Salvador de Bahia

...north east Brazil (or São Salvador da Baía de Todos os Santos as it was named in the past) was the first colonial capital city of Brazil and, although power shifted to Rio de Janeiro in the late eighteenth century, then to Brasilia in 1960, it retains much of it's past grandeur and colonial architecture. One of the main reasons to come here, however, is the wonderful mix of cultural influences that make the cuisine, music and lifestyle here so different ...
...strong influences through Salvador's history. Salvador is also famous for it's carnival and street parties. The final stop on my extensive two-week tour of Brazil was to Salvador and the surroundings. We flew from Brasilia to Salvador Airport, taking less than two hours and checked into our hotel, Pousada do Boqoeirao, which we had booked before departure. This is an attractive Pousada or guesthouse, which was originally two colonial houses, just ...

AndrewPo 02.10.2008 · Read full review
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Review of Salvador de Bahia

...but in the case of Salvador it is an understatment. In all my travels (109 countries on every continent) I have never visited such an electrifying city and that includes Rio. Perhaps it was the fact that it was Christmas but the city was alive with music, you hav'nt lived until you have heard "White Chrismas" to a samba beat. Salvador is unlike any other South American city, it was here that the black slaves were bought over from Africa to work ...
...well as the well known zest for life. It is indeed rare to see a Brazillian that is'nt smiling. In summary if you have a desire for something a very different but engagingly interesting then Salvador is a place to go. Unless you are already an alcoholic that is. ...

Jasonrow 29.07.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Salvador de Bahia

We arrived in Salvador in the middle of a strike. But it seems there's always a strike in Salvador. The electricity workers were on strike for a 140% rise because they hadn't had one since April and it was now August. The hotel workers joined them after a couple of days for similar reasons, and we had to clean our own rooms and make our own beds, we even had to cook our own breakfasts if we wanted something hot. The management put the food out at ...
...The guided tour of Salvador was quite interesting - it seems the African slaves, way back when, were forced to abandon their beliefs in Voodoo gods and adopt the Catholic faith. So they renamed their gods after the Catholic saints and carried on worshiping them. Many still worship them today and you can, by special request, attend one of their ceremonies if you really want to. The evening trips they arrange to such events are strictly re-enacted ...

petehall 10.01.2001 (17.01.2001) · Read full review
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Review of Salvador de Bahia

...dance.sometimes all night,and locals from salvador will travel to praia at the weekends,so things get really lively..they love it when holiday makers or travellers get up and have a go ,also sample the local food.it's a miss conception that bad stomaches come from local food.dehidration and too much sun play more of a part.we ate from a stall at the side of the sand path leading through praia,and had to keep going back to see if it was cooked yet..he ...

theredbaron 22.09.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Salvador de Bahia