Salvador travel guide

A place where learn to be happy because of being on earth and where to be sad because the injustice is hard to fight.

Axé, or "life force," characterizes Salvador da Bahia, a gem of the Brazilian northeast that mixes colonial architecture and modern skyscrapers. Salvador is Brazil's third most populous city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Salvador's tragic past as Brazil's first slave port has been transformed into a joyful celebration of African culture with capoeira troupes (the Brazilian martial arts brought to Brazil by Angolan slaves), drum and percussion schools, Candomblé and Umbanda religious centers, and street parties with live music. In the Pelourinho, the historical center of the city, you will find throngs of dancers almost every day of the week. In traditional white lace dresses and draped in beaded necklaces with the colors of the African deity Orixá, Bahianas serve and devour acarajé, spicy fritters of ground black-eyed peas and filled with dried shrimp, in front of any one of the city's dozens of churches. Stroll the strands of Salvador's urban beaches or take a ferry to the gorgeous island of Itaparica, just off the city's coast. Salvador's pearl is Carnaval, which even The Guinness Book of World Records admits is the biggest street party in the world. Unlike Carnaval in Rio, where revelers watch the impressive dance schools pass from a distance, in Salvador the masses join the many schools, dancing and singing behind the famous Trio Eletricos-trucks on which bands rouse the masses into a joyous frenzy of dance and song. Public transportation is fast and convenient, taking visitors to the many tourist attractions: the famous market Mercado Modelo, the artists' neighborhood Pelourinho, the Elevador Lacerda which connects the old town with the lower town, the spectacular Catholic Church Igreja de Nosso Senhor do Bonfim, and more.