Today is Saturday and many of us are going off to anchor out off a little island called Itaparica. They are supposed to have some nice beaches and good snorkeling. There are some little villages to visit on the island. Not sure if we will do that but adventure away from this marina and city is on our minds.
A group of us went on an interesting tour of the historical part of the city with the Tours Bahia co. Carolina was our guide and we actually had an a/c bus with the a/c actually working. Some of the vehicles we have been on in many of the stops have been pretty primitive but this one was wonderful. We had a delicious lunch with the traditional Brazilian food and those wonderful caipirinhas. Later Carolina took us to a store she recommended we buy gemstones. I didn't buy anything as by this time Bill had gone off back to the boat with the bags. We will go back again and see if we can purchase a stone from Bahia to remember our adventure here. They have tanzanite, topaz -imperial and blue, and emeralds. They do all the mining for these stones nearby in Bahia. The further they mine into the ground for those stones the more expensive they are. Some are very rare. So you are talking $$$$$. Fortunately, the one we like is the blue topaz which is not so rare. That stone reminds me of the sea which I have come to love even more with all its colors of blue.
We hope to do another tour with Carolina next week to cachoeira. They one takes us into the interior of Brazil and we see more of the small villages. That should be another interesting all day tour with a wonderful stop for lunch.
So we shall see what new adventure is in store for us today!
Rosemary, Bill, Matt