Dec 18

We docked at Salvador da Bahia, in the State of Bahia, Brazil at 1:00pm. We were here on Nov 24 and that posting showed photos of the historic Old City so this will concentrate on the area below.  Salvador was founded in the late 1500s and until the late 1700s was the capitol of Brazil.  The Old City was built on top of the hills for defense against the local Indigenous people.  It has a large natural harbor which was used for export of sugar & tobacco before gold & gems were discovered.  It was also the entry point for the slave trade where, at one point, there were 5 black Africans for every Portuguese.  There were two 3500+ passenger ships in port and one was doing a passenger changeover so the city was packed.  We walked along the streets from the port to the Mercado Modelo, the port market used since early days for goods & slaves,  It now houses craft stalls, restaurants & bars and a barbershop where I got a good haircut for about $7.00.  We wandered through the market without buying and went out the back to the elevator to the upper city.  The elevator has been in use since the 1800s and takes you up the 250 ft in 22 seconds.  With 3 ships in port and it being summer holidays for school kids, there was a long wait for the elevator.  The ride costs RS 0.15, or US 7 cents.  It was a really hot day with little or no breeze and lots of people about, so we walked around a bit and headed back to the ship.  It was too late for lunch by the time we could get to Dada Restaurant in the Old City so we ate on the ship.  Having been here several times in the past, including 3 weeks ago, we didn't enjoy the crowding and waiting in lines, even for a drink, so we returned to the ship.  We listened to Nature's Rhythm before dinner and the evening's menu had "Destination Choices" which were local recipes.  There was a marinated artichoke salad, Brazilian black bean soup and Mocaqa, a Bahian fish & shrimp stew in a unique sauce.  It was delicious.  Lazlo & Claudia, the headliner violinists from Hungary put on a performance which included their signature Gypsy music.