[highlight]Leia em Português[/highlight]

Morro de São Paulo is among the most beautiful islands I have ever been to. There are coral reefs with colorful fish, palm trees, white sand, warm water and trails. What most caught my attention was the sudden change of the tides. It happens several times a day, changing the view.

Change of the tides
Change of the tides

It is formed by 4 beaches and the other side, where the locals live – which I did not visit. The touristic beaches are called 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th. This last one is the biggest, the others are quite small. The cool places and nightlife are all in the 2nd, and we stayed in the 3rd. In the 1st there is a hill where you can go and watch the sunset. It is a good idea to arrive early and visit the historical part, ruins from the 1800s with the sea in the back.

High tide and the taxi
High tide and the taxi

This travel was a true adventure, because I was unemployed and my brother was only a student. We both had little money and miles expiring. We chose Salvador, where we could stay with friends. We also counted on luck. The capital of Bahia let us down a little – apart from Pelourinho, the rest was dirt and violence. We decided to know the island, so we searched on the internet for accommodation but everything we found was awfully expensive. So, we decided to spend the day in the island with our backpacks on, in case we got lucky and someone showed up to help us. It worked well to our advantage; we ended up spending 5 perfect days in a very cheap Inn.

Ruins
Ruins

When we arrived, a lot of people offered to be our guide and carry our luggage. One of them helped us find the Inn, but only after a long time showing us the most expensive ones – our bargain and crying faces led us to our destination. The owner gives him commission, and that is why he only charges when he carries the bags. There are no cars in the island, the taxis are yellow wheelbarrows pushed by local people.

Clear and warm water
Clear and warm water

The Inn we stayed in does not exist anymore, but there must be others in the same style, for sure. It was a room with a bunkbed, ceiling fan and a bathroom – we shared the kitchen. For R$ 10,00/day, it was great.

2nd beach - coral
2nd beach – coral

There are lots of foreigners, what makes everything to be more expensive. Ask around and you will find good restaurants with affordable prices.

[box]TOME NOTA
Two options to get to the island – leaving from the same place:
1 – Catamarã on the high seas – R$ 100,00
>2 – A combination of transports, which takes the same time and is nausea free – R$ 15,00. We chose this and even talked some girls into coming with us (they thanked us in the end). We took 3 different transports, without waiting too long for them. First we took the ferry to Itaparica island – right on the arrival there is a parking lot with several buses, and we got the one that goes to Valência. Many fisherman in Valência can take you to Morro de São Paulo by boat or motorboat.  We chose the small one and after 2 hours we arrived in Morro.[/box]

Translated by Lúcia Maciel
English teacher
Contact: luciamaciel@territorios.com.br

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Author ro martins

Advertiser, tourism content generator, Territorios’s creator, photographer and travel guide. From the last 12 years, reports her travel experiences focusing on culture and ecotourism on her award-winning blog (Best Content Travel Blog at FITUR Madrid 2017).

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