I've written before about how Wednesdays are my favorite days of the week because it's a bit of a break in the routine of going to UESC.  I teach at the handicraft market in the morning and then I usually spend the afternoon enjoying some activity in Ilhéus.  One of my favorite things to do is visit the Praia do Cristo/Christ Beach where there is a place to rent sailboats, kayaks, canoes and stand up paddle boards.



Badaka, the man who owns the rental business, lives right on the beach in a little cabana on stilts and is quite a character.  He's thin and impressively tanned with a huge white beard.  He looks like the skinny beach bum version of a Brazilian Santa Claus.  The physical effect is maximized by the fact that he always wears a tiny Speedo and nothing else. 

Last week Badaka taught me how to stand up paddle with an added incentive of the fact that if I stayed in a certain area I wouldn't have to pay because I would be free advertising.  Stand up paddling was a little harder than I thought it was going to be mainly because of the wind and waves in the bay.  When I was in shallow water it was relatively easy, but when I was out on open water I fell quite a few times.



Every week Badaka repeats his offer of marriage.  "Marry me," he says.  "We could live in this little house on the beach for the rest of our lives and paddle out on the bay during the light of the full moons."  He always adds, "Do you want to see inside of the house?" I tell him that I'll think about it and that I'll probably see him next Wednesday.  This is daily life in Bahia.

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