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In addition to football, Brazil is famous for having a big beach culture and now I know why!
On our third day in Salvador, we spent time at Porto da Barra Beach in Barra, the more cosmopolitan area of Salvador which sits right on the Atlantic Ocean. Barra has few historical attractions, including a couple forts and a lighthouse.
We didn’t visit any attractions – only went to the beach, which was lovely. There were alot of people (mainly locals) out, so it was lively but also clean and felt safe. The water was the perfect temperature and, yes, thong bikinis were plentiful.
Fun fact: Brazilians don’t use beach towels. They use patterned blankets to lay on and air dry (a few are visible in the pic below). If you carry a towel, you’re immediately flagged as a tourist. Haha.
Straight from the beach, we went on an Afro-Brazilian history tour around Salvador. It started in Barra, then went to Rio Vermelho (the bohemian, laid back neighborhood with restaurants, clubs and nightlife), and ended in Pelourinho (where we’d visited on our first and second days of the trip).
Interesting info learned from our awesome guide (and pics of Salvador snapped along the way):
Rio Vermelho, a bohemian neighborhood with restaurants/eateries and nightlife:
Women dressed in traditional Bahian dress selling acarajé, deep fried beans rolled into a scone-like shape, stuffed with palm oil, shrimp, peppers, and onions:
An Orisha statue in Dique de Tororo (a lake/park with massive statues of each of the Orishas):
Shrine with gifts dedicated to one of the Orisha gods, Iemanjá. Within the Candomblé religion, she is the Queen of the Ocean:
Back in Pelourinho for another evening of Festa Junina: