For some reason I can’t explain I had envisioned Salvador da
Bahia as a small town or city up the coast from Rio. As we neared I was amazed
to see it sprawling along the shore about as much as Rio had. It turns out that
Salvador is a city of 6 million people and boasts the world’s largest harbor.
We passed by the skyscrapers and obvious modern part of the city and docked at
the cruise terminal near the older part more historic part of the city. Most of
the points of interest were said to be nearby.
This was definitely the older poorer section of town.
Housing, while colorful, was obviously made from a lot of found materials. It’s
always a shock to see a rundown and awful looking shack with a line full of
clean clothes hanging out. The clothes never seem to match the background.
Our driver took us first to a small inland lake called Dique
do Tororo. The statues floating on the lake show what a great African influence
there is on Salvador. They depict the Orisha, the deities of the Afro-Brazilian
religion Candomble. They appear to be all female but are really male and female
dressed in African robes. Each represents a different aspect of the religion.
While the body parts room is interesting, it distracts you
from looking around more. When I glanced back into the sanctuary, I realized I
had missed seeing the ceiling that is painted as elaborately as the Sistine
Chapel.
An ice cream parlor was up next. Ice cream is not a good
thing for me to eat but I thought I would try it at least since our guide was
so insistent that this was the best ice cream anywhere. The place turned out to
be a Baskin Robbins on steroids only the ice cream was awful. I had papaya
flavored and Bob had coconut. I thought maybe the papaya just didn’t translate
well into an ice cream but Bob’s coconut tasted nothing like coconut either. It
wasn’t worth risking the stomachache and I tossed mine in the trash.
Our last stop was the large market area that was close to
the ship. We had no interest in shopping so we told our guide we were leaving the
tour and would make our own way back to the ship. Across from the market was
the Lacerda Elevator, a tall pillar that rose to the upper level of the city
and contained several elevators to ferry passengers from the lower city to the
upper historic area. For fifteen cents in Brazilian Real (about a nickel in
USD) we rode to the top, a relatively quick and smooth trip.
A cobblestone plaza with people leisurely walking around
enjoying the sunshine greeted us. Several ladies in large white dresses were
strolling around as well. I think they are part of the Candomble religion which
has a great African influence. I need to do more research on that when I have
my own WiFi back at home. We had been told that they would expect money if you
wanted to pose for pictures with them.
We excited quickly and finally found the right church a
little way down the street. The cloister was the first area to explore and it
was surrounded by walls of painted tiles depicting all sorts of sayings. Two of
my favorites were “time flies irrevocably” and “nothing is more useful than
silence.”
The amazing part of the church though is its sanctuary whose
walls are covered in sculptures and intricate designs and then painted over
with a combination of oil and gold to give everything a rustic gold look. This
ceiling too was painted with beautiful pictures.
As I write this, I’m looking at my tour pamphlet with the
prayer of St. Francis at the back (in English of course).
Where there is hatred, let me bring your love
Where there is offense, let me bring pardon
Where there is discord, let me bring unity
Where there is doubt, let me bring faith
Where there is error, let me bring truth
Where there is despair, let me bring hope
Where there is sadness, let me bring joy
Where there is darkness, let me bring light
Master, grant that I may seek to console rather than to be
consoled
Understand rather than to be understood
Love rather than to be loved.
For it is in giving that we receive
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned
It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
Great words to see me through to the end of our World
Cruise.
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