Piracanga: A New Way Of Living

Finally, we made it to what will be our home for the next five months, an eco village in Piracanga, about an hour’s drive from Itacare.

Getting to Itacare from Salvador required us catching a ferry. You take it in Salvador across the water to Bom Despacho (about an hour).

We aimed for the 7am ferry, which meant waking up at 5.30am and getting a taxi at 6.30am (about 10 Reais). Although we waited in line with about 20 minutes to spare, the queue, for whatever reason, simply didn’t move.

People grew quite irate and, like us, missed the ferry. But eventually we got our tickets for the next one (they depart every hour) and then joined another mass of people, who waited impatiently for the gates to open into the boarding area.

Frankly, I’ve never seen anything quite so disorganised. And with a young child, pregnant wife and two large suitcases (not forgetting the warm and humid conditions), it wasn’t easy being herded - marching through with people shoving from behind and the side, desperately trying to find a way to jump the line.

In the boarding area it was much the same. Everyone waited for the signal to embark and then, without much consideration for others, made a desperate dash, oblivious it seemed to the prospect of leaving anyone crushed.

All I could think of was how potentially dangerous this would be during an emergency or evacuation. On the boat every seat was taken within seconds.

People boarded with all sorts of things, too, ranging from fish to fruit and vegetables to fridges!

Once safely in Bom Despacho, we headed off the boat and up a steep ramp, eventually to an area where you can catch a bus. We didn’t book anything in advance. The website for Cidade Sol didn’t offer this facility and we were advised there are always places available.

Since we missed our intended coach (at 8am), we had to wait for the next one – at 11am!

We were all feeling a little hungry. But if, like us, you are a little health-conscious or vegan, there isn’t a great deal to eat on site. I walked with Zenchai about half a mile along the main road towards town.

There’s a huge supermarket (with ATM machines) and we found some shops selling fresh coconut water and juices. We were back well in time for our bus (Cidade Sol buses head to Itacare at 8am, 11am, 12pm and 2.30pm).

From Bom Despacho it’s a five-hour journey, stopping approximately 12 times until you reach Itacare. The coaches are reasonably comfortable. Tickets cost about R30 (£11) per person.

In Itacare, we were collected by a Piracanga Land Rover, which drove us over quite rough terrain to the home at which we are renting a room for the next month.

Piracanga is undeniably postcard beautiful. It is surrounded by coconut trees, very lush and green and there’s the constant hum of the ocean waves. There’s a river nearby, which you must cross – or walk around – to reach the miles of deserted sandy beach.

But Piracanga is also remote, which has positives and negatives. We had to shop for fruits and vegetables in Itacare before arriving, but our supplies lasted only a few days.

The options are to eat at the Piracanga buffet-style vegetarian restaurant (excellent food) or find your own and prepare it. To get to Itacare (the nearest town) on foot takes over an hour along the beach.

Here in Piracanga, we will have to live more wisely, especially when it comes to conserving energy. We handwash our clothes and try to exist as one with nature. Life is simpler. We go to bed early and rise with the sun.

Our home has solar panels and is the only one in the village with a fridge – what a luxury!

We must charge computers and electrical devices in the morning and during the day, when (and only if) there is sunshine. There are no televisions. In the afternoon and evening the use of electricity is more limited. Internet is unpredictable and at times slow.

There are no lampposts or road signs. Look into the sky at night and you see thousands of stars. We find our way around by using our senses. At first the place seems like a maze. At night, when it is pitch black, you may need a torch. But we have managed without one, feeling our way back to our home.

Piracanga is safe. There are no security issues. Houses here are mostly open. No one has to lock his or her door or guard their belongings.

There are all sorts of interesting creatures, too: spiders, long-tailed mice, monkeys, lizards, birds, scorpions, snakes, bats and, of course, mosquitos. You quickly learn to get along with them.

We are all still adapting. Jamie, being pregnant, was a bit anxious about where the food was going to come from. We opted to eat lunch and dinner at the restaurant. We prepare our own breakfast.

Zenchai’s been hard at work, using a wheelbarrow and logs to build a pathway by our house. Our surroundings are one great playground for him. He has also found a little boy his age to play with. There is a school and lots of other children, varying in age.

I’m taking it slowly, absorbing the beauty and adjusting to the pace after coming from a city. We are listening to other residents about how best to live here. People come to Piracanga from all over the world – Brazil, of course, Portugal, Uruguay, England, Switzerland, Holland, Israel, Canada, America, Greece, France, Argentina, Ecuador and Romania to name just a few countries.

I have enjoyed the first few mornings running barefoot along the beach and then plunging into the powerful waves in the ocean. In the afternoon I play beach volleyball. Jamie and Zenchai like to swim in the river, which is bath tub warm.

It’s so different from being in the city. As Jamie said to me just recently, Salvador seems like such a long time ago, even though we only just left there.

It has more to do with the contrast in lifestyle than the illusion of time.

AbramsFamilyWorld travel tip: While everyone told us catching the ferry from Salvador to Bom Despacho was straightforward, be warned it is not. And I’d recommend travelling on a weekday rather than a Saturday, as we did, just to avoid the stampede. Alternatively, you can catch a plane, which is more expensive, from Salvador to Ilheus (about 50km from Itacare).

Abrams Family World Travel

05 February 2011

Piracanga: A New Way Of Living

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