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We arrived in Salvador after another 24 hour bus journey, which not only am I now getting used to, but am also starting to find it suprisingly easy to entertain myself for 24 hours on a bus! We had some trepidation about Salvador as we had been told from many travellers we had met who'd been there that its dangerous and that people constantly hassle you. However we experienced none of this, and consequently I actually really liked Salvador, as you always seem to do with places you have low expectations of!
We were actually staying with a couchsurfer, Lucas, in the South of Salvador so that may be why we didn't have too many problems, because the Pelourinho, where most of the hostels are, is the touristy part, but also the part with the most crime!
Salvador has an interesting vibe unlike anywhere else we'd been so far in Brazil, and a bit of a different culture too. There are hardly any European looking Brazilans, unlike in the South, and a massive majority of black Brazilians. This is because of the slaves who were brought over to Salvador from Africa, and the evidence of this mix of African and Brazilan culture is in the artwork and the music and religion around the city.
The main religion after catholicism is candomble, and Afro-Brazilian religion which we learnt about in the museu afro-brasiliero, where they perform rituals to get in touch with the spirit gods, which there are some pretty amazinf wooden sculptures of in the museum! Around the Pelourinho you can see Bahian aunts, who dress up in the colours and beads of the spirit god that they are attached to. We tries to go to a terreiro to see one of these rituals but there weren't any while we were there!
We went to the Pelhourinho on the Tuesday night, which is supposed to be the best night to visit, and there were stages with live Brazilian music, with lots of people dancing and lots of beer stalls around, and drumming percussion groups that paraded around the streets with people dancing and following them! There was also a crazy Brazilian woman dancing in front of the stage who decided to strip off and dance around shaking her naked ass in people's faces! (we are told that's not usual behaviour!)
There's also a little Portuguese fort with a lighthouse which we visited, and some beaches, and we managed to meet up again with our friend Kasia (now in Salvador!) and her boyfriend which was nice! Overall I liked Salvador as a state capital. Welcome to Bahia!
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