I've never seen so many coconut trees in my life!!!Still feeling the a bit hang over from the night before, I got on a bus to Salvador at 7am. I slept most of the trip, but when I woke up the scenario was this: tons of coconut trees along the road, on the Linha Verde, or Green Line, between the two capitals.
From the bus station, I got a bus to the historic centre of the city, called Pelourinho.
There are lots of poverty in downtown Salvador.
It is a bit shocking at first, but when you start meeting people you kind of relax a bit.
Baianos are probably the most friendly people in Brazil, always smiling.
FROM WIKIPEDIA: Salvador da Bahia is a city on the northeast coast of Brazil and the capital of the Northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. Salvador is also known as Brazil's capital of happiness due to its easygoing population and countless popular outdoor parties, including its street carnival. The first colonial capital of Brazil, the city is one of the oldest in the country and in the New World. For a long time, it was simply known as Bahia, and appears under that name (or as Salvador da Bahia, Salvador of Bahia so as to differentiate it from other Brazilian cities of the same name) on many maps and books from before the mid-20th century. Salvador is the third most populous Brazilian city, after São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and it is the ninth most populous city in Latin America.
The city of Salvador is notable in Brazil for its cuisine, music and architecture, and its metropolitan area is the wealthiest in Brazil's Northeast, its poorest region. Over 80% of the population of metropolitan region of Salvador has Black African ancestry, the African influence in many cultural aspects of the city makes it the center of Afro-Brazilian culture and this reflects in turn a curious situation in which African-associated cultural practices are celebrated, but Black Bahians due to their low income are apart from most of the city life options. The historical center of Salvador, frequently called the Pelourinho, is renowned for its Portuguese colonial architecture with historical monuments dating from the 17th through the 19th centuries and has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985.
View from my Pousada (hotel). It was a very simple room, with ceiling fan and a small washroom for CAN$ 30 a night, right at the historic centre.
Pousada Hilma, right at Direita Santo Antonio.
Do Carmo Church.
Famous Pelourinho.
You can't go to Salvador, a major city located on a pensinsula on Bahia's coast, without spending time in the old city of colorful colonial buildings, cobblestoned streets and a sense of history clustered around the Largo do Pelourinho, also known as Praça José de Alencar. This part of Salvador is known as Pelourinho, the city within a city. (Read more about Salvador, Bahia in Exploring Brazil's Northeas.
Nicknamed Pelo by residents this area is in the older part of the upper city, or Cidade Alta, of Salvador. It ecompasses several blocks around the triangular Largo, and it is the location for music, dining and nightlife.
Pelourinho means whipping post in Portuguese, and this was the old slave auction location in the days when slavery was common. Slavery was outlawed in 1835, and over time, this portion of the city, though home to artists and musicians, fell into disrepair. In the 1990's, a major restoration effort resulted in making the area a highly desirable tourist attraction. Pelourinho has a place on the national historic register and named a world cultural centery by UNESCO.
Easily walkable, Pelo has something to see along every street, including churches, cafes, restaurants, shops and the pastel-hued buildings. Police patrol the area to ensure safety.
Today they were shooting a video clip with the "Trio Eletrico" singer Jamil and Salvador's most popular drumming group: Olodum.
Nicknamed Pelo by residents this area is in the older part of the upper city, or Cidade Alta, of Salvador. It ecompasses several blocks around the triangular Largo, and it is the location for music, dining and nightlife.
Pelourinho means whipping post in Portuguese, and this was the old slave auction location in the days when slavery was common. Slavery was outlawed in 1835, and over time, this portion of the city, though home to artists and musicians, fell into disrepair. In the 1990's, a major restoration effort resulted in making the area a highly desirable tourist attraction. Pelourinho has a place on the national historic register and named a world cultural centery by UNESCO.
Easily walkable, Pelo has something to see along every street, including churches, cafes, restaurants, shops and the pastel-hued buildings. Police patrol the area to ensure safety.
Today they were shooting a video clip with the "Trio Eletrico" singer Jamil and Salvador's most popular drumming group: Olodum.The song is very catchy and will be released just before the World Cup.
FACES OF BAHIA
FACES OF BAHIA
The video's shooting
attracted many curious tourists like me. 
In the middle of the day I enjoyed a typical Bahia meal at SENAC restaurant. For 32 reias (CAN$20), you can eat as much as you want from a very complete buffet prepared by students. You can lunch for way cheaper somewhere else, but this is a perfect place if you want to try everything. Really, you pay for the experience.
Typical Bahia deserts: Manjar Branco (coconut pudim), Cocada (with coconut as well) and Ambrosia.
Endless buffet.
Back to the video shooting in the afternoon.
In the middle of the day I enjoyed a typical Bahia meal at SENAC restaurant. For 32 reias (CAN$20), you can eat as much as you want from a very complete buffet prepared by students. You can lunch for way cheaper somewhere else, but this is a perfect place if you want to try everything. Really, you pay for the experience.
Typical Bahia deserts: Manjar Branco (coconut pudim), Cocada (with coconut as well) and Ambrosia.
Endless buffet.
Back to the video shooting in the afternoon. It was a extremely hot day, but rain falls every hour would give us a break.
This is one of the stars: Jamil. I had no idea who he was, but apparently he is a very well-known carnival singer in the city.
The group Olodum is known internationally.
This is one of the stars: Jamil. I had no idea who he was, but apparently he is a very well-known carnival singer in the city.
The group Olodum is known internationally. We had the pleasure to watch them playing in Toronto, at the Harbourfront Centre, a few years ago.
Amazing coincidence! I met Jonas, a friend from Toronto who lives now in Rio state but was in Salvador in a conference. Small world! Cheers!
A walk on the historic centre. Salvador is famous for its churches. Apparently there are 365 churches here, one for each day.
First Medical School in Brazil, from 1808.
Statue honoring Zumbi, the last of the leaders of the Quilombo dos Palmares, in the present-day state of Alagoas.
Amazing coincidence! I met Jonas, a friend from Toronto who lives now in Rio state but was in Salvador in a conference. Small world! Cheers!
A walk on the historic centre. Salvador is famous for its churches. Apparently there are 365 churches here, one for each day.
First Medical School in Brazil, from 1808.
Statue honoring Zumbi, the last of the leaders of the Quilombo dos Palmares, in the present-day state of Alagoas.Quilombos were fugitive slave settlements or slave refugee settlements. Quilombos represented slave resistance.
Behing me the "Baia de Todos os Santos" (All Saints Bay).
Elevador Lacerda (Lacerda Elevador), connecting the low and high part of the city since 1873.
Behing me the "Baia de Todos os Santos" (All Saints Bay).
Elevador Lacerda (Lacerda Elevador), connecting the low and high part of the city since 1873. The ticket costs 15 cents of reais (CAN$ 5 cents).
"O tabuleiro da baiana tem... Vatapa, o, cairuru..."
"O tabuleiro da baiana tem... Vatapa, o, cairuru..."The brazilian song talks about the "baiana" table and I finally had a chance to eat an "Acaraje", served everywhere by the baiana.
I really can't explain here what kind of food it is. Maybe my friend Gabi Passos, an authentic baiana can tell us.
FROM WIKIPEDIA: Acarajé (Portuguese pronunciation: [akaɾaˈʒɛ] listen (help·info)) is a dish made from peeled black-eyed peas formed into a ball and then deep-fried in dendê (palm oil). It is found in Nigerian and Brazilian cuisine. It is traditionally encountered in Brazil's northeastern state of Bahia, especially in the city of Salvador, often as street food, and is also found in most parts of Nigeria and Ghana
ReplyDeleteIt is served split in half and then stuffed with vatapá and caruru – spicy pastes made from shrimp, ground cashew nuts, palm oil and other ingredients. A vegetarian version is typically served with hot peppers and green tomatoes. In Nigeria, it is commonly eaten for breakfast with gruel made from millet.
Akara (as it is known in southwest and southeast Nigeria) was a recipe taken to Brazil by the slaves from the West African coast. It is called "akara" by the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria and in the Yorubaland of southwestern Nigeria, "kosai" by the Hausa people of Nigeria or "koose" in Ghana and is a popular breakfast dish, eaten with millet porridge.
Today in Bahia, Brazil, most street vendors serve acaraje are women, easily recognizable by their all-white cotton dresses and headscarves and caps. The image of these women, often simply called "Baianas", frequently appears in artwork from the region of Bahia.