Days 54-55 Rest & Sights in Salvador by ES

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  Salvador, Brazil
Tuesday, January 22, 2008

We arrived in Salvador at 7:50 am after a 13-hour bus ride from Recife.  Although I couldn't really sleep, the bus was quite comfortable.  We bought our tickets at the very last minute, so I ended up sitting in the front row, and Carolyn ended up in the last row, aka the "is anybody using the bathroom", "how do I get this door open", stinky stinky seat, etc... Also, Marisa, our lovely host from Recife had packed us delicious snacks, including sandwiches, brownies, cookies, banana, and drinks for the trip, so we didn't have to worry about food on our trip.

We were picked up from the bus station by Carolyn's aunt, Maria dos Remedios, and headed to her beautiful apartment in Salvador.  We had breakfast and napped the rest of the morning to catch up on sleep.  After lunch, she took us on a lovely tour of the older section of Salvador, driving along the bay to see the many forts and the lighthouse on the bay.  We stopped to drink coconut water and sugarcane juice, then drove to another part of the bay, where they were setting up the grand stands for Carnival along the street that runs along the beach.  After arriving home, we went around the corner with Rodrigo and tia Maria to have THE Bahian dish, Aracajé.  It consists of a deep fried bean paste with shrimp, spices, tomatoes, vatapa, and caruru.  Very tasty, but very heavy.  It's the Bahian hot dog.

Editors Note:  We didn't get any photos of the city, but when we got home that night, Carolyn's bright engineering mind decided to smack the camera on the desk to see if it would work, and Voila!  It works again!  We didn't take pictures of the market because we were cautioned not to take any valuables with us.

The next day, Rodrigo dropped us off at Mercado Modelo, a renovated Market, which is now full of stands, crafts, arts, and souvenirs.  While shopping, we were approached by a photographer from Sao Paulo who was taking pictures for a children's text book.  She had us pose at one of the stands and took a few photos.  Just think, some little Brazilian child in 2030 is going to snicker and say, "Ha ha, look at their haircuts and clothes from back in the day!".  I guess we were the hottest gringoes in the market that day.  They had some capoeira dancers at the market that we enjoyed watching, and I purchased many souvenirs, including my own birimbau to play along with the capoeira dancers.  They weren't as good as those on the beach at Jericoacoara, but it was still fun to watch.

They have a giant public elevator that takes us from the lower city to the upper city which costs all of R$0.05/person.  We took the elevator up and saw the lovely view of the bay, then chased after a marching band getting the crowds warmed up for Carnival.  We took a cab home and had another delicious lunch prepared by Rodrigo's angel, aka the maid.  Then I had a jam session with my birimbau while Carolyn stared at me like a moron.

After a decent workout, we packed our bags, and were off to the bus station to go to Chapada Diamantina..

Salvador Sunset

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Salvador the night before Carnival

Salvador

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