Liver recovery after Rio

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After one of the carziest weeks of my life on Rio, we decided it was rest time and Salvador was our bed. Only a 2 hour flight from Rio and we arrived in Salvador. The biggest city of Northern Brazil which lies on the coast (yes, more beautiful beaches!!!); it is a city steeped in rich African history and the population here is predominantly African. The weather is roasting as it has been since we crossed the Argentinian border into Brazil. Most of the population are very poor and it seems that the problems associated poverty are predominante here. Yet again though, there is a wealthy population here and disparities are clear to all. However as we have found throughout our travels the people are so kind and thoughtful (though there have been a couple of times when our hearts have fluttered). The centre is called Pelourinho and it's architecture is out of the world. It is a World Heritage Site. It's simply beautiful! It was built by the Portuguese, but the Afro-Brazilian culture really shines through. We visited a chuch that is the most over the top church I have ever seen. We weren't allowed to take photos so I can't show you it, but gold leaf was obviously the order of the day when it was built in the 16th century and it's so bizarre going from enormous indulgent wealth inside the church to seeing the desperate poverty outside. Anyway enough of my socialist ranting! We are in a neighbourhood called Barra which is just to the south of the city. There is a beach we went to nearby which was nice, but completely rammed! We went to the Miguel Santana Theatre to see a Capoeira show which is a mix of dance and martial arts which was practiced by the slaves. It was a great show with brilliant drumming too. We have done a boat tour to some of the tropical islands which had beautiful golden beaches set against the jungle behind. The hostel were staying in is the best one yet. Very clean and nicely decorated, good food and run by a great giy from Stockport of all places! We cannot linger though and we are getting the bus to Belem; 34 bloody hours solid on a bus! So next time you whinge about a 4 hour train journey in England, think of us! So excited about seeing the great natural wonder that is the Amazon River and Rainforest though slightly worried about the snakes, spiders, poison arrow frogs, alligators etc....... Adios amigos!

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