I'm talking to José, a restaurant owner from Portugal, who tells me that Porto Seguro is not, despite what the history books say, the place where the first Portuguese landed in Brazil. "Santa Cruz Cabralia was," he says matter of factly while leaning across to me. But then he would say that. His restaurant, the Tropical, is located there.
Santa Cruz Cabralia lies 23km north of Porto Seguro, a small holiday town popularised by its party atmosphere and for being the first town the Portuguese set up in Brazil or, as a metal sign straddling the road entering the town says, "My name is Brazil and I was born in Porto Seguro".
José may disagree, but then again Santa Cruz Cabralia was for centuries referred to as Porto Seguro, or "secure port", after the reef that runs along the coast here and that forms a natural harbour for ships that dock behind it on João de Tiba River. The town was set up in 1503, which predates Porto Seguro's founding in 1535.
It also claims to have the country's second oldest church, the Nossa Senhora da Conceiação, a title simultaneously claimed by Porto Seguro. But most of the tourists, largely a mix of Brazilians and Dutch, couldn't really be bothered about history. They're here just to hang out on the beaches or party in the massive beach clubs.
You can easily make out who's who. That's the Brazilians over there, taking pictures of themselves miming statues of local Portuguese governors and captains, and that'll be the Dutch, cosying up to local Bahian women at the town's outdoor bars and restaurants.
It's not surprising why the streets here are filled with so many foreign accents, simply because the Discovery Coast, as it is termed by local tour operators, lays claim to some of the most impressive beaches in Brazil. From the nearby Arrial d'Ajuda to Trancoso in the south, the sand here is fluffy and white and slides between your toes like silky salt when you walk on it.
The best thing as a South African is being able to get a drink from the numerous upright carts you see young boys edging along over the sand. You won't find this on the Durban beachfront or on Clifton's Fourth Beach.
But on the white sands of Trancoso, for R12 or so, a boy in shorts - old enough to be your 15-year-old brother - will mix you up a cachaça. These are potent alcoholic drinks made from sugarcane, mixed with anything from pineapples to strange-looking fruits like maracaju or caju.
Then while you're out admiring people pelting by on horses or women sidling past you in bikinis, you can hail down vendors selling cheese fondues. Call on them and they'll heat up the cheese right there in front of you over coal-filled steel tins.
When the cachaça or 600ml ice-cold beers get too much, you can head over to a vendor who chops open a fresh coconut and slips a straw inside for you. But it's at night that Porto Seguro really comes alive when stall-owners line up to sell their wares along a 2km-long cobbled street, which is aptly named the Passarela do Alcool, or the passageway of alcohol. Not just beer and cachaças are sold here - you can also buy souvenirs like hand-drums and necklaces while browsing through pirated DVDs and MP3s. Someone will even push a sheet filled with tattoo designs into your face while holding a needle in the other hand and gesturing for you to have a seat at their street stall.
Tickets to local nightclubs, which are spread out along the beaches, can also be bought at the night market. These aren't ordinary nightclubs, they're more like theme parks.
The entrance to one club, Transylvania, looks like a vampire's den and the aquariums at another, Ilha dos Aquários, contain various species of fish and even sharks. Each night sees a different one hosting a party.
To reach the Ilha dos Aquários, you have to take a boat with other party revellers across to an island that lies in the middle of the river that separates Porto Seguro from Arrial d'Ajuda.
There in among a thousand other revellers, you're bombarded with a choice of music, whether it's a display of the frenetic dance percussion of axé, soothing samba, or techno at a nightclub area, the beach clubs here try to cater for all.
But apart from the beaches there is also the nearby Reserva Indígena de Jaqueira, an Indian reserve that lies a few kilometres north of Porto Seguro. The reserve, which was created in 1997, is home to the Pataxós and is one of many reserves in the country that allows Indians to carry on living as they once did and to preserve their culture. Currently, 70 Indians reside in this reserve, donning their natural dress of palm fronds and feathers.
Eight years ago, the park was nearly destroyed when a real estate agent came in with bulldozers and tried to remove trees, but a court judgment in favour of the Indians ensured that the park remained.
One of the main ideas behind the reserve is to promote respect from the community for the Pataxós' way of life. It seems to be working because barely a few years ago Indians couldn't appear in nearby Porto Seguro wearing face paint without being ridiculed by locals.
But there are far more oddities in wait for the visitor who arrives at the reserve than face paint alone. Take for instance the tribe's courting rituals: here a boy will throw pebbles at a prospective girl, until she relents and returns the pebbles to demonstrate her interest.
Sometimes, the boy can throw stones for up to six months before the prospective girl gives in. Then, when the boy is certain he wants the girl's hand in marriage, he'll throw a flower to her. If she returns it to him, she has accepted his proposal.
Things are by no means over for the would-be bridegroom. He must then complete a series of tasks given to him by the village. This includes carrying a log, matching the weight of his prospective bride, for 300m.The test dates from the time when the Pataxós regularly faced attacks from neighbouring tribes and had to protect their wives by carrying them to the safety of the woods.
But these days, the local Indians don't seem to be too keen to re-enact the ritual for you, but they will show you how to scrape the bark of a certain tree to gather natural Viagra.
If you go
- Visas: South African passport holders don't require a visa for Brazil, but you will get an entry card, which is valid for 90 days. Should you need to stay longer, it's quite easy to renew - you just visit the nearest branch of the Federal Police. Bear in mind that you will need to get a yellow fever inoculation before travelling to Brazil.
- Getting there: There are flights from most major centres in Brasil into Porto Seguro, otherwise you can connect with a bus, which is very affordable.
- Language: Portuguese is the official language. Be sure to learn a few words and phrases. Not many people speak English in Brazil, although everyone is prepared to help you out.