Morro de Sao Paulo and the Bahia Coast: Beach Bum Central

Can we turn beach bum into a profession? After leaving Salvador we spent the next 10 days mostly relaxing on one stunning beach after another! The last time we were on the beach was back in Valparaiso in June, which was also winter (but it actually felt like winter). So after a few months of mountains and non-coastal living we embraced the beach bum mantra. Sometimes we hiked to these beaches so we were not on our asses the whole time, just most of it. Our journey took us south along the Bahia coast first to Morro de Sao Paulo (an Island) and later to Itacare, Sargi, and back to Salvador.

Since it was winter and low season, things were cheaper but even better, most of the beaches felt like our own private beaches! It was a very tough 10 days for us... We found ourselves reading lots of books, jumping into the ocean to cool off, drinking lots of fresh coconuts, and collecting sand dollars.

We took a one day break in Itacare from the beach (due to the weather not being 100% perfect) and went to a cacao plantation. The Bahia coast is known as the cacao coast for all the different plantations that are there. Here we saw the process and tasted the fresh fruit of the cacao which was incredibly sweet and juicy - not anything like we expected! And, the tour ended with chocolate tasting and us getting a delicious brownie. Z also showed the cafe workers how to make an iced shaken espressos. After lots of hand motions the very nice woman brought Z ice and the cocktail shaker from behind the bar. Sure, they thought we were ridiculous, but it was pretty hot and humid so who cares. The plantation we visited, Vila Rosa, was purchased by a native New Yorker, who renovated the house and created a gorgeous garden that we could stroll through as well as sit in some natural pools.