Salvador, Bahia (Day One)

Our stay in Recife came to an end, and we have started our journeys to other parts of the country. Our first stop is the city of Salvador (translated to Savior) in the state of Bahia (translated to Bay). After checking into our hotel, we went exploring for a little. So far, I absolutely love this city, it is beautiful! We went down and up the famous elevator that they have here which provided some great views. In the city I also had the opportunity to run into some guys dancing capoeira. Capoeira is a Brazilian fight/dance that was started by the African slaves in Brazil. It has become extremely popular, even in the U.S. The men invited me to dance with them, and I had a lot of fun learning how to get into it (unfortunately my flip-flop broke in the process, but that can be replaced). This was one of the cool things that we found as we were walking through the streets, another one included an old church which was made of all gold on the inside (this was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen). We also found some really narrow, windy, steep cobble stone streets with beautifully colored homes and neat shops to buy souvenirs and treats. One of these street venders was selling a food called acaraje, a food that is common only here in Bahia. It is made with fried corn, the olive oil that the slaves brought from Africa, and is filled with shrimp. To be honest I didn't like it that much, but it was good to experience it. This evening our group went to a Catholic mass, but it had a twist to it. It wasn’t just a Catholic mass, but one with the religious roots of the Africans here in Brazil, including the religion Candomble. Because of this the African influence of dancing, singing, and playing drums was prevalent. Towards the end of the mass the father invited a few people who were from out of the country to come up to the front. Logically, Nick and I went up to the front and were introduced to the whole church. At the end of the service, everybody just started hugging each other. I really enjoyed this cultural opportunity to learn and experience a different religion.

This is a woman dressed in some traditional clothes from the region here in Bahia.

Nick, Logan and I at the flea market here (it's through the doors behind us).

Behind me is the famous elevator I was talking about that we went up and down, and to the right of me is some sort of sculpture.

This is a military base that is right on the harbor. They wouldn't let us in, there was even a guard with a huge gun making sure we didn't.

Another statue with the elevator behind me, this one was covered in pigeons. It reminded me of Home Alone with the lady who would throw all that bird food to the pigeons.

This is the view from on top of the elevator (you can see the sculpture earlier mentioned at bottom left). Just breath-taking!

Nick and I with a beautiful Brazilian sunset behind us, along with a nice sculpture of a fallen cross.

These are two pictures of me dancing/fighting capoeira. I have to say that the first one was a pretty good dodge/matrix impersonation. 

My capoeira partner and I.

In front of the church that we ran into.

The all-golden inside of the church.

On the windy cobble-stone streets, absolutely beautiful.

This is the woman that was making the acaraje for us, she was really nice.

About to get grubbin!

This was inside the mass that we went to with the father at the front.

There's Nick and I keepin it real at the front of the mass.