March 24, 2007
Day 542
The center of Salvador is a pretty crazy place. You have prostitutes right outside of fine dining establishments, women in pretty white dresses selling fatteningly delicious traditional African food in plazas surrounded by at least three cathedrals, hippies selling hand-made hemp necklaces and bracelets in front of high-end jewelry stores, hordes of tourists fresh off the cruise ship in frantic search of anything tacky that says "Salvador" and they can proudly display in their homes, and no matter what time it is or what else is happening in the area, the constant sounds of drums and berimbaus, used during performances of capoeira, are always in the background. My recovery from my stomach illness today involved soaking in this atmosphere while the city's life force continued all around me.
