Day 10 - Salvador

The Husband is still sick. I managed to drag him downstairs for breakfast hoping some food would make him feel better. I also dragged him to the pool for some fresh air during the day (and so we could get our sickly room cleaned) and to the rooftop bar at night. Still feeling sick though.

I spent the day exploring Pelourinho which is the old section of town. They used to auction slaves here. There's tons of narrow streets and squares to explore. I even thought about eating a meal not at our hotel (whose restaurant was fabulous by the way). I walked all the way over to a restaurant that looked good for lunch until I realized it was so fricking hot I just wanted another bowl of gazpacho back at the hotel. So I had the delicious gazpacho for lunch again. I also had this gorgonzola and banana mixture on top of pieces of baguette. It was delicious as well. I wouldn't have thought the gorgonzola and banana went well together but it did.

For some reason the men in Salvador really like me. One of the bartenders at the hotel has a crush on me. Then when watching the capoeira demonstration in the square, one of the guys kept staring at me even though I didn't get up too close. I came back through the square again to hit up the ATM and was watching them again. They came up to me and then two of them fought over talking to me although the one didn't speak English. I did get a picture with them though. They also didn't believe I'm married since I wasn't wearing my ring and thought I was visiting alone. Before escaping, they made me promise to come back later at 7pm which is when the big party gets going in the square. Yes, let me come back later to hang out with a group of 20 men by myself. I'm not sure what it was but the Salvadorian men loved me. Maybe it was the pale German skin that does it for them.

The big party in the square starts with mass in the churches. Meanwhile they set up a stage and lots of little stalls mostly full of people selling caipirinhas. Very cool but I didn't hang out long. I didn't want to sit by myself and invite all sorts of men over to "make friends" with me so I headed back to the hotel. Around 10:30pm as I was checking out of the hotel since we had a very early morning, I heard a group of drummers marching up the street that was incredibly loud. Very cool. People were partying out in the squares for a long time.

I ate dinner at the hotel restaurant by myself again where the lovely hotel owners, Gilles and Didier, gave me some medicine for the sick husband. Then I finished the night with a drink on the beautiful rooftop bar where I dragged The Husband up for some fresh air for a while.

The man who practically molested me in the square

The square getting set up for the big party

The square again

View down to the lower part of the city

Church

Salvador

Church

Traditional Bahian dress

One of the squares

One of the narrow streets

The square full of people

View from the rooftop bar

Thoughts on our hotel: The only thing to say is fabulous. Great rooms, great hotel, great service. I can't say enough good things about it.

Thoughts on the city of Salvador: Unfortunately due to The Husband's illness I didn't get to see much of the city. I highly recommend staying in the Pelourinho area. There's a lot going on. Tons of restaurants and small hotels. I didn't make it to the beach but the beaches in the area are supposed to be really nice. I do highly recommend a stop in Salvador if your schedule in Brazil allows it. It's only a 2 hour flight from Rio.