Salvador (6): Farol da Barra (Barra´s Lighthouse)

Salvador (6): Farol da Barra (Barra´s Lighthouse) and the Carnival

One of the most remarkable constructions of Salvador is the Farol da Barra (Barra´s Lighthouse), in the extreme point of the city embracing the bay. 

Farol da Barra - Barra´s Lighthouse - Salvador - BA- Brazil

The point gives name to the neighbourhood, which during carnival hosts one of the circuits to the trios elétricos (electric trios), i.e., the big trucks with giant speakers carrying famous singers or music groups and their bands of bahianan music.  

Carnival here is quite different from Rio, as the music here is mainly the axé, a kind of pop, rapid sound, different from samba. There´s not an organised parade, but people following the trucks with their most loved singers. To get close to the trucks, one must buy an abadá, a kind of big T-shirt with the name of the band. With the abadá, you can stay inside the cordon. Most famous ones are quite expensive. They aren´t costumes as in Rio, it is just an allowance if you want to parade alongside the truck of a certain band or group.  

Carnival in Salvador gets very crowded, and I would recommend more for young people. You can also stay in camarotes, private areas specially built for the carnival period, with much more comfort than joining the crowds in the streets. The options depends on the kind of fun and confort you want to have, and how much you´re willing to pay. 

Salvador (5): the church of Nosso Senhor do Bonfim and the afro-brazillian religions. 

A panoramic view of the city of Salvador da Bahia, from the harbor, with both the high and low cities (Cidade Alta e cidade Baixa).

The most famous church of Salvador is the Igreja do Nosso Senhor do Bomfim, located in the Cidade Alta. Actually, it is one of the most famous churches of Brazil.

Salvador is home to a unique mix of the african culture, brought by the africans, and the european, catholic rituals. The Candomblé is the main religion of african inspiration, but their orixás have a sort of equivalence to Catholic saints in brazillian culture. Along the centuries both european catholicism and african religions lived together at Bahia, providing a very curious cultural miscelanny, marked by the religious syncretism. 

The baianas of candomblé use large white dresses with blue colars, while they sell to tourists the multi-coloured ribbons of Nosso Senhor do Bomfim. According to the local tale, you must put the ribbon around your wrist, tie it with a strong knot and ask for a wish. You can never untie the ribbon, you must use it untill it falls unnoticed: by them, your wish will come true. That´s one of Bahia´s mysteries.       

Salvador (4): Cidade Baixa and the Mercado Modelo, the harbor and the Elevador Lacerda (Lacerda´s Lift)

In the bay, the old, round, made of stone, fortress welcomes the visitors. 

The Cidade Baixa, or "low" city is the city under the cliff, by the sea, hosting Salvador´s harbor and the Mercado Modelo - "standard market". It is a big spice and seafood market, with restaurants and some textiles and souvenirs stores too. 

To get there from the Cidade Alta (see yesterday´s post), one must take the Elevador Lacerda - Lacerda´s Lift - down. It is a huge lift built to carry peasants from both parts of the city. From its top, a beautiful view of the bay and the Cidade Baixa.  

In the bay, the old, round, made of stone, fortress welcomes the visitors. In the nearby harbor, they can take boats to Itaparica, Morro de São Paulo and other spots both in the Bay or in Bahia´s coastline.

Salvador (3): Churches, the Pelourinho, and the Cidade Alta

The two cities in the city of Salvador: Cidade Alta (high city) and Cidade Baixa (low city). View from Salvador´s harbor: in the middle, the Elevador Lacerda (Lacerda´s Lift, connecting the low and the high city)

Historic Salvador has two cities in one: the high and the under city (Cidade Alta e Cidade Baixa). Close to the sea, the Cidade Baixa is some meters under the Cidade Alta, separeted by a cliff. 

As old capital, Salvador hosts many of the oldest churches and public buildings in Brazil, and remarkable historic sites, as the Pelourinho. The Pelourinho was the central square in portuguese colonial cities, and eventually where slaves accused of wrongdoing were mercilessly punished by their masters. Today, the Pelourinho at Salvador hosts many coloured houses, with souvenir boutiques.

Pelourinho got world famous as a location for Michael Jackson´s clip All I wanna say is that they don´t take any care about us, along with Dona Marta favela in Rio. The drums were played by Olodum, a famous percussion group from Bahia, which has an important social project for young poor people. 

See the video clip at youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNJL6nfu__Q

Salvador (2) - a brief history

Salvador da Bahia - Skyline

Salvador was the first brazillian capital, in the times of the colony. In the entrance of a very big bay, called the Bahia de Todos os Santos, the portuguese founded the city and harbor of São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos - or simply Salvador -, in order to export the Pau-Brasil wood, from a tree with a very strong red pigment, used for colouring textiles. 

This red seemed the burning coal, which in portuguese is said brasil; so the colour of this wood gave name to the country. 

Also, sugar cane plantations have remained for very long time as the main economic activity in Brazil, speacially in the northeast region, before the gold rush started in southernmost states. 

The gold rush in Minas Gerais was responsible for the growing importance of the seaport of Rio de Janeiro, what lead the prime-minister Marquês de Pombal (the Marquee of Pombal), in 1763, to move the capital of the portuguese colony from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro (which stayed as capital of Brazil until 1960, when Brasilia was founded).

Nowadays Salvador is most known for the tourism, carnival and for being the capital of the big state of Bahia.

Salvador da Bahia - Skyline

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Salvador (1) - Location

Salvador´s skyline, view from the Bahia de Todos os Santos (All Saints´Bay)

Salvador is in the middle of Bahia State coastline, at the northeast region of Brazil. 

The airport of Salvador (SSA) is one of the most busy in Brazil, and receives lots of international flights too, from Europe, the US and South America. 

Salvador da Bahia airport - SSA

Salvador da Bahia airport - SSA

But one must pay attention: don´t mix Salvador da Bahia with San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador, in Central America. Be mindful of IATA´s code SSA before buying your airticket! It became famous in Brazil the history of an australian couple who was mistakenly sent by their tour operator to El Salvador instead of Salvador da Bahia during 2014 World Cup. 

As Salvador is located in one of the entrances of the Bahia de Todos os Santos (All Saint´s Bay), reaching Bahia´s south coast is harder by car, because cars must turn all the bay around, which is quite big; this turn-around can take very long time. 

Another option for cars is to take the ferry boat from another point of Salvador´s harbor to Itaparica, the island at the opposite entrance of the Bay. This ferry can also be taken by pedestrians, but you´ll need a car or a shuttle at Itaparica. 

The problem is that this ferry gets very, very crowded during carnival, end of the year and other brazillian holidays, making this option unadvisable at these times of the year. 

Aerial view of Salvador

Bahia´s south coast can be easily reached, as an option, through Ilhéus airport, a city 311km to the south. But Ilhéus is a smaller, domestic airport, so to foreigners it can be a bit difficult to get there unless you´re coming from another Brazillian capital.