Our first day in Salvador de Bahia

Our late arrival meant we had to shift our itinerary, so we didn't have the chance to see as much of the city as we had hoped. But we did get to explore the oldest part of the city, the Pelourinho. Salvador was the original capital of Brazil, and it's built on the largest bay in South America. "Discovered" by Amerigo Vespucci in 1501, it quickly became an important strategic and lucrative colony. The main crop here was sugar cane, which was extremely valuable, and great fortunes were made on huge plantations. The concentrated land ownership required large numbers of cheap laborers, and African slaves quickly became Brazil's largest import. More than 5 million Africans were brought to Brazil, which is more than 6 times as many as were brought to the US. Salvador is today still highly influenced by a mix of African and Brazilian cultures, and most of its inhabitants are descended at least partially from African ancestors.

The oldest part of the city, the Pelourinho, is a large UNESCO world heritage site of buildings and cobblestone streets from the 16th and 17th century. Winding up and down hills above the bay, the brightly colored plaster-walled houses are charming and beautiful. There are small squares, and a large number of large fancy churches (each Catholic order built its own church in Salvador, with some of the wealthier orders building 2 or even 3). This was the administrative capital of Brazil, the earliest center of wealth, and the seat of justice. The name 'Pelourinho' actually means 'pillory.' And the central square is where slaves were punished and criminals hung.

We had the chance to visit the very large cathedral built by the Jesuits. This cathedral showed the political strength the Jesuits had here in Brazil early on. They were some of the earliest catholic arrivals here, and worked to not only convert the native people but also to "civilize" them through education, music, and a form of job training. They built missions throughout North-Eastern Brazil and became quite influential. In 1769, they were expelled from Brazil, their missions burned, and many of their converts killed.

Their cathedral was quite large. There is a huge gold sun medallion on the ceiling, the symbol of the Jesuit seal. At the alter is Brazil's original Black Madonna, the first Brazilian saint. The statue was hauled up by a fisherman in 1930, along with a miraculous load of fish. In a back room of the cathedral, we saw a statue of Salvador's patron saint, named patron saint in 1855, I might add. This is Saint Francis Xavier, who saved the city from a terrible cholera epidemic in 1855 when the people of the city prayed to him.

From the Jesuit cathedral, we went to the first church of Saint Francis; he has three large churches named for him and built by the Franciscan order. As befitting Saint Francis, who was born to wealth in 1282 but dedicated his life to helping the poor, the outside of this church is plain and undecorated. But then we went inside. This was the church of Salvador's wealthy elite and has walls decorated in almost solid gold. Families would donate gold instead of money, and for generations, elite families would send their second-born sons into the local Franciscan order. This church was the seat of regional power, politics, and wealth. The gold on the walls is molded into baroque displays of cherubs and angels, scenes from the bible and from the life of Saint Francis. There are private viewing chambers like opera boxes on the second story, built by elite families and framed in with gold flourishes to outdo each other. The walls literally gleam with gold. And the irony is immense.

Salvador is a beautiful, interesting, truly multicultural city, and we will be packing so much into the next few days. It's going to be a wonderful place to end our time in Brazil.