Morro de São Paulo, Brazil

A Divine Seaside of Bahia


Magnificent Atlantic Days
Bathers dive into the tropical sea off Morro de São Paulo.
underwater life for two
Casal goes snorkeling in the natural pools in front of Morro do Farol.
in God's care
Donkey and ice cream cart blessed by the church of Nª Senhora da Luz.
fishing in balance
Friends fish by hand in the bar of the Red River.
Coconut green in a blue sky
Coconut palms protrude over the old fort area.
Cicerone and Skipper
Guia Dentinho leads a group of foreign visitors around the hill.
old protection
The old fort, once essential for defending against attacks by enemy ships.
Red River mouth
Curvilinear coastline at the mouth of the Vermelho River, bordering the islands of Tinharé and Boipeba
Coconut to freeze
Coconut seller drives his loaded mule along the Morro de São Paulo seafront.
bathing transport
Carregador drives a wheelbarrow along one of the last beaches of Morro de São Paulo.
Delicate transshipment
Nativo tries to get to his boat without getting his clothes wet.
1st Beach Bay
The original inlet of Morro de São Paulo, the one that brings together the original fishermen's houses.
waiting for the sunset
A small community of sunset worshipers coexists on the old walls of the old fort of Morro de São Paulo.
Bahia Zipline
Vacationer from Morro de São Paulo launches himself over the sea of ​​Primeira Praia in the famous zip line of Morro de São Paulo
the old man's fort
Visitors enter the interior area of ​​the old fort of Morro de São Paulo, once providential for the defense of the village.
Three decades ago, it was just a remote and humble fishing village. Until some post-hippie communities revealed the Morro's retreat to the world and promoted it to a kind of bathing sanctuary.

Even though the view from the boat from Salvador had made it clear, it began to seem to us that the Morro was keen to prove that it was not just any elevation.

Once disembarked, as we walk along the pier, we are approached by wheelbarrow drivers who offer their services. It didn't take us long to understand why almost everyone accepted them willingly.

At the end of the pier, there is a first ramp that leads to the village gate.

After this portal, we come face to face with the slope that leads to the church of Nossa Senhora da Luz, which is even longer and steeper.

in God's care

Donkey and ice cream cart blessed by the church of Nª Senhora da Luz.

As a rule, it is here that those who made a point of transporting their luggage regret, they are forced to give in and spend some reais to the workers at the dock.

The Morro loaders business was so blessed by the local relief and the almost total absence of vehicles (except for a few tractors) that it never stopped prospering.

At one point, there were so many professionals in the field that they had to form the ACMSP (Association of Chargers of Morro de São Paulo) in charge of regulating procedures, dictating the fashion of the uniform and setting prices: five reais to the Second beach, the double for the Fourth, more fit, less fit.

1st Beach Bay

The original inlet of Morro de São Paulo, the one that brings together the housing fishermen's originals.

Five Coastal Sections, Five Divine Beaches of Bahia

A welcoming people, the Morrenses quickly proved themselves pragmatic too. With five well-demarcated stretches of coastline at their disposal, instead of improvising folkloric names to identify them, they opted for their numerical name.

The First beach is about 500 meters long and welcomed pioneer visitors to the village. It is in the cove that delimits it, with the lighthouse peeking from the heights, that its houses face the sea and Pedra do Moleque, a rocky inlet that generates a swell used by surfers.

Surfing is far from being the most radical activity practiced in these parts.

The Famous and Feared Zipline of Morro do Farol

Adventure entrepreneurs decided to cash in on Morro do Farol's supreme location and installed a zipline rope. From time to time, someone appears in a controlled flight over First Beach and causes a huge splash that scares the most distracted swimmers.

Bahia Zipline

Vacationer from Morro de São Paulo launches himself over the sea of ​​Primeira Praia in the famous zip line of Morro de São Paulo

This experience constantly produces adrenaline and refreshes the fearless souls who try it. During weekends and summer holidays, it also creates a considerable queue at the jump ramp.

As we had the opportunity to prove, the waiting time is not spent in vain. From above, the Morro de São Paulo reveals, in panoramic format, all its splendor.

Formed by three interconnected hills – the Morros de Farol, Mangaba and Galeão – the village appears on the northeastern tip of Tinharé, one of the islands of Costa de Dendê, which in turn, is located between the Bahian Reconcavo and the Rio de Contas.

Coconut green in a blue sky

Coconut palms protrude over the old fort area.

The second beach is right next door but it has little to do with the previous one. It is, by far, the most famous and best equipped of the five, which, for the unyielding followers of ecology, could be dispensed with.

Early in the morning, its extensive beach becomes a field for various types of sports and arts: football, footvolley, volleyball, frescobol (aka beach tennis), capoeira and so on. Or just and alone in a retreat where sunbathers soak up the tropical heat on rental chairs and sun loungers.

The Always Lively Muvuca of Second Beach

If, during the day, Monday is busy, after dark, little or nothing changes. At that time, bars and clubs are getting ready to host the “muvuca”, a kind of intense, noisy and international party that often only ends at dawn.

waiting for the sunsetUntil around XNUMX pm, the guests gather in the bars and restaurants in the center of the village, lively around the caipirinhas and cocktails. Sooner or later, the first spots of live music appear there. Euphoria is generalized with everyone dancing and singing the hits of the moment.

On one of the days we dedicated to the Morro, around eleven, we joined one of these migrations to “little Ibiza” where the track almost always opens with mobilizing introductions shouted by the DJ's and MC's on duty: “The night will be boooooooooo !”

More fruit and drinks stalls close a square drawn on the sand, like a encirclement. When tiredness and thirst are felt, there they are, ready to be planted, as if they were stands for re-establishing energy or, in the most drastic cases, for medical assistance.

Third and Fourth Beaches. The Morro de São Paulo Bathing Retreat

Almost without sand, the Terceira beach is left to offer some water activities, such as diving off the Caitá islet. But not only. Its inns welcome those who prefer to fall asleep lulled by the sound of the waves instead of the electronic roar coming from its predecessor beaches.

Four kilometers long and with a low tide that lends it many meters of extra sand and countless natural pools of warm water, Quarta Praia is less explored.

It gives visitors a sense of peace and freedom unique to the Morro.

Magnificent Atlantic Days

Bathers dive into the tropical sea off Morro de São Paulo.

The Quinta, in turn, is just a final stretch of the Fourth, about 1 km long. Even though the separation established by the mouth of the Vermelho River gives it a distinct scenario that is just as appealing.

Perhaps already fed up with the beach sequencing, Morro de São Paulo agencies and tourism chose to advertise it as Praia do Encanto.

Another type of appeal to the senses leads us to join a new pilgrimage, this time in the afternoon.

The Almost Sacred Sunset of Forte do Morro

Around five o'clock, we follow the flow of dozens of holidaymakers who follow the path parallel to the walls of the old Morro fortress and settle on what is left of the battlements.

old protection

The old fort, once essential for defending against attacks by enemy ships.

They come almost all equipped with cameras. A few of these twilight worshipers favor violas and jambes and enliven the strange ceremonial with classic and rejuvenated themes of samba and bossa-nova.

When the sun approaches the horizon line, the fort is already a stand that the public has overcrowded. It stands several meters above a translucent sea contained below by the ruin of the secular wall.

underwater life for two

Casal goes snorkeling in the natural pools in front of Morro do Farol.

In the past few days, the weather had left us mostly with clear skies. Again, in this delicious evening, the immaculate firmament takes on warm hues.

the contours of the island of Tinharé become sharper than ever.

Delicate transshipment

Nativo tries to get to his boat without getting his clothes wet.

Little by little, the sun takes shelter on the other side of the World. It leaves incandescent patterns above the horizon and a celestial aura that progresses from soft pink to lilac and, close to the Atlantic Ocean, turns a deep purple.

Tired of admiring the slow dip of the star, we had fun appreciating how, despite the massive participation of outsiders, most of the natives present there ignored the universalized romanticism of the moment.

fishing in balance

Friends fish by hand in the bar of the Red River.

Some take advantage of the crowd's sensory vulnerability to sell ice cream.

Others compete in three-for-three matches (with one-step goals) in an improvised field among haughty coconut trees.

Of the latter, the only comment alluding to the great star worthy of record was uttered, with undisguised bad temper, by an irascible “nursery” saturated with criticism:

“What do you want rapaizzz?! 'I'm taking it with this sun in my eyes! I didn't see the guy coming, no!”

Manaus, Brazil

The Jumps and Starts of the former World Rubber Capital

From 1879 to 1912, only the Amazon River basin generated the latex that, from one moment to another, the world needed and, out of nowhere, Manaus became one of the most advanced cities on the face of the Earth. But an English explorer took the tree to Southeast Asia and ruined pioneer production. Manaus once again proved its elasticity. It is the largest city in the Amazon and the seventh in Brazil.

Florianopolis, Brazil

The South Atlantic Azorean Legacy

During the XNUMXth century, thousands of Portuguese islanders pursued better lives in the southern confines of Brazil. In the villages they founded, traces of affinity with the origins abound.

Ilhabela, Brazil

Ilhabela: After Horror, the Atlantic Beauty

Ninety percent of the preserved Atlantic Forest, idyllic waterfalls and gentle, wild beaches live up to the name. But, if we go back in time, we also reveal the horrific historical facet of Ilhabela.
Ilhabela, Brazil

In Ilhabela, on the way to Bonete

A community of caiçaras descendants of pirates founded a village in a corner of Ilhabela. Despite the difficult access, Bonete was discovered and considered one of the ten best beaches in Brazil.
Margarita Island ao Mochima NP, Venezuela

Margarita Island to Mochima National Park: a very Caribbean Caribe

The exploration of the Venezuelan coast justifies a wild nautical party. But, these stops also reveal life in cactus forests and waters as green as the tropical jungle of Mochima.
Corn Islands - Islas del Maíz , Nicaragua

pure caribbean

Perfect tropical settings and genuine local life are the only luxuries available in the so-called Corn Islands or Corn Islands, an archipelago lost in the Central American confines of the Caribbean Sea.
Gili Islands, Indonesia

Gili: the Indonesian Islands the World Calls "Islands"

They are so humble that they are known by the term bahasa which means only islands. Despite being discreet, the Gili have become the favorite haunt of travelers who pass through Lombok or Bali.
Coron, Busuanga, Philippines

The Secret but Sunken Japanese Armada

In World War II, a Japanese fleet failed to hide off Busuanga and was sunk by US planes. Today, its underwater wreckage attract thousands of divers.
Maupiti, French Polynesia

A Society on the Margin

In the shadow of neighboring Bora Bora's near-global fame, Maupiti is remote, sparsely inhabited and even less developed. Its inhabitants feel abandoned but those who visit it are grateful for the abandonment.
Waikiki, OahuHawaii

The Japanese Invasion of Hawaii

Decades after the attack on Pearl Harbor and from the capitulation in World War II, the Japanese returned to Hawaii armed with millions of dollars. Waikiki, his favorite target, insists on surrendering.
Île-des-Pins, New Caledonia

The Island that Leaned against Paradise

In 1964, Katsura Morimura delighted the Japan with a turquoise novel set in Ouvéa. But the neighboring Île-des-Pins has taken over the title "The Nearest Island to Paradise" and thrills its visitors.
Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu

Divine Melanesia

Pedro Fernandes de Queirós thought he had discovered Terra Australis. The colony he proposed never materialized. Today, Espiritu Santo, the largest island in Vanuatu, is a kind of Eden.
Passo do Lontra, Miranda, Brazil

The Flooded Brazil of Passo do Lontra

We are on the western edge of Mato Grosso do Sul but bush, on these sides, is something else. In an extension of almost 200.000 km2, the Brazil it appears partially submerged, by rivers, streams, lakes and other waters dispersed in vast alluvial plains. Not even the panting heat of the dry season drains the life and biodiversity of Pantanal places and farms like the one that welcomed us on the banks of the Miranda River.
Miranda, Brazil

Maria dos Jacarés: the Pantanal shelters such Creatures

Eurides Fátima de Barros was born in the interior of the Miranda region. 38 years ago, he settled in a small business on the side of BR262 that crosses the Pantanal and gained an affinity with the alligators that lived on his doorstep. Disgusted that once upon a time the creatures were being slaughtered there, she began to take care of them. Now known as Maria dos Jacarés, she named each of the animals after a soccer player or coach. It also makes sure they recognize your calls.
Curitiba, Brazil

The High-Quality Life of Curitiba

It is not only the altitude of almost 1000 meters at which the city is located. Cosmopolitan and multicultural, the capital of Paraná has a quality of life and human development rating that make it a unique case in Brazil.
Sheets of Bahia, Brazil

The Swampy Freedom of Quilombo do Remanso

Runaway slaves have survived for centuries around a wetland in Chapada Diamantina. Today, the quilombo of Remanso is a symbol of their union and resistance, but also of the exclusion to which they were voted.
Goiás Velho, Brazil

A Gold Rush Legacy

Two centuries after the heyday of prospecting, lost in time and in the vastness of the Central Plateau, Goiás esteems its admirable colonial architecture, the surprising wealth that remains to be discovered there.
Brasilia, Brazil

Brasília: from Utopia to the Capital and Political Arena of Brazil

Since the days of the Marquis of Pombal, there has been talk of transferring the capital to the interior. Today, the chimera city continues to look surreal but dictates the rules of Brazilian development.
Sheets of Bahia, Brazil

Lençóis da Bahia: not Even Diamonds Are Forever

In the XNUMXth century, Lençóis became the world's largest supplier of diamonds. But the gem trade did not last as expected. Today, the colonial architecture that he inherited is his most precious possession.
Itaipu Binational Hydroelectric Power Plant, Brazil

Itaipu Binational Hydroelectric Power Plant: Watt Fever

In 1974, thousands of Brazilians and Paraguayans flocked to the construction zone of the then largest dam in the world. 30 years after completion, Itaipu generates 90% of Paraguay's energy and 20% of Brazil's.
Believers greet each other in the Bukhara region.
City
Bukhara, Uzbequistan

Among the Minarets of Old Turkestan

Situated on the ancient Silk Road, Bukhara has developed for at least two thousand years as an essential commercial, cultural and religious hub in Central Asia. It was Buddhist and then Muslim. It was part of the great Arab empire and that of Genghis Khan, the Turko-Mongol kingdoms and the Soviet Union, until it settled in the still young and peculiar Uzbekistan.
Skipper of one of the bangkas at Raymen Beach Resort during a break from sailing
Beach
Islands Guimaras  e  Ave Maria, Philippines

Towards Ave Maria Island, in a Philippines full of Grace

Discovering the Western Visayas archipelago, we set aside a day to travel from Iloilo along the northwest coast of Guimaras. The beach tour along one of the Philippines’ countless pristine coastlines ends on the stunning Ave Maria Island.
Esteros del Iberá, Pantanal Argentina, Alligator
safari
Iberá Wetlands, Argentina

The Pantanal of the Pampas

On the world map, south of the famous brazilian wetland, a little-known flooded region appears, but almost as vast and rich in biodiversity. the Guarani expression Y bera defines it as “shining waters”. The adjective fits more than its strong luminance.
Faithful light candles, Milarepa Grotto temple, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 9th Manang to Milarepa Cave, Nepal

A Walk between Acclimatization and Pilgrimage

In full Annapurna Circuit, we finally arrived in Manang (3519m). we still need acclimatize to the higher stretches that followed, we inaugurated an equally spiritual journey to a Nepalese cave of Milarepa (4000m), the refuge of a siddha (sage) and Buddhist saint.
Visitors at Talisay Ruins, Negros Island, Philippines
Architecture & Design
Talisay City, Philippines

Monument to a Luso-Philippine Love

At the end of the 11th century, Mariano Lacson, a Filipino farmer, and Maria Braga, a Portuguese woman from Macau, fell in love and got married. During the pregnancy of what would be her 2th child, Maria succumbed to a fall. Destroyed, Mariano built a mansion in his honor. In the midst of World War II, the mansion was set on fire, but the elegant ruins that endured perpetuate their tragic relationship.
Tibetan heights, altitude sickness, mountain prevent to treat, travel
Aventura

Altitude Sickness: the Grievances of Getting Mountain Sick

When traveling, it happens that we find ourselves confronted with the lack of time to explore a place as unmissable as it is high. Medicine and previous experiences with Altitude Evil dictate that we should not risk ascending in a hurry.
Ceremonies and Festivities
Look-alikes, Actors and Extras

Make-believe stars

They are the protagonists of events or are street entrepreneurs. They embody unavoidable characters, represent social classes or epochs. Even miles from Hollywood, without them, the world would be more dull.
Hiroshima, city surrendered to peace, Japan
Cities
Hiroshima, Japan

Hiroshima: a City Yielded to Peace

On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima succumbed to the explosion of the first atomic bomb used in war. 70 years later, the city fights for the memory of the tragedy and for nuclear weapons to be eradicated by 2020.
Lunch time
Margilan, Uzbekistan

An Uzbekistan's Breadwinner

In one of the many bakeries in Margilan, worn out by the intense heat of the tandyr oven, the baker Maruf'Jon works half-baked like the distinctive traditional breads sold throughout Uzbekistan
Vairocana Buddha, Todai ji Temple, Nara, Japan
Culture
Nara, Japan

The Colossal Cradle of the Japanese Buddhism

Nara has long since ceased to be the capital and its Todai-ji temple has been demoted. But the Great Hall remains the largest ancient wooden building in the world. And it houses the greatest bronze Vairocana Buddha.
Bungee jumping, Queenstown, New Zealand
Sport
Queenstown, New Zealand

Queenstown, the Queen of Extreme Sports

In the century. XVIII, the Kiwi government proclaimed a mining village on the South Island "fit for a queen".Today's extreme scenery and activities reinforce the majestic status of ever-challenging Queenstown.
Fruit sellers, Swarm, Mozambique
Traveling
Enxame Mozambique

Mozambican Fashion Service Area

It is repeated at almost all stops in towns of Mozambique worthy of appearing on maps. The machimbombo (bus) stops and is surrounded by a crowd of eager "businessmen". The products offered can be universal such as water or biscuits or typical of the area. In this region, a few kilometers from Nampula, fruit sales suceeded, in each and every case, quite intense.
deep valley, terraced rice, batad, philippines
Ethnic
Batad, Philippines

The Terraces that Sustain the Philippines

Over 2000 years ago, inspired by their rice god, the Ifugao people tore apart the slopes of Luzon. The cereal that the indigenous people grow there still nourishes a significant part of the country.
portfolio, Got2Globe, Travel photography, images, best photographs, travel photos, world, Earth
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Portfolio Got2globe

The Best in the World – Got2Globe Portfolio

on this side of the Atlantic
History

Island of Goreia, Senegal

A Slave Island of Slavery

Were several millions or just thousands of slaves passing through Goreia on their way to the Americas? Whatever the truth, this small Senegalese island will never be freed from the yoke of its symbolism.”

Coconut picker in Unawatuna, Sri Lanka
Islands
Unawatuna to Tongalle, Sri Lanka

Along the Tropical South of Old Ceylon

We left the Galle fortress behind. From Unawatuna to Tangale, the south of Sri Lanka is made up of beaches with golden sand and coconut groves attracted by the coolness of the Indian Ocean. Once the scene of conflict between local and colonial powers, this coast has long been shared by backpackers from the four corners of the world.
ala juumajarvi lake, oulanka national park, finland
Winter White
Kuusamo ao PN Oulanka, Finland

Under the Arctic's Icy Spell

We are at 66º North and at the gates of Lapland. In these parts, the white landscape belongs to everyone and to no one like the snow-covered trees, the atrocious cold and the endless night.
Kukenam reward
Literature
Mount Roraima, Venezuela

Time Travel to the Lost World of Mount Roraima

At the top of Mount Roraima, there are extraterrestrial scenarios that have resisted millions of years of erosion. Conan Doyle created, in "The Lost World", a fiction inspired by the place but never got to step on it.
Eternal Spring Shrine
Nature

Taroko George

Deep in Taiwan

In 1956, skeptical Taiwanese doubted that the initial 20km of Central Cross-Island Hwy was possible. The marble canyon that challenged it is today the most remarkable natural setting in Formosa.

Sheki, Autumn in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Autumn Homes
Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

Lost among the snowy mountains that separate Europe from Asia, Sheki is one of Azerbaijan's most iconic towns. Its largely silky history includes periods of great harshness. When we visited it, autumn pastels added color to a peculiar post-Soviet and Muslim life.
Pitões das Junias, Montalegre, Portugal
Natural Parks
Montalegre, Portugal

Through Alto do Barroso, Top of Trás-os-Montes

we moved from Terras de Bouro for those of Barroso. Based in Montalegre, we wander around the discovery of Paredes do Rio, Tourém, Pitões das Júnias and its monastery, stunning villages on the border of Portugal. If it is true that Barroso has had more inhabitants, visitors should not miss it.
intersection
UNESCO World Heritage
Hungduan, Philippines

Country Style Philippines

The GI's left with the end of World War II, but the music from the interior of the USA that they heard still enlivens the Cordillera de Luzon. It's by tricycle and at your own pace that we visit the Hungduan rice terraces.
In elevator kimono, Osaka, Japan
Characters
Osaka, Japan

In the Company of Mayu

Japanese nightlife is a multi-faceted, multi-billion business. In Osaka, an enigmatic couchsurfing hostess welcomes us, somewhere between the geisha and the luxury escort.
Tobago, Pigeon Point, Scarborough, Pontoon
Beaches
Scarborough a Pigeon Point, Tobago

Probing the Capital Tobago

From the walled heights of Fort King George, to the threshold of Pigeon Point, southwest Tobago around the capital Scarborough reveals unrivaled controversial tropics.
Braga or Braka or Brakra in Nepal
Religion
Annapurna Circuit: 6th – Braga, Nepal

The Ancient Nepal of Braga

Four days of walking later, we slept at 3.519 meters from Braga (Braka). Upon arrival, only the name is familiar to us. Faced with the mystical charm of the town, arranged around one of the oldest and most revered Buddhist monasteries on the Annapurna circuit, we continued our journey there. acclimatization with ascent to Ice Lake (4620m).
Train Fianarantsoa to Manakara, Malagasy TGV, locomotive
On Rails
Fianarantsoa-Manakara, Madagascar

On board the Malagasy TGV

We depart Fianarantsoa at 7a.m. It wasn't until 3am the following morning that we completed the 170km to Manakara. The natives call this almost secular train Train Great Vibrations. During the long journey, we felt, very strongly, those of the heart of Madagascar.
Weddings in Jaffa, Israel,
Society
Jaffa, Israel

Where Tel Aviv Settles Always in Party

Tel Aviv is famous for the most intense night in the Middle East. But, if its youngsters are having fun until exhaustion in the clubs along the Mediterranean, it is more and more in the nearby Old Jaffa that they tie the knot.
Coin return
Daily life
Dawki, India

Dawki, Dawki, Bangladesh on sight

We descended from the high and mountainous lands of Meghalaya to the flats to the south and below. There, the translucent and green stream of the Dawki forms the border between India and Bangladesh. In a damp heat that we haven't felt for a long time, the river also attracts hundreds of Indians and Bangladeshis in a picturesque escape.
Masai Mara Reservation, Masai Land Travel, Kenya, Masai Convivial
Wildlife
Masai Mara, Kenya

A Journey Through the Masai Lands

The Mara savannah became famous for the confrontation between millions of herbivores and their predators. But, in a reckless communion with wildlife, it is the Masai humans who stand out there.
Passengers, scenic flights-Southern Alps, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
Aoraki / Mount Cook, New Zealand

The Aeronautical Conquest of the Southern Alps

In 1955, pilot Harry Wigley created a system for taking off and landing on asphalt or snow. Since then, his company has unveiled, from the air, some of the greatest scenery in Oceania.