Let the culture begin - Salvador

Historic Salvador. This signifies the area where they used to hang slaves and beat them. It is a sign that those time are over.
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September 21^st, 2007: Day 6

Salvador:

We hoped on a morning flight to Salvador and arrived mid afternoon. We took a cab to the tourist area of Pelourhino to get a hotel. Once we checked in we decided to head out and check out the area. We sat at a local sidewalk eatery and watched capoiera dancers and locals selling bracelets and necklaces to the tourist. All of the streets were cobblestone and the town had a teeny tiny feeling with all historic buildings. We walked around and checked out the shops and people watched before heading back to get ready for dinner. We headed to a restaurant called Uaua, which looked very historic. It had logs around the inside frames of the restaurant and historic pictures which made it feel very welcoming. For dinner we had a local stew type dish with fish, coconut milk, and vegetables it was delicious. Outside of the restaurant a small drum band was playing which gave us a nice feel of being a local and taking in the culture. After dinner we walked around a bit more and found the street where all of the action was. We were lucky enough to get a table, which sat right in the alley where we could people watch as the traffic came and went through the pedestrian streets of Pelourhino. As the night grew later the streets became even busier. We headed back to the hotel and hung out on the patio with a couple of people chatting for a bit before heading to bed.

The elevator that goes from the top of Pelourhino to the bottom down to the water.
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September 22^nd, 2007: Day 7

We woke up and enjoyed breakfast on the patio over looking the plaza. Once we finished our breakfast we walked around the city a bit more to complete our tour of this area. We took the historic elevator that runs from the top of the city to the bottom of the city at the docks where there was a street fair with local buys. Once we were finished walked around the bottom of the city we headed toward the top of the city. We saw the most beautiful church made of solid gold and we had the opportunity the take part in a presentation where they focused on small portions of the church, which allowed you to see it’s true beauty. After we left the church we hopped in a cab and headed over the area called Barra. We took a walk along the coast and watched as children played and adults enjoyed refreshments in the warm sun. We walked around the Maritime Museum and decided to head out for some lunch as a local café along the water. We enjoyed the sights of the locals and the sound of the waves crashing across the street. This is when I first saw the sight that I thought would not end up on my table. It was the fried fish and not just part of the fish, but the whole fish. The table that ordered it had a second round so there must be something special about it. After lunch we decided to rent out a couple of beach chairs near the water and sip on beers in the coozie. After a few hours of enjoying the sun and frosty beers it began to rain. Everyone headed across the street to the local establishments and snacked on local treats while waiting for the rain to stop. For dinner we hit a local eatery with an open patio where I believe the dish was chicken stroganoff, but had a very fancy name and delicious description. We waited for the crowd to start, but it never really happened so we headed back towards the hotel. Once we got close we discovered that there was a marching band competition going on so we watched for a bit before calling it a night.