About an hour and a half north of Ilhéus is a little tourist city/backpacker hotspot/surfer heaven called Itacaré. Everybody in Ilhéus raves about the place so I thought I would head north for the day and see what all the fuss was about.
Turns out all the fuss was justified. Itacaré was not only beautiful but friendly and easy to manage as well. Seems like other people thought so too because the place was packed with tourists from all over the world; I think I talked to more foreigners than actual Brazilians. Itacaré caters to a non-Brazilian crowd and everything was translated into English. There were also places like coffee shops, multiple ethnic food restaurants and plenty of bars and clubs for those who don't go to bed at around 10:30pm.
I spent the day walking around and exploring the beaches and watching surf classes. I had lunch at an Arabian restaurant and then checked out some of the trendy tourist shops. The place to be in the evening was a specific lookout over the water to watch the sunset, and it was a glorious one. I had heard that there was a local who always played the berimbau as the sun was setting and he was there last night as well. It was hard to leave the small, idyllic paradise of Itacaré after just spending one day there, but I know that I'll be back soon!
I'm so jealous; what lovely beaches! And those are lovely pictures of you! :)