Exploring Vitoria

After recharging the laptop for 2 hours at the SALA VIP of the bus company that takes us to Salvador in the evening, went to explore the town.

The center is quite close to the bus station. Just walked over there. Arrived at the recently renovated Palacio Anchieta (see: http://www.palacioanchieta.es.gov.br) around 10:30. The next excursion was about to start at 11.00, but since it was going to be in Portugese anyway, then we immediately were offered a private tour in English (for free).

The governor of Espirito Santo uses the Palacio as his office but otherwise it seems to be open to the tourists. On Sundays one can even visit the governor's rooms. It's really nicely renovated, e.g. the foundation of the old church that used to be part of the building is shown under the glass floor. A multimedia presentation (also available in English) presents the building's history.

Then walked aimlessly in the town, trying to find a restaurant but ended up eating "frango with queijo" and drinking Coke at a fast food place.

Then got an idea to visit one of the beaches (praia de Costa). Getting there on a public bus took about 2 hours. It doesn't help that we don't speak any Portugese beyond "aqui onibus para o praia?"

The beach is nice, reminds a bit of Copacabana in Rio. There are no booths where one could exchange into the swimming suit, and the showers to wash of the salt water are very scarce. But the waves are huge and it's fun to jump in them.

Now back at the rodoviaria, using the Internet for 3.50 BRL per hour. Unfortunately they don't allow one to connect one's own laptop.

At 18.00 leaving for Salvador. Unclear how comfortable the bus is, or how many stops it makes on the way but the trip lasts 20h. Maybe it would have been better to pay approx. 100 BRL extra and fly there instead.