`Salvador - Bahia´

There are 80 kilometers of beaches distributed between Cidade Alta and Cidade Baixa, from Inema, in the railway suburb, to Praia do Flamengo, on the other side of the city. While the beaches of Cidade Baixa are bathed by the waters of Baía de Todos os Santos, which is the largest bay in the country, the beaches of Cidade Alta, such as Farol da Barra and Flamengo, are bathed by the Atlantic. The exception is Porto da Barra beach, the only beach in Cidade Alta, located in Baía de Todos os Santos.

The beaches of the Bahian capital are calm, ideal for swimming, sailing, diving and underwater fishing, as well as sought after by surfers because of the sea coves, with strong waves. There are also beaches surrounded by reefs, forming beautiful natural stone pools, suitable for children to play.

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The Mercado Modelo has been, since 1971, one of the most visited tourist attractions in Salvador, a place chosen by national and foreign tourists to buy souvenirs, including the famous lace and powerful berimbaus, saints, hammocks and a huge diversity of Bahian handicrafts, in addition to of a huge variety of liqueurs.

The Market has two typical restaurants, Camafeu de Oxossi and Maria de São Pedro, where crab, shrimp and fish moquecas are served, as well as the famous acarajés, abará, acaçá, vatapá and caruru, as well as succulent sun-dried meat with good pepper. and a warm pirão.

Not to mention the cocadas and jams made from all kinds of fruit. Mouth watering.

 

 

 

 

In the past, in the basement of the market, slaves from Africa were kept while they waited to be auctioned. The basement is filled with concrete slabs about 30 centimeters high from the ground, so that tourists can walk there even when the tide is high, as it is common for the basement to fill up with sea water at that time. The arches with exposed bricks – and which serve as a structure for the Mercado Modelo – make beautiful compositions when reflected in the water mirror.

The Historic Center of Salvador was designated in 1985 as a World Heritage Site by Unesco. Salvador represents a good example of Portuguese urbanism from the mid-16th century. Much of the city has maintained the roots of its streets, alleys, alleys and colorful houses. As the first capital of Portuguese America, Salvador cultivated slave labor and had its pillars installed in open spaces, such as Terreiro de Jesus and the squares we know today as Praça Tomé de Sousa, where the City Council is located, and Praça Castro Alves , immortalized in the song by Gilberto Gil.
The word pillory, in a broad sense, corresponds to a stone column, usually located in the center of a square, where criminals were exposed and punished. In Brazil, and in particular Pelourinho in Salvador, the main use was to punish slaves, through whipping during the Colonial Period. Times after the end of slavery in Brazil, in 1888, this part of the city began to attract artists of all genres, making it a cultural center. There is Olodum and the stupendous Church of Nossa Senhora do Carmo. Pelourinho is located within the Historic Center of Salvador and is considered, due to its richness, one of the most important and beautiful cities in Brazil. This beauty is reflected in the magnificence of its colonial palaces, churches and convents, most of which date back to the 17th and 18th centuries.

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Another great attraction of the city is, without a doubt, the carnival, considered the biggest popular festival in the world. The Guinness Book, in 2004, recorded Bahia's carnival as the largest in the world. The most common musical rhythms in the region are axé, pagode, forró, arrocha and samba, in addition to a strong MPB movement. The Novos Baianos, formed by the late Gal, Bethânia, Gil and Caetano; Vinícius de Moraes and Simone are exponents of Bahian and Brazilian music, alongside Ivete Sangalo and Daniela Mercury. Not to mention the writers Jorge Amado and Zélia Gattai, honored in bronze sculptures in the vicinity of the couple's former residence, in Alto do Rio Vermelho.

Salvador is magical, vibrant, pulsating, seductive, charming, welcoming, exuberant, effervescent… Added to all this is its welcoming people, who enjoy good conversation, as well as being polite and truly hospitable.

There is no shortage, in this capital, of bars, restaurants and places to be visited, revisited and appreciated. The images of these postcards, more than a hundred of them, by the way, are engraved in our minds and in our hearts. Visiting Salvador is always a great pleasure, a rare privilege, an immense joy. Its settings are unique and make us believe that the color of the city and its routine make it possible for us to live much more happily, in peace and under the protection of Senhor do Bonfim and all the Orixás.