South to the Peninsula, by Land & Sea

Península de Maraú. From space: continent and Camamú Bay (left), Itacaré (bottom), Atlantic Ocean (right).

There are plenty of routes south from Salvador to the Península's base at Itacaré.

They're all good. Which is best depends on personal preference, sense of adventure, type of vehicle, time available, avidity for untouched beaches, desire for variety......





1. WATER ROUTE
From Salvador you can reach the Peninsula de Marau entirely by sea now. Several high speed catamaran services run from Salvador to Morro de Sao Paulo on the island of Tinharé. At Morro, you can make a connection to the Peninsula with a new boat service. Our friends at "Camamu Adventure" have the only scheduled, fast boat transportation service here. However, they are still working out the new schedule. At the moment, Fridays and Mondays, which will change. Or spend the night at Morro de Sao Paulo and take the next boat to the Peninsula. Whenever.

Time: 1 1/2 hours Salvador-Morro de Sao Paulo (Catamaran)
3 hours Morro de Sao Paulo- Peninsula de Marau (170 pax boat)
Total with conex: 5 hours (per latest 'test drive')

This route obviously skips Itaparica. But it's skippable. Also Boipeba, which is nice and a relief after hodgepodge tourism in Morro. However, it has nothing the Peninsula doesn't. The connection from Salvador to the Peninsula is onTinharé at Morro de Sao Paulo.

Bottom Line: The best of the islands + the least hassle + the least highway travel

2. CONTINENTAL (INCLUDES 1 ISLAND)
From Salvador by ferry to Itaparica (keep going.... ) ride south across the bridge to the continent at its southern extremity. Continue on Highway 001 through Nilo Peçanha, Valença, Camamu. Skip the Ubaitaba turnoff to the Peninsula. Instead go on to BR 262 to Ilheus, one of the prettiest drives in Brazil, a lucious, traditional cacao area. From Ilheus up the coast to Itacaré on an excellent paved road through beautiful, verdant tropical rain forest near the ocean.

Bottom Line: The best 'island' (Marau Peninsula) + the most highway time + the most scenic highway


3. CONTINENTAL + (TWO OR MORE) ISLANDS
Do the "Continental" run south to Valença after the ferry to Itaparica. Here you'll have the option of taking a fast, diesel powered boat to Tinharé/Morro de Sao Paulo. Then Camamu Adventure's new boat service (above) to the Peninsula. Or see if you can locate a boat on to Boipeba. Or return by boat to Valença and head south, then toward the coast again to Cairú where you can again take a boat, to Boipeba. Or continue from Valença south following the rest of the One Island "Continental" route, above.

Bottom Line: The most islands, the most options.

If you get tired of islands and beaches, you can always go back to the continent and remain on paved highway the rest of the way. On the other hand, it might be better to skip one or two islands right from the start: Remember, the further south the less touristy, more remote and untouched.

Driving or riding the beach: It's politically correct not to. My wife, bless her, refuses: "What if everyone did!?... What about the turtles?!" The fact is everyone does not and the turtles lay their eggs above high tide. A tip: Stick to Full Moon or New Moon. Tides are more extreme then- low tide is lower than the rest of the month (and high tide higher). You will get epecially firm, flat highway like conditions at low tide at these times of the month. Every two weeks. An hour or two on either side of low tide works too. Especially important : Cross the Rio Piracanga at either full or new moon, at dead low or near it. Tide charts at http://www.mar.mil.br/dhn/chm/tabuas/40145Mar2007.htm (replace "Mar2007" with MonthYear you arrive). "Ilheus" measurements are most accurate.

You can still ride or drive the beach at 1st and 3rd quarter, but it's what's called maré morto" ("dead tide"). That means the interval between high and low tide is small. You should try to ride only at dead low tide during maré morto. Once I drove the beach at low tide maré morto, at almost average high tide height (0.90). Tricky business! Climb and drop (as in surfing) for 30 km.... up with speed to the soft berm high above as the waves rush in... drop down again, pick up speed when the vehicle starts to bog..... climb for elevation up to the soft berm ..... You get the picture. Interesting. My wife didn't forgive me for a month.

Once you've left the beach, be sure to flush vehicle with fresh water as soon as possible. At a gas station, pousada or B&B. Even if you don't actually go through salt water, you'll have picked up invisible maresia ("salt spray")

In soft sand, try letting most of the air out of the tires, always keep up MOMENTUM, avoid heavy loads. The idea, of course is to avoid bogging. If you stop in soft sand it will be hard to get going again.