S/Y RAPTOR

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

SALVADOR (photo taken on Raptor)

Salvador (just a days sail from Itaparica) is the capital of Bahia state in Brazil. We arrived at the Terminal Náutico da Bahia Marina on 15th October 2014.

Salvador is divided into 3 parts: a lower city, an upper city and seaside area. Looks pretty from afar doesn't it?

We didn't have a good impression of the lower city (mainly due to safety) but was pleasantly delighted with the upper city (called Pelourinho) the historic centre of Salvador, the old city.. a mix of derelict and restored colonial residences colourfully painted and churches exhibiting its Portuguese architecture.

View from the Upper Level (the lift on the left)

Streets of the Upper City aka Pelourinho

More of Pelourinho

Alex & I

View from the Lower Level

SALVADOR! (at the top lift landing)

Nice view of the city from our berth at the Terminal Náutico da Bahia Marina (S 12.58.515 W 38.32.161). It is considered one of the nicest harbours in the country.

Raptor at Terminal Nautico da Bahia

We departed on 18th October for Recife.

Itaparica, Bahia, Brazil

Anchorage at Itaparica

We anchored on a sand bank in 0.5m of water in the northern tip of Itaparica island, 10 miles away from Salvador (S 12.53.457 W 38.41.133) on 2nd October 2014. It's a calm sheltered anchorage just opposite the marina in a little town with white sandy beaches and pristine waters.

We stayed 13 days here and really enjoyed it. The view of the sandbanks at low tide is beautiful.

Some locals walking with their horses on the sandbank

The horses were up to their necks in water at high tide but did not seem to mind. The town of Itaparica is laid back and peaceful.

Itaparica

"Treehouse"

Alex standing in the middle of a "football field"

Locals caught a green iguana on the street

One of the weirdest looking creatures we've ever seen

View of the sandbanks

Cleaned the hulls at low tide

Of course it wasn't all play and no work in paradise. We took the opportunity to clean our hulls at low tide, made a new clip for the WAECO fridge door and fixed our ICEER fridge door too. As you know, we fix and repair things at exotic locations. That's what we do!

Galeão, Valença & Cairú, Bahia, Brazil

Map

A short 50 nautical mile ride from Camamu, we anchored in 5m of water with 35m of chain on 23rd September 2014, outside the small fishing village of Galeão (S 13.23.871 W 39.02.295) in the Taperoa Channel.

One of the many ferry boats

From here we were able to catch the local ferry boats to Valença, a Brazilian municipality in the state of Bahia which has an estimated population of 82,000. It is the largest city in the Dendê Coasta. Another fishing town and one of the livelier towns in the region.

The Una River

Dried fish anyone?

A view of Valença & the Una river which divides the city

Nossa Senhora do Amparo Church

One of the derelict houses along the streets of Valenca

We also visited Cairú, a another small village said to be the first village built in 1501 after the discovery of Brazil by the Portuguese. Here we had some Brazilian-style burgers and fries.

All of these fishing towns/villages has a church or two at the top of a hill..

Portuguese colonial church in Cairu

Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil

We anchored opposite the Yacht Club in Ilhéus (S 14.46.797 W 39.02.162) on 8th September 2014 in 2.7 m of water.

Ilhéus is a major city located in the southern coastal region of Bahia, Brazil, 211 km south of Salvador.

Little Mermaid

Smaller version of C. Santo

Jorge Amado, famous Brazilian writer
(August 10, 1912 – August 6, 2001)

Santo André - Santa Cruz Cabrália - Porto Seguro, Bahia, Brazil

25 nautical miles later, we went into Santo André at high tide but we still hit our bottom several times. We anchored at (S 16.15.127 W 39.00.900).

Santo André is another small quiet village, located about 35 km from Porto Seguro, the main city of the region.

View of Raptor - Chillin' out at Gaivota (a restaurant)

About 25 mins walk away from Gaivota, a restaurant in Santo André, we caught the ferry to Santa Cruz Cabrália.

Ferry "terminal" from Santa Andre - Just a landing for the ferry and everyone waits by the roadside

A beach at Santa Cruz Cabrália

View of Santa Cruz Cabralia from the church

Streets of Santa Cruz Cabralia

My 400ml Acai for $5 reais

Artistic! It looks as if they built the wall around the bicycle

Dried (cabaça) - used to make a Berimbau which is a single‑string percussion instrument, a musical bow from Brazil

The Berimbau is a single-string percussion instrument, a musical bow, from Brazil. Although it could've been originated from Africa. This instrument is played with the martial art capoeira, which is a mix of acrobatic movements and dance with music. The berimbau (the soul of capoeira) leads the capoeiristas movements - the faster the berimbau is played the faster the capoeirista moves.

We also visited Porto Seguro, a neighbour of Santa Cruz Cabralia, which is located far south of Bahia, Brazil.