Up the Coast

Most day trips from Salvador are up the Linha Verde -- the "Green Line" -- the well-tended highway which follows Bahia's coconut-lined "Miracle Coast" northward.  Small roads branch off of this highway and wend their way off to nearby villages set on the coast itself.

Where you would want to go depends on your own personal inclinations, and we'll more than happy to help you figure out how to get there.

Praia do Forte is something of an ecologically-minded Carmel-by-the-Sea, replete with first-class restaurants and bars lining pedestrian-only thoroughfares, the principal thoroughfare giving onto a crescent-shaped beach with excellent barracas.

The village is easily accessible from Encanto de Itapoan by car, taxi, or bus.  It's located 60 kilometers (37 miles) from our front door.

Taxi fare is around 100 reais (around 35 U.S. dollars) each way, price arranged in advance.  The journey by bus is less than 10 reais (around US$3.50) each way.

Imbassai -- Praia do Forte's rough-hewn and untamed cousin sitting at the mouth of the Imbassai river -- is ten kilometers (6 miles) further up the Linha Verde, past Praia do Forte, where it is set amongst a veritable Garden of Eden of coconut palms.

One of the delights of Imbassai is to sit at one of the barracas with your table and chairs in the water of the Imbassai itself, sometimes ankle depth and sometimes as high as one's chest, eating and drinking and taking it all in.

Jacuipe -- located 45 kilometers (28 miles) away -- is (like Imbassai) named for the river which flows past it to the sea.  Originally a fishing village, Barra do Jacuipe (its complete name) was discovered by (Brazilian) tourists and summer people in the early 1970s.  Plenty of bars and restaurants here, generally simpler than the ones to be found in Praia do Forte.

Guarajuba -- located 42 kilometers (26 miles) away -- hosts both a great beach and barracas and a restaurant we are very fond of and recommend: La Cantina (there are plenty of other restaurants as well).  The area is quite developed, with lots of summer (as well as year-round) homes, and plenty of shops.

HOTEL | SALVADOR BAHIA BRAZIL | POUSADA

(Much more to come!)