Salvador Sol

It was dark already by the time we arrived in Salvador. We found our way to our hostel in the historic center, Pelourinho, a World Heritage Site full of colorful colonial buildings. The center sits at the edge of a cliff overlooking the bay. We immediately went looking for food and found a place that served traditional Bahian food. We ordered coconut curry with shrimp and a side of rice. It was too bad that all the stores and other restaurants were already closed or closing otherwise it would have been nice to hang out on the street and people watch as the night was warm yet breezy.

We woke up to a beautiful view of the bay-until our sink faucet broke and water was flooding the bathroom! Luckily the staff quickly shut off our water in time. It wasn't a big deal and we got changed and on our way. First we went to the bus station to purchase tickets to Belem. It would take us 2 bus rides, 20 and 15 hours each- we didn't really have a choice but we knew it could be done and that it actually would be manageable. After that was taken care of we caught the bus to a beach where we watched surfers ride the waves. The tide was high and our clothes got a little wet so we walked along the coast looking for another beach spot. Unfortunately, there was none close enough to walk to but we found some rocks to sit on and watched a group of boys jump off the rocks into the ocean. Later in the evening we shared a large portion of fish, battered and lightly fried, beets and cabbage salad and rice and beans. It was super delicious. After dinner we caught the end of a performance by a live band having a great time watching people dance.

The next day we first caught the funicular down the cliff to check, out the artisan market. We browsed every stall but didn't end up buying anything. We did find some interesting bracelets made out of snake skin-the seller showed off his roll of dried snake skin he uses to make the bracelets-but we were wigged out a bit and had concerns about customs. So we took the elevator up the cliff and wandered the streets taking lots of photos. We went inside the church, Igreja Sao Francisco, with beautiful and ornate decorations. The courtyard was lined with blue and white tiles along the walls while the church interior was covered in gold baroque details. The whole place sparkled with light. For lunch we had juicy chicken and spare ribs. The rest of the early afternoon was spent taking photos of the streets and colorful buildings and browsing shops before heading to the bus terminal.