Party time!

I stroll downstairs for brekkie around 8:30 AM. And mostly have my usual stuff: scrambled egg and cheese followed by fruit. But, in addition to scrambled, I also have a poached egg. That should keep me going for a while.

A breakfast of scrambled egg, poached egg, cheese, juice and coffee.

We've got a walking tour of central Salvador today. We're whisked off in buses and dropped at the tourist office on the main square. Which is rather beautiful. Lined with tall palms and enclosed by sturdy churches at either end.

Street vendors are selling soft drinks. And beer. Some of the Brazilians get themselves beer. The party has already started, evidently.

The old centre of Salvador is lovely. Streets of multi-coloured colonial houses and baroque churches. Exactly how you would imagine an old Latin American town to look. Though some of the side streets are in much worse condition, with crumbling facades and bricked-up windows.

Salvador's main square.

On another square, caipirinhas are on sale from little stalls. Made from all sorts of fruits. That’s my sort of market. The judges don’t need much tempting.

Exotic Brazilian fruit including cashew, limes and caja.

Tara gets a caipirinha with cacao beans, served in a cacao pod. I just go for a traditional lime one. Served in a plastic cup. Which is far less impressive. Maybe I should be more adventurous.

We enter a cobbled square (well, triangle, really) with a scarily steep slope Where there’s some drumming going on. A cardboard cutout of Michael Jackson peers out on the scene from an upper window. It seems that he filmed a video here.

A small square witth a scary slope in Salvador.

Lunch is in a restaurant on the square that’s part of the Museu da Gastronomia Baiana. It's . . a buffet. Big surprise there.

Me and Charles order cashew caipirinhas. Which take a while to appear. Annoyingly, the waiter keeps walking past with ones for other tables. We're halfway through the meal by the time out first ones appear. There's a bit of cashew fruit on tap with the nut bit sticking out. And flesh in the drink itself. It's rather nice. Much less acidic than the classic lime version.

Two cashew caipirinhas.

I have the usual sort of stuff: chicken, rice, beans. But Bahia style. Which, among other things, means white rather than black beans.

I would tell you more about the precise peculiarities of Bahia cuisine. Except I was distracted during an introductory talk, wondering why I still didn’t have a fucking caipirinha in my hand.

After lunch we have two options. We can either go and look at a famous church or visit the indoor market. Such a difficult choice.

“Do you want to look around the market or go to the bar?” Gabi Demozzi, a very outgoing Brazilian, asks when we get there. Another difficult choice.

The bar is on the first floor of the market. We first consider sitting outside. But there’s not much shade and it’s too hot. We sit inside. Which is spacious and airy. 

The interior of Restaurante Maria de São Pedro in Mercado Modelo.

What should I drink? I know. I’ll try one of those caipirinha things. I’ve heard they’re dead good.

I spotted a cachaca shop on the way to the bar. On the basis that cachaca is like cheese: you can never have too much; I go and have look.

There are no prices. Not a great sign. I taste a couple and settle on one. Which turns out to be the most expensive cachaca I’ve ever bought. Oh well. It was way cheaper than that vile Chinese spirit I bought in Hong Kong. Even Andrew wouldn’t drink that shit.

We were warned to be back outside dead on 16:30 to be collected by a van. Obviously, the it’s late. We sit and wait in front of the market.

The Brazilians in our party decide to make the most of the delay and fetch bottles of beer. I just have the one. As we’ll be taking a long drive. I wouldn’t want to be pissing myself in the bus.

Eventually, the van arrives and takes us back to the tourist office to pick up our bags. It’s well after 17:00.

We're being driven to Alagoinhas, where the judging will take place. While we're hanging around as they figure out the Jenga puzzle that is loading all our luggage into the van, I notice that we're right next to a cachaca shop. I get myself a 275 ml bottle for the journey, which will take two hours. You can never have too much cachaca.

It turns out I'm on the party bus. Someone has brought along a tambourine and soon all the Brazilians are singing along. I can't join in as I don't know any of the songs. And I'm English. Dutch, too, now.  But still mostly English.

Three large jars of cachaca in a petrol station.

We stop at petrol stations a couple of times. For toilet visits and to buy more beer. In one station shop they have three large jars behind the counter. Is that cachaca? Yes, it is. Me and Charles get a ginger one. Pretty good stuff. So good we get a second. This is fun.

It's around 9 PM by the time we get to Hotel Absolar for our evening meal. I have steak and onions. It's nice enough. But I'm feeling rather knacked.

By the time we get to the hotel where we're staying, it's pushing midnight. After a quick nightcap, I turn in. Totally exhausted.
    


Museu da Gastronomia Baiana
Largo do Pelourinho, 13/19
Pelourinho, Salvador
BA, 40026-280.
http://www.ba.senac.br/museu


Restaurante Maria de São Pedro
1º Mercado Modelo,
Pr. Visc. de Cayru, 250
Comercio, Salvador
BA, 40015-170.



Disclaimer: my flights, hotels and most meals were paid for by the Brazilian International Beer Awards.