Salvador, Brazil

The area around Salvador, Brazil, was originally discovered by Italian explorers in late 1501 but was not officially established as a colonial settlement until 1549 after the Portuguese had arrived.
The weather here is a consistently tropical mid 20s Celsius, sunny and very humid and I am sure that this might sound quite appealing to anyone who lives in a northern climate. But, and there is always a but, it is so very difficult to escape the overpowering heat, and after only a couple of hours of wandering, energy levels begin to drop quickly.
When first established as an official colony of Portugal, the city of Salvador’s growth was triggered by sugar cane and subsequently it also became the capital city of Brazil. Some time later, the title of capital city was passed to Rio de Janeiro and later still the capital was established in Brasilia.

The growing of sugar cane and the increase in the number of plantations, served as an impetus for a period of high prosperity.
Resulting from growth in the number of plantations; over 5 million slaves were transported to Brazil, from Africa, in the 1800s. The Afro-Brazilian cultural heritage has maintained a strong presence to this day, having influenced the religion, cuisine, music and art throughout the city.
The old town, Pelourinho, is named after the pillory where prisoners and slaves were once punished, and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site

On our day ashore, we decided to head out early to beat the crowds, and the heat. Very soon after leaving the ship, we were in the very tall elevator structure and being whisked up to the old town at the top of the escarpment. It was early, only around 8:30 am and we were pleasantly surprised that the streets were so very quite. The majority of folks on the street were the city workers performing  clean up duties from Carnival festivities of the previous evening, and getting everything ready for more of the same, in the evening to follow.

There are more than 165 churches, mostly very ornate and visually pleasing, in Salvador and I am sure we saw almost all of them. There were always more than one or two, in view, after turning every corner. Why there are so many churches, it is not clear, but it is commonly stated in Salvador that nobody goes to hell.
This quaint town is certainly one of the more visually pleasing, and colourful, communities which we have come across in a long while.

The sign says it all.

3 or 4 days of parades which begin in the early evening

 and are followed by partying, dancing and music 

which goes on for most of the night.

Many businesses are boarded up or are fronted by barricades

to prevent damage. 

   

The tall structure on the left of picture is the elevator

we used to get from the sea level of the port area

up to the higher elevation of the old town

     

An overview of the port area and harbour

    

A corner of the town square with a church in the background

   

 The old city centre of Salvador 

has very many streets such as this.

Visually very interesting.

  

Typical narrow cobbled street 

and most had steep inclines 

In the town square 

market stall set up outside the church 

 

Typical street scene with

the spires of two churches towering above the 

generally lower buildings of the city 

 

A very busy but beautiful picture

 

A tribute to the black history of this city 

Note the number of locks on the door!

Serious security issues maybe.

Some of the very many colourful buildings in this very interesting city 

A very unique design for a church building 

Not sure if we saw all of the church buildings 

but we did see most of them 

One of the very many unique and colourful buildings

My contribution of a little colour to

a very colourful and beautiful city