Location:

Mangue Seco to Praia do Forte in Bahia, Brazil.


Duration:

7 days, cycling 155km.


Introduction
Cycling in the Bahia's coconut palm coast is absolutely fantastic. The natural beauty can be noticed by the pristine rivers, springs, beaches and waterfalls and when getting into the forest, by the native flora and fauna.
The particular Bahia cuisine (North of Brazil), the architecture and the local handicrafts will complete an outstanding experience. And all of this can be done on a bike!
The coconut palms are the symbol of shade and fresh water, and they stretch all over 115 miles, from "Mangue Seco" to Praia do Forte, in the north extreme of Bahia's coastline.
Most of the ride is done in the beach during the low tide, and the rest is done on gravel roads and in the last day we'll follow the "Green line" the first ecologic road that links Salvador de Bahia with Praia do Forte.
This is a different tour: A pure independent cycle tour, where everybody will carry its own luggage in panniers.

Daily Itinerary:

Sunday 1° day - Transfer from Salvador de Bahia to Mangue Seco.
The meeting point will be Salvador's airport and we recommend taking the first flight of TAM, since other airlines will charge you for extra weight when carrying the bike.

Monday 2º day - Mangue Seco to Siribinha - Sitio do Conde 50 km
After enjoying Mangue Seco's charm, we start our ride to "Siribinha", a small and simple little town with only one sandy street. We'll have excellent vistas of wild beaches, coconut palms, dunes and a fantastic landscape.
We'll do a lunch stop at this nice town to then continue on the beautiful "ecologic road" up to "Poças", another little town that earned its name because of the natural pools formed by the wind in the beach. We leave the beach for a while to keep riding up to "Sitio do Conde".
This is an old fishermen town that owns beautiful beaches, dunes, coconut palms and waterfalls. Its cuisine is also well known in Brazil, especially because of the seafood that will give a special flavor to our dinner.

Tuesday 3º day - Sitio do Conde to Baixio - 32 km
Today we keep going to "Baixio" through the Beach, surprising ourselves with the beauty of the place. We'll have the chance to stop and enjoy the calm sea or to swim in the different rivers we'll cross.
"Baixio" is a very small and nice little town, part of "Esplanada" council and part of the "Bahia's Environment Protection area".

Wednesday 4° day - Baixio to Subaúma - 18km
This one will be the shortest day of the tour. We'll ride through the beach and in the middle of the ride we can stop for a nice swim in a lake in front of the sea. The ride should take us two hours, so it'll be a great day to enjoy the beautiful hotel where we'll spend the night.

Thursday 5° day - Subaúma to Porto do Sauípe - 23 km
From now we'll choose to ride on the beach depending on the tide: if it's not possible to ride on the beach, we can follow the "Green line". The next beach to visit will be "Massaradupió", a hamlet surrounded by dense and green vegetation with the particularity of being the only nudist beach in Bahia.
"Massrandupió" is not reserved only for nudism, there's a big extension of virgin beaches to enjoy.

Friday 6° day - Praia do Forte -Porto do Sauípe- Praia do Forte - 22 km
On our last biking day we'll cross the "Rio Sauipe" in canoes and we'll keep cycling on the "Cota do Sauípe", "Diogo" and the beautiful beach of "Imbassaí". Two kilometers before arriving to "Praia do forte" we do a stop to enjoy one of the nicest natural pools called "Papa gente".
In Praia do forte we finish our ride, and it's mandatory to stay and breathe this town's atmosphere. There are plenty of bars, shops and restaurants and visiting the national base of "Projeto Tamar" (http://www.tamar.org.br/interna.php?cod=63) a sea turtle's conservation and recovery program that really worth a visit.

Saturday 7° day
A free day is always welcome, and in this case it will be good to enjoy and visit new beaches and visit the "Castelo de Garcia DÁvila" http://www.fgd.org.br/ a "medieval castle in a tropical environment". This castle was built between 1551 & 1624 and its ruins are one of the oldest in Brazil and they are placed seven kilometers from "Praia do Forte".

Sunday 8° day
End of the tour.