Cachoeira/Sao Felix/Muritiba

 

Welcome to Brazil’s northern state of Bahia!  We’ve flown north from Sao Paulo after a few days with family, and are on our way to spend a couple of weeks hiking in the vast area well west of Bahia’s capital city, Salvador.  It’s a national park area, called the Chapada Diamantina---a reference to its earlier diamond mining days.   (Remember you can click on the map to get the “bigger” picture.)

We stop in to visit with friends who relocated from Sao Paulo to the small historic town of Cachoeira/Sao Felix(each town occupies one bank of the Paraguassu river) some five years ago.  On our wanderings through the colonial town(s), we visit the small Dannemann tobacco factory, named for one of the town’s original European inhabitants, complete with a short, informative tour. It’s located on the riverfront, and next door our friends have just opened an airbnb locale, in an historic building they’ve completely--and beautifully-- renovated into 8 units complete with baths and kitchenettes.  Several have lovely river views over to Cachoeira, and the roof-top area offers a stunning panorama.  Check out their site for La Buena Vida Apartments at https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/2380282?s=Vlg0.

We drive across the one-way bridge, which still hosts a working railroad track, and park in the adjacent square.  The rest of the day we wander the picturesque cobbled lanes lined with colorful colonial buildings, today a mixture of ruins and renovation.  Horses still canter along the cobblestones, and tiny shops sprout from worn walls. We stop in for coconut water to quench our thirst, and wander in and out of some small galleries, cafes, and later in the day, we are fortunate to run into Dr. Ivo, the spry 87 year old ex-mayor, now cultural ambassador of Cachoeira, who takes us on a tour of one of the ornate gilded Baroque churches.  He’s a treasure trove of all things Cachoeira, and an engagingly funny man, weaving endless stories about the statuary and other gems inside the undervisited and often closed historical buildings.  It’s a leisurely walk through history, and the town oozes with cultural/touristic potential, which is not yet being shown to its best advantage.  We head home to rest in the dead heat of the afternoon, and return to sample some local Bahian street food on a quiet square in the evening.  Restaurants are virtually non-existent, although a Portuguese transplant is apparently giving it a go.  The locals are indoors or hanging out at a handful of open bars, conversing intimately in the way people will, in a small town where few are strangers.  Even in the lamplit dark, a few horses gallop through the streets.  It’s a Tuesday, the town is peaceful, and unfortunately for us, there are no Candomble ceremonies to witness.  As we return home up into the hills beyond Sao Felix to Muritiba, the night sky shimmers with stars and a cool breeze beckons us to sleep.

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