My stay in SERGIPE - the smallest BRAZILIAN STATE and how I got done some legal FORMALITIES - trip to South America part 5

in travel •  7 years ago 

Tomorrow morning I'm already going to Rio. I'm gonna spend few days there before I go to Cabo Frio - where I will be volunteering at one hostel for a whole month. But first I will tell you about Aracaju.

So as you might remember, I spent there 4 nights instead of 2 that I planned in the beginning. Before I came there, I heard a lot of things that there is not much to do and even the beach isn't the best one. I totally disagree with all of that! First of all, I felt there less or more like in Foz do Iguaçu - the atmosphere in the city was pretty similar, just this place was a bit bigger and by the ocean. But I felt safe there - I was walking alone on the streets at 8 pm when it was already dark and I didn't feel any danger. It's not something normal especially here, in this part of the country. And one day I also went to the beach alone, thinking that I won't get into the water as I cannot leave my stuff alone. But then I was surronded only by some families with kids, who also were going to swim all together, not worrying about their belongings. So I did the same, and nothing happened! I guess it would be hard to feel so safe at the beach even in most of places in Europe, so I was pretty surprised.

In Aracaju I also got some legal formalities done... So one day I bought Brazilian SIM card, so I could finally use internet here. But you have to register it, and unfortunately, you need CPF number to do that. CPF is number of any registered individual person - something like Polish PESEL number, NIN in UK, or Social Security Number in US. If you want just to register your sim card, sometimes you can maybe just ask some friend to use his number (that's what a woman working in one of mobile company office advised me, but remember it's really private and confidential number), but I knew how useful it is here (I couldn't even get discount card in one shop without it), so I started searching if there is any way to get it as a tourist. And there is! It's kind of temporary number - but I'm not sure about how long is it valid, because in the end I didn't have to say when I am leaving the country. So you just have to fill out a form that you can download online, and then bring it to Receita Federal - Tax Authority. So I went there, waited around 20 minutes in the queue, and received it directly there. Now, having such an important thing, I can say I formally feel Brazilian!

And do you remember the family party that I got invited for ? In the end it turned out to be more like kind of religious event, where all the people get to pray together. But it looks much different than in my country - people sing, talk a lot, and the atmosphere is really positive. I'm not very religious person, but I know how important is faith in Brazil. Most of Brazilians are strongly religious and it's really important part of their life so to see things like that is really unforgettable, because it's when you really get to know somebody's culture. And Brazil has countless number of various faiths and religions. Some of them are also related to some African beliefs, as Afro-Brazilian culture is pretty strong, especially here in the north part of the country.
On Friday morning I went to Salvador by blablacar. It's not the most popular mean of transport here yet, but luckily I found a ride for the day when I wanted to go. And I've met such a nice people! The drivers were couple and another passenger was a girl of my age. They told me a lot of tips about many places, and also made me eat some traditional snacks with shrimps haha:D

So on Friday afternoon I arrived in Salvador... And lots of crazy things happened here. I'll tell about it in the next post, so stay tuned!

Authors get paid when people like you upvote their post.
If you enjoyed what you read here, create your account today and start earning FREE STEEM!
Sort Order: