Salvador, Brazil - Hot & Humid

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Salvador, Brazil
Salvador is located on the North East coast of Brazil. We arrived here quite early for our visit. Salvador is the oldest city in Brazil and is the capital of the state of Bahia and is noted for its cuisine, music and architecture. Our tour took us from the lower town, upper town and around the peninsular.A particularly stark and notable feature is the escarpment that divides Salvador into the Cidade Baixa ("Lower Town" - port area and neighborhoods along the bay), and Cidade Alta ("Upper Town" - rest of the city). The Upper Town is some 85 m (279 ft) above the Lower Town, with the city's cathedral and most administrative buildings having been built on the higher ground for defenses and safety. An elevator (the first installed in Brazil), known as Elevador Lacerda, has connected the two sections since 1873, and has undergone several upgrades. It was just a few pence to travel from the lower town to the upper level and some 50,000 people use it daily.It is a city of contrasts, on one side of the highway and modern metro you have the 'favelas' (slum areas) and on the other the modern high rise apartments, offices and department stores. Our tour took us to the famous Porto da Barra Beach in Barra neighbourhood, named in 2007 as the 3rd best beach of the world. It is also the site of the Arena Fonte Nova, the city's stadium in the World Cup. The city was in the midst of preparing for its carnival, in early February which runs for a week and virtually shuts the city down. The building work was non stop as we toured the city with all the beach areas being upgraded for the carnival. A very humid day with a few intermittent showers most welcome. We now move onto Rio where we visit, Sugar Loaf, Christ the Redeemer and Copacabana beach.

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