Salvador de Bahia

“DUM-TI-DUM TA-DA-DA-DA-DUM”

“DUM-TI-DUM TA-DA-DA-DA-DUM”

(Repeat 400 times)

I was staying in a Brazilian historic city centre again, at the Pousada Solar dos Deuses in the street between the Cathedral and the main Franciscan church of Salvador de Bahia. Brazil may be the only country in the world where I can afford a boutique hotel in such a prime location. They have a permanent stage here, where singers, bands, and Olodum-like percussion groups perform during the day and evening. Especially the sound of the bass drums reached my room well.

Would these people come here to perform if there weren’t any tourists? Where do they live? The same question can be asked about the omnipresent women in Baiana dresses, posing for photos to earn money. Armed police is present at every street corner in the old town, but (or: thus?) it feels safe during the day and the evening. At night, when the restaurants and bars have closed, the streets become deserted. Only the street dogs that have chosen the Cross of the Franciscans as their overnight place, remain.

As the first colonial capital of Brazil (1549-1763), the city’s importance is undoubted. It still has a special atmosphere, though it feels a bit staged. The many churches are its most notable tangible structures from the past. They are still used for services, but during the day they ‘behave’ like museums. They open only at 9 a.m. and a small entrance fee is asked for. The …

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 …

I visited this site in July 2018.

The historic centre of Salvador has a very peculiar topography. The city is full of ups and downs, and there's a cliff separating the old area in the upper city and the lower city. Probably the most famous building of Salvador is the one that connects these two parts, the Lacerda elevator. The current building is in art déco style, built in 1930. Use it costs only a few cents, but expect a queue. It isn't a great touristic experience, it's just an elevator, but it's very practical to explore the area.   

The lower city is small compared to the upper city. There's really no much space, with the ocean on one side and the cliff on the other side. The most interestings buildings in this area are the Basilica of Conceição da Praia and the Modelo market. Another interesting place there is the Solar do Unhão, a former sugar cane farm complex that is now a museum, but unfortunately I didn't go there.

The upper city has a lot more to see. Usually people call this part of the historic centre of Pelourinho, but this is the name of only one of the districts of old area. The core zone of the WHS also embraces other districts, like Santo Antônio, Saúde and Barroquinha, but the taxi driver that taked me to there advised me to walk around only in Pelourinho area, for safety reasons. Pelourinho is the most touristic …

In February 1993 I arrived at Salvador airport intending, on the grounds of personal safety, to stay in the suburb of Barra. Two Spanish women I met persuaded me that this was for milksops and that I should do as they were about to do and stay at the Hotel Pelourinho overlooking what the South American Handbook of the day called "...the finest complex of colonial architecture in Latin America".

Their advice was good and I found myself at the heart of what I consider, still, to be one of the most exciting cities anywhere.

The architecture in the historic core of Salvador is exceptional but better described by others elsewhere, but for me it is the people who make the place unique. It is said to be the most African of Brazil's cities, and at times I felt that I could have been in Senegal. There is a group of statuesque ladies clad in spotless white, lace-trimmed, full length African costumes who make a living by preparing and selling a local fast food, a kind of rissole of coarse semolina deep fried, split and topped with vegetables and spices.

One evening I went to one of the many candomble temples. They are so numerous here that they cannot be simply a tourist trap. I was far from being the only European there but we were greatly outnumbered by worshippers. I stayed for several hours and found the whole experience fascinating, though I confess that I left not a great …