Baia dos todos os santos

So, the conference is over, but we all stuck around. What in the world is a group of ecologically-inclined geologists, biologists, and habitat mappers going to do with a day in tropical Brazil? Well, GeoHab has the tradition of hosting a field trip to an area of local interest following each meeting, and this year, it was a boat tour of All Saint's Bay (Baia dos todos os santos). I was very excited to participate in this year's trip.

Weathered buildings in Salvador

We started early in the morning by boarding a bus and driving to the marina on the other side of the city. It was the only time I had actually gone through the city of Salvador, and it was interesting to see the interior. Unfortunately, the buildings were mostly in a dilapidated condition, but at one point, we circled a pristine man-made lake with statues of traditionally-costumed figures standing in the center of the water. This city has so many gems tucked into the matrix of weathered tin roofs and trash. When we finally arrived at the marina, we stepped out of the bus onto a busy street corner where vendors displayed their wares and heavily-armed policemen kept watch.

We pushed our way through to the dock, where a schooner was waiting for us. The boat was actually a bit different from what I expected from the name "schooner" - it was long and flat, and it had a canopy over most of the deck. Sure, it was a wooden boat with masts, but I think the shape was designed to keep tourists happy, not brave the high seas. There was a lower deck with 4 cabins, but the cabin roofs stuck up through the main deck of the ship a little, much like on a sailboat. Essentially, the raised middle portion of the boat turned into a lounge space, because it was well-supplied with weatherproof matresses and pillows.

Oh, but it was so good while it lasted.

Sticking forward from the bow of the ship was a long wooden beam with cargo nets on either side in a triangular shape. It didn't take long for people to climb out on the beam and settle into the cargo nets - after all, who doesn't want to ride on the forwardmost point of a schooner? Even so, we had barely left the marina when a navy vessel pulled up on our starboard side with flashing lights and blaring sirens. I didn't even know it was possible to get pulled over on the water, but apparently, the Brazilian navy didn't think our whole cargo-net-carrying-people idea was so great. One of the crew members who understood the navy's shouted commands gestured for us to come down, and we reluctantly found much less entertaining places to sit.

Paradise.

After leaving the marina, we headed south for a view of the Farol da Barra (Barra ligthouse), then north into the interior of the bay. We passed a number of large container ships sitting at anchor, waiting, as far as I can tell, for their next load to take abroad. We steamed for a few hours before arriving at an island on the bay's north end. There was an old Portuguese church on a rocky knoll, but other than that, the island was relatively untouched. The schooner's crew dropped anchor as close as safely possible to the beach and then opened a hatch on the starboard side. If you're thinking what I'm thinking, you would have done exactly what I did: change into a swimsuit and cannonball over the side. It only took a few seconds for the first person to jump in, and pretty soon most of us were soaking in the salty blue-green sea.

Rainbow over Salvador

We swam and wandered onto the beach, where hundreds of tiny yellow fiddler crabs scurried over the ground. There was a stand of mangroves and numerous mangrove shoots emerging from the sand. I had never seen mangrove shoots before, so it was fascinating for me to notice all the young leaves sticking up on the beach. We took turns chasing after fiddler crabs and picking up interesting gastropod shells. In short, it was a tropical paradise, and none of us wanted to leave. After an hour or two, though, we had lunch on the boat - rice, noodles, seafood stew, fresh fruit, and a coconut dessert. We lounged with full bellies in the sun on the bow and then took the scenic route back to land. It actually got pretty cloudy and dark as we returned to Salvador, and it started raining off and on. A faint rainbow was visible above the dark city, and the sun hid behind clouds off our stern.

The field trip was an absolutely fantastic experience, and I was glad for the opportunity to see the bay. Brazil is such a beautiful place.