Brazil: Salvador

Salvador. This city was, without a doubt, my favorite city on this trip and, to tell the truth, my favorite city in my 7 months in Brazil so far. Salvador has a beautiful horizon line with the older houses and churches outlining the blue sky. The houses are painted different colors that have faded over the years, but still leave it with a tropical, foreign feel. Some of the streets are cobblestoned and the city is built on inclines and descents that adds a depth to the city.

One of the most famous, and touristy, buildings in Salvador is the church of Nosso Senhor do Bonfim. That is the church where all of the tourists, and locals as well, get the ribbon bracelets and make wishes. The tradition is that you make three knots as you tie them on your ankle, wrist, or the church itself and for each knot you get one wish. If you tie them to your wrists or ankles, they stay on until they fall off naturally or you cut off your wishes. There is still one on my ankle as I sit here and write this blog post. But on the church itself, there must have been thousands. They are tied to the fence around the church, tied to the windows of the church, and even tied to the pews inside. Thousands of colors, thousands of ribbons, and thousands of people's wishing blowing in the wind. It is such a beautiful site and holds such powerful symbolism.

Inside the church itself is also incredibly gorgeous, setting the stage and ambient for all of the prayers and wishes.

Later that day we all went to project TAMAR, a museum that donates most of its proceeds to the protection of sea turtles. A couple friends and I took advantage of the spare time and had an incredible turtle photoshoot.