Off to Salvador de Bahia

A cross in the square of Salvador de Bahia

Off to the Airport

In the morning Graham meets us at our apartment and we check out of our Airbnb and bring our luggage to his apartment. We are only bringing our backpacks on our flight to Salvador de Bahia or Salvador for short.

Graham gets us an Uber to the local airport. Graham is staying in Sao Paulo as he still has classes.

John and I hop into the Uber and are about to leave when John notices that Graham is walking away with my backpack still on his shoulders…now that would have been inconvenient.

Arrival to Bahiacafe Hotel

a periwinkle painted corner building that has a sign saying Bahiacafe
side view of a Latam Airplane Since it is not an international flight, we just scan our boarding pass and quickly pass through security.

We have an uneventful two hour 20 minute flight. It is about a forty minute cab ride from the airport to our hotel which is in the Pelourinho area of Salvador.
a king size bed with white sheets and many white pillows beside a big window
I am really pleased with our hotel, the Bahiacafe. It is pretty, with a lot of local character and very comfortable.

A Bit about Salvador

Brightly painted green, pink and peach colonial buildings

Salvador was established in the 1500s and is north of Sao Paulo approximately in the middle of Brazil on the Atlantic coast. Our area is beautiful with brightly painted colonial buildings, numerous picturesque squares and cobblestone streets. It feels fairly safe. There are police all around and lots of tourists.

Salvador was once the capital of Brazil and a center for the slave trade. We notice that the population has much more of an African background compared to Sao Paulo.

Pelourinho Area

a cobblestone, wide pedestrian street with a cathedral at the end

The Pelourinho area where we are staying is a UNESCO World Heritage site because of its history and architecture. From its Portuguese colonial beginnings the city has grown to almost four million people and is the 4th largest city in Brazil. Before coming we had read various opinions about the crime problem in Salvador. The opinions ranged from “don’t come here” to “its safe but be cautious”.

Church of San Francisco

a large cathedral Church of San Francesco at the end of a large pedestrian street

inside of a cathedral with lots of gold We walk around exploring the area and check out the very ornate inside of the Church of San Francisco before getting a balcony table for dinner in a restaurant overlooking the pedestrian street in front of the cathedral.

a woman on the balcony of a restaurant overlooking a pedestrian street We order two for one happy hour drinks but I find mine so strong that I give half of it to John. We have a traditional shrimp dish for two called ‘moqueca de cameron’ as our main course.
Bahia cuisine
A band is playing in the square and lots of tourists and families are walking around or in the sidewalk cafes. Check out the video here.

As night falls there is a heavy police presence. You are fine on the main streets but the side streets are deserted.

We walk around a bit more after supper before calling it a night.
kimberly standing in front of the Catholic Basilica