salvador carnival day four - filhos de gandhi

on my solitary walk to campo grande on sunday night, I start to notice the groups of men in robes and necklaces. 

I am aware of sticking out like a sore thumb, so naturally slip into the all important confident stride and ensure I do not make eye contact.

I see these guys growing in numbers and becoming boisterous groups of confident men, not disimilar from our very own brits abroad.

some have already shed some necklaces, some I see in the act.  by this point I have met the rest of the group and with caipirinhas in hand we turn the corner into camp grande and realise, all too late, that we have walked straight into the lion's den...

our teacher has filled us with fear of girls being lassued with necklaces, boys not taking no for an answer, pharmacies selling spirigel mouth spray to combat the spread of germs...

as it was I didn't have much to fear, the boys were not going to waste their time and energy fighting with you, so a polite no with a smile did the trick.

that said I did come away with three free necklaces...

necklace one - I gave a guy a light and spoke to him about London

necklace two - given to me by an old woman who liked my samba dancing

necklace three - thrown to me by a filho on a passing float with, what I like to think as, very good aim.

this was an amazing blocco to witness.  we walked passed it before it had started on its course, already impressive.

but when it later caught up with us it was insane.  thousands and thousands of men.  all in full gandhi gear, dancing and singing.

 

they all also carried a bottle of spray.  a perfume with a scent so special, that to describe it is difficult.  I suppose that the closest to it in the UK is the exclusive and often saught after, Glade bathroom spray.  if you were lucky enough a gandhi would approach you and give you a spriz and leave you smelling like a toilet in a greasy spoon cafe.

I managed to avoid a dowsing, but the little I did receive I hoped would act as a mosquite repellent at least.

there was one song that came on where all the filhos, all of them, lifted their bottles in the air and sprayed in unison.  very odd, and I'm not sure of the meaning and relevance, but it was an incredible sight.