Salvador: Day I!

We had the opportunity to visit the old center of Salvador to learn more about the history of the city and also of Brasil. It was awesome! We started out the day walking to a lighthouse that had the best view of the city. It was the first real look we got of the beach and it was awesome. The water is crazy blue and so so clear. We then took a bus over to the center and split off into groups. I, Cindy and Mike headed down this gigantic public elevator (the largest in Brasil) that takes you from the top part of the center to the bottom. We entered the Mercado Modelo which is a large building where up to 250 little craft stores are set up. We bought crafts and ate lunch while watching some guys do capoeira. The Mercado is the location where slaves used to be traded when they were shipped to Brasil. The bottom level is where they used to keep the slaves and the sad thing is, when the tide came in sometimes the water got so high that it killed the slaves who couldn’t stay above it. It is a really sad history, and now the things that are sold there reflect the history of the slave culture and the culture of the city, which revolves heavily around the African American culture.

We then headed out to see a bunch of other sites. We saw the first Medical College of the Northeast and we also saw the Basilica of our Lord of Bonfim which is the location of a yearly tradition is which a large procession leads up to the church and they wash the steps of the chapel with water. Many participate and it is one of the points in which Canomble and the Catholic church actually work hand-in hand. We visited the Church of Saint Francis which was entirely covered with gold. It seriously was lined in gold all through the chapel. It was pretty incredible. Cindy then led us to a museum that was filled with Postcards from different pictures/postcards from many different years. We visited a couple other places and visited a lot of shops where local merchandise was sold, then we headed to the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary of the Black Men. Yeah, interesting name. The church had a mass at 6 pm that was a combination of Catholicism and Canomble. They had drums and lots of singing. I have never been to an actual mass, but it was probably different than it normal would be haha.

Today was an awesome way to start out days in Salvador, Bahia. I know Cindy loved it, she having knocked off one of her bucket list items. It was fun seeing a completely new side to Brasil!