Salvador - i

We got a pre-paid taxi into Salvador and went straight to our hotel. I'd stayed in the same hotel in October 2007 after I'd sailed across from Tenerife on Bark Europa. I'd really liked Salvador and wanted to show it to T. I'd also really liked the hotel and it was the only one that we had pre-booked from the UK (apart from our first few nights in Rio).

I'm not the only person who likes the hotel "Casa do Amarelindo"; it's the #1 hotel in all of South America, according to Trip Advisor. T likes it too - it's a hit.

Our first afternoon was spent in the Cantina da Lua bar/cafe, which sits beside one of the main squares in the old town. It's a great way to get to see the vibe of this area, as the world passes you by as you sit watching it. We even saw a couple that we had met in Vitoria, but they had passed by us before we recognised them.

We did little but chill out on our first day.

Day two (Tuesday) saw us much more active. We located a lavanderia and dropped off our washing; went to the market to look at tat, look at the cellars and watch some Capoeira; wandered through the rather run down "cidade baixa";


Faded elegance

We got a funicular railway (inclined plane) back up to the tourist bit;


Top of the lift

We bought some anti-itching cream for our mossie bites and some shampoo for T; swam a bit; went to a condomble blessing ceremony (in the first slave-built church in Salvador);


Condomble

We had a pizza and some beers in a bar right next to a square where a band was playing and ... went to bed.