Salvador continued...

January 20th, 2010.
Wednesday.

We woke up to a humid, but very sunny day! By the time we arrived at breakfast, the ship had docked at Port Salvador, and we could see from our little balcony the gorgeous ancient buildings that stood before us. After my usual breakfast of granola and yoghurt, Alberto and I went to the decks to take some photos and bask in the sun for awhile. As soon as I stepped off the ship around 30minutes later, I knew that the city of Salvador would take my heart captive – never to be returned. The city was unbelievably gorgeous, five hundred years young overlooking crystal clear blue waters. Our whole group, all ten of us, paid the inexpensive price of R$23 for a tour guide to take us around the city for the day. First we stopped at a lighthouse where I bought three necklaces off a local who was very persuasive! We then went to a beach that appeared to never end, the sand stretching on forever. We frolicked in the warm water for hours, sunbaked and ate fresh fish and prawns. Next stop was Abaeté Lake. I have no words for this place. Paradise? No, that doesn’t even come close. Wild horses roamed across the pure, soft white sand dunes, alongside happy children splashing in the warm turquoise lake. Perfection. From there, we moved onto the Igreja do Bomfin (translated that means the Church of the Good End). Luckily for us, a church service was in session, and the passion of these locals astounded me. Many came up to me, never minding that I couldn’t speak Portuguese, and tied little ribbons with the words ‘Lembranca do Senhor’ (‘Remember the Lord’) around my wrists. The front fence of the church was laden with these ribbons, to the point where it looked like a sea of rainbow dancing with the wind. Many parks and markets were visited after that, and then
we returned to the ship for a beautiful evening of dancing and eating.

{photos by morgan}