First and foremost, Salvador da Bahia is not the capital of El Salvador, the South American republic. It is the capital-city of Bahia, a Northeastern state of Brazil, one of the 26 Brazilian states.
By all measures, Salvador, formerly known as Sao Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos, is the World Capital of Alegria. You just cannot afford being sad in Salvador; there is always a party going on; if there is none, someone will invent one by day's end. What if you don't like the party scene and the beaches? Well, feel free to drop by one the 365 churches recorded in the city, a different one for every day of your year.
One quantum day in the future, the Count of Saint Germain will return. He will reveal that below the ground of Salvador, exactly beneath the Elevador Lacerda, linking the Cidade Baixa to the Cidade Alta, lies the Agartha where the aliens live. From the Agartha flows a fountain of youth that radiates the energy, the joie-de-vivre that every day fluffs out over Salvador da Bahia...
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Salvador da Bahia is where Brazil started. That is where Pedro Alvares Cabral accosted his caravel in September 1500, in Porto Seguro. It became the first capital of Brazil and remained so for more than 200 years.
After living here for three centuries, land owners and slave masters abandoned the city around 1860. For an entire century, Salvador, along with its quasi all-black population, sprouted in a closed vase, like on a Petri dish, with no contact with the external milieu.
The experience resulted in the making of the most African city outside of Africa. The return of the white citizens in the mid-20th century eventually begot a singular society with a unique culture, a unique music, and a unique religious syncretism.
The mostly African population is shamelessly poor, but unbridled, radiant, joyful, happy, and welcoming. In Salvador, the air is always loaded with sun, music, color, adding up to a kaleidoscope of joy, to an anthem of exuberance.
Soteropolitanos (citizens of Salvador) invented samba, a form of music that is better known through the Rio schools of samba. They also invented axe (pronounce ashay), a kind of terrific music that sounds like a fast compas, played on a psychedelic tempo
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In Rio, for carnaval, at the Sambadromo, the Cariocas have the Greatest Show on Earth. Here in Salvador, we have the real carnaval, we have the Greatest Party on Earth, with millions dancing in the streets around the clock for seven days, in the week that precedes Lent.
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Officially founded on March 24, 1549, Salvador is home to 2.6 million citizens, or 3.8 million in the larger metropolitan area. It covers an area of 273 sq miles and has an elevation of about 8 meters above sea level. Despite this relatively low set, flooding does not happen here.
It is a fascinating, but somewhat anarchic city. It is difficult to find a pattern here. One would say the city is unpredictable, except in its unpredictability. Here thrives a constant change in motion.
The population of Salvador is 85% black, but a peculiar brand of black.
If you have just one hour to spend in Salvador, spend it in Pelourinho, the center of the Old City. With its cobble-stoned streets, its vendors, its funanbulists, its musicians, its old buildings, its bars, its restaurants, its scenery, it brushes the painting of an exotic landscape from a dated movie. Most of the streets are closed to automobile traffic.
If you drive around Salvador, you will promptly discover many schools, universities, and hospitals. This translates the fact that the birth city of Dani Alves, Ivete Sangalo, and Carlinhos Brown is not a tourist trap, but a real metropolis that belongs to you as well, in its universality
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What do you do in Salvador?
Easy. Day and night, hang out in Pelourinho,the Old City. They have everything there, and more.
There are a number of excellent restaurants in the city, but service is usually slow. Always, go ethnic.
For your shopping, concentrate on Barra Mall, Iguatemi Mall, and Mercado Modelo.
Night clubs are not plenty, the best ones are in Pituba and Rio Vermelho. These days, everyone is talking about the Pink Elephant. Unfortunately, a good night club where you could enjoy genuine axe music all night just does not exist anymore. Nowadays, if anything, you hear too much of Pitbull and Don Omar.
The beaches are legion, and most of them are genuine and gorgeous; they offer non-expensive services and exquisite meals. Praia de Forte and Guayajuba are the most famous. However, anywhere on Costa de Sauipe will be good enough.
On the America Continent, only New York in more expensive than Rio de Janeiro, for a foreign tourist. In comparison, spending time in Salvador is more affordable than spending time in Port au Prince.... Food for thought... Just be here...
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Did you miss our World Cup Trip?
Would you like to go to Cartagena, Colombia?
(The Traveller, Tuesday, June 25, 2014)
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