Bus Adventure/Sugar Plane Plantation

We were waiting for our bus to come to take us to a part of the city called Pituba.

Our bus ride started out a little weird. First, as we were getting on the bus there was a group of young teenage girls that were giving us their bus passes to use to get on the bus and then had us pay them the cost of the bus ride. We were so confused at first because we originally thought they just wanted us to scan their pass for them, for whatever reason, and then we could pay and do our own thing. I couldn't understand a word they were saying and Brint was getting confused because they weren't making any sense, but the people around us,, I noticed were kinda laughing at our naiveness. 

Our bus was packed. It was rush hour and we were left standing on our way to our destination. We were stopped in traffic and all of the sudden the teenage girls started screaming!!! Everyone from the back of the bus was running to the front of the bus pushing each other and people started ducking away from the windows. I kept asking Brint what they were saying and he couldn't figure it out, he just told me to get down!!! My heart was POUNDING! I was scared.... He then figured out what they were saying, GUN!!! At that moment I was just praying that everything would be alright. The people on the bus were yelling at the bus driver telling him to GO! GO! GO!.... after we started moving everything started to settle down, Brint was talking to another person on the bus and found out that there was someone that was outside with a gun looking through the bus windows and that's why the girls were screaming. We were moving, and everything seemed to be alright. Everyone was safe, a little shaken up, but safe. Behind us there was a mom with her small daughter, and the little girl was crying. The mom and I exchanged looks and at that moment the mother started crying, which in turn made me start crying. They small girl was so scared. We all were. I am so grateful that everything ended up being okay. What an experience. Definitely one I don't ever need to experience again.

OK! enough with the DRAMA! haha we made it to our destination!!!  Yummy food at Villa's. 

If you've never been to a brazilian churrascaria this is how it works. When you get seated you are given something, whether it be a piece of paper or a block, that one side is red (meaning, no thanks) and the other side green (meaning, yes please) This is to communicate to the people with all the meats coming around. It's an all you can eat buffet. They have a huge buffet with your hot and cold dishes and then the main course are the meats. YUM YUM YUM! :) 

Villa's Churrascaria (Shoe-haus-ca-ree-a)

After dinner we saw that there was a party going on in the area where we were. This weekend is Sao Juan. He is a Saint that they celebrate here in Salvador. So there are festivities leading up to the holiday on Friday! It was so much fun! There was a live concert, and I loved the music and the dancers. I swear, everyone in Brazil can dance. Men, women, kids... they all got rhythm! :) There was a mother with her two little girls there. They were probably 8 and 4... the 8yr old was picking up the 4yr old and dancing with her. It was so adorable.  

The next day, we went out with our friends, Pedro and Marcia, to an old sugar plane plantation. This area, Salvador, was one of the first and most important sugar cane plantations and docks on the South American continent. The family that ran it had their own private church and their own slaves. 

It was mostly a dock for ships to come and pick up sugar cane. Ships from portugal would come and pick up the sugar cane and ship it back to Europe. The plantation is now turned into a restaurant and museum. 

They still have a few of the original tools, walls, and tile murals. The picture below used to be an area where you wanted to live. It is right next to the plantation. The view is amazing. 

This is the original tool used to press the sugar cane

Here is a mural depicting a scene from Portugal.  

One of the old original push-carts they used to transport the sugar cane through the plantation. This went through the slave quarters. In the slave quarters room, there would be machinery to use to cut and press the sugar cane.

At this point my camera died! 

The original walls of the plantation where made of whale oils and mud. The new addition to the museum is a modern art exhibit. We saw some really neat art. I liked it a lot. It was a great weekend.