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 […]
Brazil is a BIG country — larger than either the continental United States or Australia. That comes as a surprise to many visitors, and as such they tend to underestimate Brazil travel times and distances. To help you smartly plan your trip to and within Brazil, I’ve mapped out distances and travel times between common […]
“So glad I didn’t learn any Brazilian Portuguese before my trip to Brazil.” Said no one — ever. You will get so much more out of your trip — and find so much more ease in your day-to-day life there — you know some basic Brazilian Portuguese words and phrases before you get there. Plus, […]
Preparing for a trip to a city off-the-beaten path like Salvador, Brazil is hard. Where to stay? What to do? What NOT to do? How will I get around? But, some of the best things in life are those that we have to a bit harder for. Brazil, and particularly Salvador, is one of those […]
Coming from Seattle, I was used to having a choice of apps to track bus progress real-time, schedules that actually meant something, drivers that stopped at bus stops, and relative peace and quiet. None of these even vaguely resembles the Salvador bus system. We now have an app with routes and schedules, but that’s about […]
I can always tell when I’m on the bus with someone that has never taken the bus to the Pelourinho. As we go through the commercial stretch of Avenida Sete de Setembro they start looking around nervously, suddenly thinking the are on the wrong bus. Then, when the bus stops at Praca da Sé and […]
Located at just 12 degrees south of the equator, we don’t really have seasons in Salvador. Being a tropical climate, the average daily temperature year-round is between 75 and 80˚ F year-round (24 – 27˚ C) with little nighttime cooling. And, humidity sits at 80% year-round. The only way you can really distinguish summer from […]
Salvador, Brazil weather has just two seasons — shorts and a tank top vs. shorts and a t-shirt. No, I’m kidding. It’s just shorts and a tank top. Year round. In all seriousness, being just 12 degrees south of the equator, it’s toasty-warm and humid (80% humidity) year-round. The key difference between summer and winter […]