This city let me down a bit, not even because of a visit during the pandemic to which we 'owe' the closure of all museums and most of the churches in the city. It started with terrible traffic jams at the entrance (due to its location, Salvador has only two large access roads plus a ferry crossing). In the end, however, we arrived at the hotel in the historic center, and in the afternoon we went for a walk. Walking through the Lapa district, we could see why Salvador is considered a Brazilian city with the greatest African influence - the entire district was one big bazaar, with crowds of people and shouting sellers. You had to hold the hand of the children well so that they would not get lost in this crowd.

A walk in the late afternoon had the advantage that you could see churches that were only open for services. In this way, we visited the beautiful church of Nossa Senhora da Lapa and the slightly less impressive Nossa Senhora da Piedade. The churches in Salvador are mainly characterized by beautiful painted ceilings.

The next day, however, we were less fortunate. Only one church, Nossa Senhora do Conceicao da Praia, was open. The others, including the cathedral and the wonderful Convent of St. Francis, were closed. We did, however, take a decent walk through the streets of Salvador, reaching both the Lower Town with great views of All Saints Bay and the Upper Town with the Pelourinho district. We covered the road between the Lower and the Upper Towns on foot, although I do not recommend it - you go through a very suspicious area and there are no spectacular views.

While the Pelourinho district is 100% refurbished and looks great, it's only a tiny part of the city. It is enough to walk away from it 200 meters to see a completely different city, with shabby or even ruined buildings, tangled cables and general disorder. To be clear - we did not feel any danger there, but in such an area you can feel a bit uncomfortable. After all, it's a bit sad that in such a huge city, only a small part of the center is really pleasing to the eye. Well, it looks like Brazil's strongest points from a tourist's perspective are the great nature and small towns, not big cities.