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Travel
August 1998Sea &
SoulBahia is much more than Salvador. You have Itaparica and several other smaller islands, the Recôncavo Baiano, Cachoeira and São Félix, dozens of beaches, churches, and museums. All immersed in Brazilian history.
Around Salvador
ITAPARICA
Many Bahians love Itaparica, the largest island in Baía de Todos os Santos. They prefer to swim in the calm waters of the bay than in the rough and tumble of the ocean. It's quite a pretty island, but not really a must-see destination. Weekends here are crowded (especially in summer), transportation can be slow without a car, and the beaches aren't as pretty as the more accessible beaches north of the city.
The island is built up with many weekend homes, but has few budget hotels. Many of the beaches are dirty and the best part of the island is owned by Club Med. Yet there still are a few clean beaches where you can just lie on the sand beneath windswept palms and gaze across the bay at the city (try Barra Grande for example).
Orientation
Itaparica City
At the northern tip of the island is the city of Itaparica and the São Lourenço Fort. Built by the Dutch invaders in the 17th century, the fortress figured prominently in Bahia's battle for independence in 1823. The Solar Tenente Botas (Mansion of Lieutenant Botas), on the square of the same name, the Igreja Matriz do Santíssimo Sacramento, on Rua Luís Gama, and the Fonte da Bica (mineral water fountain) complete the city sights.
Along the Coast
South along the coast, between Itaparica City and Bom Despacho is Ponte da Areia, a thin strip of sand with barracas. The water is clear and shallow, and the sandy floor slopes gently into the bay.
South of Mar Grande (perhaps the most likeable town on the island), the beaches of Barra do Gil, Barra do Pote and Coroa all have excellent views of Salvador, while on the other side of Club Med is Barra Grande, Itaparica's finest open-to-the-public beach. The beaches further to the south up to and including Cacha Pregos are dirtier and generally less beautiful, although many Bahians consider Cacha Pregos the best beach on the island.
Tourist Office
There are two tourist information booths on the island: a tiny booth next to the rodoviária at Bom Despacho, and another on Praça de São Bento in Mar Grande, both with irregular opening hours.
OTHER BAÍA DE TODOS OS SANTOS ISLANDS
The easiest way to cruise the lesser islands and the bay itself is to get one of the tourist boats that leave from the Terminal Turístico Marítimo (Tel.: 242-9411), close to the Mercado Modelo in Salvador. There are various tours; most take half a day, stopping at Ilha dos Frades, Ilha da Maré and Itaparica. The cost is about $18.
Alternatively, hire a cheap, small boat from the small port next to the Mercado Modelo. Bahiatursa's bulletin board often has advertisements for boat trips.
Popular islands include Ilha Bom Jesus dos Passos, which has traditional fishing boats and artisans; Ilha dos Frades (named after two monks who were killed and cannibalized there by local Indians), which has attractive waterfalls and palm trees; and Ilha da Maré.
Ilha da Maré has the Igreja de Nossa Senhora das Neves, the quiet beaches of Itamoabo and Bacia das Neves, and one pousada, which costs around $15 for a double quarto. There are no restaurants on the island, but you can arrange through the pousada to have meals prepared by villagers.
The Recôncavo
The recôncavo is the region of fertile lands spread around the Baía de Todos os Santos. Some of the earliest Brazilian encounters between Portuguese, Indian and African peoples occurred here, and the lands proved to be among Brazil's best for growing sugar and tobacco.
Along with the excellent growing conditions, the region prospered due to its relative proximity to Portuguese sugar markets, the favorable winds for sailing to Europe and the excellent harbors afforded by the Baía de Todos os Santos. By 1570 there were already 18 sugar mills engenhos, and by 1584 there were 40. The sugar-plantation system was firmly entrenched by the end of the 16th century and continued to grow from the sweat of African slaves for another 250 years.
Tobacco came a bit later to the recôncavo. Traded to African slave-hunters and kings, it was the key commodity in the triangle of the slave trade. Tobacco was a more sensitive crop to grow than sugar and the estates were much smaller. But big fortunes were made growing sugar, not tobacco. On the other hand, fewer slaves were needed—about four per tobacco farm—so many poorer Portuguese settlers went into tobacco and a less rigid social hierarchy developed. Many even did some of the work!
A second subsidiary industry in the recôncavo area was cattle ranching, which provided food for the plantation hands, and transport for the wood that fuelled the sugar engenhos and for delivery of the processed cane to market. Cattle breeding started in the recôncavo and spread inland, radiating west into the sertão and Minas Gerais, then northwest into Piauí.
If you have time for only one side trip from Salvador, visit Cachoeira and perhaps squeeze in Santo Amaro. A suggested itinerary is to take the weekday afternoon boat to Maragojipe and then the bus along the banks of the Rio Paraguaçu to Cachoeira. You can then visit Santo Amaro on the way back to Salvador. If you're in Cachoeira on Friday or Saturday nights, you may be able to attend a terreiro de Candomblé. From Cachoeira, there are frequent buses back to Salvador.
CACHOEIRA
Cachoeira, 121 km from Salvador and 40 km from Santo Amaro, is below a series of hills beside the Rio Paraguaçu. The river is spanned by Ponte Dom Pedro II, built by the British in 1885 as a link with its twin town, São Félix. Affectionately known as the jewel of the recôncavo, Cachoeira has a population of 32,000 and is at the center of Brazil's best tobacco-growing region. Apart from tobacco, the main crops in the area are cashews and oranges.
The town is full of beautiful colonial architecture, uncompromised by the presence of modern buildings. As a result, it was pronounced a national monument in 1971 and the state of Bahia started paying for the restoration and preservation of historic buildings. However, these funds appear to have dried up and the municipal authorities in Cachoeira are continuing the work on their own dwindling budget.
Cachoeira is also a renowned center of Candomblé and the home of many traditional artists and artisans. If you get an early start, Cachoeira can be visited in a day from Salvador, but it's less hectic if you plan to stay overnight.
Orientation
Cachoeira and São Félix are best seen on foot. There's nothing you really have to see, so it's best to just take it easy and explore.
History
Diego Álvares, the father of Cachoeira's founders, was the sole survivor of a ship bound for the West Indies that was wrecked in 1510 on a reef near Salvador. The Portuguese Robinson Crusoe was saved by the Tupinambá Indians of Rio Vermelho, who dubbed the strange white sea creature Caramuru or `FishMan'. Diego Álvares lived 20 years with the Indians and married Catarina do Paraguaçu, the daughter of the most powerful Tupinambá chief. Their sons João Gaspar Aderno Álvares and Rodrigues Martins Álvares killed off the local Indians, set up the first sugar-cane fazendas and founded Cachoeira.
By the 18th century, tobacco from Cachoeira was considered the world's finest, sought by rulers in China and Africa, and was more profitable than sugar. Tobacco also became popular in Brazil. The holy herb, as it was called, was taken as snuff, smoked in a pipe or chewed.
Early in the 19th century, Cachoeira achieved fame as a center for military operations in Bahia to oust the Portuguese rulers. On 25 June 1822, the town became the first to recognize Dom Pedro I as the independent ruler of Brazil.
Information
The municipal tourist office, in a renovated building on Rua 13 de Maio, should be able to help with accommodation and general details about the town's sights. Another good place to get information is the Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro (IBGE) office on Praça da Aclamação. Some of the sights, especially churches, have experienced problems with theft and you may have to phone to arrange a visit.
Igreja da Ordem Terceira do Carmo
The Church of the Third Order of Carmelites, just south of Praça da Aclamação and alongside the Pousada do Convento, features a gallery of suffering polychrome Christs imported from the Portuguese colonies in Macao, and paneled ceilings. Christ's blood is made from bovine blood mixed with Chinese herbs and sparkling rubies. The church is now being promoted by the adjacent pousada as a convention center. It's certainly a novel idea to seat delegates where there were once pews. Opening hours are Tuesday to Saturday from 2 to 5 pm and Sunday from 9 to 11.30 am.
Casa da Câmara e Cadeia
Nearby on the same square is the yellow-with-white-trim Casa da Câmara e Cadeia, the old prefecture and prison. Organized criminals ran the show upstairs and disorganized criminals were kept behind bars downstairs. The building dates back to 1698 and served as the seat of the Bahian government in 1822. The old marble pillory in the square was destroyed after abolition.
Museu do SPHAN
Across the square, a colonial mansion houses the humble SPHAN museum, with squeaky bats flapping over colonial furnishings. The museum is open daily, except Monday, from 9 am to noon and 2 to 5 pm.
Museu Hansen Bahia
The Hansen Bahia museum was set up in the home and birthplace of Brazilian heroine Ana Neri, who organized the nursing corps during the Paraguay War. Now the work of German (naturalized Brazilian) artist Hansen Bahia is displayed here. Among his powerful lithographs of human suffering is a series of illustrations of Castro Alves' poem "Navio Negreiro" (Slave Ship). The museum is open daily, except Tuesday and Sunday afternoons, from 8 am to noon and 2 to 5 pm. Prints are also on sale here.
Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Rosário do Porto do Cachoeira
The blue church with yellow trim, up from the Hansen Bahia museum, at the corner of Rua Ana Neri and Rua Lions Club, is the Nossa Senhora do Rosário do Porto do Cachoeira. The church has beautiful Portuguese tiles, and a ceiling painted by Teófilo de Jesus. Opening hours are erratic (although it's usually open in the mornings)—so it's best to phone 724-1294 and arrange a time with the custodian, who may also take you round the Museu das Alfaias, on the 1st floor. This museum contains remnants from the abandoned 17th-century Convento de São Francisco do Paraguaçu.
Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Ajuda
On Largo da Ajuda is Cachoeira's oldest church, the tiny Nossa Senhora da Ajuda, built in 1595 when Cachoeira was known as Arraial d'Ajuda. Phone 724-1396 to arrange a visit to the church and the Museu da Boa Morte—an interesting museum with displays of photos and ceremonial apparel of the exclusively female Boa Morte (good death) cult.
Santa Casa de Misericórdia
This is the municipality's oldest hospital. The complex contains a pretty chapel (founded in 1734) with a painted ceiling, gardens and an ossuary. It's open on weekdays from 2 to 5 pm.
The Resurrection
of CachoeiraThe IBGE director has many dreams and plans to resurrect past splendors. Clearly delighted by our interest, he whisked us off on a tour of the town, which proved a bizarre experience. Everywhere he indicated renovated colonial edifices as being `quase feito' or `almost finished'. We followed the enthusiastic sweep of his arm and saw the opposite: gutted, roofless buildings with teetering facades and impromptu natural adornments from cacti or papaya trees perched on the remaining walls.
That is the appeal of Cachoeira, a town of surreal faded grandeur, with friendly inhabitants who maintain enthusiasm and hope in the midst of economic decline.
Cachoeira's
ChurchesCachoeira has dozens of churches of different denominations and competition for the soul is keen. Many of the churches are just simple halls on the second floor of buildings. While searching for a particular candomblé terreiro, we stumbled onto a street where several Friday night services were being held. After asking directions for the terreiro, we were greeted warmly and ushered upstairs into what we soon discovered was a Christian service. After managing to extract ourselves, we asked directions from another group of people, who tried to whisk us into their church. When we declined the offer and began to walk away, we were followed up the street by several people warning us not to mix with the `bad people' at the terreiro!
Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Conceição do Monte
At the far end of town, near the bridge and the train station, is the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Conceição do Monte. The climb to this 18th-century church is rewarded by a good view of Cachoeira and São Félix.
Praça Manoel Vitorino
Across from the ruined grand facade of the train station, the wide, empty and cobblestoned Praça Manoel Torino feels like an Italian movie set. Try your Italian on the ice-cream seller or the pigeons, then move on to São Félix.
São Félix
When crossing the old Ponte Dom Pedro II, a narrow and dilapidated bridge where trains and cars must wait their turn, be careful where you step: loose planks have claimed the life of at least one person in recent years. When vehicles pass over the bridge it emits a wild cacophony of sounds—a bit like one of those urban/industrial/primitive percussion acts!
Apart from the view towards Cachoeira, São Félix has two other attractions: the Casa da Cultura Américo Simas, on Rua Celestino João Severino da Luz Neto (open Tuesday to Sunday from 8 am to 5 pm), and the Centro Cultural Dannemann, along the riverfront, at Avenida Salvador Pinto 29 (open Tuesday to Sunday from 8 am to 5 pm).
The Centro Cultural Dannemann has displays of old machinery and the techniques used for making charutos (cigars). The rich tobacco smells, the beautiful wooden working tables and the sight of workers handrolling monster cigars will take you back in time. The art space in the front of the building has exhibitions of sculpture, painting and photography. The handmade cigars sold here make good souvenirs or presents. Admission is free.
Candomblé
Try to see Candomblé in Cachoeira. This is one of the strongest and perhaps purest spiritual and religious centers for Candomblé. Long and mysterious Candomblé ceremonies are held in small homes and shacks up in the hills, usually on Friday and Saturday nights at 8 pm.
Visitors are not common here and the tourist office is sometimes reluctant to give out this sort of information, but if you show an interest in Candomblé, and respect for its traditions, you may inspire confidence.
Other Attractions
If you have a car or like long walks, you can visit the Pimentel Cigar Factory, 10 km out of town. Suerdieck is another cigar factory closer to the town.
There are also two old sugar mills near town: Engenho da Cabonha, eight km along the road to Santo Amaro, and Engenho da Guaíba, 12 km along the same road.
Festivals
Festa de Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte falls on the Friday closest to 15 August and lasts three days. This is one of the most fascinating Candomblé festivals and it's worth a special trip to see it. Organized by the Irmandade da Boa Morte (Sisterhood of the Good Death)—a secret, black, religious society—the festival is celebrated by the descendants of slaves, who praise their liberation with dance and prayer and a mix of themes from Candomblé and Catholicism.
The Festa de São João, celebrated from 22 to 24 June, is the big popular festival of Bahia's interior. It's a great celebration of folklore, with music, dancing, and plenty of food and drink. Don't miss it if you're in Bahia.
Other festivals include: Nossa Senhora do Rosário (second half of October), which includes games, music and food; Nossa Senhora da Ajuda (first half of November), which features ritual cleansing of the church and a street festival; and Santa Bárbara or Iansã (4 December), a Candomblé ceremony held in São Félix at Fonte de Santa Bárbara (Fountain of Santa Bárbara).
Entertainment
Cruise the riverfront for beer drinking and forró dancing at the riverside bars. On Wednesday and Saturday, there's an open market on Praça Maciel—a good place to pick up handicrafts and observe local life.
Things to Buy
Cachoeira has a wealth of wood sculptors, some of whom do very fine work, and you will see plenty of studios as you walk through town. This is some of the best traditional art still available in Brazil. Two of the best sculptors are Doidão (Big Crazy) and Loucou (Got Crazy), who carve beautiful, heavy pieces.
Getting Around
Cachoeira is just the right size to cover on foot. If you want to cross the river to São Félix by canoe, rather than crossing the bridge on foot, they are available for hire at the waterfront.
IGREJA E CONVENTO
DE SANTO ANTÔNIO
DO PARAGUAÇUConstruction of this magnificent Franciscan church and convent was started in 1658 and completed in 1686. The convent functioned as a hospital and training center for novices until 1855, when an imperial decree forbidding the admission of novices put a stop to its activities, and the buildings were gradually abandoned. In 1915, the contents of the convent and its walled grounds were sold. Despite some efforts at restoration, all that remains is the crumbling ruins, a powerful atmosphere and a sense of remote, faded glory, in this superb position beside the Rio Paraguaçu.
There are two pensões in São Francisco—ask for either Ednaide or José. José Gringa, who lives next to the telephone office, has the key to the convent, which is kept locked to prevent theft.
A bus departs daily at noon from the market in Cachoeira for the 44-km trip to the tiny village of São Francisco do Paraguaçu. The same bus returns to Cachoeira at 5.30 am the next day.
CANDEIAS
The Museu do Recôncavo (Vanderlei do Pinho) can be visited at the Engenho de Freguesia (sugar mill and plantation). In the restored colonial mansion and senzala (slave quarters), there are displays which graphically depict life on the plantations during the past centuries. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from 9 am to 3 pm. Candeias is about 45 km from Salvador, and the museum is a further seven km outside the town—access is easiest if you have your own transport or take a taxi from Candeias.
SANTO AMARO
Santo Amaro is an old, run-down sugar town that sees very few tourists and has an unpretentious charm. If you're passing through on your way from Cachoeira, think about stopping for a few hours, especially if it's a market Saturday, when the town comes to life.
In colonial days, Santo Amaro made its fortune from sugar. Today, the major industry is paper production; the paper mill is on the road to Cachoeira. The mill has spoiled the Rio Subaé and bamboo has replaced sugar cane on the hillsides.
Reminders of Santo Amaro's sugar legacy are the decrepit pastel mansions of the sugar barons, and the many churches. The plantation owners lived on Rua General Câmara, the old commercial street, and there is an effort being made to restore some of these buildings.
Many of the churches have been closed since a gang of thieves stole most of the holy images and exported them to France. The largest church, Santo Amaro da Purificação, is still open.
The Festa de Santo Amaro (24 January to 2 February) is celebrated by the ritual lavagem (washing) of the church steps. Santo Amaro is the birthplace of two of Brazil's most popular singers: Caetano Veloso and his sister Maria Bethânia. During Carnaval, they've been known to put in an appearance between trios elétricos (wired-for-sound trucks).
Step out to the square across from the church for an evening's promenade. Despite active flirting, the sexes circle separately.
MARAGOJIPE
Circled by Baía de Todos os Santos and rich green fields patched with crops, Maragojipe is a pleasantly decaying tobacco-exporting port, 32 km from Nazaré and 24 km from Cachoeira. The port is surrounded by mangrove swamps, and locals push off from the pier in saveiros (homemade fishing boats) and dugout canoes.
For information, speak to Ronald at the Fundação Suerdieck Casa da Cultura, on Praça da Matriz. He will be delighted to tell you about local sights.
Things to See
The Suerdieck & Company Cigar Factory (established in 1920) is open for tours Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm, and on Saturday morning.
On weekend nights head down to the dockside bars for local music. Swimming off the cement pier is popular.
Strolling through town, look out for the wrought-iron grill and sculpted facade of the pale-blue building on Rua Dom Macedo Costa.
NAZARÉ
Nazaré is an 18th-century city with some colonial buildings and churches, and a good market known for its caxixis (small ceramic figures).
The big festivals here are the folkloric Nossa Senhora de Nazaré (24 January to 2 February), and Feira dos Caxixis (Holy Week), which features a large market on Holy Thursday and Good Friday, followed by the holiday of Micareta.
North of Salvador
The coastal road north from Salvador is called the Rodovia do Coco (Coconut Highway). The excellent, paved road runs a few km from the ocean, as far as the entrance to Praia do Forte, 80 km north of Salvador. From Praia do Forte, the new Linha Verde (Green Line) road spans 142 km to Itanhi, on the border with Sergipe. The Linha Verde, constructed in 1993 and hailed as Brazil's first `ecologically planned' road, runs between three and 12 km from the coast. The `ecological planning' runs to a restriction on the construction of petrol stations and roadside restaurants and to the fact that the road doesn't hug the coast, as was originally planned.
AREMBEPE
Arembepe was one of Brazil's first hip beaches in the 1960s. Mick Jagger and Janis Joplin got the joint rolling and many local and foreign hippies followed. It is no longer a particularly attractive or popular retreat. Exclusive private homes and pollution from the giant Tibras chemical plant have tainted the rocky coast.
If you want to head to the sea for a day from Salvador, there are prettier beaches than Arembepe, and if you're getting out of Salvador, there are less spoiled fishing villages along the Bahian littoral.
NORTH TO PRAIA DO FORTE
Guarajuba
A few km south of Praia do Forte, Guarajuba is a lovely beach accompanied by some tract housing which is clearly the beginning of major development.
Barra do Jacuípe
A more remote spot, Barra do Jacuípe sits at the mouth of a river only one km from the ocean. The beach is quite beautiful and, apart from a campground, there are no tourist facilities.
PRAIA DO FORTE
Praia do Forte, three km from the meeting point of the Rodovia do Coco and the Linha Verde, has fine beaches, a beautiful castle fortress, a sea-turtle reserve and, unfortunately, mostly expensive hotels. Until recently a fishing village, Praia do Forte is being developed as an ecologically-minded, up-market beach resort. The development has so far been held in check, but the beaches get very crowded on weekends and in summer.
Praia do Forte is the seat of one of the original 12 captaincies established by the Portuguese. The huge estate extended inland all the way to the present-day state of Piauí. Desperate to colonize as a means to contain his new territory, the King of Portugal set about granting lands to merchants, soldier and aristocrats. For no apparent reason Garcia d'Ávila, a poor, 12-cow farmer, was endowed with this huge tract of land.
Garcia chose a prime piece of real estates—an aquamarine ocean-view plot studded with palm trees on Morro Tatuapaçu—and built his home, Castelo do Garcia d'Ávila, there. Today, the castle is in ruins and completely overgrown, but it still made a fine tropical setting for director Márcio Meyrelle's production of Macbeth.
The Banco do Brasil changes US dollars cash, but only Visa travelers' cheques.
TAMAR Turtle Reserve
The TAMAR (Tartaruga Marinha) turtle reserve is on the beach right next to the lighthouse and the overpriced Pousada Praia Forte. TAMAR is a jointly funded IBAMA and navy project started in 1982 to protect several species of marine turtles that are, or were, threatened. What you see is actually quite modest: several small feeding pools with anywhere from two to several dozen turtles, depending on the season. The TAMAR project gathers 50,000 turtle eggs a year along the coast, from which around 35,000 hatchlings are released. The eggs—moist, leathery, ping-pong-size balls—are buried in a fenced-off area in the sand to incubate. When the turtles hatch, they're immediately released to tackle the Atlantic.
There is a souvenir shop at the station, with nice turtle T-shirts (no ninjas here, although there's a teenage mutant turtle in one pool that was brought to the station after its growth had been stunted from being held in a pool too small for its size). Night tours to see the newly-hatched turtles being released into the ocean can be arranged through Odara Turismo (Tel.: 876-1080).
TAMAR also has stations at Comboios, Espírito Santo (north of Vitória, near Lineares), to protect the leatherback and loggerhead turtles, and on Fernando de Noronha to preserve the green turtle.
Nowadays, commerce in endangered turtle species is illegal, but shells are still sold in Salvador's Mercado Modelo, and in Sergipe, turtle eggs are still popular hors d'oeuvres. Of the 60 km of beach under the jurisdiction of the TAMAR project in Bahia, 13 km of coastline are patrolled by the scientists alone; the remainder is protected by a cooperative effort in which fisherfolk—the very same who used to collect the eggs for food—are contracted to collect eggs for the scientists.
NORTH OF PRAIA DO FORTE
With the opening of the Linha Verde, access to the small towns and fishing communities along the Bahian north littoral is easier, at least as far as the Conde area. All through this region there are fenced-off tracts of land and small real-estate offices selling beachfront property.
North of Conde, there are only direct buses along the Linha Verde to Aracaju, with some making a stop in Estância (for access to Mangue Seco). You should be able to get off the bus at other points along the road, but local transport is scarce and you'll need to hitch or walk for access to beaches.
Imbassai
Imbassai is a quiet, pretty village 65 km from Salvador, a few km off the Linha Verde along a dirt road. The local authorities seem committed to riding the fine line between development and preserving the environment—the banning of buggies along the beach is a big plus. The surf can often be choppy and rough, but the small Rio Barroso runs parallel to the beach and is good for swimming.
Porto Suipé, Subaúma & Baixio
The beach towns of Porto Suipé, Subaúma and Baixio are five km, nine km and eight km respectively off the Linha Verde, with paved-road access to all of them. Porto Suipé is marked as the site for several large tourist projects, including a `watery wonderland' theme park. The town itself is not very appealing, but there are some nice beaches to the south with calm water for swimming. Subaúma is already quite developed, with lots of weekend beach homes, and land being bought up to construct more. There's a decent beach with strong surf, and a couple of hotels. Baixio is a pretty, clean town, but the beach is rocky and not great for swimming. There's one pousada in the town.
Conde
On the Rio Itapicuru, Conde is about three km off the Linha Verde and six km from the sea. It's the little big town of the area, and the jumping-off point for several beaches, the closest being Sítio. On Saturday, Conde hosts a large market where fisherfolk and artisans come to peddle their goods. In October, a series of rodeos take place, when cowboys from the inland regions hit town to strut their stuff.
Sítio
From Conde it's a six-km drive to Sítio (also known as Sítio do Conde), which has a decent beach, although it's often windy with choppy surf. From Sítio you can walk north or south along the coast to some beautiful, isolated beaches. Seribinha is a quiet fishing community about 14 km north of Sítio along a dirt road which passes through picturesque coconut-palm forest. The village is set on a thin strip of land between the Rio Itapicuru and the coast, close to where the river meets the ocean. Jangadas will take you across the river; from here it's about a half-hour walk to Carvalho Russo, a red-water lake. There's one pousada in Seribinha.
Barra de Itariri
Barra is a 14-km drive along a dirt road south from Sítio. The road is never more than a few hundred meters from the sea, which is hidden behind a running dune spotted with coconut palms. Barra has become more popular since the construction of the Linha Verde, but it is still a charming spot, set along the banks of the Rio Itariri. The river can be waded or swum across, and the southern bank leads to an endless stretch of deserted beach. To the north are more deserted beaches; this stretch is known as `Corre Nu' (run naked).
Barra has a couple of restaurants along the beachfront, and one pousada, with more in construction.
Mangue Seco
Mangue Seco is a remote and tiny town on the northern border of Bahia, at the tip of a peninsula formed by the Rio Real. The town was the setting for the Jorge Amado novel Tieta do Agreste, and a recent TV drama based on the novel, filmed in the village, captured the imagination of millions of Brazilians. Access to the town is still limited, but it is receiving more tourists since the opening of the Linha Verde. The lovely setting by the river is topped off by fine, white-sand ocean beaches 1.5 km away.
Saco
Saco, actually across the border in the state of Sergipe, gets weekender visitors from Estância, but is quiet during the week. It's a fine beach with good swimming. There is no accommodation, but bars and restaurants open on weekends.
Abais
This is another weekend spot, but with a pousada. The beach, however, is not as good as the others in the area.
SOUTH OF SALVADOR
VALENÇA
For most travelers, Valença is simply a stepping stone to the beaches of Morro de São Paulo, but it's also a small, friendly city worth a visit en route.
After routing the local Tupiniquim Indians, the Portuguese settled here along the Rio Una in the 1560s, but were in turn expelled by the Aimorés tribes. In 1799 the Portuguese resumed to resettle and found Vila de Nova Valença do Santíssimo Coração de Jesus.
Today everything centers around the busy port and large market beside the Rio Una, where there are boats, historic buildings, and food and lodging facilities. The town is populated by a varied and interesting assortment of shipbuilders, vaqueiros (cowboys), textile manufacturing workers, artisans, fisherfolk end peasants.
Information
To obtain maps and information, visit the tourist office (Tel.: 741-3311, ext. 1350), at Rua Comandante Madureira, close to the port. It's open from 8 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday, and from 8 am to noon on Saturday. If you want to change money, there is a Banco do Brasil branch on Rua Governador Gonçalves.
Things to See & Do
In the center of town, wander around the port, the central plaza and the market. At the far end of the port, the timbered ribbing of boat hulls resembles dinosaur skeletons. The saveiros (wooden sailboats) are used by the local fisherfolk, who pull out of port early in the morning and return by mid-afternoon with the catch of the day. The smell of sap and sawdust, old fish and sea salt mingles with the wonderful smell of nutmeg. Picked from nearby groves, the nutmeg are set on a cloth and left to dry in the sun.
For a good trek, follow the left bank of the Rio Una upstream towards the Igreja Nossa Senhora do Amparo, on the hill. At the base of the hill there's a trail straight up to the church which commands a beautiful view.
Cotton Factory
The large, white, fortress-like building houses a textile factory. Personal tours of the factory show the entire hot, noisy, smelly transformation of raw cotton into finished fabrics. This factory is typical of the old Brazilian economy, still prevalent in the Northeast. It's a good tour for those interested in economic development.
The factory is open to tourists on Saturday from 9 am to 5 pm, although you may be able to arrange a tour on other days. Authorization is provided at the colonial building which stands to the left of the factory front.
Festivals
In addition to the traditional festivals of Bahia, Valença also celebrates Sagrado Coração de Jesus. A mass is held for the patron of the city, in June, and a festival in honor of the patron saint of workers, Nossa Senhora do Amparo, on 8 November.
Boi Estrela is a folklore festival where men and women dressed as cowhands accompany Catarina the Baiana while they play tambourines and chant. Zabiapunga, another folklore festival, features musical groups playing weird instruments and running through the city streets on New Year's Eve.
There's a good Carnaval, with trios elétricos and the Carnaval-like Micareta festival held 15 days after the end of Lent. Other festivals include Festa de Reis (6 January),
São João (23 June), Nossa Senhora do Rosário (24 September to 3 October), São Benedito, on Cairu Island (26 December to 6 January) and Iemanjá (February 2).
AROUND VALENÇA
The best mainland beach in the vicinity is 16 km north of town, at Guaibim, which is rapidly developing into a popular resort. There are local buses, and the beach gets packed at weekends.
The islands of Boipeba and Cairu have colonial buildings and churches—their beaches aren't quite as good as Morro de São Paulo, but Boipeba in particular has started to attract travelers looking to escape the crowds of Morro. There are irregular boats to Boipeba from Valença depending on passengers—ask around at the port.
VALENÇA TO ILHÉUS
Morro de São Paulo
Morro de São Paulo is an isolated fishing village that has recently been `discovered' by Brazilian and international tourists. Morro is on everyone's lips and has even made it on to the best-beach lists of several Brazilian magazines. The beaches are wonderful and the village is loaded with pousadas, restaurants and bars. Outside summer, it's still quite a relaxing place.
At the northern tip of Ilha de Tinharé, Morro de São Paulo has sandy streets where only beach bums, mules and horses tread—there are no roads and no cars. The clear waters around the island are ideal for scuba diving and for lobster, squid and fish. The settlement is comprised of three hills Morro da Mangaba, Morro do Galeão and Morro do Farol. Climb up from the harbor through the 17th-century fortress gate and up to the lighthouse (1835). From the top you can survey the island and its beaches. The west side of the island—the river or Gamboa side—is mostly bordered by mangroves, while the east side is sandy.
There are four beaches in Morro de São Paulo: the rather dirty village beach, the barraca and camping beach (also less than clean in summer), the fazenda beach and the fourth beach. The fourth beach is by far the best—a long, lovely stretch of sand graced by tall, swaying palms which borders the eastern half of the island, and only one barraca in sight!
Garapua is a small settlement in the southwestern corner of the island with a couple of pousadas. The walk there along the beach takes about four hours, and is best done at low tide.
Information
There's a small information booth as you come off the pier—opening hours are very erratic. The shop next door sells a map of the island, Morro de São Paulo em Perspectiva, for $3, which is cute but not very detailed. The character who runs the bookshop Livraria de São Paulo may be the best source of information—and he has a great range of books as well.
The Banco do Brasil on Caminho da Praia changes cash and travelers' cheques.
Boat Trip
There are daily sailboat trips to Boipeba, depending on the number of passengers, leaving at around 8 am and returning by 6 pm. The trip takes around two hours each way and costs $12 per person. The boat operator sets up on Caminho da Praia most nights to recruit passengers; otherwise, ask at Forno à Lenha Pizzaria There are a few pousadas on Boipeba, and it's a lot quieter and more primitive than Morro.
Camamu
On the mainland, further down the coast towards Ilhéus, Camamu is a quiet, picturesque town which sits on a hill above a maze of mangrove-filled islets and narrow channels (no beaches). The town is the port of call for the many tiny fishing villages in the region, and has access by boat to stunning beaches along the Peninsula de Maraú. There's a lively dock-side morning market with fish, fruit and drying nutmeg.
Saveiro fishing boats are built and repaired right outside the port. The Açaraí waterfalls are five km away by bus or taxi and are worth a visit.
Peninsula de Maraú
If you want to get off the beaten path, this is the place. The peninsula that goes out to Ponta do Mutá and the village of Barra Grande has one long, dirt road (often impassable after rain), infrequent buses and a handful of very small fishing villages (you won't find any of them on a map). It's an unspoilt area with some breathtaking beaches, but they are hard to get to without a car. In most of the villages, you'll find beer but little else, so you might have to work at finding food and lodging.
Barra Grande is a tranquil, slow-paced fishing village at the tip of the peninsula—a great place to stop for a while. The village is bordered by the calm beaches of Camamu Bay on one side and the surf beaches of the Atlantic Ocean on the other. It's the most easily accessible village on the peninsula, and has a handful of pousadas and a couple of restaurants.
Itacaré
Itacaré is a quiet colonial town at the mouth of the Rio de Contas. If movie moguls could find the town, they'd probably snap it up as a set to film A Hundred Years of Solitude. Distance and bad roads have so far shielded Itacaré from rapid growth of tourism, but don't expect this to last too long—there are already around 20 pousadas in the village and plans for a new coastal road. Ribeira, Concha, Tiririca and Resende beaches are recommended for a swim, and sometimes have good surf. There is no road along the coast, so you must return the way you came, unless you hike or hitch a ride on a fishing boat.
The one blemish on this tropical hideaway comes courtesy of Petrobrás (the government oil company), which deposits little coin-sized spots of oil on many parts of the beach.
To get to the beaches north of Itacaré, cross the river by long dugout canoe. This contradictory scene—mangrove trees lining the riverbanks and Petrobrás choppers thrashing overhead—looks like the opening of Apocalypse Now, just before the jungle goes up in napalm flames.
In Itacaré you can rent a canoe to visit O Pontal, a beautiful promontory just south of the bay. It's best to leave your camera behind, as the canoes are unstable.
Itacaré to Ilhéus
It's a four-hour trip by bus from Itacaré to Ilhéus. The journey is slow but stunning, one of the best in Brazil. The bus passes the occasional cacao plantation, stopping every few km to pick up another couple of locals whose features are an intriguing blend of black, Indian and white.
For the first two hours, the bus travels at a snail's pace from Itacaré to Uruçuca along a bad dirt road. Uruçuca is a tiny secluded village surrounded by lush valleys of cacao trees, and worth exploring if you have the time.
From here the road heads down through groves of cacao, coconut and enormous bamboo, to reach the coast shortly before Ilhéus.
Excerpts from Brazil - A Travel Survival Kit, 3rd edition, by Andrew Draffen, Chris McAsey, Leonardo Pinheiro, and Robyn Jones. For more information call Lonely Planet: (800) 275-8555. Copyright 1996 Lonely Planet Publications. Used by permission.