Summer in Salvador da Bahia

[trilingual]

It's hot and steamy in Salvador. We arrived in time for one of the great religious festivals, the feast of Nosso Senhor do Bom Fim, which is mixed up with the feast of the Afro-Brazilian deity Oxum. An immense procession (there must have been a million people) marches from downtown to the church of Bom Fim, about 5 miles away, where the priests and priestesses of the Afro-Brazilian cults wash down the church steps with scented holy water. Blessings and festivities (of course) follow. We observed from afar, from the balcony of a little neighborhood restaurant we found in the old town, which is located in the Upper City. The procession passed beneath us, along the waterfront of the Lower City. Very impressive.

 

Tomorrow (Saturday) will be a pre-carnival event on the shoreline, for everyone who can't wait until the real thing in early March. My friend from NY and I went to the Persona sauna yesterday afternoon and found it festive. The visiting New Yorker got together with a tall lanky Afro-Brazilian fellow who also seems to work behind the bar when he's not otherwise assisting customers. . . I got together with Theo, a hunky and hung number who was fun, but who does try to hog the action a bit. I think he's trying to go with every single customer who comes to the place. Sort of his own personal Guinness record! Needless to say, both guys, as well as several others, were more than adequately equipped! There were a number of other charming people wandering around. The sauna is on r. Junqueira Ayres, 230, in the Barris neighborhood. Our cab driver didn't know the street, which is odd since it's a main one. Instead, he tried taking us to Rio's, which he said was the only sauna he knew in the neighborhood. Well, we insisted and eventually got to Persona, which is nearby. For reference, Junqueira Ayres is near the Praça da Piedade and runs alongside the Shopping Lapa, which are both well-known landmarks. After the sauna, we caught a cab at the stand at the corner.

 

Following the recommendation of other posters, we ate at Maria Mata Mouros in the Pelourinho (old town). The food indeed was very good, although by Brazilian standards it's an expensive restaurant. (Dinner for two, with wine, came to R$200, or about US$60). The previous evening we dined at the SENAC restaurant in the Pelourinho, which is a training school for cooks and waiters. Located in an historic building on the square, it serves a buffet of 40 typical Bahian dishes for a flat rate of R$17,90. It's a great introduction to Bahian cooking!

 

More later. . .

[trilingual]

Returned yesterday afternoon to Persona (another cab driver who didn't know the name of the street, but knew where it was when I said it was the street that ran alongside the Lapa Shopping). A larger cast of characters in the boy department, with few clients. I allowed myself to be seduced after walking in by Rogerio, a handsome muscle guy who arrived at about the same time. Good body, very active and verbal in the cabine, ordinary sized endowment. Ultimately not my real type, but I can imagine he'd make some of our readers very happy. For seconds, I ended up with Marrom (pron. Mah-HOHM), a slender, nice-looking chestnut-complexioned kid with a real whopper. Marrom was very quiet and sweet, affectionate in the cabine, and very focussed on getting me off. No Viagra needed here!

 

I asked Marrom if Persona was the only sauna in Salvador that works with "boys" and he said that Rio's, Olympus and Esgrima also do. Unfortunately, there won't be enough time to check them all out this time. Salvador is heavenly, though. After the sauna, my friend from NY and I had dinner at a little neighborhood place where we had grilled chicken, with beans and rice and several beers, for all of R$50. Then we walked over to the Barra lighthouse (Farol da Barra) where there was obvious street cruising going on (the guys sitting on the park benches by the lighthouse, and on the balustrade along the beachfront sidewalk). Even if your gaydar is on the blink, you'll recognize the stares! If there hadn't been two of us together, I know some of these guys would have come up to talk to us. However, we were "relaxed" after the sauna, and stuffed from dinner, so we just sat for a while enjoying the delightful breeze and full moon, aided by a digestif of fresh coconut water from the nearby coconut stand (open 'til after midnight!) so we just wandered back to the hotel for a good night's sleep. My friend returns home this afternoon, and I head off for Recife Monday morning.

 

BTW, for Salvador visitors, the large and convenient Barra Shopping, located in the neighborhood of the same name (which is where a lot of the hotels are located) is a great place to beat the mid-afternoon heat for a while if you've OD'ed on baroque churches. Great air-conditioning, lots of gorgeous guys wandering around, shopping, and an excellent food court, plus a couple of movie theaters. All in the midst of an upscale neighborhood. Onward. . .

[trilingual]

Something else I just remembered about Persona sauna: there are free, un-airconditioned cabines, but there are also two air-conditioned suites, for which there's a fee. Also, although the entire place isn't air-conditioned, the bar (up the back stairs) definitely is, so it's a good place to cool down and drip dry.

[xchris]

No air con?

 

WOW!

Finally I can have a place without that chilly air conditioning!

This sound nice to me!

I was the only client in Estacao and 117 who use to wear the pair of towels to cover myself completely! And use to choose a chair far from the fan also! They must have laughed of me the whole time.

But I'm from the north of Italy, and I suffer enough cold all year around. When I go to a warmer country I prefer to taste some good hot weather for awhile...

 

I hope you enjoyed Salvador.

 

Next time you have a couple of spare minutes, may you take a look inside your deep experiences and refer me if is there any shop of italian food around? I would like to prepare a good italian dish of spaghetti next time we all meet, if someone of us has an aptment.

I need Parmesan Cheese, Spaghetti Barilla n.5 (sort of Chanel secret), onion, olive oil, tomato at least. And before all a good SPRITZ aperitif with APEROL and PROSECCO sparkling white wine.

I suspect that it is impossible to bring all these stuff by airplane from Italy...

 

Ciao

CHRIS

[trilingual]

RE: No air con?

 

>Next time you have a couple of spare minutes, may you take a

>look inside your deep experiences and refer me if is there any

>shop of italian food around? I would like to prepare a good

>italian dish of spaghetti next time we all meet, if someone of

>us has an aptment.

> I need Parmesan Cheese, Spaghetti Barilla n.5 (sort of Chanel

>secret), onion, olive oil, tomato at least. And before all a

>good SPRITZ aperitif with APEROL and PROSECCO sparkling white

>wine.

>I suspect that it is impossible to bring all these stuff by

>airplane from Italy...

 

Actually, you can bring all of that to Brazil if you want to, but it's hardly necessary. Considering the enormous Italian emigration to Brazil, all of those ingredients can be found there. I don't know about the Spaghetti Barilla n.5, you might want to bring that, but olive oil, onion, tomato, and parmesan cheese (or a decent local imitation) can be found at any supermarket. I seem to remember seeing Barilla at Pão de Açucar, but I'm not positive. The other upscale supermarket chain in Rio is called Zona Sul. Of course, if you get out to Barra, there's a gigantic Carrefour that carries all kind of things. However, in town there are shops that specialize in selling imported foods and wines (just ask at your hotel) where you can find Prosecco. Supermarkets carry some made-in-Brazil versions of sparkling wine that are acceptable, like Chandon. When you arrive in Brazil, you can also go to the duty free shop, which had Italian Prosecco and other sparkling wines. They may have had more because it was right before New Year, but I would guess they have some all year round. Remember that ARRIVING PASSENGERS in Brazil can buy up to US$500 at the duty-free shop in addition to the US$500 worth of goods they're allowed to bring into the country from outside. So keep that in mind, because it can save you some time and energy if you don't have to carry everything from Europe.