The Delightful Village Across from Porto Seguro

However interesting Porto Seguro was-- I caught the tail-end of the Brazilan Championship Arm Wrestling Competition in Toa Toa, learned a little Maculelê (indigenous stick-fighting) in the Cidade Histórica, and was coaxed into dancing forró by MC Pelé at Axé Moi--I had heard that Arraial D´Ajuda was much nicer and should definitely be visited while I was in Porto Seguro.

My 3rd day in Porto Seguro I decided to make the small journey over to Praia de Pitinga, a beach that had been recommended by the receptionist at my hotel, in Arraial D´Ajuda. To get to Praia de Pitinga in Arraial D´Ajuda from where I was staying in Porto Seguro I had to catch a bus, a balsa (ferry boat), a van, and then a moto-taxi (motorcycle taxi). All of which should take somewhere around 30-40 minutes.

After taking the balsa across the Rio Buranhém and being ripped off (yet again, when will I learn) by the van driver, who I though was being extremely nice when he took me personally to the beach instead of dropping me off in the centro where I should have grabbed a moto-taxi, I arrived at Praia de Pitinga. It was amazing to see how much cleaner the water was given the fact that the beaches in Porto Seguro really weren´t that far.

The little village of Arraial D´Ajuda was delightful!!! It was completely different from Porto Seguro in almost every way, and again given there proximity to one another I would have thought they would have been a bit more similar. Arraial D´Ajuda is much smaller, appeared much cleaner, and was noticably much nicer. I really loved the way the restaurants and shops were lit up in the evening by all these colorful lights.