Salvador
Colors and more colors greeted us during our tour of Salvador, the magical and creative capital of the state of Bahia. Here we boarded the MS Endeavour to begin our adventure down the east coast of South America.
This painting is a perfect depiction of the historical town, and tells us a lot about the history of the area. Salvador was first colonized some 30 years after Brazil was discovered. It became the first capital of Brazil, when the Portuguese sent the first governor-general in 1549. Sugar was introduced and a great number of slaves were brought from Africa to work at the plantations and sugar mills. The mixture of white and black races is the reason for Salvador to be considered one of the main centers of Brazilian culture.
The Largo do Pelourinho (historical town) today is considered by UNESCO to be the most important grouping of 17th and 18th century colonial architecture in the Americas. With very colorful facades, the colonial buildings now house many shops, restaurants and bars. As in the painting, women dressed in the traditional Baiana dress passed us as we strolled the cobblestone roads and smiled as we took their pictures.
Another stop during the day was the Mercado Modelo, first installed in the old customs house in 1915. The three-story market building is a paradise for local handicrafts and most of us could not resist the temptation and purchased some of the colorful items.
Salvador is after Rio, which is my hometown, my favorite city in Brazil and I was very pleased to see many smiles as we returned to the ship after a full day of magic.
Colors and more colors greeted us during our tour of Salvador, the magical and creative capital of the state of Bahia. Here we boarded the MS Endeavour to begin our adventure down the east coast of South America.
This painting is a perfect depiction of the historical town, and tells us a lot about the history of the area. Salvador was first colonized some 30 years after Brazil was discovered. It became the first capital of Brazil, when the Portuguese sent the first governor-general in 1549. Sugar was introduced and a great number of slaves were brought from Africa to work at the plantations and sugar mills. The mixture of white and black races is the reason for Salvador to be considered one of the main centers of Brazilian culture.
The Largo do Pelourinho (historical town) today is considered by UNESCO to be the most important grouping of 17th and 18th century colonial architecture in the Americas. With very colorful facades, the colonial buildings now house many shops, restaurants and bars. As in the painting, women dressed in the traditional Baiana dress passed us as we strolled the cobblestone roads and smiled as we took their pictures.
Another stop during the day was the Mercado Modelo, first installed in the old customs house in 1915. The three-story market building is a paradise for local handicrafts and most of us could not resist the temptation and purchased some of the colorful items.
Salvador is after Rio, which is my hometown, my favorite city in Brazil and I was very pleased to see many smiles as we returned to the ship after a full day of magic.
