Cobblestone streets and waves of rain...

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Dear friends,

I´m leaving Salvador today to return to Rio.  I spent more time here than I expected.  I stayed in the Perinho, a Unesco world heritage site.  The streets here are made from cobblestone.  The buildings are built in the context of Portuguese architecture from the 1800s with arches and large front entrances.  There are painted in bright colors such as green and orange.  There are days full of sun, and others where there waves of rain pouring down onto to the streets.  The streets are sloped up and down, making it difficult to transverse when it becomes a river.   There are bands of children offering to give tourists bands for their wrists as gifts that I keep shaking away.  Perinho borders the bay and by looking out one can see cargo ships and sailboats littering the azule colored water.  This place is very distinct because of its heritage.  Many slaves were brought here, and culture is described as Afro-Brazilian.  Most people have mixed ancestry of portuguese and african.  Yesterday, I saw a troupe of female drummers, rocking on to very loud African beat music.  It was quite glorious.  Everyone here seems to know how to samba.  My favorite meal so far was moqueca de fish/shrimp.  It is a dish with rice and a stew of seafood or fish cooked with coconut, dende oil and onions, etc.  Three times in the last week, I ate at Sorisa de Da Da, a restaurant known for its moquecas.   Sorisa, herself, greeted me one day...Meanwhile the english couple of Ruth and Mary have made great companions in our exploration of Bahia.

My favorite meal is moqueca de fish/shrimp

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Later today, I fly to Rio, and I eagerly await tomorrow´s matchup, Francia vs. Brasil.

yours, asit