Salvador de Bahia Brazil

Trivia alert:  Brazil is the only country name after a tree.  Pau-brasil, 'red like an ember' from the brasilwood aka Pernambuco tree famous its red colour and for making bows for stringed instruments.

Back to Salvador: this pretty coastal city is a gem in Brazil cultural history and was Brazil's capital for 200 odd years though also a little notorious for petty theft.  AND there's a UNESCO heritage listing for its colourful 'old town' including its square known as the 'Pelo' after its full name Le Pelourinho, Portuguese for Pillory, where slaves were whipped.

Pelo Square

Colourful townsfolk

It was founded in 1549 and for hundreds of years was the central exchange point for the slave trade between West Africa and South America.  At one point just after we left we were closer to Sierra Leone in Africa across the Atlantic than Canberra is to Adelaide!

From the ship's TV - we're the red arrow

It's also one of the poorer cities of Brazil with 20% of its 3.5 million inhabitants unemployed and some desperate renovations underway as again, this is one of the host cities for the FIFA World Cup in 2014.

Renovator's delight?

Yet its famous church Sao Francisco begun in 1708 allegedly has 800 kilos of gold (in the form of gold leaf) decorating its interior.  Now that figure is debatable and difficult to verify, but it's certainly a very ornate example of Portuguese baroque architecture

Sao Franciso Church

Ornate gold leaf interior

The upper and lower cities are connected by a public elevator Elevador Lacerda originally opened in 1873 (Brazil's first) and renovated in the Art Deco style in the 1930s.  It operates 24 hours a day, and even in the 1600s there was a rope and pulley mechanism in place to transport people and goods the 85 metres between the two centres.

Elevador Lacerda

Michael Jackson came here in 1987 and sang from this balcony - he's now replicated in cardboard (!)

Micahel Jackson's cardboard figure on balcony

The Capoeira is a traditional dance orginating from here that's described as a mix of martial art and dance but  the real skill is the agility required to avoid an orchestrated 'attack'.  We were treated to an on board display from a local troupe complete with tradional music.

Capoeira Dancers