Brazil was a pretty sweet country! The official language of Brazil is Portuguese and the currency is the Brazilian Real. As usual the U.S. dollars is widely accepted.
We got off the boat about 10am. The port of Salvadore has sort of a hybrid port area…., it wasn’t as nice as Cape Town's by any means, but it was a hundred times better than the port of Tema in Ghana.
Think Africa in South America, but with a Portugese flavor. Salvador's full name was "Sao Salvador de Baia de Todos Santos") and was Brazil's main seaport during the16th and 17th centuries. Because of the active slave trade, Salvador became home to quite an African population. Everywhere you look you see the influence of African culture. 80% of the population of Salvador are direct descendants of African slaves.
The main sights in Salvador are easily visited on foot. The city is broken into two sections.
The lower section is the commercial development, or "new" section and the upper section is the unique "Historic District". From what we were told, the elevator that gets you to the upper city is somewhere through the rear of market near a Square. Built over 100 years ago it climbs the 225 feet in about 15 seconds. The elevator costs approximately US$.02.
My entourage today was the usual suspects: Eli, Greg, Adam, Kyle, Sara, Jenny. We got off the ship and walked to another part of the waterfront were there was a fairly large open-air market called the Mercado Modela. We spent about an hour walking around, then we did lunch at this quaint restaurant on top of the market overlooking the waterfront. We were in the middle of a great meal when the skies opened up and it started to pour. Naturally we were sitting outside, so when we moved in, Kyle, Sara and Jenny left ... they had a plane to catch to Rio. So the rest of us decided to just wait it out. We really didn’t have anything to do other than shopping until dinner. Which was a well planned affair where we were all going out for Beau’s Birthday. We chilled at this restaurant for about 4 hours, From 11am till 3pm eating and drinking like we meant it. The place was filled with locals and SASers alike and we had a great time.
By 3pm the rain lightened up a bit so we decided to head back to the ship and hang loose till dinner. We barely made it up the gangplank when it started to pour again. I felt a nap was now justified so down I went till I had to get dressed for dinner. It wasn’t Beau’s birthday until midnight came around, but we decided to go out this night because everyone else was fanning out all over Brazil the next morning.
When dinnertime rolled around, we all headed out to this AMAZING Brazilian Steakhouse called "Boi Preto Grill". Excellent service, and the Maitre' de Claudio was very professional. Just watch yourself when ordering drinks, especially Caipirinhas (Brazil's national cocktail) and desserts, as the prices were outrageous! There was a good forty of us, not to mention the other fifty or so SAS'ers already there. You know it is one of the better Steakhouses around cause even Dean White was there with his family. Anyway, back to the food, it was like heaven on earth (sound familiar?).
By 3pm the rain lightened up a bit so we decided to head back to the ship and hang loose till dinner. We barely made it up the gangplank when it started to pour again. I felt a nap was now justified so down I went till I had to get dressed for dinner. It wasn’t Beau’s birthday until midnight came around, but we decided to go out this night because everyone else was fanning out all over Brazil the next morning.
When dinnertime rolled around, we all headed out to this AMAZING Brazilian Steakhouse called "Boi Preto Grill". Excellent service, and the Maitre' de Claudio was very professional. Just watch yourself when ordering drinks, especially Caipirinhas (Brazil's national cocktail) and desserts, as the prices were outrageous! There was a good forty of us, not to mention the other fifty or so SAS'ers already there. You know it is one of the better Steakhouses around cause even Dean White was there with his family. Anyway, back to the food, it was like heaven on earth (sound familiar?).
For those of you who haven’t experienced a Brazilian Steakhouse (and I actually have ~ in Ft. Lauderdale, thanks to Uncle Al).
Here is how it operates:
First there is a beautiful salad bar, with a wide range of Greens, Vegetables and Sides. It even had Sushi. Now for the meat…. they give you this chip(plate) to set in front of you, and if you had the green side up that tells the servers you want whatever gorgeous slab of beef that they are carrying around with them. So sweet!
We stayed there for a couple of hours, then went to a local bar, were we hung out to watch a Brazilian Soccer match on the tube. A lot of locals were there rooting and carrying on, so we had some fun with them. As much fun as one can have when it's concerning a soccer match. But I digress.
Most SAS'ers had to be up at 4am for their trips. We headed in fairly early (2ish) and called it a night. I didn’t have to be in the Union until 2pm, so I got to sleep in a bit before I headed out into the Amazon…., but that's another story!
Great Links:
Salvador, Brazil - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvador,_Bahia
Brazil's national drink - http://www.maria-brazil.org/caipirinha.htm
Boi Preto Grill - http://www.churrascariaboipreto.com.br/
Mercado Modela - http://www.southamericaportreviews.com/SalvadorBrazil.htm
Brazil soccer history - http://www.soccer-fans-info.com/history-of-soccer-in-brazil.html
Qoutes:
Salvador, Brazil - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvador,_Bahia
Brazil's national drink - http://www.maria-brazil.org/caipirinha.htm
Boi Preto Grill - http://www.churrascariaboipreto.com.br/
Mercado Modela - http://www.southamericaportreviews.com/SalvadorBrazil.htm
Brazil soccer history - http://www.soccer-fans-info.com/history-of-soccer-in-brazil.html
Qoutes:
The Amazon was incredible, but it pales in comparison to a night of partying in Rio!
~ Nicky T
Nicholas Alan Tomkins
Semester at Sea
Spring 2010
1/17/2010 - 5/5/2010
Check out our current position or other info about my voyage: http://www.semesteratsea.org/
Email me at: Nicholas.a.tomkins@gmail.com
Check out my Photos as well: http://picasaweb.google.com/home
~ Nicky T
Nicholas Alan Tomkins
Semester at Sea
Spring 2010
1/17/2010 - 5/5/2010
Check out our current position or other info about my voyage: http://www.semesteratsea.org/
Email me at: Nicholas.a.tomkins@gmail.com
Check out my Photos as well: http://picasaweb.google.com/home
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