We cruised into Salvador da Bahia, Brazil early Saturday morning. Salvador is Brazil’s third most populated city, formerly the capital, and is one of the oldest in Brazil and the majority population is of Black African origin. The city has quite a unique historical center, home to monuments dating from the 17th through the 19th centuries. It is a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site and is filled with colorful old houses and winding cobblestone streets. Salvador was the center of Brazilian slave trade, and greater numbers of slaves were brought to Salvador than were ever taken to North America. Salvador da Bahia is clearly the most African city of Brazil. Bright, colorful buildings, vibrant music and African traditions are very much alive here. The city was preparing for an evening of music and entertainment, lots of prep going on, stages being erected - lots of activity.
We had no tour scheduled today, so we were hoping to arrange one on our own. Local guides are typically available at the ports, so we thought surely we could negotiate a fair price with at least one of them.
As soon as we entered the terminal we were offered a description of where we would go and what the tour would provide. We were passed from agent to agent in an attempt to close the deal. At first they offered a simple van ride, no guide, $20 per person. If we wanted a guide, it would be more. If you wanted an English speaking guide it would be more. How much? “Maybe $10 per person - but we need a few more people to go – please wait.” In a few minutes another couple from the ship agreed to go, but the price again changed. It would be $30 per person, plus more for the guide. “How much more”? The fellow shrugged and I knew we weren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Our inability to speak Portuguese was presenting a few challenges so we left the terminal and headed out onto the sidewalk where a hoard of tour guides were promoting their tours. It looked pretty dicey out there and one guide offered a tour - $50 per person. We turned on our heel and went back into the terminal. We were leery of a shake-down, and since the price kept changing (up, up, up) we opted to take the free shuttle provided by H. Stern into the city square. They provide good drivers, the busses are clean, air conditioned and in good repair – oh, and did I add, they’re free!
Well folks, our saga continued. As soon as we were “stickered” for the free shuttle, our rep took us out onto the street, pointed to a fellow, and told us to go down to “that man” - which we did. It appears we were looking at the wrong man and climbed into what we later discovered was a city taxi. We asked the driver “are you with H. Stern????” He replied “yes, yes.” As soon as he pulled away he hit the meter and we knew we were in the wrong vehicle. We used lots of words in an attempt to get him to stop, but he just kept on going. I guess he thought we’d change our mind. Traffic was congested and we thought – now we’ve done it. Joe kept telling him to pull over, that we wanted out, everything we could think of – but he kept going. About a block later I remembered “Pare” from the stop signs. At the next red light he stopped and we hopped out. I am surprised he didn’t harass us for a fare. We didn’t hang around long waiting to settle-up. Of course he dumped us out at the ferry terminal where hoards of locals are queued for their boat. The place and the people didn’t look particularly friendly (I am sure we stood out like sore thumbs) so we picked up our walk to a brisk pace and made our way back to the port terminal. As we neared the entrance of the terminal we saw a group from our ship with the H. Stern driver, so we jumped on board and away we went.
Our driver made his way through the busy business district, climbed the narrow streets up the hillside and entered the historical city center. Once there we embarked on our own walking tour. We explored the square and surrounding areas. There were of course churches, monuments, shops and galleries. Vendors were strategically positioned throughout the center. Women were dressed in hoop dresses from the old days, encouraging us to take their photo as they posed for photos – for a Dollar. Jewelry, trinkets, t-shirts, paintings, and other handicrafts were readily available. This is a really unique old city that has seen a lot of change. Architecture is amazing however, and we enjoyed being there
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