Day Four: Salvador

Now Woolworths is defunct, where else could you find a Beyonce cushion, a lino and a series of Biggles books, all for sale under one roof? Only in Salvador.

We are most definitely not in Kansas any more, Toto. This city, once the capital of Brazil and the most important port in Latin America, erupts in technicolour on arrival, especially after the monochrome concrete of Sao Paulo, exciting as it was. The old part of Salvador, Pelourinho, is very pretty, with charming, colonial buildings, each a different colour from the last. But there is a sadness about their faded grandeur and tatty exteriors. And no wonder. This is a city built by African slaves. The word ´´Pelourinho´´ comes from the Portuguese for ´´pillory´´ and the original whipping post still stands as a reminder of how slaves were beaten to death in front of their brothers, as an example to others.


Today there are constant reminders of the deprivation in this city, where crack cocaine is a huge problem. Taxi drivers lock all the doors and instruct you not to open the windows, and there are police officers are stationed on every corner. But we never once felt threatened or uneasy, and will remember instead the colour and vibrancy that course through the streets. Everything is spontaneous here. Drumming bands in rehearsal for next week´s carnival are found around every corner. And we saw a stunning rendition of the African-Brazilian dance capoeira - these guys would clean up on So You Think You Can Dance.

THINGS I DIDN´T KNOW BEFORE TODAY:
80% of murders in Brazil are crack-related
The Portuguese banned slavery 81 years after the British, in 1888, but it went on illegally till WWI
There is a Samba version of Rod Stewart´s Do You Think I´m Sexy

MORE PICS OF SALVADOR:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14099398@N00/sets/72157623370545792/