Most people don’t associate country music, plaid shirts, square dancing, and cowboys with Brazil. But, in this large country of over 200 million people, there is a lot of regional music for every musical taste. As winter arrives in Brazil, particularly in the northeast, thoughts turn to forró, the most popular country-style music, and the […]
The Pelourinho is the historic center of Salvador, Brazil, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and arguably the percussive heartbeat of Brazil. It’s filled with colorful buildings and equally colorful people. The cobblestone streets are lined with boutiques, museums, baroque-era churches, bars and restaurants, and live music. Its abundance of inexpensive hostels makes it popular with […]
Souvenirs, or lembranças as the Brazilians call them, run the gamut from kitschy to meaningful to world-class works of art. In Salvador, when you are buying a souvenir from Brazil, there is something for every style and budget. What souvenirs should you buy? Musical instruments (percussion) If you are looking for a musical trinket, any of the […]
Boipeba, Brazil — aka, paradise — is a small island located 53 miles (85 km) south of Salvador, right across the Bay of All Saints on the Atlantic Ocean. It is known for its idyllic culture, slow, throwback way of life, natural baths, and tranquil white-sand beaches. For anybody in the know, it is a […]
Imbassaí, Brazil is the perfect beach village for a few days of quiet escape. It’s just big enough to have the amenities you need while being small enough to be friendly and super-walkable. And, it’s close enough to Salvador, Bahia to be quick and easy to get to — while not having that big-city vibe. […]
There is nothing quite like taking part in a local tradition and learning its century’s old history to feel connected to a place as a traveler. And in Salvador, the wish ribbons from the Bomfim basilica are just that tradition. But, how exactly did this now-ubiquitous ribbon get its famed ability to perform miracles? History […]
As I reached the top of Morro do Pai Inacio and stopped to look around, I thought to myself for roughly the 800th time since getting here; this is why people rave about Chapada. I had been in Bahia, Brazil, for roughly five years at that point but had never ventured particularly far from the beach. […]
Getting up at 4:30 am wasn’t easy for night owls like us, but we knew that pre-dawn was the time to arrive if we wanted to catch the religious — sacred — part of the festival for Iemanjá. We jumped into the taxi to the Rio Vermelho neighborhood, lightly caffeinated, proud of ourselves for even […]