This last weekend we went to Salvador, the old capital of Brazil, the capital of the region of Bahia and the capital of Afro-Brazilian culture. It´s located on the Northeast Coast of Brazil in a state that is known for its beautiful beaches and rich cultural heritage. It is where Capoeira originated.
We were greeted at the airport by an AIESECer from AIESEC Salvador and stayed with one of the interns there. We first went to the Pelourinho, the oldest part of the city, with beautiful Baroque architecture.
In that area, there was the church of São Francisco which was decorated with gold inside.
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| Sao Francisco Church |
The city has an upper city and lower city which are connected by an elevator.
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| View of the Upper and Lower Cities and the elevator that connects them. |
We took the elevator down to the lower city and visited the Forte de Nossa Senhora do Pópulo e São Marcelo. We learned a lot about the history and making of Brazil there.
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| Forte de Sao Marcelo |
And then we went shopping at the Market, and had lunch. So far, food from Bahia is my favourite Brazilian food. It is heavily influenced by African cooking and uses much more spices than in Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais.
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| Traditional Bahian Food |
The evening was spent dancing Forro, a brazilian dance done in pairs, and is slightly similar to Salsa. I have just started taking Forro classes.
And our final day was spent shopping and going to the beach. We watched the sunset at the lighthouse at Barra Beach, as is the tradition here. And were entertained by a local actor/comedian, and applauded both him and the sunset. Cariocas, people from Rio de Janeiro have a similar tradition, where they sit on the Arpoador rock, overlooking Ipanema and watch the sunset and applaud when it finishes.
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| Sunset at the lighthouse at Barra Beach |
