Salvador de Bahia, Brazil
2 December 2007- Sunday
Salvador de Bahia, Brazil
Good night's sleep and at breakfast at 7am- disappointed to find there was still only one non-stick frying pan for over easy eggs but I was early and wait not long. In the meantime we had docked and I went to the Ambassador lounge to pick up my bottle of water (used to be on the honor system, but one day they gave out 3 more cases of water then people went on tour-so now you show your ticket). Tamara is the SA girl who runs this part of the shore excursions and does a great job. She's pretty ,in great shape and a killer smile with interesting accent. She is the only child in a single parent family who took off at an early age and landed a job in Turks and Caicos islands. Eventually got a job on cruise liner and finally to the Marco Polo. She's good at he job because she tells jokes- most pretty corny- but it keeps the level of noise down so you can hear the announcements of departures. Again bus one on driver's side, It's Sunday and traffic is meager. Salvador is a town of 2 levels, lower at beach level, upper is 100 feet higher and is where the original colonists lived in a fortress. They tried to enslave the natives, but since they were in their own country they easily escaped and they kept fighting the Portuguese. So they imported slaves from Africa and that's why there's such a racial mix. The Portuguese thought they had converted the slaves to Catholicism, but they just renamed the saints to their voodoo gods and they still practice a religion that I didn't get the name of. There were four religious orders came over with the Portuguese- Benedictines, Carmelites, Jesuits and Franciscans. They all built their own churches- the Franciscan being the most ornate and has 900 pounds of gold in it's decorations- much as gold leaf covering the saints. There is also gold leaf on the plasterwork and the wood carving. Before they built the gold church, they built a smaller one with a Spanish Plateresque facade (very ornate). When the king of Portugal left the Iberian peninsular which was under threat by Napoleon's army, and established his capital in Salvador, the king disliked the extravagance and had the front of it plastered over. When they were installing electricity in the the early 1900s, they discovered the real facade which was covered 200 years before. of course- no photos in the gold embellished church! Then up and down narrow streets- where poor kids are being taught to be drummers and to do folkart painting. To a church built by the slaves over 100 years time. It was the slave's church and since they didn't get time off they had to build it at night- and since they couldn't light fires (the colonials were afraid the slaves would burn down their houses) they could only work by moonlight. This was on a steep, narrow street and our guide chewed out Rosemary and Bill, who weren;t even on our tour- saying it's really dangerous to leave the main drag. They had a large bandstand set up the a map of Africa as a backdrop- so I suppose they still have their problems. Of course in a city of 4 million that has an unemployment rate of 60%, I suppose there would be thievery. It being Sunday, the streets were pretty empty and when we drove down to the beach found out where they were. Although it was an overcast day the beaches were full. Saw an historic light house and a pond decorated with the voodoo equivalent of the saints. Back to the ship to break the news that our churrascaria party is off- the restaurants are 20KM away, are expensive and the ship leaves at 430pm and it is now after one. So we eat on deck. Salvador is one city I would come back to- it's got a medical school and a medical museum (closed on Sundays). Leave port on time and it is light enough to get some photos. It's a big harbor loaded with container ships, natural gas ships-etc. Was close enough to get a lighthouse picture from sea which is better than through the bus window. Dinner unremarkable and decide to skip the Laurence Robinson show- vocalist who does opera, Broadway and show tunes. Glad I did, because tonight we set our clocks one hour ahead.
Salvador de Bahia, Brazil
Good night's sleep and at breakfast at 7am- disappointed to find there was still only one non-stick frying pan for over easy eggs but I was early and wait not long. In the meantime we had docked and I went to the Ambassador lounge to pick up my bottle of water (used to be on the honor system, but one day they gave out 3 more cases of water then people went on tour-so now you show your ticket). Tamara is the SA girl who runs this part of the shore excursions and does a great job. She's pretty ,in great shape and a killer smile with interesting accent. She is the only child in a single parent family who took off at an early age and landed a job in Turks and Caicos islands. Eventually got a job on cruise liner and finally to the Marco Polo. She's good at he job because she tells jokes- most pretty corny- but it keeps the level of noise down so you can hear the announcements of departures. Again bus one on driver's side, It's Sunday and traffic is meager. Salvador is a town of 2 levels, lower at beach level, upper is 100 feet higher and is where the original colonists lived in a fortress. They tried to enslave the natives, but since they were in their own country they easily escaped and they kept fighting the Portuguese. So they imported slaves from Africa and that's why there's such a racial mix. The Portuguese thought they had converted the slaves to Catholicism, but they just renamed the saints to their voodoo gods and they still practice a religion that I didn't get the name of. There were four religious orders came over with the Portuguese- Benedictines, Carmelites, Jesuits and Franciscans. They all built their own churches- the Franciscan being the most ornate and has 900 pounds of gold in it's decorations- much as gold leaf covering the saints. There is also gold leaf on the plasterwork and the wood carving. Before they built the gold church, they built a smaller one with a Spanish Plateresque facade (very ornate). When the king of Portugal left the Iberian peninsular which was under threat by Napoleon's army, and established his capital in Salvador, the king disliked the extravagance and had the front of it plastered over. When they were installing electricity in the the early 1900s, they discovered the real facade which was covered 200 years before. of course- no photos in the gold embellished church! Then up and down narrow streets- where poor kids are being taught to be drummers and to do folkart painting. To a church built by the slaves over 100 years time. It was the slave's church and since they didn't get time off they had to build it at night- and since they couldn't light fires (the colonials were afraid the slaves would burn down their houses) they could only work by moonlight. This was on a steep, narrow street and our guide chewed out Rosemary and Bill, who weren;t even on our tour- saying it's really dangerous to leave the main drag. They had a large bandstand set up the a map of Africa as a backdrop- so I suppose they still have their problems. Of course in a city of 4 million that has an unemployment rate of 60%, I suppose there would be thievery. It being Sunday, the streets were pretty empty and when we drove down to the beach found out where they were. Although it was an overcast day the beaches were full. Saw an historic light house and a pond decorated with the voodoo equivalent of the saints. Back to the ship to break the news that our churrascaria party is off- the restaurants are 20KM away, are expensive and the ship leaves at 430pm and it is now after one. So we eat on deck. Salvador is one city I would come back to- it's got a medical school and a medical museum (closed on Sundays). Leave port on time and it is light enough to get some photos. It's a big harbor loaded with container ships, natural gas ships-etc. Was close enough to get a lighthouse picture from sea which is better than through the bus window. Dinner unremarkable and decide to skip the Laurence Robinson show- vocalist who does opera, Broadway and show tunes. Glad I did, because tonight we set our clocks one hour ahead.
Labels: Barcelona to Rio
posted by DT at 9:31 AM
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