The Blaus - South America and Europe

27 do Julho, Salvador de Bahia - Brazil

Salvador is called "Africa in exile" because it is the most African city in the Western Hemisphere. The African influence can be seen in the men and women who carry carefully balanced loads on their heads, it can be heard in the Bahian music with African rhythms, and it can be tasted in the food sold on the street that is the same as in Senegal and Nigeria. Now the capital of Bahia state, Salvador was the reigning capital of Brazil until 1763. The Pelourinho is the historic center of Salvador. It gets its name from the Portuguese word pillory, because it was once the site of a pillory where unscrupulous tradesmen were publicly punished and ridiculed. The Pelourinho was once and is today the center of Bohemian activity in the city.

Upon arrival in Salvador (after 2 excruciatingly long overnight bus rides) we stormed around the neighborhood on the outskirts of the Pelourinho in the pouring rain to find a place to call home for 5 days. Once we were settled in we went in search of breakfast, and at a restaurant around the corner from our hostel we met a very friendly ex-patriot named Brit. We were impressed with his command of the Portuguese language, and he told us a little secret that has helped a bit...Portuguese is very similar to Latin. For example, the word "man" in Latin is almost identical to the word "man" in Portuguese. With Billy´s exposure to Latin in high school, Jen has new confidence in his ability to speak Portuguese, and we are gradually learning new words and phrases from Brazilians and subtitles on TV.

Our new friend Brit talked about his reasons for leaving the US, which included ageism (he is in his 50s and said that he started to feel useless and unwanted in the States when he got upwards of age 40), lack of community, inability to strike up new friendships after college or your first few jobs, absence of loving familial relationships and public display of affection (here you see father and son walking together, son with his arm around his dad...and mothers and daughters are always holding hands), and the incessant obsessions with work, possessions, diets, and sports. We spent so many hours chatting with Brit about his life in Salvador that the next time we looked at the clock it was time for lunch.

So, Brit took us on a quick tour of the Pelourinho and then to his favorite haunt for lunch. Our tour included the notable churches and many plazas in the Pelourinho, and he pointed out where we should be careful of pickpockets and explained how to handle the situation if we were robbed (carry small amounts of cash, cooperate and don´t let it shake you up). He has been robbed 4 times in 4 years here, and swears that Rio is a much more dangerous city, but we have been warned to be careful as the Pelourinho is located near the city´s crack den. Many people that travel here say that they feel little hands in their pockets often, especially in crowds. Unfortunately, the next time we saw Brit in the street he told us that his house and car had been burglarized, so that makes it 5 times in 4 years. He lives in a bad part of the city, far from the center, where lawlessness seems to prevail, and as an ex-pat he is an easy target with little hope for protection by law enforcement agencies here.

Brit taught us the European finger wave, which is yet another popular Brazilian hand signal. We´ve seen it demonstrated by locals to ward off aggressive vendors on the street. The street vendors here have been known to tie a ribbon around a gringo´s wrist and call it a "presente." Then they follow the tourist around until money is handed over. There are many scams like these that we are becoming wise to.

Brit´s lunchtime hangout is a restaurant that serves small plastic cups full of sugar cane alcohol (called cachaça or pinga) that is infused with flavors like ginger, tamarind and cinnamon. We ate sausages and fried chicken while sipping on cachaça. As Brit imbibed more of the tasty Brazilian firewater, he began telling us jokes. He shared our political views and told jokes about the adversarial relationship between Brazil and Argentina. During a visit to Brazil, President Ronald Reagan stumbled during a speech in Brasilia saying that he was pleased to be in "Bolivia, eh... Bogotá... Brazil." Brazilians are still upset about this and they believe that many Americans regularly confuse Brazil and Argentina, and mistake Buenos Aires for the Brazilian capital. A popular joke in Brazil after 9/11 was that the then and current president, Lula, called the White House to claim Brazilian responsibility for the terrorist attacks on 9/11 in hopes that the US would retaliate against Argentina and mistakenly bomb Buenos Aires. Another joke was set during the times of Imperial Brazil, when Emporer Dom Pedro the Second attended the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, 1893. On display was a state-of-the-art steam locomotive. When Dom Pedro learned that the locomotive could travel at a speed of 20 revolutions per minute he said, "It can´t keep up with Argentina."

We arrived in Salvador on a Tuesday and when we hit the streets that night we were pleasantly surprised by the vibrance of the city. The Pelourinho is composed of churches and buildings erected in the 17th and 18th centuries. Some are dilapidated and decaying, while others have been restored by the Bahian government and UNESCO starting in the 1990s. The Pelourinho has been called the finest complex of colonial architecture in Latin America. Against the backdrop of this beautifully crumbling collection of plazas, churches and homes on the hill overlooking a grand natural bay is a thriving nightlife. On Tuesday night we wandered around and discovered a colorful cultural performance around every corner. There was a band playing outside in a plaza and locals and tourists perched on steps climbing up the hill to listen to live music for free. A few blocks further in another plaza, there was a capoeira circle formed around high-kicking dancers. In this same plaza Bahianas dressed in traditional 18th century costumes were selling every kind of food and drink imaginable from their street carts. We turned the corner and happened upon an all-female drumming group called Dida performing on the street before an ecstatic audience. In the main plaza, where the so-called Slave Church is located a mass was being held and sounds of song and worship wafted out of the open doors to compete with reggae beats coming from the open-air bar across the street. A guy selling hand-painted t-shirts got a thumbs up from us as we passed by and laughed at his artistic depictions of the White House (a toilet bowl) and GW Burro (the donkey in the White House). There was so much activity and it was such a delight for the senses. Salvador has a pulse like nowhere else we´ve been in South America.

The next night we went out on the town again for dinner and dancing. We met a Brazilian girl from Sao Paulo at our hostel who is a cook, and she recommended that we try a dish called moqueca at a nicer restaurant called Jardim das Delicias. We were happy to splurge on a good meal and split a dish of moqueca, which is buttery white fish cooked in sauce made from coconut milk, tomatoes, red and green peppers, fresh coriander, and palm oil, served with farofa (manioc flour that Brazilians add to everything), and a hot pepper sauce (another condiment that is added to every dish). Then we went to a free Forró concert to see the famous Brazilian dancing that we missed in the northeast (we could never stay awake late enough to catch a Forró show in the beach towns, where this type of music and dance is most popular today). Forró was conceived by the British when they were building railroads in Brazil. The British would throw balls and put up signs saying "For all" (meaning that everyone could come, not only the railway engineers). Brazilians pronounced "for all" as Forró, which soon became the name of a musical style meant for dancing. Forró originated in the northeast of Brazil and is played by the very poor. Luiz Gonzaga is the artist that made it popular in big Brazilian cities in the 1940s. We enjoyed watching couples fervidly dance in circles around the concert hall, but we didn´t give it a try ourselves.

Brazil is not a great place for anyone on a diet. A common way to eat here is comida por kilo, which is buffet style where you pay for lunch or dinner by the kilo. This combined with cafe de manha (filling Brazilian breakfasts) is a dangerous combination for anyone counting calories. We have also become fond of vitaminas, which are thick fruit drinks made with milk...like a milkshake, but more frothy. Brazilian black beans (feijao) and rice are standard sides that come with practically every meal, but the best of the Brazilian bean dishes is feijoada completa, which we ate in Sao Luis for lunch one Saturday. This specialty is made with several meat ingredients (jerked beef, smoked sausage, salt pork, smoked tongue), spices, herbs and veggies. It is very savory and delicious. Guarana soda is a popular carbonated fruit drink that is Brazil´s Coca-Cola, it tastes like ginger ale with a hint of cherry, and is refreshing and light. Acaraje is the best of the street food we´ve sampled. All of the street food has origins in West Africa, and this is a kidney bean dumpling fried in palm oil and topped with dried shrimp and coconut milk pate, green tomatoes, and hot sauce.

We plan to take advantage of our time here in Salvador, tonight we are going to see Candomble ceremony, and tomorrow we will go with our Argentine housemate to see a Bossa Nova show at the bar across the street from our hostel.

posted by The Blaus @ 12:09 PM