July 28, 2012

Salvador

I went to Salvador (Savior) in the state of Bahia (Bay). It's the third biggest and one of the most visited. This was one of the best trips so far. I went sightseeing in the historic centre. Apart from the multitude of people trying to sell me stuff I don’t need, it was great. One guy came up to me, drew on my hand, and then charged me. I learnt my lesson the hard way: always say no to anything they offer.
 
Palácio Rio Branco

A Bahiana making Acarajé

Later on, I went to a religious ceremony. I discovered a new religion: Candomblé. This religion is unique to the Bahianos (people from the state of Bahia). They dress up in the traditional Bahiano costume and start going around in circles to the tune of Samba music. Then they evoke a trance. They believe that their ancestor’s spirits will enter their body. When they enter a trance, it is intense and some of them fall to the ground. It looked like they were being electrocuted, or that they had an anxiety attack, but apparently, that’s when the ancestors’ souls were coming in. Then they all dressed up in animal costumes. They were now evoking spirits from the jungle, or Africa. Either way, it was very different and quite intense.

Dressed up as a local

The next day, I did some more sightseeing, bought some souvenirs, and ended my night with a nice dinner. Take a look:

Moqueca de camarão (shrimp stew). Delicious!
Artesaneto (hand crafts store) in the Mercado Modelo

On the third day, I went on a boat trip. I met some Europeans and Brazilians on the way to the first island. There was a live band and people dancing. It was a joyful atmosphere, until it started raining. It got worse when we reached the island. Fortunately, it didn’t last long, and it was sunny for the rest of the day. The water was warm as well. Then we went to another island. This one had a shallow shore, so we couldn’t get there using the big boat. The boat stopped quite far, so we jumped off and swam to shore. It was pretty adventurous. We had an all-you-can-eat buffet and then we tried skipping stones. Then we went back to Salvador and parted ways. I went to the airport that night, although my flight was at 5:00 a.m. I ran into the Brazilians I had met earlier that day.

Life's a beach

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