| As the dollar continues to gain value over currencies in | | | | them in half and slathering them with sauces, shrimp |
| Latin America, travel is becoming even more | | | | and wicked malagueta peppers.” For the nightlife |
| accessible for the discerning client. Of the many | | | | patrons, he encourages travelers to visit a Borracharia, |
| culturally and ecologically rich sites to visit, one city in | | | | a tire repair shop that turns into a full on club when the |
| particular - Salvador da Bahia in northeast Brazil - is | | | | lights go down. And for travelers looking for a more |
| garnering attention. The oldest city in Brazil and its first | | | | cultured experience, the Pelourinho district or old town |
| capital, Salvador was a major post for the slave trade | | | | proves just the thing. With its winding coble stone |
| and is now a thriving center of Afro-Brazilian life. | | | | streets, its Baroque pastel colored buildings, or in the |
| Salvador is considered the country’s soul and the | | | | gold dazzled churches that litter the area, there is |
| birthplace of Brazilian culture. The local cuisine, music, | | | | enough to feast and fascinate the eyes. With |
| dance and vibrant visual arts are all testaments to this | | | | Kugel’s suggestions in mind, and with the help of |
| pervasive African influence. As one of Brazil’s | | | | South America’s leading travel provider - the |
| greatest historical destinations, the city is filled with | | | | Discover.Travel Group - visiting Salvador becomes |
| churches, homes and forts that reflect stunning | | | | every bit a possibility. For those willing to let go, to be |
| Portuguese architecture from the Baroque period. | | | | taken away by the tropical air, the smell of the South |
| Outside the city lie some of Northeastern Brazil’s | | | | Atlantic, and rich beat of the drum that so permeates |
| most pristine beaches, including the renowned Praia do | | | | this colonial city, the tailor-made vacation packages the |
| Forte and Costa do Sauípe. Considered Brazil's | | | | Discover.Travel Group’s specialized Travel |
| most artistic city, Salvador has a lively art scene and | | | | Consultants create individually for each client provide |
| its streets are filled with dance and music all year | | | | unique travel experiences and memories that will last a |
| round. As one of the most sought after destinations in | | | | lifetime. And with good exchange rates, weather, and |
| Latin America, Salvador da Bahia has recently won | | | | a recently introduced direct flight from Miami, there is |
| the attention of the New York Times, highlighted in the | | | | no better time to go. For further information on travel |
| article 36 Hours in Salvador, Brazil by Seth Kugel. In the | | | | destinations, services, hotels and contact with a |
| article, Kugel enthusiastically notes just how connected | | | | specialized travel consultant please visit the |
| the coastal city is with its African Past. “Nowhere in | | | | Discover.Travel Group’s websites |
| Brazil”, he writes, “is the deep influence of three | | | | Recent accomplishments by Intelligent Leisure Solutions |
| and a half centuries of slavery so obvious, from the | | | | and the Discover.Travel Group: · 2008 Ulysses |
| color of people’s skin to the color of the food | | | | Award for Innovation in Tourism Enterprises from the |
| (often orange, from the ubiquitous use of dendê, or | | | | UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization), |
| red palm oil); from the deep influence of the | | | | · World Travel Award 2008 for South America’s |
| African-derived religious traditions of candomblé to | | | | Leading Travel Management Company, · World |
| the musical beats of axé and samba.” Traveling | | | | Travel Award 2008 for Central America’s Leading |
| from neighborhood to neighborhood, Kugel provides a | | | | Travel Agency, · Managing Partner Robert Phillips |
| play by play guide to some of the most culturally | | | | was elected ASTA Chapter President for Brazil. · |
| affluent areas in the city. “Spend your first night in | | | | Selected by the Brazilian Ministry of Tourism as an |
| Rio Vermelho,” he encourages, “where the | | | | Affiliate Member of the United Nations World Tourism |
| action starts at happy hour. Choose a plaza and grab | | | | Organization. · Authenticated by the Tralliance |
| one of the tables tended by waiters from nearby bars. | | | | Corporation and the .Travel Registry. |
| Then send a friend to wait in line at the stands where | | | | References: |
| women in traditional Bahian dress make acarajé, | | | | Kugel, Seth. 36 Hours in Salvador, Brazil. |
| frying balls of dough in dendê oil until crispy, splitting | | | | |