Top picture----Brazil nut other pictures ---street scenes in Maceio
January 24 Salvador da Bahia…..
Sending this off with pictures I hope. I’ll write up Salvador later.
Now I’m rushing off to lunch (can’t miss a meal) and then down to the internet café so I can get all this sent and not be left behind in Salvador.
Later in the day-------
Okay, the internet café was a waste of a walk in the hot sun, of an hour, and the princely sum of $4 US. I needed help getting online, aol came up in Spanish, I managed to figure out the Spanish, I couldn’t edit, insert pictures, I lost some mail after reading it (Sorry Frank, Lorraine, Kenneth and Alexis) and then my computer shut down. Naturally my laptop plug wouldn’t fit the outlet in the café.
So here I am back in the cabin writing about Salvador da Bahia.
Salvador da Bahia’s full name is Sao Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos, meaning Holy Savior of All Saints’ Bay. The city was named by Amerigo Vespucci when he sailed into the bay on All Saint’s Day in 1501. He was on his way to India, not trying to go east to west but being carried by currents and winds from the Mediterranean to South America and then crossing over to Africa and around the tip of South Africa.
Salvador is one of the oldest cities in Brazil and the country’s third most populous. During the heyday of Portuguese rule it was the most important Portuguese city in the world after Lisbon.
We rarely saw a white face (except for tourists) as the city is made up mostly of descendants of African slaves. The culture is very African but the architecture very Portuguese with the tile work on the buildings reminiscent of Lisbon. The slave trade in Brazil was worse than anywhere else in the world and it is estimated that five or six million slaves from Africa came into the country.
Salvador da Bahia is a city built on the bluffs above the harbor and the two levels are connected by an elevator. A fellow passenger told us the cost of the elevator ride was 2 cents US (each way). We were also told it is a great place to get your pocket picked.
It is also a city of 166 catholic churches which contain 1,700 pounds of gold leaf in their decorations. ( I wonder how they know that.) Prevalent in Salvador is candomble (Kahn DOM blay) a mystic blend of African ritual and animist belief. As in many part of the world the religions and rituals of Africa were hidden in the Catholic religion and icons.
We were on the wait list for a tour but it didn’t pan out so we took the H. Stern’s bus to the upper city. Alan went off in one direction and I in the other and eventually we met up back on board in mid afternoon. And then the fun began….
First, my disastrous attempts at using shore facilities for the computer. Then announcement after announcement from our poor beleaguered cruise director, Thom.
Early in the morning he had to content with busses not being allowed on the pier. It was a fairly lengthy walk over uneven cobblestones for some of the less mobile guests so a H. Sterns van was allowed to run back and forth the length of the pier. It was then cancelled by the authorities. Next the pier authorities brought in an open wagon with wooden planks for seats pulled by a tractor. After about 20 minutes that too disappeared from whence it came. Everyone managed somehow.
We were to have a Savadorian folkloric show at 3:30. At 3:15 Thom came on the PA system and announced that the performers hadn’t arrived but he was making phone calls and hoping. At 3:30, the same message. At 4:00 he said the drums had arrived. At 4:30, a few performers. Finally at 4:45 he said if that if enough performers were here by 5:00 an abbreviated show would go on. At 4:55 the doors opened, the passengers flooded in and the show began at 5:05. All this time the Captain is chewing his nails or whatever up on the bridge because it is a long sail to Rio de Janerio and the ship had to be there early in the morning two days hence.
The performance was worth waiting for. Drums, chanting, colorful costumes and incredible acrobatics. I think the acrobatics, handstands, flips, stick banging and all the rest were representative of a martial arts/dance they practice here. In any event, it was lively, energetic, colorful and as always, loud.
A powerful tug pulled us stern first from the dock and then turned us around so we could leave the fairly small harbor bow first.
As we sailed out we passed a half dozen or so Brazilian navy ships and a sub. All were docked at the pier and we were told they are not usually here in Salvador. We continue to marvel at how few people come out on deck for arrivals and departures. I guess most of the passengers have seen it over and over. There were more people on the dock watching us leave than passengers on deck.
It was full steam ahead as we sailed on toward Rio de Janiero.
January 25 At Sea.
The usual activities plus a morning talk on preserving your favorite photographs on fabrics, a video presentation on Charles Darwin, who in addition to his time on the Galapagos spent three years in South America, and a demonstration of how to make Chocolate Volcano Cake (I will continue to use a mix). Did you know Charles Darwin was born on the same day as Abraham Lincoln? And that today is the birthday of Robbie Burns (Auld Lang Syne)?
Tomorrow and the day after RIO. The Captain told us to be on deck by 7 am for the sail in to the most dramatic harbor arrival in all the world. Greater than Sydney or San Francisco. There will be a commentary on deck as we see get our first glimpse of Corcovado with its 125’Christ the Redeemer statute, Ipenema and Cocacabana beaches, and Sugarloaf Mountain. We have tours morning, noon and night for two days, including a visit to the Ciudade do Samba to see how the artists and performers get ready for Carnival. Carnival isn’t too far off so it should be a lively scene.
Our position at 5:40 pm today is
20° 22.42S 039° 39.47W
Barometer steady
Relative humidity 70.4%
Sea temp. 82 F
Wind from the east, force 3
Seas slight 1.5 - 4 feet
Partially cloudy, still plenty of daylight
.
Sending this off with pictures I hope. I’ll write up Salvador later.
Now I’m rushing off to lunch (can’t miss a meal) and then down to the internet café so I can get all this sent and not be left behind in Salvador.
Later in the day-------
Okay, the internet café was a waste of a walk in the hot sun, of an hour, and the princely sum of $4 US. I needed help getting online, aol came up in Spanish, I managed to figure out the Spanish, I couldn’t edit, insert pictures, I lost some mail after reading it (Sorry Frank, Lorraine, Kenneth and Alexis) and then my computer shut down. Naturally my laptop plug wouldn’t fit the outlet in the café.
So here I am back in the cabin writing about Salvador da Bahia.
Salvador da Bahia’s full name is Sao Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos, meaning Holy Savior of All Saints’ Bay. The city was named by Amerigo Vespucci when he sailed into the bay on All Saint’s Day in 1501. He was on his way to India, not trying to go east to west but being carried by currents and winds from the Mediterranean to South America and then crossing over to Africa and around the tip of South Africa.
Salvador is one of the oldest cities in Brazil and the country’s third most populous. During the heyday of Portuguese rule it was the most important Portuguese city in the world after Lisbon.
We rarely saw a white face (except for tourists) as the city is made up mostly of descendants of African slaves. The culture is very African but the architecture very Portuguese with the tile work on the buildings reminiscent of Lisbon. The slave trade in Brazil was worse than anywhere else in the world and it is estimated that five or six million slaves from Africa came into the country.
Salvador da Bahia is a city built on the bluffs above the harbor and the two levels are connected by an elevator. A fellow passenger told us the cost of the elevator ride was 2 cents US (each way). We were also told it is a great place to get your pocket picked.
It is also a city of 166 catholic churches which contain 1,700 pounds of gold leaf in their decorations. ( I wonder how they know that.) Prevalent in Salvador is candomble (Kahn DOM blay) a mystic blend of African ritual and animist belief. As in many part of the world the religions and rituals of Africa were hidden in the Catholic religion and icons.
We were on the wait list for a tour but it didn’t pan out so we took the H. Stern’s bus to the upper city. Alan went off in one direction and I in the other and eventually we met up back on board in mid afternoon. And then the fun began….
First, my disastrous attempts at using shore facilities for the computer. Then announcement after announcement from our poor beleaguered cruise director, Thom.
Early in the morning he had to content with busses not being allowed on the pier. It was a fairly lengthy walk over uneven cobblestones for some of the less mobile guests so a H. Sterns van was allowed to run back and forth the length of the pier. It was then cancelled by the authorities. Next the pier authorities brought in an open wagon with wooden planks for seats pulled by a tractor. After about 20 minutes that too disappeared from whence it came. Everyone managed somehow.
We were to have a Savadorian folkloric show at 3:30. At 3:15 Thom came on the PA system and announced that the performers hadn’t arrived but he was making phone calls and hoping. At 3:30, the same message. At 4:00 he said the drums had arrived. At 4:30, a few performers. Finally at 4:45 he said if that if enough performers were here by 5:00 an abbreviated show would go on. At 4:55 the doors opened, the passengers flooded in and the show began at 5:05. All this time the Captain is chewing his nails or whatever up on the bridge because it is a long sail to Rio de Janerio and the ship had to be there early in the morning two days hence.
The performance was worth waiting for. Drums, chanting, colorful costumes and incredible acrobatics. I think the acrobatics, handstands, flips, stick banging and all the rest were representative of a martial arts/dance they practice here. In any event, it was lively, energetic, colorful and as always, loud.
A powerful tug pulled us stern first from the dock and then turned us around so we could leave the fairly small harbor bow first.
As we sailed out we passed a half dozen or so Brazilian navy ships and a sub. All were docked at the pier and we were told they are not usually here in Salvador. We continue to marvel at how few people come out on deck for arrivals and departures. I guess most of the passengers have seen it over and over. There were more people on the dock watching us leave than passengers on deck.
It was full steam ahead as we sailed on toward Rio de Janiero.
January 25 At Sea.
The usual activities plus a morning talk on preserving your favorite photographs on fabrics, a video presentation on Charles Darwin, who in addition to his time on the Galapagos spent three years in South America, and a demonstration of how to make Chocolate Volcano Cake (I will continue to use a mix). Did you know Charles Darwin was born on the same day as Abraham Lincoln? And that today is the birthday of Robbie Burns (Auld Lang Syne)?
Tomorrow and the day after RIO. The Captain told us to be on deck by 7 am for the sail in to the most dramatic harbor arrival in all the world. Greater than Sydney or San Francisco. There will be a commentary on deck as we see get our first glimpse of Corcovado with its 125’Christ the Redeemer statute, Ipenema and Cocacabana beaches, and Sugarloaf Mountain. We have tours morning, noon and night for two days, including a visit to the Ciudade do Samba to see how the artists and performers get ready for Carnival. Carnival isn’t too far off so it should be a lively scene.
Our position at 5:40 pm today is
20° 22.42S 039° 39.47W
Barometer steady
Relative humidity 70.4%
Sea temp. 82 F
Wind from the east, force 3
Seas slight 1.5 - 4 feet
Partially cloudy, still plenty of daylight
.
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