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Av Oceanica 2275, Salvador, State of Bahia, Brazil
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of people enjoy staying here
1 Opinions
the building
arriving
Farol da Barra
Marcelo's moqueca de peixe
Thanks to everyone for your help. We have returned. Everyone kind of freaked me out before we left about safey and crime. If you don't get drunk. wander around alone in dark places, act natural, and even use a small map and ask questions, barely know the language you csn have a safe and fun filled trip. Everyone was super nice and helpful. We traveled on public transport, even the cheaper non airconditioned buses and got where we wanted. We did not return to our hotel real late at night and it was not Carnaval time.
Thanks for the comment, but who freaked you out? You posted once here about Bahia, mine was the only response (as I recall) and there was no mention of crime/safety in Salvador.
Please post some details of your trip while they are still fresh.
I was freaked out by everyone about Brazil in general...anyway as I said it was great. We enjoyed the beaches and their beauty, the historical district, the gastronomy museum, the folklore show, the market , the elevator,(which other tourist said was dangerous)the help from the tourist office,the crafts and art, the nice hotel and its wonderful personable staff..the music and the warm friendly . atmosphere.
Did you get a bit south to the beaches of Morro do Sao Paulo, where even the pousada/hostel and restaurant signs are in Hebrew?
No, sorry we missed it but we are not true beach people..enjoyed the ones in Salvador.
Good to hear.....cause I'm doin a a week in Salvador area and then off to the Pantanal in August. I had read of some concerns as well. Good to hear that that's not the norm.
thanx
Praia do Porto da Barra is the closest beach to the centre of town. The beach is really popular among the locals and can be very crowded (especially on Sundays), but is a fun place to hang out.
It not the biggest beach in the world, but it’s sandy and the water is clear and calm - much calmer than on the ocean side beaches.
The beach is loaded with vendors selling anything you can think about and along the waterfront you’ll find many bars and restaurants.
New info on the last 2005 Salvador Carnaval in my new Travelogue.
Carnaval is Locura Total : for 6 day and 6 night million of people dancing, singing and drinking.
The old carnival consisted of big party with brass band, hornet singer.....dancing all the night.
In the 50’s Dodo e osmar started to play on little truck with simply soundblaster, running through the city, but the music involved too much that the Carnival growned up .
Now the Carnival is divided in 3 circuits. The first,Batatinha in Pelourino, is the most traditional, it’s like a festival with some stage where bands play until 2 o’clock or there are brass and hornet bands accompanied by marching drummer.
“Blocos” are the most important part of the other 2 circuits: in the bloco there is a big Trio Eletrico (THe evolution of the first little truck: the truck/music soundstage with band on top, palying for 6 hours, that slowly parade through the street) all the people of the bloco follow the truck in the circuit, ‘cordeiros’ bring ropes to separete them from the ‘Pipoca’ ( common people watching and dancing in the road).
Campo Grande circuit have much more traditional afro blocos like Ile Aye, Olodum,...Barra Ondina circuit was added in the 80’s and have more tendency bloco, they play the new style music, like Axè.
You can have three solution to enjoy the carnival: you can stay in the ‘pipoca’, such as stay in the road waiting the differents ‘blocos’ to enjoy the different musics. It’s anexpensive, but a little bit dengerouse for the thieves and the crowd, but I like it. Or you can buy an ‘abada’, a special t-shirt that allow you the entrance in a bloco for a day, it’s safe cause you are in the middle of the protected ropes. Third, you can buy a ticket for a ‘camarote’, a carnival viewing stand, often complete with bar, food and relax area.
There are a lot of web site where find info on the next carnival (Centra do Carnaval,...), or buy a abada or a camarote ticket.
If you go to sports games on the beach, you might end up getting a good view like i did in Morro de sao paolo :O)
It´s certainly a place where the spectators is not your usual aggresive guys trying to pick a fight with the fans from the other team as you can see on the picture :O).
CEAO - Centro de Estudos Afro-Orientais (Centre for African and Oriental studies of Federal University of Bahia) :: founded by the outstanding and legendary portuguese anthropologist Agostinho da Silva, this center gathers a lot of good information about the african legacy in Brazil. It's also possible to access its library and take yoruba classes!
http://www.ufba.br/instituicoes/ufba/ceao/i
Praça 15 de novembro, 17 - Terreiro de Jesus
Pelourinho
Picture: cover of the publication 'Brazil: a country of Blacks?', by CEAO. Note that the words 'black' and 'negro' don't have offensive conotation in Brazil.
Sundays, and evenings, it can be rather frustrating waiting for a bus to arrive at the Ponto Da Barra busstop. So if you are heading for a location near the center, or Pelourino, Do jump in if a taxidriver offers 3-4 persons a ride for 2 R$ pr person! It is a common practise, the locals do it all the time to save time, and if the car is not full, or somebody gets of on the way, he will just check on the next busstop, or continue to where you agreed. He will not raise the price.
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Q: where is the music "What is the best town in Salvador to listen to live music and what are the least expensive accomodations?"
A: "The old part of town called "Pelourinho" is a good place to look for live music. The famous Salvador band Olodum often has live gigs in Pelourinho. Another place that..."
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