Another day in paradise...

From the beginning I promised myself I'd write more often... but 2 weeks have passed quickly without me blinking! It's been a humorous and challenging journey all round and certainly one I won't forget. My sleeping patterns are the first challenge~ apart from the uncomfortable heat during the night, I'm even dreaming in Portuguese (!), so I repeatedly wake up confused and frustrated, wondering how to string together a comprehensive sentence. The early morning yoga looking out to sea always calms me however, so although I'm sleeping little, I'm well energised to absorb the culture. And what culture there has been!
An adventure into Salvador to see some jazz a week or so ago saw some trouble. Unfortunately missing the last ferry boat back to the Island, Aneli (the Romanian Artist here) and I had a spontaneous night on the town, staying in somewhat comfort (luckily) with a friend-of-a-friend in the city, after an hilarious tour of Saturday night drinking spots in Salvador. The following day feeling quite sorry without our sunglasses, we learned there had been 26 murders around Salvador that night. Wowee, a shock to the system and realilty check. Since then my ventures have been tamer, with a companion certainly at night, and without a camera... hence the lack of photos of late. Generally, what I've seen and experienced here however, simply cannot be captured in a photo anyway.
Salvador is an interesting city. The tourism is huge~ there's street stores lining every street, selling bikinis, hammocks, food, knick knacks, all sorts of souvenirs, everything you can think of, with the vendor noisily wanting everyone's attention as they walk by. The musicians above were camped in front of a stall at a market, playing and singing traditional Bahian folk songs at the top of their lungs. Nearby, the traffic is crazy.. the noise, wowee. It's enough to give a musician tinnitus! Amidst the hype of city, it's great to be able to escape the mayhem, retreat back to Itaparica for some quiet time and (sort of) blend in a little more to feel at home. Although these smaller villages and towns bring about their own troubles of poverty, somehow it feels easier and more welcoming to sit and watch the sunset over the ocean...

So, amongst my ventures of experiencing the culture and music, my actual purpose here is to start work on some new music. This has been quite the challenge, as I have not had the luxury of my usual musical instruments. I feel quite empty not being able to play as I would at home... although I haven't mastered the language, I am always certain to be able to express myself through writing and playing, either piano or vibraphone. This time however, that's not the case, so I went in search for another vehicle to express myself. If it's the rhythms that have to carry me, then another percussion instrument was the key, so last week I returned to a small village called Maragogipinho, to collect my two hand made ceramic udus. In the workshop (and oh how I wish I had my camera) there were 10 people hard at work, at the wheel, firing the kiln, waxing, painting and all sorts. My new udus are just stunning.... I've been playing for hours on end. They're not so easy to play, so I'm practicing hard in the hope I can play some decent rhythms upon my return to Australia. I just have to work out how to get them home!
Stay tuned for some mp3 clips shortly.. once you hear the sound, you too will be convinced that it'll inspire some new music..

Ok. Must be off... over and out for now.