Candomble´s 3 wishes

Salvador is a city that knows how to have a good time. During the day, it is a beautiful colonial city with a strong African influence. At night, in particular on Tuesday nights, the historic district, Pelourinho, has a giant street party. You can hear everything from punta (from Honduras!) to forro and axe which are typical of Salvador and the state of Bahia. There is lots of dancing in the streets and it is not just the tourists. If a Tuesday night is like this, I can´t imagine how Carnaval would be!








This wooden carving in the Afro-Brazilian museum is of some of the Orixas. Orixas are deities of the Afro-Brazilian religion of candomble which combined catholic beliefs with African religions. Of particular interest to me is the Orixa Oxala which is associated with the Christ at the Church at Bonfim.





This is the Igreja do Bonfim, where the Christ and its Candomble counterpart Oxala are believed to be miraculous.














The believers who have had miracles after praying to our lord at Bonfim, leave many offerings in thanks. In particular, replicas of body parts which have been healed. There is a room full of thanks.














In the candomble faith, one can put a fita (ribbon) and with each of three knots make a wish. If the fita is left to come off on its own, then the wishes will come true. 9 months ago, Natascha gave me such a fita. As you can see from the picture, they are practically indestructible. The first month I had it, I loved to have received such a thoughtful present but 3 months after, I was tired of wearing a raggedy ribbon around my wrist. Now 9 months later, I don´t even notice it except when it reminds me of the three wishes I made. In that way, it was a fantastic gift which I will make sure to return to Natascha in January :-)


It is hard to talk about Salvador without mentioning capoeira. Capoeira is a martial art that was disguised by the slaves as a dance. It is very rhythmic and extremely hard! I took a capoeira class at Mestre Bimba´s and my quads hurt for 5 days afterwards and my feet had blisters. So much for me being a tough guy...











Being a vegetarian in Latin America as a cheap traveler is a challenge. I have been on a diet of sorts (I´ve had to make an extra hole in my belt) but Brazil has food by weight places that are fantastic. Since fruit and veggies are cheap, most of the choices are vegetarian. They also eat lots of fruit because it is hot and that´s what you feel like eating. After seeing the average Brazilian body, I think I might adopt the Brazilian vegetarian diet.


When traveling on your own, whether you meet people or not is variable. For most of the trip, I've met cool people to share the place with but in Salvador I chose a hostel that is not in Lonely Planet (the backpacker´s bible). Since it was off-season, it was quiet. In a way, it was nice since it gave me time to think. This self portrait comes from a cool cafe in front of the hostel.





After a great time in Salvador, I am off to the beaches of Morro de Sao Paolo...