Illin' 'n' chillin' in Itacaré

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Not a whole lot new stuff to report on for this extended stay in Itacaré. We have been here for 2 weeks today, and have loved it to pieces. The only reason we are leaving soon, is because our apartment rental for Carnival in Salvador starts on Monday. Should be a really good time, and reasonably priced compared to staying in a hostel. More on that later...
What we have done since last post: not a lot...

Life doesn't get much rougher than 5am surf sessions or hour long treks through the jungle to remote beaches. And we still work up a sweat cooking meals for ourselves (Matt mainly).
Last Friday, a group of Israellis and other people at the hostel all pitched in to have a bit of a BBQ party. It cost us R$8 (~$4.25) each for sausages, burgers, ribs, steaks, caprinhas and beer. The Englishman, James, manned the grill while the rest of us BS'd, waiting for course after course of meat. After that, we all headed to a local pub for some drinks and music as the hostel has quiet hours around 11:00PM. The pubs are all very laid back as even our dogs were allowed to come and hang out. At the pub we found a new way to make some friends, money and drinks: why through the bonding of arm wrestling of course! Matt would find one of the larger and friendlier looking guys in the pub and challenge them to an arm wrestle while I would bet some other friendly looking people that Matt could beat the guy. Five bucks in the plus thus far! After which, a handfull of us went to a beach party, but seeing as how Matt and I are fairly stingy post-Rio and pre-Carnival, we opted for sleep instead.
The next day we had to mission to Ilhéus, in search of working ATM's. Seeing as it is a city 60km away, we decided to make a day out of it. First, we wanted to rent a motorbike like a Canadian friend, Jesse, but that bike wasn't available and nor was any other for that good of a deal. With that established, we headed to the bus stop and caught the 10 o'clock into the city. We wandered the streets in search of the bank, and my little lonely planet map had us a little confused. On our trek we managed to catch a glimpse of a bustling Saturday market in Brazil, find a Ice Cream buffet, and stumble upon some resting circus grounds with an elephant, bear and other amusing animals. The ice cream buffet was certainly the highlight. They had 10 flavours of ice cream, along with toppings of sprinkles, cashews, raisins, various syrups and candies. Like most buffets, it is all priced by weight, so it's not like all you can eat. You grab a bowl and fill it with whatever your heart desires, throw it on the scale and pay the lady-R$1.23 per 100grams. That day we both spent over R$8.50 at the shop...
As we carried on our way along the shoreline, we could see a magnificent church looming high above the city on a hill, so we headed up it. After being so used to walking around in no more than a swim suit and sandalls, city trekking in shoes, socks, shirts and backpacks wasn't so pleasant (nor did we smell very pleasant at the end of the day).
Accompanying the church were some fabulous views of the peninsula city. On our walk down the hill towards centro, a local man stopped us for a chat. He had been to the West Coast of Canada, and was keen to speak english. He also offered to give us a tour in his car, which we regrettably turned down.
Finally down town, there were plenty of banks. The first one did not work for either of us but the second proved successful...for mine. Matt had to try 4 or 5 banks and multiple ATMs before he scored some cash. With that done, we made our way back to the bus terminal a mere 4km away. Of course we stopped at the ice cream place again.

The ensuing days in Itacaré have been very similar. Surfing at dawn and dusk and killing the mid day with very cheap activities. Two days in a row, we hiked an hour to the most beautiful beach we have seen here yet. It was called Praia Prainha and though a bit of a grunt to get to (1hour hike in the heat of the day), it was certainly worth it both times. ALMOST would've been worth it to bring the surf boards, but alas we did not.
The dogs from the hostel came along though. Pingo and Preta come everywhere with Matt and I: beach, shops, kitchen, dorm...It's like they are our own and we sure are going to miss eachother.

Today was our last day of surfing, and unfortunately not the greatest for both of us. Matt's preferred board wasn't available, so he had to try to wrestle with a 6'1", while I managed with a 6'3". It was certainly my best surfing, despite the shite waves. It may have been our last surf day until we reach the Pacific coast, but perhaps we will get to do some more in North Brazil.
Next time I come to Itacaré, I'll probably get an apartment for a few months and surf everyday. Loved it here and hopefully we will find places just as awesome.

Photos: James warming up the grill. Dorió warming up the limes for caprinhas. Overlooking Ilhéus. Two of five (three for Mitch, two for Matt) bowls of ice cream. Willie, Matt & I getting ready for some sunset surfing. Preta, Matt & I en route to Praia Prainha. Praia Prainha. Hostel kitchen/common area from our balcony.