(^88) Valenca
After breakfast, and ready to leave, Amanda discovered the card delivery company
was trying to get hold of her. She learned the card wasn’t delivered to the hotel in
Ilheus (as arranged) as we weren’t physically there. At least the bank refunded the
fraudulent transactions, and the card was somewhere in Brazil. It would, however,
take another 72 hours to be delivered. As no deliveries were made over weekends,
the anticipated delivery date was the following Monday. So, we settled in for a long
and tedious wait.
Beautiful islands were nearby, but we didn’t want to leave the hotel in case the card
arrived before the weekend. In the meantime, boatloads of islanders arrived in
Valenca to do their shopping. The market was jam-packed with exotic fruit and
vegetables, a few I had never seen. A stroll beside the river brought us to the boat
builders, which Valenca was famous for. Under palm trees amidst sawdust and huge
pieces of wood, they were hammering and sawing away at half-constructed boats.
It gave the impression that they maintained fifteenth-century techniques.
Over the weekend, we ran head-on into the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Festival. Hundreds of people, all dressed in white, headed up the hill towards the
church. The celebration was accompanied by all the trimmings: an amusement
park, toffee apples, food sellers and music. The festival ended in a mini-carnival
complete with beer, music blaring from car boots and people dancing in the street -
all incredibly festive. A huge open-top truck carrying a band moved slowly through
the streets, and people followed behind, swaying to the beat and generally having a
good time.
leana
(Leana)
#1