Salvador, Praia do Forte, Morro de São Paulo and Trancoso
On the Segunda and Terceira Praia walkway, the keys slipped out of a pocket
People on foot and wheelbarrows share the wooden walkway of Segunda and Terceira Praia, which serves as Morro de São Paulo's promenade.
Keys dropped on the Morro de São Paulo walkway are worth a search, and the answer turns on how closely you can place the moment they went. Along the walkway of Segunda and Terceira Praia, the useful questions are where you were when you last had them, and whether you stepped off it for the beach, a bar or your pousada.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewellery recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone in Salvador, Praia do Forte, Morro de São Paulo or Trancoso with a metal detectorist who can search there.
Tell us what happened and where. We find a detectorist who can reach the place, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
Ask who has seen them, then mark where you walked
Someone may have handed the keys in, so ask at your pousada and wherever you stopped. If nobody has them, write down exactly what is missing: how many keys, what the ring holding them is made of, and anything hanging from it.
Next, mark on a map where you joined the walkway and where you came off it, with the rough time of each, and note what you passed nearest when you last touched your pocket.
Places we cover in Salvador, Praia do Forte, Morro de São Paulo and Trancoso
- Salvador
- Porto da Barra
- Farol da Barra
- Rio Vermelho
- Itapuã
- Stella Maris
- Praia do Forte
- The Sapiranga reserve and the Rio Pojuca
- Imbassaí
- Morro de São Paulo
- Segunda Praia
- Terceira Praia
- Quarta Praia
- Itacaré
- Praia da Concha
- Praia da Tiririca
- Praia da Ribeira
- Prainha, Itacaré
- Barra Grande, Maraú
- Taipu de Fora and its reef pools
- Arraial d'Ajuda
- Praia do Mucugê
- Praia da Pitinga
- Trancoso
- Quadrado de Trancoso
- Praia dos Coqueiros
- Praia dos Nativos
Where on the Bahia coast it happened
From the Salvador seafront to the Quadrado in Trancoso, find the place you were, then tell us the beach, the street or the stretch of walkway.
Porto da Barra and the Farol da Barra
Porto da Barra draws a lot of people. Close by, the Farol da Barra stands in the Forte de Santo Antônio on Praia da Barra, and it is a good place to watch the sunset. Pin the part of the sand you were on, since the two beaches are near each other.
Rio Vermelho, Itapuã and Stella Maris
Rio Vermelho has restaurants that mix Bahian cooking with international influences, and the currents off Rio Vermelho and Itapuã are strong. Stella Maris, on the other side of the city, is where surfers go.
Praia do Forte and Imbassaí
Praia do Forte, in Mata de São João, is a fishing village on the north coast of Bahia, with craft shops in the centre and restaurants by the sea. Praia do Forte beach itself has calm water for bathing, Praia do Porto is a long beach for walking, and Praia do Lord is known for natural pools at low tide. Inland, the Sapiranga reserve has trails through Atlantic forest, a zipline over the trees and canoeing on the Rio Pojuca, so name the trail or the stretch of river. Imbassaí, a village where a river meets the sea, is not far away.
Morro de São Paulo
Morro de São Paulo is the best-known place in the Cairu archipelago and its main gateway. The wooden walkway of Segunda and Terceira Praia serves as its promenade, and it is one of the routes with the most people on foot, along with the wheelbarrows that share it. On a route that busy, the time counts as much as the place.
Itacaré town beaches
Itacaré's town beaches are close to the centre. Praia da Concha has calm water where the sea meets the Rio de Contas. Tiririca is a classic surf beach. At Ribeira a stream runs into the sea and forms a natural pool, and a trail leads from there to Prainha.
Taipu de Fora, south of Barra Grande
On the Maraú peninsula, Taipu de Fora lies about seven kilometres south of Barra Grande village, with regular transport between them. At low tide, clear pools full of fish open up among the coral reefs, and people snorkel in them. Say how far out you were and whether the tide was already coming back in.
Arraial d'Ajuda
Arraial d'Ajuda, in Porto Seguro, has cobbled streets of colourful houses, with restaurants, craft shops and a lively nightlife. Praia do Mucugê has a long stretch of sand and calm water. Pitinga has colourful cliffs, rock formations and natural pools at low tide, and Taípe feels wilder. If the evening moved from the beach into the streets, tell us in what order.
Trancoso
Trancoso is also a district of Porto Seguro. The Quadrado, as well known as its beaches, is a square of colourful houses where restaurants serve food in the shade of the trees. Praia dos Coqueiros and Praia dos Nativos, two of the busiest beaches, are a few minutes' walk from it.
What we do with what you send
Nobody to chase
You write to one number on WhatsApp, and the answers, the plan and the outcome of the search all come back to that same chat.
Your photos go out with the detectorist
Before anyone goes out, the detectorist has your map pins, your photos and your own words about the moment you noticed, so the search begins where you think it went.
Something to do while you wait
If you are still in Bahia when you write, the first reply covers what is worth checking on the spot yourself, before anything is arranged.
Costs before a date is set
We explain the costs before any search is booked, in the same chat, so you can decide before anything is fixed.
How the water differs from beach to beach
The same coast has calm bathing water and beaches where a river runs into the sea.
Calm water and currents in Salvador
The sea in Salvador is calm on the whole, and Porto da Barra is one of the spots recommended to beginner divers, who go out about a hundred metres. The rock formations near the Farol known as the Pirâmides are among the best-known dives in the city. Off Rio Vermelho and Itapuã the currents are strong, and Stella Maris draws surfers.
River and sea on the same beach
At Praia da Concha in Itacaré the sea meets the Rio de Contas, and at Jeribucaçu a river flows into the sea and leaves calm places to bathe in fresh or salt water. At Imbassaí a river meets the sea as well. If you swam in both, tell us in which order.
Questions about Salvador, Praia do Forte, Morro de São Paulo and Trancoso
Is the Segunda and Terceira Praia walkway too much ground to cover for one set of keys?
No. A walkway gives a search a line to follow, and the work is narrowing down which part of it. It carries a lot of people on foot as well as wheelbarrows, so write soon. Tell us which end you set off from, where you came off it, and whether the keys were in a pocket, clipped to a strap or in your hand.
What makes a wedding band lost while swimming at Porto da Barra easier or harder to look for?
Porto da Barra draws a lot of people, and it is one of the spots recommended to beginners who want to dive. Where you went in decides where a search begins. Send a pin for the place on the sand where you left your things, a photo looking back up the beach from the water's edge, and say whether you were standing, floating or swimming lengths.
My watch was on at the Farol da Barra at sunset and gone by the time we reached the Cristo. What do you need from me?
Your walk is the search area, from the spot where you watched the sun go down to the Cristo. Drop a pin where you watched the sunset, another at the Cristo and one for each pause for a photo or a drink, and tell us whether you walked on the sand or along the seafront. Describe the strap and the clasp.
An Oura ring went missing on a surf day at Tiririca. Could it be on land rather than in the sea?
Yes. Tiririca has strong, constant waves, but around the beach there is grass, trees and natural rock, so if you waxed the board or changed there, that ground is where to start. Lost in the waves themselves, it would be a long shot, and you would hear that from us first. Tell us where you left your things and where you paddled out.
Is the ground under a restaurant table on the Quadrado in Trancoso somewhere a detectorist can look for an engagement ring?
Yes, and it is the place to start if the ring was last seen at dinner. The restaurants on the Quadrado serve in the shade of the trees on the square, so the ground under and around your table comes first, then the way back to where you stayed. Ask the restaurant whether anything turned up when they cleared away.
An anklet came off on Praia da Pitinga in Arraial d'Ajuda, and every photo we took shows the same cliffs. How do we mark the spot?
Pitinga has colourful cliffs, rock formations and natural pools that form at low tide. A photo with one of the rock formations behind you helps us more than a wide shot of the cliffs, so look for one, and add a pin from a phone map, even a rough one. Say whether the tide was in or out, and whether you walked in the water.
My bracelet was on at lunch in Praia do Forte and gone by the time we left the village. What can we do before we go?
Start with the places themselves: the restaurant where you ate, the craft shops you went into and the streets in between. Ask at each of them first, since any of them may be keeping it. Then tell us the order you went round them in, and which came before lunch and which after.
Salvador, Praia do Forte, Morro de São Paulo and Trancoso
Still in Bahia, or already home
A walkway, a square or a beach, each one starts with a pin.
If you are still here, say how many days you have left; if you have flown home, say that instead. Either way, send a WhatsApp message with what went missing and a map pin, however rough, and we take it from there.