First night in Barra Grande

An excerpt taken from my travel journal leaving Barra Grande on June 9th, 2012: 

I am leaving paradise on a tiny ferry boat. This trip was amazing. I arrived Thursday night, after a longer than expected day of travel from Salvador to Barra Grande. Waiting for the boat to leave from Camamu to Barra Grande, I met two friendly young men with diving gear and harpoons. One of them started chatting with me and told me that the woman who lived on the same lot as him rented out cheap rooms to travelers. He was a wood sculptor and his friend visiting from Itacaré, a nearby surf town, to teach him how to fish with harpoons. The house was just a five minute walk from where we disembarked. So off  we went, harpoon gear in hand (or on shoulder) along the sandy beaches of Barra Grande. If I was looking for a cheap pousada (hotel), he said, this was the place to go. We arrived soon enough, and after I had a quick lookover at the room and was told the price (30 reais with breakfast included), I accepted. Now, at first glance, the room really did seem alright. Fresh sheets and towels laid out nicely on the bed, a mosquito net, TV, and everything seemed fairly clean. I laid down my backpack and proceeded to the bathroom. It was upon opening the bathroom door that I realized maybe this hadn’t been the best idea. There were mosquitos everywhere – you could even hear the low buzz fill the room. I nervously lifted up the toilet seat, to find several dead flies on the lid. It didn’t stop there. The tap water was yellow – really yellow. I definitely wasn’t brave enough to use it for brushing my teeth, but what about taking a shower? I took a step into the shower entrance. A cockroach was waiting for me. Okay, I can handle this. Remember that movie, Joe’s Apartment? I watched it when I was about five years old, but it left imprinted in my mind the idea that cockroaches weren’t so bad –  But then I saw one on the wall. I jumped, and saw the other cockroach  scurry into the shower drain. I guess I wouldn't be taking a shower that night either.

That night I went out for a quick bite, but it was already dark on the way back and I had forgotten to even ask for the name of the place I was staying at – not smart when the only way you know to get there is by the beach but at night the tide goes up and angry dog’s are guarding their owner’s property. I tried to go behind, by road, except that there were no street lights – after asking someone for directions: What’s the name of the place you’re going? You don’t know? Where the wood sculpter lives in the fisherman’s village? Right … well then maybe try this way. And good luck. This wasn't looking too good. But I was lucky, and made it to the pousada safe and sound. Soon after arriving, I tucked in the mosquito net around my bed (it wasn't just the mosquitoes I was worried about) and fell asleep.