Good-bye, Bahia!
6 July 2005 (Wednesday) – Salvador to Recife, Brazil
I bought one of those weavings with sticks thingie this morning and instantly regretted it. OK, I did not regret the purchase per se, I love it love it love it and the price was rather reasonable. But I know I am just going to have it destroyed within 1 day, especially since I am heading to Recife tonight.
Then, it dawned on me that I could have bought it y-e-s-t-e-r-d-a-y and then ask Raquel to bring it to Argentina for me as I am heading back there for my flight home after all. And Raquel left this morning to Buenos Aires! Darn darn darn!!
So, I decided to post it home, but the Post Office did not have one of those long cylindrical boxes to hold such items. The stationery shop in Pelourinho offered nothing. A lady who was shopping at the stationery shop suggested that I go to the Main Post Office in the Cuidade Baixa (Lower City), so I took the furnicular railway and slided downhill. Yes, besides the Elevador Lacerda, there is another way to get down… an ancient furnicular tram tottering downwards along the incline to the middle of the back-alleys of the Lower City.
The Main Post Office did not have the kind of box I was looking for either. Argh…. Thank goodness, I had seen several stationery shops nearby. Finally, finally, finally, after some terrible services from snobbish salespersons, if I may add, I found a box! By then, I had decided to post to Buenos Aires, since I figured it would be cheaper.
It turned out to be still expensive but after announcing the price, the Post Office lady swiftly filled out forms and printed triple copies of whatever and I kept my mouth shut. Oh well, decision had been made. Anyway, I had to include postal services as part of my expenditure as I was already carrying too many things and I would need to post things back by the time I get to Fortaleza, for sure.
So, this whole little adventure took up my entire afternoon and I only had a short time to wander around a bit more, before heading back to collect my backpack for the trip to the rodoviaria.
I refused to take a taxi, but the walk up the Pelourinho ‘hills’, the wait at the bus-stop for a bus, any bus, with the word IGUATEMI and finally, the 50 min bus-ride (caught in the evening traffic jam) to the rodoviaria took much longer time than anticipated and I seriously wondered how the situation would be like if I really did miss the bus. Well, thank goodness, I arrived just in time. Phew!
Good-bye, Bahia!
Tags: 03) The Land of the Spirits, Salvador
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