A red-headed bird in the late afternoon Marizá sun

In early June I returned to Marsha’s Marizá Epicentro permaculture farm. I loved my summer visit and looked forward to seeing the farm in winter.

Being tropical, June days were still hot and nights warm  although without December’s extremes. The most noticeable seasonal difference was increased greenery.

Geraldo the attacking goose in front of the house being built for Luis Carlos, wife Hévila and their soon to be born daughter, Ana Luisa

Fermented cassava hung up to remove excess moisture. The resulting product was then sieved, prepared and cooked into delicious meals

Hummingbird extracting nectar from a flower mid-flight. The smaller hummingbirds loved flowers near the kitchen and I regularly observed, awaiting the perfect photo opportunity

The first snake I witnessed in the region: a juvenile coral snake. There are twelve local coral snake species but only one is poisonous

I shared my room with this giant moth; unfortunately it passed away a few days later

Early morning animals in the permaculture farm vicinity creating lots of noise. This video was recorded at 4:17am

On the same morning I shot the video, I photographed at least two “preá“. These cavies usually run from humans and the photos I took were the best Marsha had seen

A spider on a mature local fruit; this small fruit tasted similar to a nashi pear

Marsha enjoying the company of one of the farm’s several cats

A wild monkey eating one of farmer Luis Carlos’ freshly harvested custard apples (chirimoya)

Luis Carlos cutting up cactus to feed the sheep and goats

During my stay one of the farm’s goats gave birth. To monitor the kid and protect it from predators, we placed mother and baby in a special enclosure.

The newborn kid and its mother; the sticks around the nanny goat stop it from getting stuck in or escaping through paddock fences

Playing pool with Luis Carlos at one of Marizá’s two bars

A tiny frog on my shirt in the guest accommodation

My Marizá Epicentro visit ended after six fantastic days. I had another amazing time, reacquainting with Marsha, Luis Carlos, Preta and the other workers and befriending volunteers Fernanda, Gabrielle and Mariana.

Returning from Marizá Epicentro to Salvador was an adventure. The Tucano school bus didn’t operate the departure morning but luckily Marsha was driving to town. While waiting for a bus to Salvador, a nondescript van stopped asking for passengers. I was the only taker. About half way I transferred to a private sedan full of other people. In Salvador, a helpful fellow passenger guided me to the suburban bus stop and stated the bus name for Pelourinho. An uncertain walk later and I was finally back at Hostel Oh Meu Rei. Salvador has a dangerous reputation and I limited use of my phone’s GPS to minimise unwanted attention.

While at Marizá Epicentro I undertook two sunset hikes and visited Tucano’s Saturday markets. These stories will be blogged separately.