this is called popcorn since the people jump up and down like popcorn).


Therefore armed with very little money and a disposable camera (so there is not much to steal) we went to enjoy the carnival (this also explains the very bad pictures from the Carnival).


Most nights we did ¨POPCORN¨ (also considered the most dangerous since you are with the crowd) and it was a lot of fun. We were in the various areas of the city, which are a bit different, have different music, and different atmosphere (some are more crowded than others)!


One night we went ¨BLOCO¨(where we followed a certain truck (we had a t-shirt that meant we could go with the truck as sen in the picture - everybody with the truck has the same t-shirt). This was also very crowded, but is considered safer.





Overall Salvador Carnival Stats:

Number of nights: 5
Number of nights in BLOCO: 1
Number of successful picpockets attempts: 1 (on Oren) 0 (on Lotan)
Overall money stolen: about 5 US$
Approximate number of pickpocket attempts: 4
Number of fights in close vacinity: 561
Number of fights we participated in: 1 (no recorded injuries)
Number of police officers we saw: 468392
Number of people dancing in the streets: 2384456236757


Here are some suggestions for those who want to feel how it is to celebrate the carnival in Salvador (this is a do it at home Salvador Carnival):
1. Get some portugese Carnival music (exact type depends on where you are). In some areas all singers sing more or less the same songs..
2. Invite a lot of people to your home (more than you think is possible). Make sure there will be no place left empty.
3. About 2 days before the party you need to piss around your house and throw trash around (this will give an authentic feel of the smell and dirt in the Carnival). Close all windows so the smell will not escape.
4. Before the party make sure your place is very hot and humid
5. During the party have a lot of beer, make sure everybody is jumping up and down all the time, and once in a while sprinkle water on people (this simulates the rain that comes and goes, and will also mix well with the dirt you spread around your house).
6. During the party try to steal as many things as you can from your guests
7. Don´t worry about the fights - if it is crowded enough they will start..
8. HAVE FUN!!



After the Carnival in Salvador we flew to Rio De Janerio (on Feb 24). This will be in the next post..