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It is often said that Brazil was “born” in Bahia. A trip to the state of Bahia, Brazil is a special one for people of African descent. Its capitol Salvador is one of the oldest Colonial settlements in the Americas. Salvador served as the seat for the Portuguese colonial administration in Brazil for its first two centuries and is usually called the "first capital of Brazil". My personal desire and ambition to visit Salvador was triggered by my own upbringing. My father, a history professor, visited Salvador on multiple occasions. He often remarked about how much the culture and ethos of Salvador struck him. From the cuisine, the music, the art and even religious and spiritual aspects (via Candomble). My father always talked about Salvador with extreme admiration. He repeatedly said Salvador was the definition of “Magic." I was ecstatic that I could experience my first trip to Bahia, to reconnect with the past, together with my wife. It really was a trip connecting the past to the present.  Salvador "Pelourinho" Brazil Salvador was one of the first slave ports in the Americas and the African influence in Bahia makes it the epicenter of Afro-Brazilian culture. Perhaps no particular place symbolizes Afro-Brazilian culture like the Pelourinho. During my entire trip to Brazil, I viewed this as my single most important stop. The Pelourinho functioned as the city center during the Portuguese colonial period and was named for the whipping post in its central plaza where African slaves received whippings and other cruel punishments.  Street-Art-Pieces-From Salvador "Bahia" Brazil I could not walk the streets of this old place and not feel the pain and sorrow of the African Slaves and the brutality they endured here. I also could not walk the streets of the Pelourinho without feeling and experiencing the same “Magic” that my father talked about. The streets presented numerous opportunities to experience the culture of Bahia. One of my first stops in the Pelourinho was to Curso de Percussao. This was a store font specializing in rare African percussion instruments and African inspired Art & Sculpture. I was lucky to find a few treasures to take back to the States. I feel like I even made a few friends at the store. This will be a place where I can return, especially when I brush up on my Portuguese!  Shrimp-Moqueca-Brazilian-Cuisine In addition, the architecture of the old capital represents a magnificent aesthetic. As I meandered around the streets I was struck by bright and varied pastel colors of the buildings. The experience of taking in the buildings was heightened by the sounds of drums and the smells of Bahian cuisine. We stopped at a small restaurant and indulged in an exquisite seafood Moqueca dish. Moqueca is a dish that Brazilians have been making for 300 years based on salt water fish stew, tomatoes, onions, garlic and coriander. This dish also had fresh shrimp and was divine! Lastly, there was no way I was going to spend time in Salvador without watching locals indulge in the world’s greatest game of football.  Neighborhood-kid-playing-football-Pelourinho-Brazil I was happy to later read that since the late 1990s, an over $100,000,000 restoration took place in Pelourinho. Pelourinho was listed as a national heritage site by the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage in 1984 and named a UNESCO World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985. The cultural experience that I had will be preserved for many many generations of people of African descent. The “magic” that my father first told me about in the mid-1990s is very real and is waiting for anyone who wants to experience it. Heck, even the late great Michael Jackson traveled all the way to Salvador for a touch of Bahia. The questions is... Will you? Until next location... Couples Experience and the Experience More lifestyle is where conversation takes place. It is where the experience of exploring new places, new trends, new norms, and great growth takes place. It is where your child-like spirit comes out and shares a good laugh, a good game night, good food and drink and a way to reflect years later on the best that has occurred with friends and strangers alike, through experiences. This is who we believe we all are. We are individuals desiring the life we want. We are individuals seeking the best connections to get us to the next level. We are individuals that see the best in another, and they too see the best in us. We are individuals of all ages and backgrounds with a story to share. So get in on the Experience More lifestyle, and hop on that bandwagon of living your best life because, I know you’ve heard it before - this life...this experience...is just too damn short not to enjoy it! Want to Experience More or have questions - connect with us!  Logan
#TeamTLo #hisexperience Sources: Trip Savvy Wikipedia
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