Salvador de Bahia

One of the most hot destination, after visiting Rio de Janeiro, for many of our guests has been Salvador, capital of the State of Bahia. C38 decided to check it out personally in the last weeks.
Salvador is one of the biggest cities in Brasil, counting more than 2 millions habitants and the ancient capital of the country in the 18th century. It s where you can still breath, eat and feel the African heritage and culture that has arrived during the slave trade, and specifically in this region never left.



The old part of Salvador, better known as Pelourinho has been refurbished 10 years ago and is now a days considered the heart of the city. Built on the top of a hill Pelourinho- easily reachable with the elevator- has hundreds of old churches and colonial houses, restaurants, galleries and many music events at night.
The city has many interesting areas, Itapoa, Itaparica Island, Rio Vermelho, Barra, but our favourite has been Santo Antonio, just a few steps away from noisy Pelourinho, an old neighbourhood on the hill that remind our Santa Teresa in Rio de Janeiro.



Here we stayed at Pousada das Flores, a charming Maison d Hotes of 3 floors, superbly run by Eric and Rose from 17 years. The room are maybe the most spacious we ve ever seen, some with a balcony, some with a little patio and other with a great veranda looking over the bay or the old roof of the city.



The staff is very kind and helpful, they have a little shop at the reception which is perfect for a gift or a last minute souvenir, and the breakfast – in the first floor terrace is plenty of tasty typical things from the region.
We felt so much at home there that we ve elected Pousada das Flores , C38’sister hotel in Salvador. Now we are looking forward to meet again Eric and Rose here in Rio, as soon as they will have some time(they will open a new gorgeous place in St. Antonio this September).



For those who like to be closer to the beach and away from the pulsing city centre, we can recommend one of the villas in Villas do Atlantico, north of Salvador. Massimo was part of C38 staff last year, is now in charge of the agency that is taking care of more than 5 different villas by the beach, all equipped with swimming pool and other comforts, where you can experience a Kite surf course nearby.