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.
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Palácio Rio Branco |
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A Bahiana making Acarajé |
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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.
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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:
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Moqueca de camarão (shrimp stew). Delicious! |
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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.
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Life's a beach |
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