Day 10 – Salvador, Brazil

Sept 7th

Oi Brazil! (Hi Brazil!)
At 7AM the M.V. Explorer docked at the Comercio in Salvador, Brazil. A lot of kids went up to the deck to watch us pull in, but I slept in and woke up to the beautiful harbor of Brazil outside my porthole. Everyone gathered in the Union for a mandatory diplomatic briefing by Ms. Heather Marques, Consular Agent of Salvador. Ms. Marques informed us on political issues, social problems and culture differences that we would experience off the ship. It was a little hectic after that figuring out where to collect our passports and what order we could get off, but by 9:45AM I was walking off the gangplank onto Brazilian soil for the first time. The dock was less than impressive as we came off on the back alleyways of a sketchy and dirty seaport, but we did have a lively reception by locals playing percussion instruments.

Lower City: Market and Harbor
We were happy to get out of the port area and away from the street leading to it. We lovingly nicknamed the port street “pee street” because of the rancid smell and numerous locals we saw urinating there. There were even government prohibitory signs asking locals not to pee there, but I don’t think the urinating stick figures really meant anything to anyone. Regardless, we made our way through the lower city to Mercado Modelo, which was this huge yellow building filled with street vendors selling the same collection of tourist souvenirs. The main items were handcrafted leather sandals, colorful paintings, carved Afro-Brazilian wooden figures, white woven cloths and Brazil paraphernalia. Food vendors filled the surrounding area, so you could refresh yourself with Gunara (Red Bull like soda made from natural Amazonian ingredients), Skol (Brazilian beer), sugarcane drinks and coconut juice. They literally pull out a giant machete, hack off the top of the green coconut, pop in a straw and hand it to you. All for 2 reais! There were tons of food stalls, but we knew better than to get traveler’s diarrhea on the first day.

Upper City
Because of the separation of two tatonic plates, the more historical district in the upper city requires elevator access. Crammed in, we paid 5 centavos to ride up the rickety elevator that had black, fire-scorched doors and some rather large and usual dents. Regardless, the Elevador Lacerda brings locals and tourists 250 feet up to a spectacular view of the harbor and surrounding islands. After some photos of the panoramic view and of the old European-style Jesuit Square, we wander to the right into the Sao Paulo district of Salvador. As we began to wander down the cobblestone streets, we realized that the city seemed dead: very few people were walking around, buildings looked abandoned and most shops were closed. Then we started to hear police sirens and a huge, yelling crowd. Upon reaching the next major square, we realized it was Brazil’s Independence Day parade with soldiers, firemen, police and national guards marching down the main street toward the harbor with music and sirens blaring. Joining the revealers, we fit right in and no one really seemed to notice our white faces sticking out in the crowd. After wandering further down, we realized we were definitely in a residential part of the city. There wasn’t anything very touristy about it. We did, however, discover the most beautiful view in Salvador. We found a back alley road that wraps around the top of the upper city hill. The concrete was breaking apart and there were holes in the cement walkway that warned you of the ominous drop below, but the view of the harbor was spectacular. After a brief debate on our safety, we headed back past the elevator toward Pelourinho Square, which is famous for slave auctions back in the day.

Pelourinho Square
We passed a bronze statue commemorating a local Bishop, who was eaten by locals because they thought it was a good omen to eat important people. (I was happy I was just a tourist.) Heading up bumpy cobblestone streets, we walked into the spacious and lively center of Pelourinho Square. Surrounded by antique European houses erected by the Portuguese in the 16th century, the square was a beautiful and lively place to witness Afro-Brazilian culture. Students performed capoeria, a martial arts dance that was invented by slaves to strengthen the body without their masters knowing. Some poor kids from the nearby favelas (slums) tried to get SAS kids to take pictures of them performing capoeria and then pay a “contributions to the arts” fee. Stupid Americans. Women dressed in traditional Candomble religious garb (colorful woven dresses) circled the square offering to take pictures with tourists as well. African slaves created the highly spiritual religion by merging African beliefs with Catholicism in order to pacify their masters. Overall, the Afro-Brazilian sentiment was extremely evident in Salvador.

Lunch at Canta da Luna
We decided to head to the nearest tourist eatery for traditional Bahian (state where Salvador is located) cuisine. Canta de Luna was swarming with SAS kids devouring their first port meal. Looking at the Portuguese menu we collectively decided to go with “sandquich do file milen,” since South America is well known for its meat selection. The resulting steak on a hamburger bun was juicy and delicious, and washed down nicely with a round of Skol. The best part of the meal was when the waitress insisted for 30 mins in Portuguese that Christina order “fish balls” rather than the “cheese balls” that she really wanted. Apparently, it was the best item on the menu and she would not leave until one of us ordered it. After some locals started taking pictures of us eating, we left to explore some more.

Welcome Reception
After lunch, we ventured around the local shops and winding streets to try our hand at bartering. It provided to be a great success. One thing I noticed about the shops is that they will make souvenirs out of anything they can find. Britney bought a hat made entirely out of soda can tabs! After more shopping, we headed back to the ship to shower and nap before the night’s welcome reception. After taking buses to the Barra district near the eastern beaches of Salvador, we entered a colorful, neon circus tent. Local students playing berimbaus (best described as a violin with wooden cup to hit) greeted us and performed capoeria. Candomble women dressed in traditional dress tied fita (ribbons) to our wrists. The fita came from a local church called Biofim, and each knot tied represents a wish. As the ribbon wears and falls off the three wishes are supposed to come true. Each of the colors of the ribbon holds a special meaning as well. For example, the green ribbon I got represents fertility. The rest of the night was full of food, entertainment and dancing! They served about 10 traditional foods, including empanadas, acaraje, abara and the most delicious fluffy white bread I have ever eaten. It totally trumps the black bread at Cheesecake Factory if you can imagine that! We even got to grill cheese on a skewer, like the way Americans make s’mores. There were fire batons, aerobics, dancers elevated by ribbons and a percussion group that played samba music. Everyone was dancing to the infectious beat and drinking as much as the free beer as they wanted. No 4 drink limit like on the Explorer anymore! (Later we realized it was non-alcoholic beer.) As the night wore on, the music changed to a DJ who played techno and hip hop. The best part was the 8 foot screen erected next to the dance floor that played the Brail versus Chile soccer game. A large group of men circled the screen rather than dance around like fools with the girls. Lauren, Leah and I headed to the bus with our mango, guava and acai popsicles, respectively.

Highs and Lows
My “high” was getting boxed out of dancing with Lauren and Leah because an eight year-old boy stepped in to dance with both of them! (The pimp!) My “low” was hearing about a SAS girl got mugged within an hour of leaving the ship.