EXPEDITION LIFE 

Accommodation
Food
A Day In The Life
Who Else Is Going?
Weather

Join a QUEST team in Brazil for 7 weeks, combining a three week Brazilian Immersion and Language phase in exotic Salvador de Bahia with one month volunteering on a Community, Conservation and Development Project on an island paradise.

If you want to experience a real insight into Brazilian life and culture, and help to make a tangible difference to communities in both rural and urban Brazil, then this gap experience is for you.

Accommodation
Brazilian Immersion and Language Phase:
The Language phase is in the community of Candeal, in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil.  Salvador is the third largest city in Brazil and the capital of the state of Bahia, it is dubbed ‘Africa in Exile’ for its mixture of African cultures. Often referred to as Bahia instead of Salvador, the city is home to some stunning colonial architecture, beaches, African culture and pulsating musical rhythms. You'll stay in a shared house, along with the rest of your team, within the small friendly community of Candeal. Volunteers usually share a simple room with bunk beds, the house has several bathrooms and a kitchen.

Project Phase:
Cairu "land of the sun" is an island paradise located off the Bahian coast of Brazil. It lies within one of the few remaining fragments of Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest and is home to a small and friendly community. Depending on the size of your team you will stay either in a shared house within the community of Cairu or on a small farm on the outskirts of the village. Whichever of these two locations your team stay in, you'll be sure to be integrated into the friendly community of Cairu.

Food
Language Phase:
In Candeal you and your team will organise and prepare your own breakfast and evening meals. Groups of 3-4 will usually take it in turns to shop in the colourful food markets and cook for the rest of the team, which is great practice for your Portuguese. Expect to find exotic and unusual fruits and vegetables, as well as mountains of Brazil's staple - rice and beans! For lunch you and your team will have food prepared for you by Siete, one of the coordinators of the phase in Candeal. Siete cooks a fantasic, traditional and hearty lunch.

Project Phase:
Whilst in Cairu volunteers will take it in turns to organise breakfast. Lunch and dinner is generally eaten at one of the local restaurants and food is always plentiful and tasty. Expect mash, rice, chicken, pasta, some form of vegetable or salad and beans. For vegetarians the local restaurants are happy to prepare soya mince, tasty salads and pasta alternatives. For meat eaters a big favourite is the steak barbeque!

A typical daily meal might be:
Breakfast: fruits, bread, cake, eggs, potato, tapioca, tea and coffee.
Lunch: main meal of rice or pasta, beans, fish, soya, egg or chicken, pizza, salad or vegetables.
Evening: soup, bread, cakes, fruits.

Whilst on Cairu volunteers should not drink water from the mains supply.  We provide large containers of spring water that volunteers can fill their bottles from before heading out to work.  It is important for volunteers to carry a large bottle of water with them at all times as it can get very hot whilst working during the day and there is not always the opportunity to fill up until you return to the farm.

A Day In The Life
Brazil Immersion and Language Phase:
Set in the sunshine city of Salvador de Bahia, you'll be fully integrated into the musical, Afro-Brazilian community of Candeal. Your mornings will be spent learning practical Brazilian Portuguese, whilst afternoons will be packed with a range of activities from the famous dance-like martial art of Capoeira to the renowned Brazilian art of beach life! You'll feel the reggae rhythms of Bahia and Carnival by joining the local drumming and dance groups in drumming sessions. This is a truly unique opportunity where not only will you learn Portuguese but you will experience the pace and pulse of local life. The unique cuisine, music, dancing and Capoeira are highlights of any visit to this most beautiful of cities.  Living in the small community of Candeal will give you a rare insight into life in this extraordinary city.  

Project Phase:
Primarily this is a community based project and you will be integrated into this small and friendly community so much so that you may never want to leave your new friends behind! 

You'll wake (or be woken by Rudy's singing!) at around 7am in time for a hearty breakfast.  You could cycle to the workshop or take a canoe to the floating platform to continue the good work started by last year's team.
At around midday we'll break and head to the local restaurant for lunch. There are usually hoards of children in the main square hoping for a game or a swim in the harbour, so lunchtime inevitably turns into playtime! 
After lunch you might accompany Antonio, our forest coordinator, to prepare seedlings in the nursery.  Or you might take a group of teenagers for an English lesson in the harbour.

Work activities will slow down in time for the evening's Capoeira - you'll be stretching, kicking and even back flipping as the sun sets, or you may choose to look on in amazement as the experts show you how it's done.   
You're sure to have worked up an appetite so you'll return to the farm for your evening meal with the team, to recall the day's activities and to plan the next!

The activities and work that you take part in on project phase will vary, depending on which aspects of Amainan's work your team focuses on.

Free Time/Weekends:
Evenings are spent playing Capoeira, preparing and practising for the theatre performance, chatting with the friendly locals or visiting Tony's infamous ice-cream shop - some of the tastiest homemade ice-cream in Brazil!
Weekends are spent exploring the Tinhare archipelagos - the surrounding castaway beaches and mangrove forests that make up this unique ecosystem.  You'll visit picture postcard beaches, endless and empty palm-fringed sandy shores, dance the weekend away on an island popular with backpackers and explore Cairu on bike and on foot.

Who Else Is Going?
Your team will be between 8 - 16 people.  The age range varies between 18 - 25 and is predominantly made up of gap year and university students. Regardless of age and background, all participants have one thing in common - an enthusiasm to experience the real Brazil, explore the depths of this amazing country, spend time with communities in rural Brazil and to make a positive impact on the local children and families in Cairu.  Your team will be led by two QUEST leaders to help the project run smoothly and to ensure all goals are achieved.

Weather
Although 90% of the country is within the tropical zone the climate of Brazil varies considerably in rain, temperature and humidity from season to season but it is only southern Brazil that has any large seasonal changes. 

Language Phase:
Tropical Salvador benefits from year-round warm temperatures, with average temperatures during your stay of 27 degrees Celsius / 80 degrees Fahrenheit. March is a sunny month for Salvador but as april approaches so do the rains, which can offer a light relief from the heat.

Project Phase:
Temperatures range from 25 to 32 Celsius / 77 to 90 Fahrenheit and never fall below 19 / 66 degrees. Humidity can be high which can make the region feel hotter than it is, but coastal breezes can help take the edge off. While rain occurs all year round, the main rainy season is May to September when the short bursts of rainfall can provide respite from the heat and help us with the tree planting activities.