Prepared January 24 and 25, 2012, South Atlantic Ocean en route Jamestown, St. Helena
At Sea in Atlantic Ocean, January 17, 18, & 19, 2012: Sea Days.
As one might expect, one day at sea becomes much like another. The 3-day cruise from Belem to Salvador da Bahia along the coast of Brazil was an excellent example of this. The South Atlantic was running a slight swell (~5 feet), winds were from the southeast at 20 mph, and there were occasional rain squalls. Not really what you would expect in the doldrums around the equator.
Life on board is also much the same day-to-day. After meals and sleep, bridge takes up time during the day, and some form of entertainment in the evening. There are a group of young entertainers on board who give performances every evening after dinner. Although cruise entertainment is often problematic, the entertainment on board has spanned the range from opera and classical music to jazz and contemporary songs. So far, the entertainment has been worth staying up to attend! It starts at 10:15p, long after dark.
One wonderful dining event was a Chinese dinner in the ship's laundry. (The laundry is operated by an entirely Chinese staff, all from the same village in China.) Four World Cruise couples along with the Captain, the Hotel Director, and the Cruise Director were treated to a multi-course dinner, complete with bao za, kung pao shrimp (not kitty), and other delicacies. The laundry was decorated in Chinese lanterns, fans, and dragons, and a good time was had by all. The ship's only Chinese waiter, Dan, discovered (to her delight) that J spoke a little Chinese, so Dan and J spoke Chinese phrases and exchanged New Year's Greetings for the Year of the Dragon.
Chinese Dinner in the Ship's Laundry
Gung He Fat Choi
Photo by Norman Rafelson, Hotel Director
In port, Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, January 20, 2012: Visiting Churches, Fearing Lightning.
Salvador da Bahia is one of the oldest cities in Brazil, founded in 1549, and the capital of Brazil until 1763. The Old City, which is situated on a bluff above the port, is filled with baroque churches. The churches where built in the 16th and 17th centuries by Roman Catholics and their various religious orders. The old, upper city has been declared a UNESCO world heritage site and is slowly being rehabilitated both by the government and individual local owners.
Salvador da Bahia
Lower and Upper City
We departed the ship on a tour bus which took us to the old city above the port area in the lower city. The two areas are connected by Lecerda's Elevator. This elevator is named for the engineer that designed and built the original elevator in the late 19th Century. It has been expanded and rebuilt a number of times and is heavily used for commuting between the lower and the upper city. Riding the elevator is much quicker and requires much less athletic prowess than climbing the narrow streets and/or innumerable stairs between the port and the old city!
Municipal Square and Lecerda's Elevator (Upper City Station)
We were deposited in Municipal Square in the upper city to begin our two-hour walking tour. An impressive 19th Century city hall at one end of the square is offset on one side by a modern (mid-20th Century) municipal office building, likely one of the most out-of-place buildings in Brazil. At the other end of the square is the religious complex of the Cardinal of Salvador da Bahia. It includes offices and the Baroque Cathedral. The Cathedral was originally built by Jesuits in the 16th Century and expropriated by the Cardinal in the 18th Century, when the Jesuits fell from the Holy See's grace. Although no longer under the Jesuits, the Cathedral's interior reflects in many ways their former presence.
City Hall
Exterior View Cathedral Baroque
After touring the Cathedral's main sanctuary, we visited the vestry, where the regalia of the priests and prelates are still stored in carved, wooden cabinets made in the 17th Century by Portuguese craftsmen, who were sent to Brazil especially to build for the Church.
Interior Views Baroque Cathedral, Salvador da Bahai
Not having been struck down as heretics, we walked across Terreiro de Jesus Square, passing one of a nearly-infinite number of H. Stern jewelry shops and proceeded to the Church of San Francisco with its attached Franciscan Monastery. The 16th Century church, with its interior nearly completely covered in gold leaf and cedar wood carvings, is Baroque at its most overdone. However, many of the blue/white tile dioramas illustrate aspects of Christian doctrine that are much more pleasing, as does the painted ceiling. Salvador de Bahia is reputed to have the largest collection of baroque churches in the world.
Church of San Francisco
Main Altar, Church of San Francisco
Gold Leaf on Cedar Wood Carvings
Interior Detail, Church of San Francisco
Wood Carving Detail
Church of San Francisco
We also walked through the original commercial districts of the old city known as the Pelourinho Dictrict. Shop houses along the cobbled main street have been restored and converted to art galleries, souvenir shops, and, you guessed it, jewelry shops. Soon, every rock in Brazil will have been sold!
Street Scene, Upper (Old) City
Salvador da Bahia
After seeing the historic upper city, we boarded the air conditioned bus to revive and drive through the modern sections of Bahia to reach the Costa Pinto Museum. This museum is located in the mansion of a sugar baron family, and many of its collections of decorative art were most likely provided by the family. This is what you do when nobody in the family wants the stuff! Sadly, photographs were not allowed, so you will miss the opportunity of seeing what the rich do in lieu of a yard sale.
After viewing way too many pieces of silver and other furnishings, it was back to the bus and a drive along the coast past the San Antonio Fortress and its lighthouse that mark the entrance to All Saints Bay (Baia de Todo os Santos). Those early Portuguese and Spanish didn't take any chances with God!
San Antonio Fortress and Lighthouse
Land Side View
View from All Saints Bay
Finally, it was back to the ship, a late lunch, and a long nap before sailing away and turning south to Rio de Janeiro. So, if this account of our adventures in Salvador da Bahia is too short -- Blame it on Rio!
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