Talk about chalk and cheese. We left the hubbub of the city of Salvador to find some peace and quiet and that is exactly what we found by following the river some 40 miles further south. Well, its not actually a river although it appeared that way to us. There are quite a few islands right up close to the mainland which create the illusion of rivers and tributaries and, because of silting, you can't sail out through the other side.The first village of Morro de São Paulo is a favourite weekend spot for the city folk with wonderful beaches and sandy paths between the many restaurants and shops. Apart from this one, the other village along this route are primarily fishing villages, most with absolutely no roadways therefore no cars.
Dozens of fishing boats, canoes, dugout sailboats and water taxis plough their way through the waters. These are a little like a maze as the fishermen lay their nets any and everywhere so that, in order to manoeuvre down, we had to zig zag constantly to avoid getting our prop tangled. We also managed to get stuck on the sandy bottom a couple of times, once because I took a turn down the wrong tributary and once because the sand bank had moved from one position to the next and fooled us. Nothing serious though - we're told that if you haven't hit the bottom, at least once, you're either lying or you haven't been cruising.
Our stops included the gorgeous little village of Gamboa with it's lovely white sandy beaches followed by a visit to the only town with cars, Valencia. We then carried on further to Ponto do Curral, an uninhabited islands with a coconut plantation and white beaches, and then further on to Galeao, another fishing village with a very delapidated church on the hill with a magnificent view of the entire region. Lastly, we visited the monastery town of Cairu before running out of deep water. The people were all so wonderfully friendly and hospitable. We were rather reluctant to leave as it meant heading back to Salvador to get ready to move on further north.
PHOTO ALBUM:
Dozens of fishing boats, canoes, dugout sailboats and water taxis plough their way through the waters. These are a little like a maze as the fishermen lay their nets any and everywhere so that, in order to manoeuvre down, we had to zig zag constantly to avoid getting our prop tangled. We also managed to get stuck on the sandy bottom a couple of times, once because I took a turn down the wrong tributary and once because the sand bank had moved from one position to the next and fooled us. Nothing serious though - we're told that if you haven't hit the bottom, at least once, you're either lying or you haven't been cruising.
Our stops included the gorgeous little village of Gamboa with it's lovely white sandy beaches followed by a visit to the only town with cars, Valencia. We then carried on further to Ponto do Curral, an uninhabited islands with a coconut plantation and white beaches, and then further on to Galeao, another fishing village with a very delapidated church on the hill with a magnificent view of the entire region. Lastly, we visited the monastery town of Cairu before running out of deep water. The people were all so wonderfully friendly and hospitable. We were rather reluctant to leave as it meant heading back to Salvador to get ready to move on further north.
PHOTO ALBUM:
