Salvador de Bahia, Brazil

Salvador de Bahia is one of the oldest in the Americas and one of the first planned cities in the world. It was established in 1549. It is declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985.

We got up at 6:30am and went on deck 10 for a walk. Already it was hot. I made few loops and could not handle it any more. Went inside to the gym. It was hot in the gym.
We arrived at 10:00am and as soon as the ship got cleared, we got out and met our guide. Few minutes later the van arrived and we settled in. It was 15 passenger van for 8 of us. Pretty comfy, unfortunately the air conditioner did not work. We asked for the other vehicle.

Our first stop was Lighthouse. The current structure was built in 1839 and dedicated by Dom Pedro II of Brazil. It is constructed of masonry and painted with black and white bands. The lighthouse is a 22 metres (72 ft)-high tapered tower with a Fresnel lens dating to 1890.

After few stop to see few plazas, we stopped at The Cathedral Basilica of Salvador.
Original church was built in XVI century. After the expulsion of the Jesuits from Brazil in 1759 the school and church were transferred to the Archbishopric of Bahia. Archbishop Augusto Álvaro da Silva ordered the demolition of the existing cathedral of Salvador in 1933 to construct a tram line, and elevated the existing Jesuit structure to the status of basilica.
The inside frescoes covered with 800kg of 18 karat gold.
We then walked to Franciscan church.
São Francisco Church and Convent of Salvador was constructed in 1578 and then was destroyed by the Dutch during Dutch invasion of Bahia in the next century.
Construction on the present-day church and convent began in 1708 and completed in 1723.
The inside decorated with blue and white tiles imported from Portugal.
It was so hot and humid, that we all were looking forward to a new van with air conditioner. Meanwhile we went for a 40 min walk thru the centre of the colonial city. Very colourful buildings, art sellers on the street. The population of the city is 80 percent of African descent.
Boris could not walk for 40min on cobblestone streets in 100F, so he was waiting for us in outside cafe.
A new van was waiting for us. We settled with an anticipation of cold air…..not to be. Due to the traffic, van had no chance to get proper air function.
We drove by the lake with figures representing gods. The figures were installed in respect to African mythology.
Our next stop was Basilica Santiario. Another amazing church.
We then got back to the ship. Boris went back on the ship and I checked a local market. Nothing interesting there. Then I walked back to the ship. We were totally exhausted from the heat. After the shower, and lots of water to drink, we felt a little better.
We had dinner with friends and went right after dinner to bed. We are staying in this city for one more day, but decided stay on the ship and enjoy a day of rest.Read more