Salvador

We’ll do a quick recap up until now. We left Recife for Salvador, Bahia on Monday. I wasn’t feeling very well but the flight was smooth so I came out okay. We rested up and this morning we headed out to explore Salvador.

Salvador was the first capital of Brazil and is one of the most historic cities in Brazil. Salvador was also the heart of the Brazilian slave trade and the modern movements for the Afro-Brazilian culture started here. There were times among the shops and buildings that I felt that I was somewhere in Africa where they speak Portuguese, like Angola or Mozambique. There is a very definite pride among the artisans of their African heritage and culture.

We started by exploring a fort that was the first constructed by the Portuguese when they arrived in Salvador in 1501. It also has a light house and a museum and it was really interesting. One of the fun things about the museum was seeing many of the nautical instruments that I used and learned about while on the Europa in 2001. I think the sea is an amazing and powerful thing and the ability of ships to be able to navigate and return home is an absolute miracle.

We headed into the center of the city where many of the largest churches and political buildings are. At the center of it all is the Basilica, where the Portuguese royal family had Mass while passing from Bahia to Rio de Janeiro in 1808. Salvador is a spectacular site with the sea full of cargo ships on one side and the hills rising right out of the water on the other. Many of the main squares are located on the side of the hills that drop a hundred feet, so it is really beautiful.

Large cities are usually beautiful buildings with very expensive stores and monuments, palaces and theaters. Yet one thing that usually comes to mind with large cities is also the number of homeless, begging and destitute people. The two paradoxes are very striking. The person who lacks nothing, the other who lacks everything.

In Salvador this is especially true with the contrast of the large, beautiful churches that are coated with gold inside; with the person asking for money in front. With so many people with very strong African descent it is the continuing tragedy of colonial exploitation and slavery. The church was built upon the wealth made by slaves and today the church makes the money while the slaves have continued, only in different jobs.   

We went shopping at the Mercado Modelo which is located on the sea front where they used to unload the slaves and hold them before selling them. There were a lot of nice crafts and decorations, but nothing really grabbed my attention until the 100% cotton traditional shirts and shorts. Which I bought and they are the best PJs ever. I’ll send a picture later.

We finished the day by going to a special Mass where they combine Catholicism and traditional African deity worship practices that have become attached to particular Catholic saints. It was really interesting, like a Southern Black Baptist with a Catholic Father. It’s interesting how Mass can be so different all over the same country and geographic region.

That’s all the updates. This blog post will probably not be posted on the date it was written because we have to pay for internet and I am cheap.