We arrived in São Luis 2 days ago, and headed straight for the historical town center where our guesthouse is located. The Pousada Portas da Amazonia (Doors of the Amazon Guesthouse) is on Rua do Giz, the most photographed street in postcards, with its cobbled streets and beautiful facades of the colonial buildings lining both sides of the steep streets. São Luis is the only city in Brazil that was founded by the French (who befriended the Indians with their gifts. The French were fondly referred to as La Pagacio Amarelo, the yellow parrot, because of their colour and their constant chatter), invaded by the Dutch, and was ultimately colonised by the Portuguese. The historical town center is picturesque - the colonial buildings have been preserved and many have been restored; the roads and floors are paved with huge stone slabs which had been shipped in from Portugal more than 300 years ago.

Our pousada was originally 2 houses that have been knocked into 1, and was formerly the residence of the mayor. It is a charming place, adorned with a beautiful courtyard that serves as the breakfast area, and which adjoins a wonderfully rustic lounge; it is very tastefully furnished and has retained all its original Portuguese stone slab flooring on the ground floor.

We took a walking tour of the historical center with Felip yesterday, who oriented us with the history and culture, which gave us much deeper insight and greater appreciation for the city.

The evenings are lovely - the plaza comes alive with street dining, street vendors and music. We spent the last 2 evenings lounging outside the Antigamene restaurant at the plaza, enjoying our caipirinhas (local cocktail made with cachaça - they make fantastic ones here, particularly the caipirinha de cupuaçu, which is a blended form of the cocktail made with cupuaçu, a delicious local fruit), people watching, and constantly being harassed by street vendors attempting to sell us all manner of souvenirs and costume jewellery.

We finished the evening off at Bar de Faustina where a band of street musicians attracted a crowd as they sang and beat out the rhythms of the bagode (a version of samba).

Our group encountered another incident this morning. Angelica, Katy, Tracey and Peter had gone off to the beach for a swim and they found a quiet spot away from the crowds. Evidently this had not gone unnoticed as three blokes wandered up to that same stretch a little while later and snatched a new bag that Katy just purchased. A few cops who witnessed the incident gave chase and shot at them. They were fortunate that none of them were hurt and that the total loss only amounted to some $20, the new bag and a few clothes; and the girls had to return to the hotel in their bikinis.