"Well the rain came..."

"...and said, hey buddy, now buddy the street is strange place.  I'll be lost, out there walking, nobody stopping to bother me..."


This Jane's Addiction song was in my head all day, well at least when I wasn't working on learning some new capoeira songs. After breakfast, the rain came.  I used the time to skype chat with my mom, which is always great.  When the rain stopped, I headed out to walk along the beach in the morning sunlight.  I met a baiana dancing on the shore of Praia Concha and we talked for a while about the rain and the sun and acai and friends.  I promised I'd come back later in the day and set off for the other beaches I like so much while the rain was on hold.  The respite was too brief, however, so I walked through the rain to the bus station to figure out my route for tomorrow's departure. I'm still shopping for a dress to wear to Jad's wedding when I return to Brasilia, so I also stopped into every little store I could find.  Lots of pretty beach dresses, but nothing in the "chique" style I'll need for the wedding. I did, however, get two more bikinis for just $10 Reals.  I gotta get em while I can!

The rain was off and on all day.  So when it was on, I shopped, strolled and ate lunch (can't get enough of those beans and rice!).  When it was off, I hit Praia Tiririca.  But almost as soon as I got there, the rain came again.  I found some shelter in a little cabana and learned a capoeira song (Malandragem).  It's nice to understand a whole song without having to use my dictionary.  The rain stopped again and I headed to Praia Resende by climbing the rock path that lines the shore. Resende was deserted, so I stopped there for a while and did some yoga to warm up. When I watch one of my yoga videos of Rodney Yee on the beach in Hawaii, I always wonder how he stays so sand-free.  It must be some special effect, because after just one sun salutation, I was coated.  Oh well -- it's  natural exfoliant, right?  After the yoga, I worked on a couple of new capoeira moves I've learned here.  It's so hard to know what anything looks like, so I took video of myself practicing and was surprised by how good the movements look! (The backdrop of the roaring Atlantic helped a lot, I'm sure.)  Whenever I got hot and sweaty, I walked into the rough surf and swam and washed the sand off my legs. After about an hour and half, I was dead tired so I headed back with just a couple of hours of sunlight left.  I walked back to Praia Conchas, hoping to encounter my baiana friend, but I couldn't even remember where I had seen her this morning.  Didn't matter much anyway because the rain came again, so I took it as a sign that I should head back to the street where my pousada is, take a nice shower, put on dry clothes and find a good place to get acai. The road along the other beaches is hilly and cobblestone, making for a bit of a hike to and from the beaches.  The road along the Concha beach is unpaved and after a day full of rain is a slippery mud slide.   I was surprised that I didn't bust ass, even though I could envision my whole backside covered in red mud afterwards.  Leave it to me to slip on a simple wooden stage in front of 300 people and yet be able to walk for three hours on a slick muddy road in flip flops without problems :)

The rain was actually lovely to walk through, and since I had to take my time to make sure each step was secure, I had no choice but to savor every moment. I was wet and dirty and anyone who knows me knows I hate walking in wet clothes, so I couldn't wait to get back to my room.  But then something happened -- I heard capoeira music.  I was passing a place I had passed earlier in the morning called Casa da Bonecas,  which is an African arts place with a stage and a bunch of programs about African arts and quilombos here in Brazil.  I walked past and looked in, hearing the music blasting without seeing anyone inside. So I kept walking, but then I turned back. This time I saw two angoleiros on the back part of the stage, playing.  I stood by the entrance and then waked in a bit and sat on the stairs.  One of them saw me and waved me over to come sit on the stage.  I did and found a bench and watched for quite some time.  The guy who waved me over, Ze, was giving a class to the other one, Andre, who was pretty skilled, though probably as much of a newbie as I am.  It was so interesting to watch the differences in their angola style of playing and training, but some things remained the same:  Andre was playing with a chair, kicking over it, gingaing around it, giving it tesoura and taking it down; Ze was telling him to ginga low and to cover his face.  After some time, Ze went out back and Andre kept training.  He asked me if I play capoeira and I replied yes, but mostly regional, not angola.  He asked me where I was from and then went back to training.  I was glad -- I didn't want to interrupt, so I was happy that they went on without paying me much mind. Ze came back after a while and also asked if I play.  He asked if I wanted to train.  I said maybe.  After a while he invited me to play with Andre.  Just ginga and move.   Then Ze bought the game and wow, that guy can move.  He can squat down on one leg, stick the other one out in front of him and stand back up again as easily as I sit on my couch at home. He told me I could kick and that he wasn't going to hurt me.  I believed him. Once I started really playing, he went wild -- telling Andre how linda (pretty) my game is. Andre bought the game and I faked a queda and Ze went wild again, screaming for me to take him down!  Game after game went on like this.  I was exhausted, wet, and now sweaty, too, but loved every second. Another student came to train after a while and he gave the two of them something to work on and told me he wanted to play regional with me.  Rapido!  So, we did and it was so fun. When I got tired I went and stood in the rain to cool off and went back to playing.  Ze wanted me to practicing multiple mei lua de compassos, which usually makes me dizzy, but I was able to do three in a row without a problem.  After about an hour of non-stop playing, I had to stop.  He took me through their compound and showed me where they make instruments: atabaques, berimbaus and caxixis.  The berimbaus were beautiful -- in addition to running this arts center, Ze carves wooden signs for people in town and the berimbaus all has amazing carvings in them.  I would have bought one from him were it not for the fact that I'd have to carry it with me for the next two weeks of traveling. He was sad to hear that I'm leaving Itacare tomorrow and told me that the door is always open for me whenever I come back. 

The rain stopped, so I took advantage of the moment and headed out after saying good bye and thanks.  After I got back to my room and showered, I went back to give him a gift -- I've been making kite tails made of paper butterflies, so I gave him one to hang in the room where he makes the instruments. 

Before coming here, I had decided that I wouldn't play any capoeira here.  It is weird to travel alone and I think hearing the music and seeing people play made me feel a bit less alone. Even better, playing made me feel at home and among friends.  I doubt I will do so anywhere else unless a similar situation arises.  I feel confident in my ability to judge the style and tenor of players and could tell, after watching Ze and Andre for 40 minutes, that they'd be fun and safe to play with. And they were.

I finally got that bowl of acai I had been craving all day.  Finally got that shower and dry clothes. And soon, I'll go to sleep.  Tomorrow I head to Barra Grande. The search for paradise continues, but Itacare came pretty close.