Salvador de Bahia - Streetlife

I arrived in the middle of the night in the Pelourinho, the old town of Salvador built high up on a hill by the Portuguese some centuries ago. When walking through the city the crumbling facades of the painted houses shined brightly in the light of the street lamps. Salvador was dominated by people of African decent and you feel more like in West Africa, than Brasil. Out of open doors and windows music filled the street and although it was already late boys were playing football in the streets. Life was lived here on the streets. At a small corner shop was a party going on and women with colorful Bahian clothes were dancing. Some seconds later I had a chop in my hand: a small glass of beer, which kills your thirst with one or two sips. The party was the extension of a marriage, while the couple already has left, the guest were still partying. Bahian cuisine involves a lot of fish and some fried bacalao filets were passed around. The band were 5 people playing drums and their heads were whirling around like dervishes. One of the ladies came over to me and was laughing, that a gringo was joining the party. Normally gringos are kept in their fenced compounds and it is not usual that they join the street parties. I was very welcomed and although I still did not have a place to sleep I stayed. Most probably I anyway won´t need it, as the band for sure will continue to play until dawn.