The moment we landed in Salvador, Bahia, we knew this was it. When we plucked Brazil from our dreams of a place to visit this summer, this is what our imaginations told us it was. The feeling was immediate, tangible. We were here.
I can’t say if it was the people we met, how we moved through the space, mad eye contact, or just the energy of the land itself welcoming us.
We came to Pousada do Boqueirão, a beautiful mansion just outside of Pelourinho in the Santo Antonio neighborhood. A quick walk but not in the throes of party/tourist central. We came in on a Tuesday, and every Blessed Tuesday is a party. We walked through the streets of Pelo with live music, ate abará (like a tamale made with bean paste with spicy sauce and shrimp on it) and acarajé (black eyed pea croquettes fried in palm oil with toppings like okra and tomatoes) from street vendors. We met local folks and travelers from São Paulo who also love Bahia. Though it was quieter than usual being winter and all, it was still a party. We huddled under the street vendor’s tarp together as it poured for 20 minutes drinking açai Selvagem wine and eating acarajé.
The next day we met up with Leo, a friend of a friend who lives in Salvador, who was moving to the US the very next day to coach soccer. We chatted about life for hours and ate incredible moqueca do camarão (shrimp stew with palm oil) with farofa (manioc flour) and pirão (manioc flour mixed with liquid from the moqueca) at Barravento in the Barra neighborhood. It was so light and delicious and we loved it! With cachaça of course. Leo was so kind to meet up with us the DAY before he was moving away, and treated us to lunch. Afterward Sofia and I walked to the farol light house and climbed around the ocean splashed rocks in a light rain drizzle. As it cleared up, surfers jumped in to catch some waves.
That night we had an incredible dinner at Poró – just a 5 minute walk from Pousada do Boqueirão – the roupa velha appetizer was incredible, hand shredded beef with grilled pumpkin and roasted bread, as well as the ribs marinated in lime, sugar and cachaça (basically a meaty caipirinha omg). This place is worth traveling for.
The next day we checked out the Féria São Joaquim by the harbor, with fruits and vegetables and meats and crafts. Lots of little spiritual shops. We ate in the upstairs of the fish market at Sonia’s (box #115) which was delicious. She’ll go downstairs and buy shrimp to make fresh moqueca de camarão if you want it. We had the fried fish with delicious beans and rice. It was amazing. We took the city bus over to Sanctuario de Senhor Bonfim, the famous church mixing spiritualism and Catholicism.
