The long trip home: ADVENTURE IN PETROLINA PART 3

Friday night we got home from the concert at four in the morning. Needless to say, we didn’t wake up until lunch time on Saturday. We all got ready and went out with George, Ana, Belle & Elzi. George took us to eat BBQ goat. I’m not usually a fan of gamey meats, but BBQ goat is really good. They serve it here on long knifes and it usually comes with sides like beans, rice & fried yucca. It was fun to be able to visit with the family before we left. I’m sad I didn’t get to spend more time with everyone.
After lunch we headed across the street to take some photos and then Ana drove us to a meeting that Elzi needed to attend before we left Petrolina. The meeting lasted longer than expected and by the time we were done it was seven o’clock in the evening. The next bus didn’t leave until nine, so we decided to get some pizza while we waited. A fun fact about pizza here is that they like to top it off with ketchup and mayonnaise. It’s actually not too bad, but it does help that ketchup here is a little less thick and a little more sweet.
After dinner we headed to the bus stop where I decided to take some more photos. While we were taking photos this so called photographer came over and started to tell me how to use my camera. At one point he decided it was ok to grab my camera and mess with the lens. It was really frustrating. I don’t know what he was up to, but luckily our bus arrived and we jumped on before we had to hear more of his nonsense. We slept for most of the ride and ended up in Capim Grosso at one in the morning. Capim Grosso is an hour away from Jacobina, and we needed to catch our next bus there.
Once we got off, we found out the next bus wouldn’t be arriving until three. The only other person that got off of the bus was an elderly woman who was on her way to visit her son. Aside from us, there for 4 or 5 people working at the station. Since there was nothing else to do I started walking around taking photos. I stuck my head into a room and saw a glass case full of toys. I got Elzi and asked her if I could go into the store. As it turns out, it wasn’t a store at all. It was the mens bathroom. I have no idea why, but they were selling toys and other items in there. Since no one was around, the bathroom attendant let me take photos of everything. I know that doesn’t sound very exciting, but almost all of the toys were vintage! It was great to have something fun to keep me occupied while we waited.
More people started coming from other busses and we visited with them for a while but everyone was exhausted. It started pouring rain so we all squished on a bench inside and tried to fall asleep. Our bus never came at three. At four thirty, a new bus arrived and informed us that the bus we were waiting for got a flat tire.
You know when it’s really late at night and you start to get silly? That’s what happened next. Before we new it, we were singing ridiculous songs, telling funny stories and spinning in the rain. Even though I was tired, I had a great time. I just kept reminding myself that it was an adventure and I should enjoy it, so I did.
We didn’t end up getting a bus until six in the morning. We fell asleep as soon as we got on. We arrived in Jacobina at seven and walked home. The streets were still wet from the rain and the sun was just coming up over the mountains. It was beautiful and totally worth it. I look forward to having more adventures like that while I am here!