Arrival!

We arrived in Salvador after our long journey. The flight was uncomfortable and on an old plane, so it was boring, too. (No cool little TVs to pick what movie you want to watch or games to play.) While landing, I was able to look out over the beautiful ocean and see the skyrises. The roofs here are almost all terracotta and from the plane it looks like patches of red.

After going straight through customs and immigration (thankfully no problems!) we adventured to find the ATM. The "cash machines" were a bit tricky to track down, but I finally found it. I swiped my card and to my dismay, the machine did not offer an English (or shall I say engles?) option. I didn't know what item listed was 'withdrawl' and Mike doesn't have it in his phrase book. I tried a different machine, only to have the same result. I was very nervous about what to do next. The third machine turned out to be very lucky and have English prompts. Mike & I then went out to wait for the bus. The bus ride was VERY long. We got stuck in traffic and it probably took about 2 - 2 1/2 hours to reach the hostel from the airport. The scenery is lovely along the way and beaches line the road. The bus from the airport wasn't full, but we picked up passengers along the way making the bus quite crowded. Mike and I were pretty stuck trying to push our way off at the right stop.

The directions from the hostel we booked, Barra Guest House are perfect. We found our way right onto their doorstep and then hesitantally rang the bell. There is no sign on the street that advertises that this is a hostel and we were a bit nervous. Barra's staff has been super friendly and helpful for us to get around. It's very clean and we have AC in our room, which we are very happy about. The temp today is in the upper 80s. We got our swim suits on and headed for the beach. Its beautiful and the water is a deep blue.

Tonight, we're hoping to go to another part of the city for a free musical performance. It happens every Tuesday night and they warned us to get there early.