Salvador de Bahia, Brazil - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Salvador de Bahia, Brazil

Weather: Mostly cloudy, 77/82F.

Route: From Sao Cristovao 314 km SSW BA-099.

Population: 2,886,698

Places to visit: Ilha dos Frades, Casa do Rio Vermelho, Sao Francisco Church and Convent, Misericordia Museum, Church of Our Lady of the Rosary of the Black People, Santo Antonio de Barra Fort and Nautic Museum of Bahia, Palacete Das Artes Rodin Bahia, Basilica Cathedral, MAM Museu de Arte Moderna, Sao Bento monastery.

Significance: Salvador was the capital of Brazil from 1549-1763. A huge number of Africans were brought over as slaves on the nearby sugar plantations. Salvador had the first slave market in the new world.  The strong African influence on culture continues to today. The Brazilian samba came from Salvador and its Carnival rivals Rio.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

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Historic center of Salvador de Bahia (from whc.unesco.org)

Examples of highly decorated colonial homes (from whc.unesco.org)