Salvador

So I packed up my bags said goodbye to my friends in Natal and got on my bus with destination to Salvador in the state of Bahia. Salvador was one of the cities I vowed to visit in Brazil prior to leaving Brazil. My masters degree focused on Afro-American culture and Salvador is know as the mecca of black culture in the Latin America. So I just had to visit there. The bus ride was long approximately 22 hours. I left Natal at around 5pm, which worked out well for me. It had been a long day and I was close to my regular bedtime so I went to sleep in less than an hour.

I got to Salvador around 3pm not knowing anyone and with only a vague idea of where I was going to stay. My first area of concern was my luggage. I had decreased my luggage but I still had a lot and I really didn't want to take all the luggage to the hostel because I really didn't know were I was staying and I was planning to take the bus to my destination. Fortunately, while I was on the bus I was perusing my guide book and realized that the bus station had luggage storage. That meant I could store my luggage. Yay! I didn't have to use a taxi to go my hostel. One less expense for my very small budget.

I stored my luggage and made my way to the local bus stop. I still had no idea of where I was going to stay but I knew the area I wanted to stay in. I wanted to stay in the Pelorinho, which is the touristy area of Salvador and the safest. I got information about the bus number and soon got the bus. There was however one little problem. The bus from that area did not go into the heart of the area because the area a UN Protected area with limit or no car traffic and the road themselves are very narrow and can't accommodate car traffic. Another thing, this area is on a high hill.

After walking around for a long time I finally arrived at the Pelourinho. I had identified a cheap hostel from my book and I went in search of it as soon as got into the main square. I tried to use my map to find the place but was without luck. Basically I was walking around in circles. Eventually, I gave up and decided to just find a place.

As I was walking, obviously looking like someone looking for a place to stay because of my bag pack and sleeping bag, this bum sleeping on the steps of one the many churches in area offered to take to place. He showed me a flyer. I decided to follow him even though it probably was not the smartest thing to do but I figured I was safe because I was walking on the main street and there were a lot of people on the road.

We finally arrived to the hostel and he ran the bell and the owner came and showed me place and a

room where I would stay. The room was cool and the price fit into my budget. I decided to stay there. My first point of business was to take a bath. As I was taking a bath, the drunk was downstairs outside of the hostel shouting to me to give him a tip. He was shouting at the top of his voice. I was planning to give him at tip and told him I would after I took my bath. He kept shouting. I took my shower and asked the owner how much would be a good tip. He told me a few reals. I went outside to give him his tip. He was not happy with the amount I gave him and started to argue. I told him that that was all the money I had and I walk away quickly. I was not trying to get in an argument in with him. I was afraid that he would follow me so I tried to get away from him as soon as possible. Thank God he didn't follow me.

Now started my exploration of Salvador. I got some food and headed for the Barra area. This is one the two places in Brazil where you can see the sun set on the water. It is also a popular place for beach goers and tourists. I asked for directions to get there by bus and I walked 10mins to the bus stop and looked for a bus with the name Barra. When I got on the bus I asked the conductor to tell me where the get off. The bus rides are usually longer but I like them because I get to see more of the city for cheap. I got to Barra a few minutes before sunset. I was not the only person with the idea of watching the sunset because the place was full. I bought a coconut water and watched the sunset. It was very beautiful. I just spent the rest of the time walking around and decided to head back to the hostel because I was alone and I was a little tired.

~Barra Beach~

~More of the beach~

~Beautiful Brazilian sunset~

I would have loved to go to bed early to get a good start the next day but it did not happen. Tuesday nights are noisiest night in the Pelourinho. There are many bands which go around the area playing music practically all night long. Most of the music these bands played was Samba which is indigenous to Brazil and some reggae. And to make matters worse my hostel was along the band route. I didn't get much sleep. I had to suck it up because it was part of the experience. The bands were pretty good. I was very impressed by the children band. The band members were probably no older than 12 years old. The band leader was a children of around 12/13 years.

~Children band, girl in the green is the leader~

My lack of sleep did not dampen my spirits to explore the city. The Pelourinho reminded me a lot of Jamaica. It was commonplace to hear reggae in English or Portuguese being played from houses or by people on the road. One thing that made Salvador and the state of Bahia by extension stand out from other place in Brazil was the complexions of the people. The people were darker. Salvador is considered to have the largest number of black people in South America. This fact was what originally drove my desire to know Salvador. My master's thesis focused on people of African descent in Latin America, so I had to read a lot about the black population in Salvador.

It was interesting to see how the tourist activities and thing to see all focused on the African ancestry of the people. For example there were a lot of women offering hair braiding services and there were many Capoeira groups dancing capoeira. There were also women walking around in colonial slave clothes talking pictures with tourist for a small cost. Well, every thing cost money in Salvador. For example if we were watching the capoeira groups and took a picture, we were sort of bullied into giving a tip. As a Jamaican though, I felt many of the things that were taken to be indigenous to Salvador was actually Jamaican. Ok, let me explain. Dreadlocks which is a big thing in Salvador is Jamaican derived from the Rastafarian culture and then the reggae music which was common, is totally Jamaican. Another thing was the use of the colors, red, black and green. These colors are associated with Rastafarianism which has it's root in Jamaica.

~Capoeira dancers~

~women in slave/colonial dress~

One thing that did disappointment was my visit to the African History Museum in Salvador. I was hoping to see more information about the lives of the slaves in Brazil and in Salvador. The information was basically information about slavery in general and they had a few very weak artifacts. I really felt like I had wasted my money to see the museum.

Anyways the highlight for me in Salvador was the colonial buildings. Salvador was once the capital of Brazil so there is a lot of colonial history just in the buildings. Many of these buildings are being restored thanks to the UNESCO so they are really beautiful. I really like seeing the colonial Catholic churches and there are 360 just in Salvador alone. I had a field day just visiting the colonial buildings. I just love the bold colors used to paint many of these buildings.

~One of the many churches in Salvador~

~One of the major squares, Largo do Pelourinho~

~Cool colonial building~

Salvador is a coastal city and there are several islands off the coast of the city so I also got the opportunity to visit one of these islands. It was pretty cool to take the ferry out and see Salvador from a far.

~View of Salvador from the sea~

I must say a did enjoy my time in Salvador. I would to go back one day but off course with a little more money and time. There were other things to go and see but the lack of time and money prevented me from doing them. One thing I forgot to mention was the food. Of course food was good here. They eat a lot of coconut products and fish products. One of the typical street food is the acaraje. This a fried dough cut down the center and filled with vegetable, peppers and seafood (optional). It was really good! It reminded me Jamaican dumplings.

~acaraje...yummy~

Well that my Salvador summary! Thanks for reading.