Well what a journey! It turned into a marathon to reach Arraial d'Ajuda, starting with the slow-boat we had to catch from Boipeba. This off-loaded us on another island, where we were able to get to the mainland via a local bus with a crazy driver, getting to Valença at around 2. We spent the rest of our day in Valença, waiting for our overnight bus at 9:30, going to a restaurant and then a cafe to burn time, before sitting at the bus terminal for what seemed like an eternity in the early evening. We arrived in Porto Seguro, where our bus terminated, at about 6:15 in the morning on Friday, then had to get a taxi from the terminal to the port. A ferry took us across the strait, and then it was simply a matter of getting a bus into Arraial d'Ajuda's town centre. A pretty long-winded way of getting here anyway!

Unfortunately Friday turned into a washout! It rained pretty consistently for the whole day and, as Arraial is a beach town, we didn't have that much else we could do. We instead contented ourselves with a day of getting odd jobs done. We had a great value lunch, where Jo ate grilled pork and I tried a Bahian speciality, Moqueca stew, made with bell pepper, fish and dendê oil (made from palm tree oil, and known to stir up trouble in traveller's bellys). Luckily I suffered no adverse effects from the oil, and we both really enjoyed the meal.

Saturday and today were much better days, and we were able to get out on to the sand. Apparently we were in luck, as it had rained here for the last 25 days on the trot! Once the sun was out, Arraial was a much more convivial place. It's a pretty, tourist town, with the restaurants, shops and cafes springing into life. We really enjoyed the atmosphere, sitting somewhere inbetween exclusive and busy, though that may be just because we were here in the low season. Praia Mucugê, the beach where we spent our Saturday, was great for people-watching, with vendors balancing watermelons in a basket on their heads, kids playing with bodyboards, and even a chap practising his martial arts. We also had the traditional Saturday lunchtime experience, opting to eat feijoada, with a caipirinha thrown in. It was a good deal, and the stew of meat (pork, sausage and something rubbery that looked like tongue, which we mostly avoided) and black beans, served with rice, salad and slices of orange was really tasty and satisfying. I really enjoyed sampling another proper Brazilian meal. Today we even tasted a Brazilian snack, a quibe, which is a bit of cracked wheat filled with mince and then deep-fried. Today we ventured a bit further away from the main town, choosing Praia Pitinga as our beach for the day. This was a beautiful place, less built up than Mucugê, with red sandstone cliffs backing up the sand rather than the loads of 'barracas' (stalls).

We've loved Arraial (when the sun came out), and have had a great time here. Tomorrow we're getting yet another overnight bus, and by Tuesday we will be inland at Ouro Preto, where we're going to be spending the next three days.