Salvador da Bahia

Bonfim church - one of many in Salvador

sunset over Barra

trying to play the Berimbeau...

Capoeira Angola

Not a bad view from our hotel, eh?

Traditional Bahian dress

Bahianita serving Acajare (dress doesn´t look as good when you´re white)

View from the cidade alta

My friend Bianca and me left Rio de Janeiro by bus to Vitoria, form there to Salvador. It was a 20-hour bus journey, hopefully the last one of its kind! Quite tired from travelling, we decided to treat ourselves a little and checked into a posh hotel with swimming pool and beach nearby. We met John there who came from Brasilia and stayed with us another couple of days, then he left for home and colder climates on 1st March.

Salvador is a very colourful city with lots of culture and music but is also very poor. There are always people coming up to you begging or trying to sell cheap jewelery,which can get quite annoying after a while.

We visited Capoeira schools and saw 2 styles of Capoeira, the "Capoeira regional" which is very fast and more for show purposes but still very impressive, and the "Capoeira Angola" which I learnt in London, which is much slower and more of a fighting game and happens mostly on the floor. It was also good to see Capoeira in the street, however, you have to distinguish between a proper "roda" and the street show performers, which is just another way to rip off tourists as they are asking for money.

The Bahian food consists mainly of shrimps or seafood, and a lot of it is cooked in palm oil which can be very rich. Then you have got a dish called Acajare, which is made of manioc flour, fried with some shrimps and sauces on top. Quite tasty!

On to Morro de Sao Paulo!