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We got up early for a bus tour that headed north of Salvador - after our experience in Rio, we decided it was best to hire a guide sometimes to get off the beaten track, without getting too far off track. The tour stopped at several beaches and at TAMAR - a sea turtle preserve:
We were in heaven.
Geoff- This cobble-stone square on an incline gave the feeling of a neighborhood closeness, an intimacy as the streets fell into one another, leaned against and you and propelled you forward. There was music pouring out of everywhere. Small bands of drummers grew into large bands and paraded through the streets in no order. Every square had a stage, several squares were hidden away in back alleys that could only be reached by the resourceful and clever. We went everywhere and took it all in.
These are Candomblé worshippers who eak out a living selling food on the street. These traditional dishes are tasty but are not the most hygienic foods. One gets the impression that they cook up a big pot once a week and never refrigerate. Some of it was quite tasty.
This is the largest square, in the background is the main church decked out in lights and a big stage just in front of it. We started and finished on this square which had amazing performers. At one point we were passing by a building called, "The Temple of Gandhi," when the powerful call of drums and music from inside pulled us all in. We followed the large crowd seeping in and slithered with them single-file down a narrow set of stairs. Another column passed us going up the stairs. Arriving at the lower level we were pushed and jostled with the crowd out into a back courtyard packed with people. We quickly all realized we were the only white people (or non-black in Nirmalpal's case) in the place. On my way in I grabbed everything in my pockets and put it in my underwear. Something I used to do having grown up in New York City. After about ten minutes we left, the other three had all been pick-pocketed. They didn't get much but we all felt upset by the violation. Later in the night when we rushed to dance with a large group of people on the main square Nirmalpal felt another guy try and get into his pockets. Despite these transgressions we dragged ourselves back to the hotel happy with the night, laughing and sated.
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