Kiribu

Salvador de Bahia February 2010

Arriving from snowy windy rainy Europe, it was quite a shock to finally be ushered through the airport arrivals and out into the hot night air of Salvador by my soon to be new best friend and personal taxi driver Luciano. On the walk to his cab I got to test my amazing knowledge of Portuguese. As soon as he realized that I actually understood some of what he said and that I could respond with more than just universal sign language and ’si’, he immediately became far more relaxed and started to tell me all about taxi driving and how amazing Bahia is. I got into the front of the cab and strapped myself in, since it was my first car journey ever in South America I thought better be safe. It proved to be a wise move since I quickly realised that Luciano likes to drive efficiently. It’s not that he makes you feel unsafe, but he just has lightning reactions and knows the roads inside out. As we carved through the corners the seatbelt was doing a good job of keeping me from sliding off the edge of the seat.

Nearing the destination he starts talking about food and I mentioned I didn’t have much on the plane so he immediately did a U-turn and before I knew it we had stopped in front of a lively square, its about 11pm and in Bahia its the last official night of Carnival, unofficially it drags on over the weekend, so things were just heating up. I got given the traditional food of Bahia, kind of like a fallafel wrap with spicey sauce, mais mush and camarao (shrimps). He scoffed his in about 2 minutes and i took a while longer… distracted by the night-time sea view, introductions to Luciano’s mates and the amazing girls.

We got to the albergue (hostel) a little later than planned. Michael the American/Brazilian owner welcomed me in and we had a little chat and introduced me to some of the other occupants. Albergue Pedra de Seira is a new hostel with two floors the second opens up to a balcony/ patio area with the most stunning view of Salvador centre in the distance. Unfortunately I was upgraded to the second floor and had to settle for a shared private bathroom and some brazilian room mates. Priscila, Ilana and Serghino were all here for Carnival and were getting ready to go out. I was invited along to join them on the last night.

30 minutes later we were in the car and on the way down town to try and buy some Abada’s (t-shirts) for carnival. These would entitle us to jump along with a convoy and get really sweaty. Unfortunately we got there a little too late and they had sold out of abadas so we were just going to watch from the side lines along with the other million people. The Bloco’s rode by our perfect viewing spot near the main parades and we managed to dance and drink a few beers up and down the Barra strip. It is quite a confusing party since it kind of happens in bursts and sections depending on which bloco is rolling down the street. Reggae, Electronic, Samba, Drums and Pop parades rolled by and all were extremely loud and bright. Time flew by and before too long it was over and jet lag or lack of sleep had started to set in and we all went back to the hostel.

We woke up the next morning having agreed to all go into the centre to do some sight-seeing and since most of the guests were leaving they wanted to catch a bit of post carnival sightseeing and shopping before moving on. Salvador’s main attraction is the Elevador Lacerda (an elevator) which takes you the quick way up to the old historical centre of Pelhourino, a charming small town of cobbled stone streets, old architecture and stunning views of the coast. You can see the small islands that dot around the peninsula and the small boats and ferry’s in the port and marina.

We went to the Mercado Modelo an indoor market where there was a Capoeira show and we drank some coconut water. Very refreshing in the 36 degree heat. If you can go and visit the small round fort just a 15 minute boat ride away and take some stunning pictures of the city and have a little guided tour around the tiny island and the museum. We then headed out for some great Brasilian Churrasco food and back to the albergue.

The next day I went off to the centre with Narjara a Brazilian who lives in New York, so she could buy her ticket to an island close by and to check out the beaches. Barra the main beach strip and coastal area of Salvador is home to the first farol (lighthouse) of South America so we went and had a look, and then to the Jesus Statue a bit further on. In between are packed beaches and stalls of coconut water sellers. At approximately half a euro per coconut its pretty good value for a refreshing drink. I headed onwards to check out the beaches. I managed to stay about 25 minutes before feeling like I was about to go up in flames, it was that hot. So I had some food and more coconuts and walked all along Barra and some shops, bars and beaches back to the hostel.

I had a siesta and then headed out for some Mukaki (Brazilian fish dish) with Narjara overlooking the ocean. Good food, but way too much of it. The next day I organised my ticket to Chapada Diamantina which is about 6 hours inland by bus.

The Carnival party carries on outside of central Bahia. Known as the Resaca (hangover) people proceed to party on and/or relax either in the northern beaches, the mountains inland or one of the islands close by. One of which is supposed to be stunning, Morro de Sao Paulo. I was tempted to go along but I was more tempted by the thought of stunning scenery and hiking through waterfalls. So Chapada Diamantina it would be.

Check out some cool pictures of Salvador that I took here.