Left Rio on weds 15th Feb, headed for the airport for a brief 2 hour flight to Salvador, Bahia - site of one of the biggest street parties in the world. Carnaval! There is a lot to learn about Carnaval and I received a crash course upon arriving in Salvador - its not just like a big party that you pay for tickets for then rock up to, there is a lot of planning in making your Carnaval a success, and its not as easy you think to organise.
Okay so a little about what Carnaval is: its Celebrated from the 16th-22 of Feb and is celebrated all over Brazil (and South America). It started off back in the day as a Catholic celebration prior to Lent to let people cut loose before they gave up vices for Lent. Nowadays its just a massive party, and the nature/style of the party varies depending on which Brazilian city you spend your Carnaval in. Salvador for example is purely about the music enjoyed in that area - and dancing and partying to the music! Huge trucks, called Trio Electricos, are equipped with massive speakers on all sides, and a platform on top for bands/singers to perform on. The bands and singers then perform from the top of these trucks whilst moving slowly through the crowded streets. There are 3 different parade circuits in Salvador, which have a rotating series of bands playing on them throughout the 6 days- the parades of each band last for several hours - as the trucks slowly crawl along the street. There are 3 ways to enjoy the party - 1) By being what they call the PIPOCA - (brazilian word for POPCORN), you are literally just in the street enjoying the party - you are street POPCORN! and this is FREE but sometimes dangerous because of the huge crowds etc. 2) By buying a Tshirt of your favourite Band - an ABADA, and actually being part of a parade which is sectioned off by people carrying a rope. So a band, would then have a few hundred people, or for the big ones, even a few thousand people, all wearing the same shirt, marching along with the band for its duration of the parade. These shirts are not cheap!! You buy them from official places, and the price range varies depending on the popularity of the band - ranging from $50-$400 a shirt! then finally the most expensive way to enjoy the Carnavale - 3) buy buying a CAMAROTE ticket. These are fixed temporary bars/nightclubs which they build with scaffolding or use existing premises for. These are positioned along the parade routes, and you watch the parades going past you. Like nightclubs these range from basic ones, to completely lush ones which include free drinks, food, massages and even make up artists doing your face! You pay for your CAMAROTE ticket & T-shirt (again everyone wheres the same shirts for the Camarotes they have purchased) and then stay at your one place all evening, watching the parades going by. Often these Camarotes have their own DJ's and Bands playing within them too, and the posh ones have famous DJ's/Artists and celebs milling around. J-lo was one of the celebs in one of them this year, along with many others I am sure. Camarotes dont come cheap - and prices range from $100 right up to $1500 - and this is all US dollars!!
Below are some pics showing what I mean:
The rather dashing lady below, has bought a SKOL (Beer brand) Camarote shirt. You buy your shirt, then most people customise them to look a little more flesh revealing or better fitted! The shirts are all the same size and rather unattractive to start with, however with a few scissor snips a marvelously sexy shirt can be created!
Below is the Skol Camarote with someone performing - pretty much like a nightclub, but with a view of the parade moving past.
Below you can see the intense crush of people - those with yellow following the truck, then all the Pipoca surrounding!
Here you get to see what the Camarote view is all about (the orange building), so all those peeps are able to get a much better, and more comfortable view of the procession, but at a price of course!
When I arrived at the aiport, I met up with some other people instantly who were also solo travellers like me, here to enjoy the party. The journey from the aiport to the are in which our hostels were took 3 hours, because even though the Carnavale hadn't officially started, the pre-carnavale parties had, and already the streets were lined with people, and bands and masses enjoying the festivities!
Below are pics taken from the bus:
The vibe and energy within the streets was something which you cant really explain, it has to be experienced!
I arrived at the Hostel, and met up with some of the people, I had already met in Rio - and the party started...
We were staying in the historical Old Town part of the city, an area known as the Pelourinho - very quaint. A few pics below:
The cobbled streets all get decorated with banners, flags, etc
Lots of cutesy shops...
Entertaining banner!
The first day, we had to arrange what Abadas and what Camarotes we were going to buy, this took a few hours - you have about 80 different choices, and of course - only a very small amount of us, actually even knew anything about the bands! Fortunately one of the girls in our group, had done her homework, and was well versed in which bands were the best to enjoy (Thanks Vorsja!!).
We set off to the shopping centre where you bought your tickets/shirts etc, and within a few hours - we had 3 shirts - 1 for abada for the Yes Bloco, 1 abada for Olodum and 1 Camarote ticket for Axe Bahia. This was all about all we could afford - as they were about $150 each!! So we had something booked for 3 of the days, alternating with being popcorn in between.
The days that followed are all a bit of a blur, but I had an absolutely fantastic time. Short of making this the longest entry in my blog I am going to do a quick summary... Highlights detailed below:
the Yes Bloco, which had international DJ Bob Sinclair playing for it, the camarote - Axe Bahia - which was an all you can drink affair.... And we certainly got our moneys worth, the scores of drumming groups wondering through the Pelourinho, the music EVERYWHERE, the grilled cheese sticks they sold in the streets, the dancing, the sexy people, the laughing, the dancing, the wondering around looking for toilets, the MOTO taxi rides home - on motorbikes, and general party atmosphere everywhere you went!
Unfortunately I didnt take my camera on any of the nights out, because you get pick pocketed or most likely loose it in the debauchery...Below some of the limited pics for your enjoyment:
Modifying the Shirts!
YES bloco ladies in action....Angus (Skol Bloco) photo bombing...
With my Tiara for added style..
Another random person in the backround...
Good to go!!
Our Axe Bahia Camarote shirts
The Germans!!
And this is what Carnaval street looks like, except there are another 10 more streets packed like this!!
Lots of random dressed up revellers passing by playing in bands
Some of the hostel crew - lame hairdo for me?!
One of the dogs from our hostel - so cute! His name is Spartan
Anyway, after Carnaval finished, it took a few days to recover - I chilled at the hostel for 4 more days after the party ended - eating, sleeping, watching brazilian movies and walking around the Pelourinho. After such a hyped up crazy party - it was quite depressing saying good bye to all the new friends made!! I certainly will be back for Carnaval in Brazil, and plan on experiencing it in other cities too.
I had to move on though, and after much debating, decided to head to a supposed beach paradise - Itacare, about a 6 hour journey away from Salvador. So on Sunday 25th Feb - I joined a Scottish couple, also travelling the same way as me - and we boarded a ferry, followed by a bus to make our journey to the next stop....
Itacare - my next post!
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