Salvador de Bahia
I returned to NY Tuesday evening and am in bed now recovering from a bad bad flu. Many people had it in the hostel in Salvador so eventually the virus got me too. So regarding the remaining of my trip in Brazil...
I stayed in Salvador till the rest of my trip. I become to really love the city and it is, indeed, one of my favorite places on this planet. It vibrates with life. The climate of ease and love of life is just visible everywhere - it's in the air. The first day of my stay I walked around the old part of the city. I visited the Afro-Brasilero Museum and Museum of Anthropology (mostly devoted to indigenous peoples of northern Brasil). Salvadorian population consists of indigenous peoples, slaves brought over a few centuries from Africa and the European conquistadors and their descendants. Cultura Afro-Brasilera is the most predominant and gives the city its unusual feel and character. The descendants of the slaves never stopped cultivating their traditions and religious beliefs. They have the places of gathering and regular celebrations - Condomble - where they worship the Orixas or the Deities. Here's what I found in the museum about the Afro-Bahian culture: "From the beginning of Portuguese colonization to 1851 approximately 4.5 mln of Africans arrived in Brazil as slave labor. Besides their workforce, they brought with them in their bodies and in their souls the seeds of the ancient African civilizations. They were the Guinea, the Angola, the Mozambique, the Fantis, the Ashantis, the Fons, the Ewes, the Yorubas, the Congos. They planted their religion, their technology, their enterprising spirit, their wisdom and their art in this new land. Here, the result of this cultivation of successive generations was the flourishing of an African Bahia." Everyday in the historic center there are performances of samba-reggae, capoeira (a dance/martial art developed by the Brazilian slaves) and many forms of artwork reflecting the Afro Bahian culture are visible everywhere. I talked to one of the local artists about how this land experienced so much pain and suffering, the indigenous and that of the slaves, but it persisted and the descendant of those who suffered so greatly live their life to the fullest - they didn't fall into feeling eternal victims of the past. I made friends with the artists of Pelourinho, those having their studios in old buildings and those selling their art on the street. With some of them I went to the Italian Cultural Institute for the night of celebration of the Bahian culture. Then to the bossa nova concert, to the Olodum performance (samba-reggae group) and in general around the city at night. I very much enjoyed our conversations and these night walks. There must be some crime in Salvador, as is the case in every big city, but I didn't feel any tension or threat, maybe because I was with the locals who knew their ways around. I also got invited to a birthday party of a brother of one of the friends I made in Pelourinho, Edilson who is a painter and modern ballet dancer, and I was so embraced by the extended family of seven siblings that I felt as if I always belonged to their family. Most of the time I spoke Spanish and they all spoke Portuguese and we found a way to understand each other. I picked up some Portuguese and hope to learn some more in the future. So the people of the Bahia are very warm, very welcoming. In general Brazilians seem to me the most relaxed, nicest people I have encountered in my travels. I very much enjoyed the random conversations I had with people on buses, at bus stations, when I asked for direction - many times people got out of their way to walk me to where I wanted to go. It made my heart very warm. In NY I always felt that the city, being so big, almost forces people to become impersonal and indifferent as a way of survival but in Salvador, which is also a big city, it seems people don't feel the annoyance of dealing with the rush of big place - they rejoyce it or rather don't get affected by it and continue on their normal slow pace. Maybe it's because they are so close to these wonderful beaches and every day they can be close to nature, to wash away all the impurities and fatigue of the day in the salty waters of the ocean. The beaches are incredible in that that they offer a lot of entertainment where people can really move their bodies. There are bike lines (probably around 25 km altogether), walks for walking and running, all kinds of fields devoted to playing soccer, basketball, volleyball. There are parks close to the beach, places for children to play. There are tiny bars with grass umbrellas with snacks and drinks. And all these attractions are open to the public and free. The modern part of the city has a lot of skyscrappers but there's also a lot of trees and green in general so it doesn't seem opressive. It seems the city puts great care to turn every piece of land into a green square. In general it looks that the city is building a lot, that people are investing in it, that the standard of life will hopefully improve for all, also the ones living in favellas. I will definitely go back to Salvador the Bahia in the near future and also I will visit the beaches north of Bahia, which I have heard are incredibly beautiful.
I also visited the Island of Itaparica which is accessible by ferry and speed boats. It's 29 km long and 12 km wide. On the boat taking me there I met Nora (from Bulgaria) and Luis (from Spain) - a couple who live in Sofia in Bulgaria and were also on vacation. We spent the day together, walking around the old city of Itaparica, admiring the old architecture and the relaxed atmosphere of a little old port. This is one of these places where I would like to live: small fishing village with a little square and a few restaurants, not a lot of traffic, clean beach, beautiful sunset... We spotted some houses for sale and were thinking that maybe it would be a good idea to buy a house there...
I got to Sao Paulo early morning 31 August. I always get to where the Cathedral is first as a way of orienting myself. I got to the cathedral at 6 am and it turned out that the area around it is rather run down and full of local homeless sleeping around. It seemed useless to be walking around this part of the city so early so I spotted a hotel advertising pay-by-hour services and I got myself 4 hours to nap before venturing out into the city. The hotel was one of the type with round beds, mirror on the ceiling and probably 10 porn movie stations (but that I didn't check). It felt quite funny to be sleeping there. At 10 am I went out and had breakfast at a cafe next door which really was a gathering place for the local homeless. There was some music on and some of them were dancing, and I didn't know whether they were ending with the dance the day or beginning a new one. I observed the local atmosphere of the place. The people were obviously mentally disturbed one way or another but not more than the average person I see on the NY subway - I saw the same emptiness and confusion in their eyes - except the NY people are dressed in suits and carry briefcases with them. At least the Sao Paulo crazies didn't have to talk to themselves - there was always someone who would listen to them in this specific community. I went to look around the city. I first went to Pinecoteca museum which is a beautiful red-brick building containing a lot of interesting classical and contemporary artworks, it is located next to a park and has its own beautiful cafe. From there I went to the area of Jardins and Avenida Paulista but got to feel so bad on my way there - the flu virus struck me - that from then on everything is kind of blurry. I walked a little but started feeling so unwell that just decided to go the airport and wait for the plane. I got there and it turned out I came a day too early! I don't know how I could mess up so badly but I did. I was supposed to fly out on the 1 September and was at the airport on 31 August... so I just got a Best Western hotel next to the airport and just fell on the bed when I got there and slept many hours. When I got to the airport the following evening they asked me if I would want to volunteer to give up my seat on that flight for someone who was in emergency. They offered me a nice hotel with food, a nice seat on the next-day flight and a voucher for $300 for the next TAM airlines ticket. So I couldn't really say "no" and I went back to the hotel, slept another night, recovering from that dreadful flu, and when I was sitting on the plane the next morning, I asked myself whether I would indeed take off. I did and after 10 hours got to NY. Katarina came home shortly after my arrival, she brought me food, made some tea and has been taking care of me since. This morning I woke up at dawn unable to breath again and Kasia made a major decongesting soup of garlic, olive oil, cheese and herbs and we were eating it together, having lots of fun at 6 am, she being exhausted from working 12 hours, me feeling so sick. Oh, these beautiful mornings when your body feels like shit, pardon, but your spirits are high and your soul is rejoicing!! We are both rejoicing the fact that we are leaving NY and beginning the new life! So Kasia is at work now and I am in bed still but tomorrow is another day and hopefully we'll recover the bodies to keep up with minds and souls.
I have now three weeks to pack my stuff, send it to Poland, and finish all loose end here. At the end of the month I will take another vacation of two weeks, about which soon. I'll be in touch and until then many hugs to everyone.
I stayed in Salvador till the rest of my trip. I become to really love the city and it is, indeed, one of my favorite places on this planet. It vibrates with life. The climate of ease and love of life is just visible everywhere - it's in the air. The first day of my stay I walked around the old part of the city. I visited the Afro-Brasilero Museum and Museum of Anthropology (mostly devoted to indigenous peoples of northern Brasil). Salvadorian population consists of indigenous peoples, slaves brought over a few centuries from Africa and the European conquistadors and their descendants. Cultura Afro-Brasilera is the most predominant and gives the city its unusual feel and character. The descendants of the slaves never stopped cultivating their traditions and religious beliefs. They have the places of gathering and regular celebrations - Condomble - where they worship the Orixas or the Deities. Here's what I found in the museum about the Afro-Bahian culture: "From the beginning of Portuguese colonization to 1851 approximately 4.5 mln of Africans arrived in Brazil as slave labor. Besides their workforce, they brought with them in their bodies and in their souls the seeds of the ancient African civilizations. They were the Guinea, the Angola, the Mozambique, the Fantis, the Ashantis, the Fons, the Ewes, the Yorubas, the Congos. They planted their religion, their technology, their enterprising spirit, their wisdom and their art in this new land. Here, the result of this cultivation of successive generations was the flourishing of an African Bahia." Everyday in the historic center there are performances of samba-reggae, capoeira (a dance/martial art developed by the Brazilian slaves) and many forms of artwork reflecting the Afro Bahian culture are visible everywhere. I talked to one of the local artists about how this land experienced so much pain and suffering, the indigenous and that of the slaves, but it persisted and the descendant of those who suffered so greatly live their life to the fullest - they didn't fall into feeling eternal victims of the past. I made friends with the artists of Pelourinho, those having their studios in old buildings and those selling their art on the street. With some of them I went to the Italian Cultural Institute for the night of celebration of the Bahian culture. Then to the bossa nova concert, to the Olodum performance (samba-reggae group) and in general around the city at night. I very much enjoyed our conversations and these night walks. There must be some crime in Salvador, as is the case in every big city, but I didn't feel any tension or threat, maybe because I was with the locals who knew their ways around. I also got invited to a birthday party of a brother of one of the friends I made in Pelourinho, Edilson who is a painter and modern ballet dancer, and I was so embraced by the extended family of seven siblings that I felt as if I always belonged to their family. Most of the time I spoke Spanish and they all spoke Portuguese and we found a way to understand each other. I picked up some Portuguese and hope to learn some more in the future. So the people of the Bahia are very warm, very welcoming. In general Brazilians seem to me the most relaxed, nicest people I have encountered in my travels. I very much enjoyed the random conversations I had with people on buses, at bus stations, when I asked for direction - many times people got out of their way to walk me to where I wanted to go. It made my heart very warm. In NY I always felt that the city, being so big, almost forces people to become impersonal and indifferent as a way of survival but in Salvador, which is also a big city, it seems people don't feel the annoyance of dealing with the rush of big place - they rejoyce it or rather don't get affected by it and continue on their normal slow pace. Maybe it's because they are so close to these wonderful beaches and every day they can be close to nature, to wash away all the impurities and fatigue of the day in the salty waters of the ocean. The beaches are incredible in that that they offer a lot of entertainment where people can really move their bodies. There are bike lines (probably around 25 km altogether), walks for walking and running, all kinds of fields devoted to playing soccer, basketball, volleyball. There are parks close to the beach, places for children to play. There are tiny bars with grass umbrellas with snacks and drinks. And all these attractions are open to the public and free. The modern part of the city has a lot of skyscrappers but there's also a lot of trees and green in general so it doesn't seem opressive. It seems the city puts great care to turn every piece of land into a green square. In general it looks that the city is building a lot, that people are investing in it, that the standard of life will hopefully improve for all, also the ones living in favellas. I will definitely go back to Salvador the Bahia in the near future and also I will visit the beaches north of Bahia, which I have heard are incredibly beautiful.
I also visited the Island of Itaparica which is accessible by ferry and speed boats. It's 29 km long and 12 km wide. On the boat taking me there I met Nora (from Bulgaria) and Luis (from Spain) - a couple who live in Sofia in Bulgaria and were also on vacation. We spent the day together, walking around the old city of Itaparica, admiring the old architecture and the relaxed atmosphere of a little old port. This is one of these places where I would like to live: small fishing village with a little square and a few restaurants, not a lot of traffic, clean beach, beautiful sunset... We spotted some houses for sale and were thinking that maybe it would be a good idea to buy a house there...
I got to Sao Paulo early morning 31 August. I always get to where the Cathedral is first as a way of orienting myself. I got to the cathedral at 6 am and it turned out that the area around it is rather run down and full of local homeless sleeping around. It seemed useless to be walking around this part of the city so early so I spotted a hotel advertising pay-by-hour services and I got myself 4 hours to nap before venturing out into the city. The hotel was one of the type with round beds, mirror on the ceiling and probably 10 porn movie stations (but that I didn't check). It felt quite funny to be sleeping there. At 10 am I went out and had breakfast at a cafe next door which really was a gathering place for the local homeless. There was some music on and some of them were dancing, and I didn't know whether they were ending with the dance the day or beginning a new one. I observed the local atmosphere of the place. The people were obviously mentally disturbed one way or another but not more than the average person I see on the NY subway - I saw the same emptiness and confusion in their eyes - except the NY people are dressed in suits and carry briefcases with them. At least the Sao Paulo crazies didn't have to talk to themselves - there was always someone who would listen to them in this specific community. I went to look around the city. I first went to Pinecoteca museum which is a beautiful red-brick building containing a lot of interesting classical and contemporary artworks, it is located next to a park and has its own beautiful cafe. From there I went to the area of Jardins and Avenida Paulista but got to feel so bad on my way there - the flu virus struck me - that from then on everything is kind of blurry. I walked a little but started feeling so unwell that just decided to go the airport and wait for the plane. I got there and it turned out I came a day too early! I don't know how I could mess up so badly but I did. I was supposed to fly out on the 1 September and was at the airport on 31 August... so I just got a Best Western hotel next to the airport and just fell on the bed when I got there and slept many hours. When I got to the airport the following evening they asked me if I would want to volunteer to give up my seat on that flight for someone who was in emergency. They offered me a nice hotel with food, a nice seat on the next-day flight and a voucher for $300 for the next TAM airlines ticket. So I couldn't really say "no" and I went back to the hotel, slept another night, recovering from that dreadful flu, and when I was sitting on the plane the next morning, I asked myself whether I would indeed take off. I did and after 10 hours got to NY. Katarina came home shortly after my arrival, she brought me food, made some tea and has been taking care of me since. This morning I woke up at dawn unable to breath again and Kasia made a major decongesting soup of garlic, olive oil, cheese and herbs and we were eating it together, having lots of fun at 6 am, she being exhausted from working 12 hours, me feeling so sick. Oh, these beautiful mornings when your body feels like shit, pardon, but your spirits are high and your soul is rejoicing!! We are both rejoicing the fact that we are leaving NY and beginning the new life! So Kasia is at work now and I am in bed still but tomorrow is another day and hopefully we'll recover the bodies to keep up with minds and souls.
I have now three weeks to pack my stuff, send it to Poland, and finish all loose end here. At the end of the month I will take another vacation of two weeks, about which soon. I'll be in touch and until then many hugs to everyone.
posted by Asia Kabat at 12:35 PM
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