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Published: December 18th 2008
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On our last full day in Prai do Forte, we decided to visit the historic city of Salvador. As with most places in Brazil, you cannot just drive yourself around unfamiliar places due to the dangerous areas for tourists. Our friend Eduardo helped us with a guide from the area and he took us around on a private tour for half the cost. Patricia's Mom and Dad were a bit concerned about us going to Salvador /Praia do Forte since we aren't from the area. We haven't had one problem, but this was a good week to visit just to be sure. There is a Latin American Presidential Conference going on in Salvador all week. The Equadorian Ambassador is actually staying in our Pousada, and three Latin American Presidents are staying within 10km of us. There are hundreds of Policia Federal officers and army personel all over the area in tanks, motorcycles, helicoptors etc. This place is locked down!!
We were picked up at 8:30am to start our tour of the city. Breakfast didn't start until 8am, so we were treading on dangerous territory with Patricia's favorite part of the day!! She has Lucas hooked on it now. He has
to have buttered bread with cheese and ham with his Manga or laranja juice.
The historical center of Salvador, frequently called the Pelourinho, is rich in historical monuments dating from the 17th through the 19th centuries. In the heart of this area is the Mercado Modelo.This is a flea market of home made goods that spans three floors. They have some really nice paintings, woodcarvings etc. Outside of these places are people who will walk up trying to give you things like bracelets. If you accept one, we were told that they will expect you to then purchase other merchandise they might have to sell. They are pretty pushy so you have to just walk away. I had a dude lay a bracelet onto my hand after I say no thanks. I flicked it off and kept walking so he wasn't happy. Salvador is the oldest city in Brazil and was founded by Portugal. They saw this as a prime location in terms of trading etc, so they set up shop here. The Modelo Mercado used to be where slaves were brought into Brazil. These slaves were then separated based on their 'phisical qualities', mainly the state of their
teeth. Those with good teeth stayed in Salvador to work for the rich adn the rest were shipped elswhere. This area had more slaves shipped to it than any other including America.
Downtown Salvador is somewhat divided into the Cidade Alta ("Upper Town" - rest of the city) and the Cidade Baixa ("Lower Town" - northwest region of the city). The city's cathedral and most administrative buildings are above on the higher ground. An elevator (the first installed in Brazil), known as Elevador Lacerda has connected the two sections since 1873. we had a chance to see the lower part and then to visit the Upper Town. Its costs us about 5 cents each (very cheap) to ride up the elevator, but you can't see anything on the way up.
Salvador was the capital from 1549 to 1763, when it was then moved to Rio. (Do you know where the captial is now? You better unless you want Patricia all over your bunda for dissing on her hometown!! ) One main reason for the move was gold. The Portuguese shipped tons of it here for the churches that were being built. It was cheaper to ship to Rio, so the Capital was moved. We visited the Sao Francisco Church and Covenant of Salvador. This a catholic church essentially with walls layered in gold. To be more exact 800 kilos of gold inside of it with tons of paintings that rival Romes churches. I COULD WRITE A BLOG JUST ABOUT THIS PLACE! We ate lunch in a place at the Mercado Modelo. We started eating and giving Lucas some of our food. He loved mine, so I gave him some rice and vatapa. I proudly told the waitress he loved it when she came to check on us. The look on her face said it all. The vatapa had dende oil in it!! I didn't know and lucky for us Lucas didn't have an upset stomach. For those who don't know what Dende Oil is, its a very heavy oil that is not very healthy. The food tastes good but you can't eat a lot of it, if your stomach is not used to such a heavy dish. He was clearly OK though, b/c shortly afterwards, he went poopy, and stunk up our poor guide's car until we had a chance to change him.....AHHHH the joys of parenthood!
After we left there, we visited the first Fort in Salvador, called the Farrol da Barra. This place had some awesome views of the coast. There couldn't have been a better place for a soldier to spend his days back then! We then made our way back to Praia do Forte by going up the coast line and seeing all the other beaches on the way. We saw at least 100 police officers on the way! I have written way too much, so I'm going to go. Patricia is putting Lucas down for a nap before we head to the airport. She's visibly excited to see her family tonight!
Sorry for the long blog. Enjoy the pictures.
Michael
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Kevin
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Cool pics. I'm glad y'all are having a good time and Patricia is able to enjoy it, because I know she doesn't have to worry about fantasy football playoffs.