Seniors, Been to Salvador da Bahia Yet?

Salvador, Brazil’s former capital is renowned for its African-influenced cuisine, music and architecture. Known as “the Capital of Joy,” because of its exuberant week-long Carnaval celebrations, Salvador brims with contemporary music and art amid architecture that has gone untouched since the 17th century.The region is packed with fun things for senior visitors to see and do.

Salvador is the largest city on the northeast coast of Brazil and the capital of the northeast State of Bahia. The Historic Center of Salvador, frequently called the “Pelourinho”, was designated a World Heritage Site in 1985. It is renowned for its Portuguese colonial architecture with historical monuments dating from the 17th to the 19th centuries.

Most tourists stay in Pelourinho, the historic center, or in Barra, the first urban beach out from the center, which has a lot of restaurants and bars. The next coastal area is Ondina with its big hotels on the cliffside. Ondina beach has lots of reefs.

Pelourinho’s winding cobblestone streets are packed with historical sites, colonial architecture, museums, restaurants, bars, hostels and artisanal shops. And senior “beach goers”, Salvador is home of the 3rd best beach of the World, Porto da Barra Beach.

Seniors Find a Vibrant, Exciting City

Salvador has history on its side. The Baía de Todos Santos (All Saints Bay) was first encountered by the Portuguese explorers and named back in 1500. Salvador was the capital in the heyday of the slave trade. The legacy remains today in its large black population, and the resulting culture in many ways outshines the rest of Brazil.

In music, many of the greatest names from the mid-20th century to the present hail from Salvador. It’s a vibrant, exciting city, and its people are really quite friendly.

Salvador remained the first capital of Brazil until 1763, when it was succeeded by Rio de Janeiro. Salvador settled into graceful decline over the next 150 years, out of the mainstream of Brazilian industrialization. It remains, however, a national cultural and tourist center.

By 1948 the city had some 340,000 people and by then was the 4th largest city in all of Brazil. Adventursome seniors, it’s an exciting city to check out.  jeb