Bahia de Todos os Santos at Salvador was discovered by the Portuguese in 1501 by Amerigo Vespucci. In 1530, Tome de Souza was the first governor of Brazil (named after a tree with dark wood which was used by the indigenous people to make a red dye - pau brasil) based in Salvador da Bahia, the country's first capital.
The Dutch had a short spell in Salvador but from 1640 onwards the Portuguese were dominant.
Rubber, gold and diamonds were transported to Portugal via Rio de Janeiro and the central seat of government was transferred there in 1763. Rio became the new capital.
Brazil's history has been checkered since with abdications, social discontent, military coups, abolition of slavery, dictatorships, economic expansion and decline, communism, reforms and finally Brazil becoming a republic in 1994. Brazil served with the allies towards the end of WW1 and the whole of WW2.
The official language of Brazil is Portuguese (our sprinkling of Spanish was absolutely no use at all) and the currency, the Real, was introduced in 1994. Brazil claims the largest concentration of Roman Catholics in the world.
There is a heavy influence of African culture in Salvador spanning back to the slaves on the plantations and sugarcane mills. Their practice of African rites was forbidden so the slaves practiced their rites in a Catholic guise and paid homage to Orixas (their Gods) through the Roman Catholic saints. Today a number of Afro-Brazilian cults still exist - Umbanda, Macumba and Candomble.
Salvador is on the north-east coast of Brazil, between the equator and the Tropic of Capricorn. Their summer or dry season is from November to March with NE trade winds and the temperature between 26 and 35 degrees. Salvador is the capital of Bahia.
First sight of Salvador at dawn was like looking at an enormous Manhattan Island; an area pushing out to sea crammed full of majestic skyscrapers. The natural harbour, All Saints Bay, is a huge area and one of the fleet suggested resembled San Francisco Bay and indeed it is the second largest harbour in the world. Despite emails flying to and fro the marina and the presence of our Oyster support team stating our ETA, we were not expected by the marina support staff. Chuckling, we dropped our anchor and motored astern to moor up beside Crazy Daisy and remained there for the duration of our stay apart from a great trip to one of the bays.
Within two hours, Debbie Johnson had us on a mini bus (courtesy of the yacht club who provided us with Carlos as our driver and Luis as our interpreter for the duration of our stay) to complete our official check in at the various departments around the city. After lunch, Luis and Carlos took us to ATMs and the absolute necessity of buying Stephen his much needed cigars. Tobacco is a valuable commodity of the Bahian region and the cigars are locally produced; inexpensive and good, according to the expert. Stephen rarely smokes little ones anymore, they now resemble chimney pots growing out of his mouth. The only bit Debbie likes about this habit is the beautiful wooden boxes that the cigars are packed in. Lighters have become a problem too, refilling is an option but rarely successful. Lighters appear to die regularly and now the ship matches are taking a pounding. Having no gas on board does prevent Stephen from taking off his eyebrows on a daily basis, although he has been known to light his habit from the barbecue. Debbie often finds Stephen contorted in the corner of the cockpit trying to light a huge cigar and the look of contentment when he has succeeded is comical. Gradually falling asleep on off watches with the aroma of cigars gives a comforting feeling, as Debbie knows that Stephen has remained in the cockpit, has settled down for his watch and she is safe in the knowledge that he is watching out for Amelie and our continued safe life at sea.
Getting back to the blog, later that evening after a few bottles of the fantastic South African MCC, the various crews in Salvador wandered up to a restaurant within the beautiful marina and quaffed down a few G&Ts and our first Caipirinhas followed by a lovely Prawn Risotto.
The following day, a group of us went to the colonial, colourful old city, Pelourinho. The buildings are painted in beautiful vibrant colours interspersed with very old structures which are ornate and the stone masons' craftmanship on the churches are magnificent. The overall feeling in this area is a busy, lively and quaint quarter with a touristy twist. The shops sell local goods, arts, craft and Brazilian memorabilia but somehow keep it real rather than fake, touristy trappings. The ladies who encourage you to visit their shops are traditionally dressed in the Bahian white laced garments with huge skirts, colourful beads, good luck charms and wearing turbans on their heads. We were advised to leave all jewelry and watches on our boats but these ladies were adorned in gold and semi precious stones, sashaying around the streets, greeting us Gringos but not being offended when we declined their encouragement to view their items for sale. Street merchants tied Bonfim ribbons around our wrists. It is traditional for these ribbons to be knotted three times, each knot a wish or request for protection by the saints. They should be allowed to fall off naturally and your wishes would then be granted. This is a strong belief and not a child's fairytale story. One of the churches we came across in the square was fluttering with colour from believers tying Bonfim ribbons on the railings outside the church.
The restaurant diners were a refreshing mix of locals and tourists alike. Generally speaking the food was of a good standard and reasonably priced.
Saturday saw the rest of the Salvador Seven arrive in port and the OWR tradition is to quaff a few bottles of Champagne. No breakfast and celebrating us all being together made us very merry and despite soaking up the alcohol with a lovely lunch, some of the guys peeked early. We returned to Pelourinho for Alan's birthday supper and ate outside in a stunning courtyard eating local fare.
The event of the year was on the Sunday...Stephen and Sussanne's birthday. Once again we started celebrating mid morning and luckily Stephen had the foresight to arrange a very late lunch back in the old city. We stayed late ending up in an open air bar where a few of us danced the Samba with local people. It was encouraging that we will be able to do this for many years to come based on the ages of some of the dancers that night. They were friendly and we believe thrilled that we joined in. Perhaps thrilled is not the word, rather they were amused by our efforts. Some of the younger local dancers were simply amazing with moves that you could really appreciate but would have wrecked our backs even if we'd tried some of the simpler moves.
Alas this is not always a glorified holiday. Stephen spent the following day arranging for a new heat exchanger for our generator to be flown to Salvador......it transpired after a week that it had only got as far as Miami. Lots of promises on timing and delivery then changes of plan then the main man not available for a few days caused us to waste a fair amount of time waiting on Amelie. Debbie joined a few others to go shopping in the local mall and returned with some great bargains.
The Salvador Seven arranged to spend a couple of nights away inland. We travelled over five hours by minibus, which was not comfortable, to Lencois in the Chapada Diamantina region. A region of great beauty with Lencois once being the diamond capital of Brazil. The mining for diamonds has ceased but their trails have now opened up to tourists to explore the landscape. After a much needed lunch, some of our party went with a guide to trek along one of these trails to the Primavera Waterfall. We enjoyed the coolness of the water by swimming over to the natural water slide, where upon several of our party were brave enough to try the slippery rocks. After much laughter we were entertained by a local guy sliding on his feet from the top, to show us how it is really done. Naturally, as an unassuming crowd we cheered him heartily only for him to repeat it many times. We left the falls as the light started to dim and along the trail we were able to purchase green coconuts to quench our thirsts. This watering hole is well stocked and built with natural products from the forest. The stallholder lives in a tent in the clearing close by with his cats. Everywhere is swept clean and even the waste bins are woven from leaves. Recycling is in evidence with the locals fully engaged in the process. Very tired and well fed we retired early in preparation for another full day of activities.
The following day we grouped after a hearty breakfast and took the minibus further into the region for us to swim or snorkel in the Lapa Doce Cavern followed by a local lunch and then for us, an amazing walk through Pratinha Cavern in Iraquara. The torches illuminated the stalactites, stalagmites and a few speleothemes (where stalactites and stalagmites meet). The guide encouraged us to use our imagination to describe the shape of the various forms, some resembling jellyfish, a sombrero and many other things. The light picked up blue and purplish hues in the stagnant water and the fine shale. At one point, the guide asked us to sit on meditation stones, switch off our torches and remain silent. The visual effect was disorientating and although there were plenty of us, you felt alone in the blackness. We climbed out of the cave through lush greenery into the heat and sunlight. Our last visit of the day was a scramble up Pai Inacio hill in Palmeiras overlooking the Capao and Paty Valleys. At the viewpoint the panoramic view is staggering with a resemblance to a small Grand Canyon. This area is steeped in legend and mystery.
That evening we walked into the town of Lencois and ate at one of the street restaurants. A common and sensible feature that we experienced here and in Salvador was the sharing of kitchens. You could order your starter from one restaurant and main from another. The bill was uncomplicated and the various restaurants sorted out the different orders. It was not unusual to see a steaming plate from one kitchen delivered to the table with the same waiter walking up the road to get a pizza from another kitchen for the same table. Drumming is a feature in the streets and we were entertained by a local drumming troupe practicing for the upcoming carnival. Conversation died as you couldn't hear a thing. The hat went around the table afterwards for small change. Additional to this, as we sat eating our food, a couple of young girls offered us homemade truffles for a few Reals. We felt safe and thrilled that we had walked away from the hotel to find this little treasure.
The next day back in the minibus we had the hot journey back to Salvador in time for the OWR party at the Bahia Yacht Club. We all dressed smartly and were royally entertained by constant canapes with copious amounts of champagne and whisky. They had set up a Caipirinha bar, although delicious they numbed your lips. A huge table grumbling under the weight of exquisite tiny sweet canapes tempted the sweet toothed guests. Sitting outside with Stephen we discovered another table with liqueurs and chocolates. The attention to detail, ambience and generosity was fit for royalty. Willy Pickett made the evening fun by helping us to interpret the speeches and explaining Brazilian protocol. A fantastic drumming troupe was the highlight of the evening and their dancing whilst playing the drums was spellbinding. The emotion was visible in their faces and the leader was trance like at times. Young men who could have been on the wrong side of the law had found a passion and lifestyle, embraced it and made it an evening that we will never forget.
Bahia Yacht Club is vast and built on different levels. The stairs and lifts were used during our time there but on leaving we were encouraged to use their funicular railway to our taxis. The gentleman who was operating the railway was soon redundant as a couple of us (not mentioning any names as we'll never be allowed to go back) hijacked the railway and became 'fat controllers' collecting the stragglers but mainly having a great time going up and down into the opulence of the club. The operator was bemused. The final drink on Duchess pushed the rest of us over the edge and we slept late the following day.....Valentine's Day.
A slow start with Stephen collecting his ordered cigars. Yes, he had bought them out of cigars earlier in the week. Debbie, Sussanne and Trish discovered how many outfits you could make out of a sarong with the help of the hair of the dog. Later that evening Stephen and Debbie had a romantic meal together in an Afro-Brazilian street restaurant in Pelourinho, discovering the traditional dish, Feijoada, a black bean and meat stew. The quantities are enormous and even Debbie couldn't get through half of it.
The weekend was upon us and a decision was made for five of the boats to sail over to Ilha do Frade for a beach BBQ. After changing the anchorage late in the afternoon we individually organised ourselves and travelled by dinghy ashore with our portable BBQ, food, drink and music. With a full moon, candles and solar lamps, we had the most enjoyable party, dancing on the beach and Leo almost sharing his steak with an enormous Coconut Crab.
Sunday evening we all ended up traveling to a Brazilian Steakhouse, Churrascaria. Various meats and poultry are speared on a sword and cooked over an open fire. The southern Brazilian Cowboy (Gaucho) cooked in this fashion when herding cattle for weeks on end. The meat is brought to the table and carved individually, this was accompanied by one of the best gourmet salad bars that we have ever encountered.
There are always boat chores to be done so the following few days whilst waiting for information on the heat exchanger, we replaced a hose on the generator with help from Eddie, provisioned for the onward journey in the best supermarket of this rally and arranged our papers for checking out. Stephen discovered that the heat exchanger was still in Miami so organised for Debbie and Eddie to collect it during their overnight there before flying to Grenada and we will collect it from there.
Willy Pickett organised for us to meet up in his home district of Rio Vermelho to see the real Salvador. He took us to a Spanish tapas restaurant which was exceptional. The place was small, lots of homemade crafts and tableware....felt like being in the owner's home. Despite overwhelming our hosts by 17 turning up for a table for 3, they made us feel welcome, got us seated quickly, wine started flowing and dish after dish embellished the table. Other private diners mainly in couples were in for a lively evening and appeared happy with the situation. Willy ended the evening by taking us Gringos to an opening night at a local Samba-Reggae bar. Drinks were in plastic cups and Willy taught us how to Samba....properly. One of our party did his party trick by balancing a water bottle on his head. This created friends and we were quickly accepted in the local community. Hysterical evening and we remember most of it. Once again we got kidnapped by Leo for another last drink on Duchess. Yes we are now officially all alcoholics!!!
Wednesday morning the Salvador seven boats became the Salvador seven people, since Babe, Crazy Daisy and Pearl of Persia all departed and Alan and Sue had gone off on their nine day excursion. More Amelie boat chores for preparation for a Friday departure and in the evening the Salvador Seven met up for Burger and Chips.
Thursday was clearing out day and last minute provisioning. Stephen kept his promise to keep the afternoon clear for exploring the old city. In the evening we started off eating outside at L'Archangelo with the others until torrential rain encouraged us to finish off inside. The Itallian fare was excellent particularly the homemade breadsticks and a very pleasing finale to our Brazilian experience.
The final morning brought thunder and lightning whilst awaiting it's passing we finished our preparations and refuelled Amelie for the first time since Durban, literally an ocean away. We got underway at 14.30 local time and headed for Grenada, some 2,600 miles away.