Ancient Interior Design

Attention grabbing brazil

All kinds of Brazilian facts, issues and events compete for attention on the world stage. Whether the developments in the Amazon area, the upcoming international sporting events, the continues economic growth, the beautiful and increasingly popular holiday destinations, or the great possibilities to acquire private ownership of land and real estate, to mention a few. Increasing conversation topics among people who have the insight.

I like to write about Brazil, at least over a small part of Brazil. The focus is on Bahia, one of the states in which this ernormous country is divided. I write especially about experiences and facts in the region from Salvador to Porto Seguro. Salvador is the capital of Bahia and has an international airport. Another international airport is available in Porto Seguro. A third one is in the planning near Ilheus, a coastal town near our Fazenda (farm) in the district of Itacaré (about 75 km away). It would be nice to land this close to our Fazenda. My wife and I are going to visit this area regularly in the coming years, temporarily flying to Salvador with the Portuguese airline TAP. From Amsterdam, Holland, it is a flight with a stopover in Lisbon, Portugal. A fairly enjoyable journey with less than 12 hours in the air. Lisbon – Salvador is about 9 ¾ hours. TAP food is moderate in my opinion.

In the afternoon of July 6 the three of us -our grandson was with us this time- arrived at the airport of Salvador, where we took a taxi for an overnight stay as reserved in the Pousada Praça Hotel, opposite the statue of “Alves Castro”, a very familiar place in Salvador, on the
upper side of the internationally renowned ancient town of “Pelourinho”. With a five minutes walk you arrive in the centre of major colonial Portuguese architecture, nowadays with restorations in full swing. There is certainly much to admire, and when we get there, we always take a stroll through the antiques around to see what has changed again. Most of all I enjoy the beautiful views over the bay that gave Bahia its name. It’s a giant and magnificient bay. There are two view points I like to mention: the first is under the statue of Castro Alves and the second is under the statue of the Cracked Cross in the middle of Pelourinho. Though, they are not the only ones. We shot a number of pictures and you can watch them on our Picasa Web Album. Linked below this article.

The next morning a taxi delivered us at the Salvador ferry boat terminal in order to cross the bay of All Saints, according to plan. A nice trip of about three quarters of an hour to the
island Itaparíca, a popular holiday destination for a lot of Brazilians and foreigners. I had an  appointment fixed with Joaquim, a retired and pretty good English speaking bank manager who took up real estate brokerage as a hobby, having an officially recognized agency. After the scheduled meeting, which, by the way, did not happen because of an unespected hospital stay of Joaquim, we went to eat in a simple but good seafood restaurant in ItaparÍca, not far from the ferry terminal.

About food in Bahia.
The name of the restaurant near the ferry boat terminal is “Restaurante Terra e Mar”. There you can eat per kilo price. A popular system in Brazil. Grab a plate and choose from a buffet what you need, or want . . ?! and grab your cutlery at the end of the buffet, thought is put into
this. Your full plate is weighed and recorded. Want more food? No problem. Just do the circle again. You took too much? Your problem. You pay for what is recorded on the bill – kept by you during your dinner. This type of restaurant often has a great price / quality ratio. Locate
where the Brazilians eat. Bussy with locals is good. Many tourists is expensive. Another tip for eating in Pelourinho, very touristic, you know enough than. Beware of restaurants with notable dressed people in front, pushing you a menu card under your nose and invite you  -urge you- inside. It often looks good inside, but these are generally the most expensive restaurants. Not bad of course, when they are the best, but alas.

Our favorite restaurant is attached to the luxury hotel “Hotel Villa Bahia” in the middle of Pelourinho, in the square near the church “Igreja Sao Francisco”. Nice terraces, outside at the  square -praça- and in inside at their patio, beautifully decorated in colonial style, fine food, decent service and reasonably affordable when you select the menu of the day – two or three choices. We enjoyed dining several times there and.. eventually met Joaquim who was discharged from the hospital towards the end of our journey.

Brazil means Mileage.
From ItaparÍca we took a luxury express bus to Itacare. Excellent traveling method in Bahia and the whole of Brazil. Relaxing and enjoying the green landscape with its exuberant nature.

More about it in the next article, but definitely visit our photo album on a click here. Or explore my website about Bahia by a click here.

About the Author

Jac vander Laak and his wife share their interest in traveling and experiencing cultures in the southern hemisphere. Now that they have retired they focus on achieving a winter residence near Taboquinhas, District Itacare Bahia Brazil.

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