Salvador da Bahia, Brazil

We’re not in Antarctica any more - aaacckk - I’m ready to go back. It was about 87 when we left the ship at 9:00 (trying to beat the heat) with humidity of about a million percent and it just got hotter. Some of the decorations of Carnival were still around on some of the squares so it really looked festive and there was a combination of old architecture and newer buildings. We visited several churches; one is quite famous, St Francis, as the interior is completely covered with gold. We looked at some of the souvenir stuff and then stopped at a café with umbrellas for a Coke. Good timing as it started raining - so we just waited there until the rain stopped and then we walked several blocks to the elevator and returned to the ship.

This city was a surprise to me; I expected a quaint small city and it is a huge city of 2 million people. Luckily the quaint part of the city is right near the port. It is built on two levels, the higher level is way high, you either take a taxi or shuttle the long way or you ride the elevator. We had been warned not to bother to try to walk up - even if you are in good shape. We decided to take the H Stern shuttle up and then ride the elevator down.

This city was the center of the slavery trade both for North and South America so the majority of the population is black and much of the culture is derived from Africa. Frank, the onboard tour guide, had told us that there would be many very large costumed “Mammies” for picture taking and that they would want a dollar for the picture. There were many around and they were all dressed in great clothes, but I will say that most are not really that large; they wear considerable padding and a bustle-type affair under their skirt to make them look very large. The price has certainly gone up… no more $1 for a picture - now it was $5 and they would chase you down to get it. There we also some other street performers, jugglers, dancers and acrobats… and they all had their hand out. We had gone with a ready supply of $1 bills, but it got old quick. I sure preferred Peru where the people wanted you to take their picture and many refused to take anything in return.