Hey everyone really sorry haven't written in so long. I've done so much I've actually got Van here to help me remember it all! The weekend after the smoke falls we went on a kind of working holiday to Salvador which was brilliant. It was a 7 hour bus journey from Palmeiras and we left at 12pm and arrived at about 7pm on the Saturday. That evening we went out in the town and ate at the best sea food restaurant in the whole of Bahia! It wasn't cheap at all but it was normal in comparison to what you would pay in England. I managed to order and eat so much food my stomach hurt so badly I couldn't leave the table for about 20 minutes! We then went onto the street and followed a band of people playing drums and other instruments which sounded brilliant and there was a whole parade of people following it and dancing behind. Don't remember what the type of music it was called but it's really famous in Brazil and is played a lot. We all slept at Joas's friends house and I unfortunatly got stuck in the middle of two girls who liked to move around a lot and also snore!! The biggest shock was when Van decided I was a teddy bear in her sleep and in the morning the other people couldn't understand why I was at the complete opposite side of the room sleeping very awkwardly on a little sofa. After a rough nights sleep we all went to the beach the next day and I was in heaven. I had not seen the sea for over 7 weeks and when I ran into the warm atlantic sea it was amazing.. I did however forget that the sea reflected a lot of sunlight and for some reason I decided I wouldn't burn so therefore didn't put any cream on before hand. That evening we all went to an award ceremony where GAP won 3rd place for their efforts on cleaning the environment and we had helped to set up a stand with loads of photo's of the work that they have done and try and promote the organisation. There were a lot of photographs and even some I think were going in the papers and in everyone of them there was a big, tall, white voluntário who's face looked like a bright red tomato. I'll let you imagin who that would have been! The next day we went to the beach again and helped to take down the stand we had set up before going back and spending one more night at the friends house. This weekend we went to a beautiful water cave called Pratinha where we snorkelled though cristal clear water and looked at all the different rock formations below with torches. There was also a big zip line outside which was great fun and I loved throwing myself of the edge of the cliff and landing in the river at the other end. My boardies actually came completely off but luckily the five girls with me were too far away to get a good view so it was no problem. Afterwards we went to another cave called Gruta da Torrinha but this time in the middle of a mountain which was 14 km long in distance underground. It was really good fun squeezing though tiny rock spaces and when we actually got into the main chambers it was beautiful.. I've have never seen so many Stalagtites and stalagmites in my life. They were of all different shapes and sizes and hung from the cave roof the whole way through. In the past the cave was filled up with water and were the different levels had been it left different lines on the walls causing really cool shapes and patterns. Yesterday we actually had a break from the environmental work and worked in the local nursery with the children and it was a really good experience. These children were left there during the days because their families had to work and they had very little or no money at all. We helped to prepare food for them and I went and took some of the boys down to the football pitch and joined in a game with them. Was a bit surprised when they decided to use the whole pitch when it was only 3/side but my team won so it was all good in the end! Only have one more week left here now but we're all making the most of it and going out everynight with everyone as there is like a religious 13 day party called San Antonio where everybody goes out socialising and drinking on the street with stalls and fireworks. This weekend we are going to another city as there is a big festival on and hopefully it should be a really good last weekend here. I'll write another message before I leave and hopefully next week you should be able to see over 450 of my photo's, ha. Speak to you soon Tom