That's some good surfing!

It was hot, muggy and becoming unbearably mosquitoy. For at least
three days they promised us rain and thunderstorms. It just stayed
hot. Then in less than three hours the rain blew in and the
temperature dropped 10 degrees on the tail of 45km winds. Today
brought us some great surfing conditions if you wanted too brave the
cold (cold being a relative term). I saw no less than five umbrellas
flip inside out in the last 30 minutes on the road and countless
others mangled and abandoned on the sidewalks and in the gutters. In
the USA you get Indian summer. In Bahia you get Indian winter.

Proteste já

In the news there has been an awful lot in the news lately about
corruption in politics of Brasil. Corruption is nothing new here and
is so widespread and common that people have seemingly fallen into a
kind of complacency about it - like it's going to happen anyway, can't
stop it, so why bother waisting my time being bothered by it? One
politician in particular even made a comment recently that they needed
to sweep out the corrupt that resulted in hundreds of brooms being
placed upended in the ground on front of the famous domino
congressional buildings in Brasilia (many of these unguarded brooms
were soon stolen by those needing brooms - which did not surprise me
at all) in response. On Children's Day, also a Catholic holiday of
some kind so many people were conveniently off work, a parade/protest
of sorts was held here in Bahia. To my memory, this is the first
protest of this kind I have seen and in a city that can completely
fill the streets for Carnaval, it looked relatively small. Probably
many just went to the beach instead - I mean, what is the point of
walking around with signs when there is beer to drink and queijinho to
eat? No stress, Bahia!

What are you looking at?

In a city surrounded by so much ocean, of course we have lifeguards.
Along the open ocean side of the city there are periodic life guard
towers the rather resemble the wooden log playground equipment being
built around the city in the plazas (João Enrique really likes to
build pracinhas). They are big enough to accommodate a couple of guys
but not nearly so that they can stay out of the sun except in the
middle of the day. The rest of the time they need to provide an
additional manner to get out of the intense UV. These two have hung a
banner along one side of the tower; the side that faces the ocean.
Luckily there does not seem to be anyone in the water at the moment,
so they are not missing anything. Stay sharp guys!

"Various Interventions"

As we approach election times, many neglected city improvement
projects find new life. The upcoming world cup games (upcoming being
in a couple of years, which are more like weeks when you factor in how
quickly things move here and how much there still is to be done) have
added increasing pressure, enough even to get an actual train put on
the Metro track, though the track remains unfinished and the train
does no actually move. Signs begin to go up near elections - operation
"filling in holes" or operation "dredge the river" (both also
sometimes called operation "elect me".) It's a sign that shows you
that not all your tax dollars are going into the politicians' pockets
(some of them go to pay for large signs too).

This sign showed up near my house about a week ago. It ruffly
translates into "various interventions-your government working for
you." About a week later, another sign went up facing the other way
saying the same thing. What these "interventions" might be remains
vague. Perhaps the sign is the intervention in and of itself.

Sunny seas... Missing beer

For those familiar with Bahia and our lovely beaches, this is old
news, but in the time table of this blog, it has yet to be addressed.

I take a lot of pride in the fact that you can go to the beach here
fully clothed and acquire everything you need on site - biquini,
sandals, sunscreen, canga, food and beer - to have a fine day at the
beach. We had barracas that served a whole fried fish, steamed clams,
fried aipim and cold beer and coconuts. It was always a good time.

The the barracas were bulldozed to be replaced by more uniform and
structurally sound buildings with bathrooms and proper sewage and
electricity. This was progress? It would seem. Half way through the
project construction was stopped and those who ran the barracas just
found their own jeitinho to fill in the structure where the city
government had stopped.

And then, for environmental reasons, all the barracas were bulldozed
again and completely removed. Now there is a lack of full sustenance -
no fish or fries to be had. It's a sad state for many of us. You
should now bring your own food to the ocean excursion lest you faint
from hunger. There is also less security and less vendors walking
around. I have to make sure I take sunblock with me because it may not
waltz by. But now the drive along the Orla sure is pretty.

Red River at night

Rio Vermelho has quite a bit to do at night. Numerous bars dot the
area closest to the Orla and there is the burracharia for after hours.
It is also
privilege to some of the worst traffic jams in the city at nearly all
hours of the day and the least amount of official parking areas. I
love it here, personally. But then again I never have to drive or
park.

Mmmm, sound appetizing? I'd like some squid vinegar, wouldn't you?
Despite having a plethora of English teachers in the area, it seems
Google translator is an easier choice when it comes to placards in
nicer restaurants here in Salvador. The regular restaurants don't even
bother with English - if you want to know what you're eating, bring a
translator.

Building invasion

Here sits the last house that I believe actually functions as a house
and not a business of some kind. It is surrounded on all sides by high
rises built in the last 15 years. Much of Salvador has been under
construction in the last year, apartments going up all over the city,
especially in the green spaces on the coast and the Paralela. This
lone house sports the extra security features of razor wire and bars
on the windows. How long until it becomes like it's neighbors?