One
morning in Barra, there was a memorable sight taking place on the beach in
front of the hotel.
Watching from
the promenade balustrade was a small crowd. They were viewing a group of boys
and girls on the beach, doing samba exercises before work. I began to watch,
and they rotated in a ring, swivelling their hips to samba music and letting
out whoops of delight. Olodrum drummers beat out a rhythm, and each person
moved his or her body to the music. To me the scene epitomised Salvador -
taking advantage of the beaches and living life to a musical rhythm.
Barra is the
closest beach suburb in Salvador to the centre. It forms a right angle to the
Baiae do Todos Santos, with the famous Farol de Barra (lighthouse) at the very
apex of that angle. The beaches start about 500ft away to the north of the
Farol at the Porto do Barra (where I stayed) and then turn to the east where
they run forever along the coast of Brazil.
Salvador is an
extraordinary city, many of its residents are very poor, but everyone has time
for the beach at the weekend. My recommendation to anyone coming to stay in
Salvador is to stay in Barra. The advantage of the beach is obvious, but it is
slightly more relaxed then the madness of Pelhurinho. Connections to the
airport and bus station are close, and although noisy at night, there is a
chance of sleep - something you don't get in the more budget options in
Pelhurinho. As discussed before, the airport bus runs the entire length of the
Orla Atlantica before heading to Pelhurino, making getting to and from the
airport easy. But more importantly, ordinary buses ply this route, allowing you
to sightsee in Pelhurinho during the morning and head back to Barra for a swim
in the afternoon.
To get there,
take a taxi from Pelhurinho (10 reals) or a bus. The bus, heading south, will
pass the impressive Campo Grande. If you
want a good example of the gentrification of Salvador de Bahia, then have a
look at this massive square. I suspect it was a no-go area twenty years ago,
but now it is rather classy. I walked through one day, feeling very safe and
enjoying the hot sunshine. Care has been taken with it, with trimmed green
lawns, Greek temples, gold statues, and gushing fountains.
But the
southwestern exit is what you will be interested in, as it turns into Avenida
Sete Semptembre. This is Salvador’s uber-rich street, with towering condos
standing on cliffs overlooking the Baiae. If you are staying in the area, it is
useful for its supermarkets and houses a number of English/Portuguese-language
colleges. Then it dips severely downhill, almost to an excessive degree, before
levelling out at the start of the Orla Atlantica and the start of the beaches.
This area which contains a bus stop, open-air restaurants, and all the
amenities of a small community is called Porto do Barra
Barra is
primarily for Baianos. There are foreign tourists there, but essentially the
beach is for those who live in Barra or nearby. Therefore it attracts many
different characters. During the daytime, things are mostly good - the coco-verts sellers sell their ware for about 1
real, surfers clutch surfboards on their way to catch waves, and the whole
promenade sounds with the noises of laughter and music.
This continues
when the sun goes down (a classic Bahian attraction is watching sunset at the
Farol), but I think Barra changes character at night. More desperate characters
arrive, and as a tourist, it pays to exercise caution. The authorities in
Salvador have noticed this and post armed police every 50 yards along the
promenade to watch over visitors. It would be a shame to avoid Barra at night.
The chatter of
people along the seawall is very atmospheric, and one evening as I was enjoying
a capirinha, two Bahian children started to do an
impromptu capoeira dance in front of me.
A word of caution about the street children in
Barra: if they do bother you, then walk away quickly. It’s not their fault they
live a desperate life, but perhaps avoidance is the best policy for a tourist.
The first sandy
beach you will find will be at Porto do Barra. Barra beaches have the
prerequisite white sand but also as this is a promontory, they have plenty of
surf and rockpools. Swimming is possible if done carefully (I did see a lad
limp back after a swim in the sea) and due to the sun looks emerald green. The
main attraction is the Farol de Barra but if you follow the right angle around
you can reach the Morro de Christo. This is a large
grasscovered mound that sticks out to sea. You need to hop over the wall and
pass through a copse of palm trees and walk up the dusty track. At the top of
the mound is a small white Chisto Redentor (Christ the Redeemer), just like the
one overlooking Rio de Janeiro. From here, you get a superb view over the surf
lashed beaches and the Praia de Farol,
which is a gentler beach and where families head to on a Sunday.
But the
attraction where all the tour buses pull up is the Farol de Barra. Of course, there are Baiana's selling corn-on-the-cob and other
hawkers, but it is really a very impressive example of Brazils heritage. This
is ground zero for Brazil - this is where their country started. The Portuguese
didn't sail into Guanabara bay in Rio back in 1500 - oh, no - they sailed into
the Baiae do Todos Santos. The lighthouse stands on the site of a colonial fort
built in 1534 whose cannons were aimed at the bay and were primed to blast the
Dutch, English, and Spanish competition. The fort/lighthouse itself has
commanding views of the bay with stone octagonal walls soaring forty feet into
the air each one topped by a turret. Before you enter the lighthouse, have a
wander around its walled circumference at the wave-crashed inlets and the views
up and down the bay.
To be frank,
this is the best museum I saw in Salvador. It had been upgraded in 2000 and was
complete with English translations was fully worth the 3 reals entrance. First
was the history of Salvador and its inclusion on the trade routes from Africa
and India. Next were 16th-century nautical maps of the area. I could even see
how deep the water was in the bay from readings taken in 1558!
Old maps picked
out the sweeping beaches, the island of Itaparica and the rocky escarpment that
Pelhurinho was built on. There were plenty of shipwrecks in these waters -
models of galleons, ship lenses and figureheads dotted the museum. The massive
courtyard had been turned into an open-air restaurant. I climbed up to the
battlements and looked down on the restored cannons and lighthouse tower, and
the view across the bay was amazing. I'd say the Farol de Barra was worth your
time - a lot of thought and care had gone into it.
But the main
attraction in Barra is the beaches. I got myself into a routine the eight
nights I was there - sightseeing in Pelhurino in the morning, back about two
for a sleep, change into swimming trunks, and run across the road to the Porto
do Barra beach, followed by drinks with friends at ten o'clock at night. But the
best bit was definitely the beach - running across the sand, diving straight
in, total immersement in the green water. Lord, it was wonderful. I felt I
could play in the water to my hearts content...
This is the
life....
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