Salvador, Bahia Revisited

Camillo has been bringing me to Bahia (as the natives call Salvador) for visits for the past 20 years.  I guess this trip represents my 6th or 7th time here.  It is one of my favorite Brazilian cities.  The people that you meet here, from restaurant service to the vendors on the street, seem to have an inherent good nature, a warm smile and a helpful attitude freely given. 

Most visits we make at least on walk through the old city, mainly because (of course) Camillo like to eat in favorite local restaurants.  Today we had the additional enjoyment of showing a first-timer to Salvador around our favorite sights; the Mercado Modelo, then up the (pretty rickety) elevator at the cost of R$0.15 each, taking him on a walk around the old city.   This visit I requested more time to actual visit the inside space of a couple of the churches and the Palácio Rio Branco, which sits right at the top of the elevator.   

I could have stopped with my walk through the ‘Palace’ and been perfectly happy.  Built in 1889 and refurbished in 1919, half of the ground floor, devoid of furniture, is a truly beautiful space.  We didn’t see upstairs – you can only go up with a tour, but the two large rooms and the rounded veranda overlooking the sea are spectacular.

   

My plan was to give you more photos from todays walk but  I will complete this in the morning…. too long a day, too much food.  Tomorrow Camillo goes to the field – he will be in ‘hog heaven’.  I will get into the feel of the tropic, start slow, have breakfast late, then a walk and a sit by the pool.  No complaints.  Tomorrow the ‘Ordem Terceira Secular de Sao Francisco.  Night.

Roof Tops in Ouro Preto

 

A seven hour drive from Rio de Janeiro, just short of Belo Horizonte, is the small colonial town of Ouro Preto.   As an UNESCO World Heritage site, Ouro Preto has kept its size and its architectural heritage intact. There are Churches on each hill as well as lining the main streets, attesting to the wealth  and domination of their history.  No one seems to know who was first to discover gold in the specific region but many claimed the rights, starting a gold rush and wars between mining interests. Legend has a slave discovering gold and digging a mine right in the heart of the city. The prominently Portuguese architecture; long windows lined with stone and granites, double bell towers, and red tile roofs please the eye and for me the roof tops of the city offer ample photo ops. 

Their history began in the late 1600 when gold was discovered in this area.  They quickly became the center of the gold trade, becoming the capital of the State of Minas Gerais in 1720.  By 1750 they were a city of well over 100,000, at the time being one of the largest cities in the Americas (Surpassing NYC). In 1789, the first uprising for independence from Portugal was in Ouro Preto and stems from anger that the majority of gold mined was being shipped to Portugal.  They had the first pharmacy school (1839) and the school of mines (1876) which is now a premier engineering University.    By the end of the 1800s the gold was running out, population began to fall and in 1897 the capital was moved to Belo Horizonte.  In 1950, the Dictator Getulio Vargas began restoration of some of the sites, and in 1980 the city was accepted as a Heritage site.

 This town is hard to get to, but well worth the trip.  If driving from Rio, allow at least 3 days. See the official web site link above for more detail, places to stay.

      

     

 

Churches of Brasil

On November 12, 2009 the MTFSO was also Churches, formal and informal.  And after revisiting that post, I wondered how I could top it.   What new churches I could show you?   In February of this year, I featured one of my favorite churches to photograph in Friburgo Centro,  the one severely damaged by the January 12th floods,  so I’ve decided I have to take you farther away.  If nothing else comes of this MTFSO at least I got to spend several hours looking through older posts, reading what I’ve written about Brasil and thoroughly enjoying myself. 

I looked through many photos in the archives looking for just the right church to feature this week.  The churches, that I’ve seen, in Brasil are nothing like the great cathedrals of Europe but the are in their own way just as beautiful.  Often they have two steeples and are painted white with blue trim.  These are ‘Portuguese’ churches.  If you drive north and a little east of Nova Friburgo you can find the small town of Santa Maria Madalena.   Traveling through country dotted with rolling hills and small farms,  you finally wind your way into this clean, neat little community.  The church is literally the center/ the highlight, the purpose for this town.  (If you have a moment check back through my links to read more about these towns and their churches.)  This church as a distinctively Scandinavian or German flavor. 

 

 

   

   

  

As we walked around the town, which was around the church I could see the steeple from nearly every angle.  Front to back, top to bottom a beautiful town and church. 

(Promised) Arts and Crafts of Minas Gerais – Tiradentes part 3

 
This area is know for its wood carved furniture and decorative items.
   
there are many items carved from wood then painted in bright colors.  the dolls above are made with heads from wood and skirts from paper Mache.  The motifs repeat over and over but the quality of the artwork and the pricing varies by a wide margin.  
   I  have seen these in most towns of Brasil that I have visited but I think they are actually made here.  These young ladies where made of ceramics, but there were also a few carved from wood.  It is amazing to me the variations in expressions that you see, haughty, gentle dreamer or flirty – the details front and back that create these moods are amazing.
   
    

A few weeks back The Friday Shoot out Gang’s theme was yard ornaments…. at that moment I didn’t have anything to post.  Now look at what is possible to have in your yard or on your porch!  and all in one place.  Aren’t they the best?
     
is a small town very close Tiradentes there were many very unusual things, statues made of bottle caps, kites of Paper Mache, 
bottle caps   paper Mache kites.