January 20, 2026- Day #16

 Off the ship early for our day tour in Salvador da Bahia. We arrived ahead of schedule as we had a good southerly current into the bay I already mentioned. (By the way, my research refutes that this is the 2nd largest bay in the world. Apparently Hudson Bay is also larger).  However the people of Salvador are quick to point out that they have a beautiful city. It is called the Capital of Happiness mostly because of the African influence of the food, music, religion, dance, and martial arts. Salvador was the national capital city of Brazil for two centuries and considered the capital of Portugal’s “great New World colony” until the national government was moved to Rio in 1763. The city (and we saw several examples of these) has numerous gold-laden churches, which also have significant religious art pieces made from silver and ivory. Some of the churches are literally right across the street or square from each other.  I hope the pictures do it justice. One of the massive churches was called Cathedral Basilica de Salvador where the male saints were on one side and the females were on the other side of the church. This was also where the parishioners are required to sit segregated during the services. Salvador has also been the center of an incredible arts movement with a backdrop of colonial buildings. As in many major cities there are separate Portuguese, Spanish, and British neighborhoods with very different economic status. Our guide mentioned multiple times about the high 60% poverty rate. The lower port neighborhoods are very poor and called favelas. We also saw a number of forts around the city and along the shores (which are numerous and beautiful). Our guide pointed out that they take great pride in their beaches and clean water due to the septic system. Reported the beach water is about 85 degrees at all times. The port area is connected to the upper neighborhoods by a free elevator. We also saw a strong police presence and told to remove any gold necklaces or jewelry and make sure to stay with our group.  The final stop on the tour was for a late lunch at a Brazilian Steakhouse (like we have in the States). You better be hungry, and we were due to the amount of walking through the city. They kept bringing different meats to the table until we were all stuffed.