Salvador, Brazil

After our fabulous trip to the Pantanal in the hinterlands of Brazil, we flew to Salvador on the Atlantic coast in north-eastern Brazil. Salvador (or Salvador de Bahia), is known for its Portuguese colonial architecture, Afro-Brazilian culture, and tropical climate. We were really looking forward to spending some time there.

Portuguese colonial architecture in Salvador (UNESCO), Brazil

Salvador is also known for its old city centre which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and its fabulous beaches. 

We'd planned to stay by one of the more famous of those beaches, in the seaside suburb of Barra. Barra is located in the southern part of the city on the Atlantic coast, and is one of the most traditional neighbourhoods of Salvador.

We'd booked a one-bedroom AirBnB apartment there. Unfortunately, the apartment did not live up to its description on AirBnB in terms of cleanliness and maintenance.

View from our apartment in Barra, Salvador (UNESCO), Brazil

However, it had an incredibly redeeming feature – its fabulous views, especially of the sea, coast, and sunsets. It also had a great view to the street so we had ample opportunities for people-watching.

Salvador is the 4th largest city in Brazil with around 2.9 mil people, so we decided to take a tourist bus to give us an overview of this large city.

The first stop was in the city centre at the Mercado Modelo. The building dates back to 1861 and used to be the customs house.

Marg at the Mercado Modelo, Salvador (UNESCO), Brazil

We thought this historic market was architecturally attractive, but the goods on sale were mostly souvenirs and touristy stuff, so we passed through it quite quickly. Across the road we saw the port.

In the 16th century, the Port of Salvador was a thriving pirate den. However, as Salvador has grown, the area has been cleaned up and restored. It is now a busy modern port, but still contains quaint and colourful fishing boats and some historic buildings.

Quaint fishing boats in the Port of Salvador (UNESCO), Brazil

The city area of Salvador consists of two parts; the Lower Town which contains the market, port, and main commercial district; and the Upper Town which is the administrative, religious centre, and primary residential area. The Upper Town also contains the historic centre.

So leaving the Lower Town port area, we ascended 72 metres to the clifftop Upper Town via the Elevador Lacerda. Built between 1869 and 1873, this art deco elevator sits astride the cliff and its nearby buildings, and connects the two levels of Salvador. 

Elevador Lacerda, taking us up to the Upper Town of Salvador (UNESCO), Brazil

At the top, we called into the tourist office and had some fabulous help from a young woman there. She spent ages on the phone on our behalf, trying to organise payment for our luggage on our flight out of Salvador in the coming week. 

Luggage is charged separately to the seat ticket in South America, and it’s much cheaper to pay in advance (it’s twice the rate once at the airport). Our poor Portuguese made it almost impossible to achieve this by ourselves, so we were very grateful for her help.

While at the top, we noted the many historic buildings there, and also enjoyed a fabulous view back over the port area that we'd recently left.

View of the Port of Salvador from Salvador's Upper Town

With luggage sorted, we headed back down to the port on the Elevador Lacerda. As we continued our bus trip, we vowed to return to the historic Upper Town the next day. 

The bus then took us through an incredibly diverse range of neighbourhoods. We were constantly struck by the huge differences in living conditions when we drove through the various areas. From the rich and prosperous, to the favelas (slums) where we saw some very depressing sights.

Favelas 10 minutes away from expensive yachts

In one or two places, we would see a favela area, then within 10 minutes, we would be driving past lovely marinas with expensive yachts and homes.

Houses and shops in many areas were in absolutely terrible condition, with mould and signs of dampness everywhere. Many buildings appeared to be disused, giving parts of the city, a very run-down and poverty-stricken look.

Buildings covered in mould - many others were worse

It was pretty ghastly and we were shocked at how bad the conditions were. There was colour and vibrancy, but heaps of collapsing structures and decaying facades.

Our bus driver went really fast through one particular area, and we were pleased not to stop because there were several groups of men shouting at each other.

But we also saw some wonderful street art and creative spaces that help give this city its great vibe.

Some of Salvador's interesting public art

At one point, we drove alongside the metro which is raised up between the lanes of car traffic. Beneath it was a walking path and a cycle path, two lanes going each way to keep everyone away from the traffic. We think this very sensible approach would work well at home in New Zealand.

By then we had crossed the city and come out on the Atlantic coast where we saw beach after beach after beach - big beautiful sandy beaches and some intimate bays. Another area to return to later.

Heading back into the city, we stopped to view several small markets, some local shops, and the multi-faith Bonfim Basilica. The Basilica had thousands of coloured ribbons on a fence, that people had tied to it for good luck.

Street market, shops and Bonfim Basilica - the pink in the Bomfin photo is thousands of good-luck ribbons

After about 6 hrs, we arrived back at the apartment feeling very happy with our day.

The next day we caught a very crowded bus into the historic centre to go exploring. There we saw some amazing colonial buildings, some colourful deco ones, and not so good old ones, all in differing stages of wellbeing.

Having been to Portugal, we could easily identify the Portuguese style architecture.

Portuguese colonial architecture in Jesus Square, Salvador (UNESCO), Brazil

Salvador was the first colonial capital of Portuguese Brazil. Founded in 1549, it is one of the oldest cities in the Americas.

Within a decade, it became the first slave market in the New World, with slaves, mostly from Africa, arriving to work on the sugar plantations. 

Apparently, the African culture survived better in Brazil than in North America, because Portuguese law prohibited owners from separating slave families, and slaves could buy their freedom.

Pelourinho, Salvador's historic centre

We had a wonderful walk around Pelourinho, the historic area. There are many squares reached by cobbled hilly streets, crowded with small and large and colourful buildings. It is extremely attractive.

We found Salvador people to be incredibly friendly and helpful, but with not much English spoken. Those who do speak English, seemed to really enjoy practicing it on us.

We however, struggled along with our poor version of Portuguese.

Marg in Salvador's Pelourinho historic centre

We kept lapsing into a mix of Portuguese, Spanish and English: Bom dia (good day in Portuguese); por favor (thank you in Spanish); bye (goodbye in English)!

Meanwhile, back in Barra near our AirBnB, we enjoyed some nice seafood meals including an amazing crab dish (6 crabs in one dish!), and some local sightseeing. 

Local highlights, apart from the wonderful cuisine, were the beautiful, calm and clean Barra beach, and the quaint white colonial Forte de Santa Maria at the end of the beach. 

Leigh at the Forte de Santa Maria on Barra Beach, Salvador (UNESCO), Brazil

Down at the beachfront one night, we were offered a free caipirinha drink to entice us into a restaurant - how could we refuse? 

A caipirinha is made with the local spirit cachaça, topped up with pounded ice and limes. Very moreish. So we decided to continue with them as our drinks with the meal.

However, we seriously underestimated the potency of cachaça and had a very wobbly stroll home that night - perhaps one less next time!

Barra Beach cafes and bars near our AirBnB

We enjoyed having our own space for several days at the AirBnB rather than a hotel, and even had time to do laundry, update our blog, and go for several long walks. But after some rest and great sightseeing, it was eventually time to move on. 

Our next destination is Belo Horizonte, our entry point to visit Ouro Preto, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The above is part of our 4-months of independent travel in South America.