15 Nights Rio de Janeiro to Bridgetown

Brazil's former capital and fifth largest city is situated on a high bluff above the immense Bay of All Saints. With a population of over two million, Salvador is the capital of the state oh Bahia. Its pronounced African influence goes back to the slaves who where brought here to work in the sugar cane fields more that 400 years ago. Their rich cultural heritage is evident in music, dance, cuisine and the Candomble religion. This is in stark contrasts to the city's Portuguese colonial past that began with the founding of Salvador in 1549 and marked the start of the colonial Portuguese empire in Brazil. The mixture of old and new, rich and poor, African and European, religious and profane makes Salvador, after Rio, the country's second ranking tourist destination. Like Rio's Cariocas, the people of Salvador have a penchant for life, perhaps most evident in the celebration of Carnivale.