Carnival in Bahia

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One thing is certain after my trip to Salvador: Brazilians know how to throw a party. We were fortunate enough to arrive to this port in the middle of Carnival, which according to the Guinness Book of World Records, is the largest celebration in the world. It certainly seemed like it, since I’ve never seen so many people crowded in the streets in my life. The festivities began early in the afternoon and lasted right up until Tuesday, which is known in the states as Mardi Gras. The parades include blocos, which are huge decorated flat bed trucks that blast music and have people pay to march around with them all night in a color uniforms. Everyone goes all out with the costumes, no matter what age or gender, and for one week the toil of their daily lives is forgotten to come together as a community and celebrate their traditions and history. Even though it can get very chaotic, I felt fairly safe the entire time and walked away from the experience with everything I had brought with me intact. Some of the other Semester at Sea students were not as fortunate and several got wallets, cameras, and watches stolen(even though we were warned not to bring anything of value out with us). The only time things felt precarious was when we asked for directions to a restaurant from a local and he pulled a box cutter on one of the guys in our group when we he didn’t get any money from us.
One thing I was not prepared for feeling like such a foreigner and so very white. Buses crammed full of people would drive past us and every single one would turn to stare, some even to point and laugh. It was as if we were some alien race they had never seen before. The language barrier was another big problem. Brazilians speak Portuguese, and it was a challenge to find anyone who could understand our English, which made paying for things like meals and cabs quite difficult. I learned pretty quickly that you have to be careful about who are friendly to in this city, because everyone is trying to sell you something and they can be very persistent. One of the more depressing things I noticed was how many children were forced to bring home money, either by begging, picking up cans, or performing for tourists. It was hard to tell how many were also in school, since everything was closed for the week, but I have a feeling that the majority of them had to provide for themselves since their parents could not. Salvador is built in a way that the rich live right next to the favelas, or slums, which creates an interesting if sometime volatile environment.
The food and drinks a highlight of the visit though. I was able to try so many new things including drinking coconut water with a straw and a sugar cane drink which they make right in front of you in the streets. The Brazilian coffee was also exceptional and could beat Starbucks any day. As for the native diet, they seem to enjoy their meats and seafood, and pretty much anything fried. On a field excursion to Itaparica Island, were welcomed of the ferry boat with a huge lunch buffet that was so delicious, especially the fried coconut and maple syrup dessert that tasted like Samoa Girl Scout cookies. The downside to the cuisine here is that you have to be very careful about anything prepared with the local water, including ice, or you’ll end up with TD (which all I can say is that it is very unpleasant. Luckily we took some antibacterial gel everywhere we went so no one I knew got ill.
Walking around the town is an experience in itself. You have to take a huge elevator to get to the upper part of the city where all the markets are, which they always filled with as many people as possible. The architecture looked very European and all the streets were made of cobblestone, which made for a very quaint atmosphere. There were hundreds of shops to explore, each selling such unique art, clothing and jewelry that it made it difficult to decide on any purchase. Live music was always playing on the streets, as well as Capoiera, which is a type of street dance that resembles martial arts. It was used as a disguise by the African slaves brought here during the sugar trade era so that they could learn to fight without being detected by their masters. The African traditions are very present here in Salvador as well as Catholicism. We were able to visit a few churches on Ash Wednesday, and the interiors of all them were more ornately decorated than any I have been in the states. It was a nice way to end our last day in the country, and I left satisfied that I had seen the heart of Salvador.

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Comments

[maryryan]

what a great writer. exquisite details. I feel like I'm on the trip vicariously.