Salvador: A City with Real Energy

Some of you may recognize Salvador, Brazil from the Michael Jackson music video, They Don't Care About Us. The opening scene where Michael walks out of a building between riot police is in the historic Pelourinho neighborhood, which happens to be where we stayed. Salvador was founded by the Portuguese in 1549 and it served as the first capital of Brazil. Now Salvador is the capital of the state of Bahia and the center of Afro-Brazilian culture, which has its own incredible music, culture, and cuisine. When it comes to food many of the celebrated dishes trace their roots back to West Africa from slaves brought to Brazil during the colonial period. With about four days to explore Salvador, and many more along the Bahia coast, we sampled many of these fantastic dishes as well as other things the region had to offer. Lucky for us, our close friend Jenny spent a year in Salvador and was able to send us to all the best places (thanks, Jenny)!

Although August is technically the height of winter most days got into the high 80's with no clouds in sight. This meant we took things at a leisurely pace and stopped for fresh coconuts on a regular basis. Highlights included walking along the coast in the Barra neighborhood, people watching and drinking extra cold beers in the early evening in Rio Vermelho, exploring the cobblestones streets and architecture of Pelourinho, and trying to find the best moqueca in town.