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.