i think that like many other romantics i love dramatic skies, and morro offered a daily show of stunning sunsets and dawns. im forever fascinated by the magic of colourfull skies.

morro de sao paulo is a famous island off the coast of bahia, about 2 hours by boat from salvador. it is extremely popular with tourists, particularly argentinian tourists, and is famous for its carnaval parties and its many bars. i was there around april, and it was hot and thankfully not very crowded. i do not recommend it during the high season, as it is a relatively small place and unless you are willing to go far into the island, it can get very croweded. i do recommend however, that you visit it during the low season, and that you investigate its further beaches, the 4, 5th and if you go all the way to the end, morros sister island of boipeba, my favourite place in all of brasil.

nearly everyday, before heading to the bars and the open air theatre of morro, we'd stop by its sea-front slopes to witness the most intense sunset battles between the evening clouds and the day's sun. stupendous!

i love the intensity of this sky. despite looking menacing, these magnificent dark clouds brought brief, if intense, showers in the evenings, late into the evenings. it was as if the gatekeeper up there was one of the late night revellers, and only let the waters down after also getting back to his room from a night out in the bars.

the main portion of morro is broken into 5 'sections' each around a corner like this. the first two sections are near the port, and have the bulk of the bars, restaurants, and night life. the further along you go, the more peaceful and scenic it becomes. i stayed in a lovely pousada on the 4th section called catavento. the 5th section was even more idyllic, but also quite a bit further out, and the problem is that when the tides come in it becomes virtually impossible to walk back to the centre of town, and this can be an issue particularly in the evening when i didnt feel like getting all wet again on my way out. the 4th beach is relatively close to the centre, about a 15 minute walk. 

how lucky are these coconut trees, to grow up and live bathed by the sun, the sea and lulled to sleep everynight by a warm night sky.

despite seeming too saturated to be true, these are the actual hues as it was at that moment. i did not adjust the colours on this photo, and i have never seen a sky and a sea merge colours like these. amazing isnt it.

 

this is a really cool couple i met in morro. he is brazilian, and owned a very cool little bar along the main sandy street in morro, with a great music collection and nice cool beers. she is german, and spoke really cute portuguese which she had learned along her travels in brasil. they were incredibly friendly and warm and had plans to move to germany. i felt sorry for him for that ;) but happy to hear they were making plans together. and maybe now he will be in germany during the world cup, making wicked caipirinhas and sporting that glorious canary yellow shirt.

theatrical!

this is a view of morro from the highest point in the neighbor island, boipeba.

and the view of the sea from that same spot

morning dew evaporating in morro. the trees create an incredible filter.

the main road in morro

this is the view as you leave the main road behind and head down towards the beach

and this is the first beach. i spent zero time here. it has the kind of bars which you will find pretty much anywhere, dotted with apartment buildings stacked one on top of another, and filled with loud college kids and families. it offers the usual late night parties and bottle-littered beaches. as a traveller ive discovered that if i push on beyond the obvious i tend to find something much more enjoyable, personal and memorable, and morro is no different.

the crumbling fort which gives its name to the island. this is one of the famous scenes of morro.