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BRAZIL (2)
One night in Brasilia was enough so at the end of the second day, I took another night bus, this time, for Salvador on the Coast.
The Sun was setting over the Brazilian jungle when I went through Barreiras so I took this photo.
Contrary to Brasilia, Salvador had history, slums, noises and smells. In other words, it was real and I loved it...
Salvador is one of these towns with an upstairs and a downstairs. In modern Brazil, that becomes an "up the elevator" and a "down the elevator" which you can see in the background of this photo.
This building in lower town is bigger than some of the Niemeyer buildings in Brasília but it does not squash the human figure into nothingness like they do.
Salvador, founded in 1549 on the easily defendable heights of upper town, soon became the capital of a prosperous colony exporting Brazil-wood and cane sugar. Portuguese plantation owners imported thousands of African slaves to work the cane fields and sired corresponding numbers of mulatto offspring from which today's local population have descended.
I readily admit my bias in favour of this small Terreiro de Jesus instead of the huge dehumanising administrative square in Brasília.
With time, cattle raising, tobacco growing and the mining of gold and diamonds all added to the city's prosperity which is reflected in Salvador's bourgeois houses.
The old buildings in the narrow streets around the square were being restored, taking care to give each one a distinctive identity harmoniously blending into a collective style.
Salvador remained the capital of Brazil until 1763 when it was moved to Rio de Janeiro. The city then went into a long decline surviving on inefficient agricultural systems but now, recent developments in the chemical and tourist industries have now reversed that trend and finance the restoration of Salvador's historical monuments.
Salvador is built on a peninsula almost closing a great natural harbour, the Baía de Todos os Santos, that was discovered by Amérigo Vespucci in 1501. The little fort and lighthouse of Barra stand at the tip of that peninsula.
The tourist industry has become a major employer and source of wealth in the last few decades.
The Atlantic sea front offers a succession of great beaches like this one at Itapoã, 30 km east of Salvador.
The beaches, good food, the unique African flavour of the local culture, innumerable festivals and the yearly festival are powerful touristic attractions.
Overnight busses are really the best way to travel in Brazil. After a week of doing nothing but enjoying the good things of life in Salvador I took a bus that brought me to Belo Horizonte in 23 hours. I stayed here at the hotel Madrid where I met a computer engineer, Nelson Viega, who was going to Ouro Prêto like me.
Nelson and I arrived early and found free lodgings in a "Republica" (A fraternity house that will accept students if there is room. Many are free but you are expected to make a voluntary contribution to expenses.)
I just loved Ouro Prêto! There's a lot of climbing up and down hills but the whole town is one beautiful 17th century museum.
Nelson and I enjoyed a tasty meal of meat and vegetables for only 2.50 dollars including the beer. He was the first person to give me his e-mail address, back in April 1994 when the internet was not as well known as it now. I've lost track of him since then. If any of you know him, please let him know where he can see his picture and send me his address so I can get in touch ( he was doing a Master's on the treatment of satellite data on deforestation in Brazil).
The Rua do Aleijadinho is the broadest and longest in town but it's not the steepest. The views were great everywhere and there was a friendly, happy atmosphere all over the place. No wonder the tourists like it.
Aleijadinho, a remarkable crippled mulatto sculptor (1730 - 1814), is considered the "Brazilian Michelangelo". His graceful rococo soapstone pieces embellish most of the churches of Ouro Prêto of which there are many, each one competing to be the richest in gold and silver ornamentation.
Rio could have been French had they not been expulsed in 1560 and repulsed in 1710 during the Minas Gerais gold rush. By then Rio had already grown prosperous on the sugar exported from its fine natural port. Gold only added to its wealth until it took over from Salvador as capital of the country in 1763.
The city center's heyday came in 1808 when the Portuguese Monarchy moved in with its 15000 strong Court to flee Napoleon's armies. Rio's brilliance did not diminish when Dom Pedro I refused to return to Lisbon, declared Brazil's Independence and became the country's first Emperor in 1822. The Igreja da Candelária remains although surrounded by modern buildings at the eastern end of the broad Avenida do Presidente Vargas.
I spent a week in Rio on the beaches of course, but also visiting museums and art galleries like this Museo de Arte Moderna near the Marina de Gloria where the more fortunate keep their boats near the old city center.
I stayed in middle class Catete, a stone throw away from Praia Flamenco, half way between the old city center and the fashionable Copacabana, Ipanema and Lebon beaches to the south.
Here is Avenida Infante Dom Henrique linking the center to the southern beaches. Flamenco beach is immediately to the left.
Hotel Busola, across the avenue from the beach.
My modest room was only 7.00 when I arrived but the price went up 20 % in one week because of the frightful inflation that was affecting Brazil in 1994.
Of course, I did the rounds of all the "must see" places, the beaches, Santa Theresa, the Sugar Loaf seen in the background and the monument to Christ the redemptor on Corcovado where this picture was taken.
The big crescent in the background is the famous Copacabana Beach and the tiny one behind the cable car going up to the Pão de Açúcar is called Vermelha.
Finally I leave you with this view of Copacabana Beach with its collection of beach front apartments, hotels and night-clubs.
My 1994 adventure had come to an end and I flew back to Montreal after travelling 43,000 km and visiting 10 countries in 178 days.
