Salvador da Bahia's Flavors, Sights and Sounds

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This blog and more photos are available on my website https://heatherjasper.com/brazil/salvador

This coastal city of almost 3 million people is full of beaches, history, music, and delicious food. I loved everything about it: the food, the music, the beaches, and even the museums. Salvador is a giant sprawl of different neighborhoods, each with its own name and feel. Most neighborhoods are either very rich or very poor, with a few falling somewhere in the middle. Still, most of the city is economically and racially divided.

I stayed in Barra, within walking distance of the beach. It’s a residential part of town with a few good restaurants. North up the coast from Barra is Rio Vermelho, which has tons of great restaurants, bars, and nightlife.

The most touristy part of town is Pelourinho, which you can read about on this blog. Check out the Pelourinho blog for foods like acarajé and musical performances like the Balé Folclorico da Bahia.

I’m not usually a big museum fan, but Salvador’s museums are fun and interactive. I especially loved Cidade da Música da Bahia. The Cidade da Música da Bahia is just what the name says it is, more than a museum, it’s a whole city of music. I spent four hours there but could just as easily spent eight and still not seen or heard everything. It is the most interactive and modern museum I’ve seen anywhere in the world. It opened in 2021 and all the exhibits are designed to be directed by the visitor with their smartphone. It would be difficult to visit without a phone. I would guess that only have the exhibits would be as interesting if you didn’t have a phone with which to interact with the exhibits.

Salvador is a very large city, and I found the best way to get around was with Uber. The rideshare service is cheaper than taxis and locals consider it safer since you get information about the driver before you get in the car.

Every blog I see about Brazil addresses safety. I felt safe everywhere I went in Salvador, whether alone or with friends. However, I also got information from my Salvadorian friends about the relative safety of different parts of the city. Sometimes they told me not to take my camera with me. Sometimes they just told me to not take the camera out of my bag if I was in the street. I never saw any theft or crimes my four weeks in Brazil, though I was constantly reminded by my friends where and when I could go alone safely.

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Photos

Farol da Barra
Salvador still has several working lighthouses, protecting boats from the very rocky coastline

Balé Folclórico da Bahia
The most extraordinary dance performance I've ever seen is the Balé Folclórico. It brings together modern dance with traditional dances done by Africans who were sold as slaves in Brazil. The costumes are inspired by Candomblé, a syncretic religion practiced in Brazil.

Salvador by Night
Salvador has a couple quaint, colonial neighborhoods, but most of the city is very modern.

Gold Straw: Capim Dourado
My favorite souvenirs were woven from a kind of grass that shines like gold. If you're buying capim dourado, ask if it was harvested sustainably. It's illegal to harvest before September 20 every year. You want to find capim dourado that was harvested in October or November.