Salvador de Bahia, Brazil

After 6 days at sea, the passengers and crew were ecstatic to be on land!  It was hot, but no one was complaining as we began our day in Salvador de Bahia.  Founded by the Portuguese in 1549 as Brazil's first capital, it is the country´s 3rd largest city with a population of over 3 million.  

Note: My laptop computer died and I am now using a Brazilian model Chromebook to publish this blog.  The keyboard has a lot of strange symbols and I am without my photo editing software, but the blog will continue.  

A sharp escarpment separates the lower and upper city.  Linking the two is the 279-foot-high Lacerda elevator originally built in the 1873.  Below is the beautiful All Saints Bay.

On the upper part of old town we visited the square in front of the historic governor's residence  where slaves and prisoners were punished in full view of the approving governor.   Salvador was one of the first slave ports in the Americas and the African influence of the slaves' descendants makes it a center of Afro-Brazilian (negro) culture.

Sugarcane, gold and diamonds flowed from the fields and mines through the town en route to Portugal enriching the gentry and the church.  Cathedral Basilica of Salvador, considered the city's most important church, was constructed in the 1600s and definitely reflects that prosperity.   

Old town has many churches and several feature an uncompleted tower.  This was by design so parishioners could be solicited for contributions "needed" to complete the building. 

Next we visited the Church of São Francisco to admire its ornate craftsmanship.  The church was originally constructed in the 1500s, then destroyed by Dutch invaders in the 1600s.  The current structure was completed in 1723.

Nearly one ton of gold foil covers the detailed wood carvings.  

The original carvings included angels complete with genitalia. During the church's restoration in the 1800s, it was decided that such erotic detail was inappropriate and the angels were "neutered".

Almost every corner in Brazil's major cities has a pipoca (popcorn) street-vendor.

The city's center during the Portuguese colonial period was known as Pelourinho, named for the whipping post in its central plaza where African slaves received punishment for various infractions, as well as for disciplinary purposes. 

The Barra Lighthouse, part of the fortruss at Santo Antonio, was built to protect Portuguese colonists from Dutch attackers.  The nearby Barra neighborhood is a major tourist attraction and home of "the largest street carnival of the planet, the Barra-Ondina." 

The sun was setting as we departed Salvador.  During our sail out, Sunfish sailboats were racing in the bay.  

Nautical Term of the Day - Overreach

If a ship holds a tack course too long, it has "overreached" its turning point, and the distance it must travel to reach its next tack point is increased.