Today I woke up in the port at Ilheus, Brazil & went on an escorted coach tour to see Ilheus, & the Tijuipe waterfalls. Unlike yesterday's tour in Salvador, this was a brilliant day.
Ilheus, & the Tijuipe waterfalls.
Ilheus.
I booked a trip today to see Ilheus & the Tijuipe waterfalls. I was up early & went downstairs to the Atrium bar for a coffee. Whilst there I saw Rosa who had cancelled the cruise & Gail who had decided just to go for a walk around in Ilheus.
When it was time to leave the ship I walked down to the departure area & was soon on the coach for my escorted tour of Ilheus & trip to the Tijuipe waterfalls. I was sitting on the coach when a passenger from the ship that I had met a few times joined. I spoke to Gary briefly before he found a seat & we were soon off.
Our first stop was a short drive from the ship & we had a look around a square in Ilheus where we were shown a statue of Ruy Barbosa, who was a Brazilian polymath, diplomat, writer, jurist, & politician. He was a defender of civil liberties & fought for the abolition of slavery in Brazil. A short walk later we were shown around the Church of Sao Jorge, before continuing our walk to the San Sebastian Cathedral. We were told the history of everything we saw & it soon became clear that our two guides on this trip were a very funny double act.
We had to wait for our coach to return for a while for some reason & I was beginning to think this could turn out to be another poor excursion, but when the coach did return we were soon driving through Ilheus & our tour guides continued their interesting & funny commentary about everything we passed. After a short drive, we stopped at an artisan market & were given 40 minutes to walk around. I decided to have a look around & was impressed by the goods available in the market but didn't buy anything.
Tijuipe Waterfalls.
When we left the market we drove through Ilheus & headed out of town & along the coast. The coast road was beautiful & I spotted lots of beautiful beaches along the roads. As we drove further away from Ilheus we went past many small groups of houses on the beaches. They looked fantastic & I imagined myself living in one or more of these beautiful & peaceful places.
As we drove through the countryside we stopped at the Serra Grande Viewpoint that looked down on the beaches below & the beautiful coastline. I looked at the house on the beach surrounded by palm trees & thought that these were probably as close to my idea of an ideal home as I have ever seen. I will have to continue to keep buying lottery tickets & hoping for a winner.
After a short photo stop, we continued on the short distance to the Tijuipe waterfalls. We pulled in at a small layby & began the very steep walk down a very rough mud & rock track through the trees to the waterfalls about ½ km below. The walk was hard work for me but I was determined to get to the bottom & go for a swim in the waterfall.
I saw Gary on the way down & we agreed to video each other when we were swimming in the falls. When we got to the bottom I walked straight to the falls, took my shirt off & climbed across the very slippery rocks & lowered myself into the water at the bottom of the falls. I swam the short distance across the pool & sat directly under the waterfall as it cascaded down onto some rocks below it. It felt beautiful & I just sat there relaxing for about half an hour before I swam back across the pool & clambered back out.
Just as I got out Gary arrived so I took his phone & videoed him as he swam across to the waterfall & back. As he climbed out I climbed back into the pool & swam back to the waterfalls so that he could take a video & photos of me. After swimming back I climbed out & walked back through the jungle area. I dried myself off on my Costa Favolosa towel & sat down at a table near the open-air restaurant there. Gary soon arrived with another Englishman from the cruise & asked us both if we wanted a beer.
Gary was soon back with a bottle of beer for each of us & I asked how much I owed him. He told me that he would get it & that he had also bought us all something to eat. I assumed he meant crisps or nuts or something but the waitress soon brought us out three steaks a plate of roasted potatoes & some rice. The steaks were the best I have eaten anywhere & even the potatoes tasted really good. We were joined at the table by an American man from Ohio who was also on our coach trip from the ship & sat there chatting until it was time to walk back up the steep slope back to the coach.
Gary, myself & the other Englishman all climbed back up together. Gary was fine but the other Englishman & I both had trouble with the climb & had to stop a couple of times on the way back up. We weren't the only ones though & we saw many of the people on our coach struggling up the climb or sitting down to rest. After we sat down for a short rest I pushed on to climb the last 100 yards but it took it out of me & I was breatheless by the time I got back on the coach. It took me about 20 minutes to get my breath back but I was so glad I had done the trip & would recommend visiting the Tijuipe Waterfalls to anyone who is travelling nearby.
Photos from Tijuipe waterfalls.
When everybody got back on the coach we drove back toward Ilheus. The only stop on the way back was to a chocolate factory but we only stopped here very briefly to let people sample & buy chocolate. I think this stop was made because the tour guide got free chocolate for bringing in a coach load of customers. I thought the chocolate was overpriced & didn't buy any. When we left here we retraced our journey along the coast road back to Ilheus & to the port where we boarded the Costa Favolosa.
Back on the Costa Favolosa.
When we got back to the Costa Favolosa I went back to my cabin for a shower & a change of clothes before going for a beer & then going for dinner at 7 pm. When I got to dinner Rosa asked if the trip was good & I hated having to tell her how good the trip was as she had cancelled it but she was glad I had a good time. For dinner, I had a shrimp cocktail, chickpea soup, braised beef in red wine with mashed potato & sautéed vegetables for my main course & for dessert I ordered all three choices. I explained to Rosa & Ann that I was hungry after walking so much & swimming in the waterfalls so Rosa shared her dessert with me as well.
During dinner, Rosa & Ann talked me into singing in the karaoke bar with Marcus. After dinner, we went down & Marcus & I put our names down. I told Marcus it didn't matter what we sang so he let the DJ choose. We were joined by Gail, Dwight, Tessa, Keith, Regina & Darrel who sat with Rosa, Ann & I to support us when we sang. When Marcus came back we didn't have to wait long & we were soon dueting, don't go breaking my heart, by Kiki Dee & Elton John. We sang our hearts out, Marcus danced around the dance floor & I stumbled around on my walking stick. We may not have been the best singers but unlike so many people who sang, we did get to finish our song & at least our little group of friends & all the other English & Germans onboard gave us a round of applause.
There was only one more singer after us & we all then left to go to whatever we wanted to see afterwards. Darrel, myself, Ann, Rosa & Gail all went to the ´White Party´ around the pool where there was hog roast as well. When we got there it was packed & we all managed to get separated.
It wasn't my thing, I do not like loud disco-type events with hundreds of people pushing & shoving everyone anymore so I decided to leave & go to the quiet bar near the piano bar. Ann came with me & we sat drinking & chatting. We had been there a while when Gary came & joined us. He was a little high & very loud but he was funny. Unfortunately, he had been a little rude to the staff a few times before apparently. As Ann & I were sat there we had nearly finished our drinks so I went to get us a couple more Bahama Mamma cocktails. The barman saw me walking towards the bar & asked me what he could get me. As I got to the bar the barman had just got two glasses to begin serving when Gary asked him for a drink. The barman turned to him & told him he was sorry but the bar was already shut, he then continued to finish the two cocktails for me & Ann & refused to serve Gary anymore. Gary left & I returned to Ann with the cocktails & we sat there chatting until we had finished & we both returned to our cabins.
Gary if you ever read this get in touch, I want to see your photos & video.