Adventures of Cameron & Emma in Buenos Aires

On our way to Salvador the 6 of us stopped in a little town by the name of Vitoria. Although we were heading north to escape the rain, Vitoria was not quite north enough.  The first thing I noticed while entering the small port town was the beautiful umbrellas that lined the streets. Every woman and man had the most vibrant umbrellas, ranging from crazy colorful to floral patterns that rival Laura Ashley. Even with the gray rainy weather, my spirits were immediately lifted because of these paragua beauties.

While in Vitoria we stayed in a hotel that was supposedly “the nicer” between the two options our guidebook suggested. If this hotel was the nicest, then I would definitely never want to step foot in the other.  We got two bedrooms with three small styrofoam mattresses, accopmained by wet pillows (luckily I brought my own, despite the harassment of the rest of the group).   The rooms were damp and cold, but the showers were even worse. If it had been warm out, the lack of hot water would not have been a problem, but unfortunately it was pretty cold. There were also wires hangin around the shower, and while Russ was trying to somehow.. do something.. not so sure what.. he got a little electric shock. Needless to say, he was not happy and a little freaked out.

We were however able to find some really good seafood while staying here. We used our lonely planet’s food guide. Though after its hotel suggestions, I am surprised we trusted their food recommendation. We attempted to go to a resturant that no longer exists, but in its place there was an excellent little seafood spot. Moqueca is a specialty of Vitoria, and a seafood stew with some sort of special fish sauce. Sounds kinda nasty, but actually really really good. The fish most commonly used in Vitoria is the Pirao. As soon as the waiter came over, I asked what the best dish on the menu was (although Russ always objects to this inquiry, as I do it often… it lead us down the right path) and informed us that hands down Moqueca with Pirao was the best item and their particular specialty.

Vitoria was starved for tourists. It seemed that everyone we met wanted to befriend us and help us out. Emma, Russ, and Gabi meet a fiery girl named Mariana in a coffee shop. She showed the catalogue from her boyfriend’s bikini line. She told us she wanted an “American opinion” and did we think it looked professional enough, she asked. Emma and Gabi agreed that it had a few flaws (uneven skin tones and so forth) but Russ is still looking it over before he makes a final decision on the bikini matter.