Hey Warriors,
Let's go Warriors, it is time to finish off this Brazilian trip. We are still enjoying this beautiful Bahian's summer weather. The Carnival, "The World Chose Salvador!" is in full effect. It is Saturday, and we are taking you to a Camarote. Do you even know what a Camarote is??? The Adventurous Dynamic Duo didn't either; until, we actually experienced one. Come on this journey to experience it, with us. We'll tell you all about it in a few minutes. It's time to have Fun! Fun! Fun!
Our entire group is all dressed in the t-shirt for the night - our ticket to get into the Camarote. We all meet in the lobby of our hotel, ready to go experience this thang called a Camarote. Since we spent the prior evening at the Bloco, of course, we think we know what we are doing. So we head over to the famous Salvador Elevator to get to the lower part of Salvador. This time our group decided to take a cab, in hope of trying to get closer into the Carnival circuit. We'll, Warriors, it turned out this Cab ride ended up being an adventure, all by itself. We negotiated with the driver to get a price of R$50, not a bad price, y'all. This cab driver is determine to get us there quickly. Instantly, we go into a prayer mode, "Keep us safe, Lord, Jesus." The driver is taking every short cut he can think of, trying to beat the traffic and get around it. This driver, even went as far as going down the wrong way (it was a one-way, folks) to get across to the area he needed to go. We are screaming and yelling. All four of us in the car are looking at each other with our mouths wide open. Well, Warriors, we tell you, you never know what is going to happen in Brazil. "Yes, Lord, please, Jesus, get us there safe and sound." He reaches the Carnival, but we aren't quite at our Camarote. We still, have several blocks to walk. We are getting our steps in, as usual. LOL!
This time, we experience the crowds like never, before. It took us over another hour to walk about 10 blocks. It is insane! It's really hard to describe this experience. You would just have to be there to understand it. Remember, Warriors, this is the biggest Carnival in the World, so the amount of people is astronomical. We have never squeezed through, around, on the side of, so many people in our entire lives. At times, we tried holding hands so we would stay together, but that didn't quite work. However, my niece was leading the way again that night. Here we are sweating, bumping folks, sliding through folks, just trying to get to this event. The Adventurous Dynamic Duo, is like how much of this are we going to have to do? What have we gotten ourselves into? Well, we are here now and we have paid our money, so I guess, we are going to stick it out. This is our rationale to ourselves while enduring this experience.
There are so many of these Camarotes. We are just trying to get to ours, "Camarote Do Nana." We finally arrived - a little thirsty and sweaty. We get in it and they give us our wrist bands. Now, we are looking around, people every where, but we are, all, like, "It was worth the walk." Lol. You see, a Camarote is actually a party box that allows you to watch the carnival blocos and their trios, as they go by. It is really what they call, "a party inside the party." It features Djs and live bands, about 3-4 in ours, many bars, and so many different areas to get food (steak off the grill, pizza, hamburgers, Italian food), you name it, they had it. It had rooms you could chill-out, beauty salons, internet rooms, massage rooms, etc. There was a viewing box on the circuit, so we could watch the blocos pass by. At the back of our Camarote, down the stairs to a lower level was the beach. We just walked out to the beach and hung out for a while, getting a little fresh air and hearing the waves entering the shore. So beautiful and peaceful. This truly was the party of a lifetime! In our travel package, all the food and drinks were included in the price of our ticket. Our Camarote Nana is owned by the carnival Bloco Nana and is affiliated with the Brazilian star, Leo Santana. So when his Trio arrived in front of our Camarote, he stopped and performed for us. What a Treat! The crowd lost their living minds when he played and gave us a little set. This party was, "All the way live." We can definitely say, it was a party like we had never experienced before. Check.....check......Another bucket list accomplishment completed.
The Adventurous Dynamic Duo experienced the Camarote; we ate and drank until we looked at each other and determined we were ready to head back to our hotel, which was around 11 pm. But Warriors, our fear is getting back out into those crowds to get away from the Carnival, so we can get a Cab. Thankfully, our Camarote is close to the end of the circuit, so we know it's not going to be a long walk. However, the party isn't over until 4 am, and y'all know, we aren't staying until then. We are pooped and want to chillax the rest of our evening. We hit the door, entering back into the crowd; it is thicker than thick. At one point, the crowd was pushing back and forth. We got a little nervous, but we started praying, asking God to get us out of there safely. Well, you know when we ask, God, He delivers!!! We made it out of the crowd and left out of the Carnival gates. We are exhausted, but we have to find a way to our hotel, and we definitely aren't walking. At this point, our legs and feet are aching, and we have a large number of stairs, in front of us to climb. Somehow, someway, we made it to the top, and who but who, is up there waiting for us????. The motorbike cab drivers!!!! The Adventurous Dynamic Duo, each hop on one, exhaling, then inhaling as we put our helmets on. We ready to ride! Lol. What a nice way to end our evening in Brazil. Riding a motorbike back to our hotel, on a quiet road. This is the life. We were and are living our best life, and we are praying that you are too!
Tips:
1. Do a Carnival, out of the country, while you are young.
2. Wear comfortable shoes.
3. Get sunglasses with a built-camera, the Spectacles. This way, you do not have to take your phone... you don't want someone to steal it. The Spectacles are so cool. You can be snapping pictures right with your sunglasses on. Guess who went back home and bought a pair for our next trip? Lol.
4. Again, hide your money well. Make sure you have their currency for your ride back home from the festivities.
5. Make sure you have the address of your hotel. You do not want your cab drivers to get lost taking you back - like ours did. Lol.
6. Drink plenty of fluids. You do not want to get dehydrated.
7. Definitely, experience the Camarote. We enjoyed that even more than the Bloco. However, it was quite the experience to do both - the Bloco and the Camarote.
8. Save your appetite for the Camarote; so, so, much food, to choose from and eat.
9. Savor the moments. You're living out your bucket list, and life doesn't get any better than this.
We get back to our hotel, and we still have one more day to enjoy, Sunday. Of course, we hit the cobblestone roads to get a little therapeutic shopping in for a few gifts for our family. We want to share our experience with them too. However, for our last evening in Salvador, we are going to hit the pool and get a little sun & water therapy, out on the Terrance on top of our hotel, facing one of the largest Bays in the world. What a way to wind down our Brazilian experience.
Most of our travel group is already gone. Sidney and I leave out early Monday morning. We have said bye-bye to the many new friends we have now. We are all looking forward to hooking up for future events and trips. On Monday, we have our grand finale of this Brazil trip! We are stopping in Recife and spending the night in a hotel. What?????? Because we have a 25 hour layover there, we decided to touch down and see a little bit of this city. Well, Warriors the Adventurous Dynamic Duo was sooooooo tired, we made it to our hotel and just chillaxed the entire day. So much for sightseeing. Brazil, we love you, and we love the strong African influence. Also, we love the beautiful spirit of the people, and of course, our experience of the biggest street party on the planet - that is in the Guinness Book of World Records, the Carnival in Salvador. The 16 miles/25 kilometers of Carnival Circuit. The Carnival is a marathon, not a sprint! Brazil, “Tchau” See you! Bye!
Warriors, thanks for checking in, “Dynamic Duo Inspired Journey,” and traveling with us to Salvador Bahia, Brazil. It was an incredible trip. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. As usual, thanks for spending time with the Adventurous Dynamic Duo. We love sharing this special time with you.
Remember, you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. We stand on His Word firmly; while we are experiencing the time of our life. Please, please, please, live your life intentionally. Tomorrow, is not promised to anyone. If you haven't already, sign in to join our blog, using your email address and the code: ZEJFNW.
We love you!
The Adventurous Dynamic Duo
Jackie & Sidney
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