On the Beach in Salvador

For our last day in Brazil--our last port day of the journey!--we headed to a beach in Salvador near the old lighthouse.



The beach was gorgeous, the water and waves fantastic, and we all enjoyed swimming in the ocean. Beach vendors wandered by selling anything and everything, including the delicious shrimp pictured above. The men in the third and fourth photos above were selling cheese on sticks that they grilled to order. We loved the salty warm cheese!


Charis decided to go for one last henna tattoo: a Scorpio in honor of her sign, although to me it looks more like a gang symbol. Oh well, it will be gone soon. The boys loved being buried in the sand!




We ordered some chicken and fries for a mid-day snack.


We went up into the lighthouse museum and looked back at the beach where we had been.


We decided to make one last restaurant stop before heading back to the ship. It was nice to sit by the lovely Brazilian beach and feel the breeze in the open air restaurant.


A small outdoor market was the only thing opened near the ship. We spent our last Brazilian Real on a couple of trinkets.




I watched as the crew prepared the ship and the tugs escorted us away from the harbor.

Here is a video of Asher on the beach and one of the grilled cheese man who sings a particular tune and when he is finished, the cheese is grilled!

Day 4 of Salvador

We tried to sleep in a bit this morning...but the crew had a drill that woke us up. Here, one of the lifeboats heads back from a practice save.

We went back into the upper city for fantastic crepes and fresh fruit juices.

Next we headed to the striking St Bonfim Church, a gorgeous Catholic Church where believers buy colorful pieces of fabric and tie them to the outer gate as they make a prayer.

The church was stunning inside.

A side room contains relics, photos, and memorabilia from believers who have been healed because of their prayers at St Bonfim. If they have particular ailments, they hang a replica of the affected area (heart, foot, lung, etc) on the ceiling as a prayer for healing.

The church sits high on a hill and the breeze was very welcome!

The Brazilian Interport Lecturers invited us to their lovely home for homemade pizzas. The wife of the couple is actually American and from Indianapolis. We are looking forward to seeing their family in Indy in the future! We had a great time hanging out, enjoying the company, and eating the pizza fresh from the oven. After being on the ship for so long, it is a treat to be in someone's home.