Oh, in Northeastern Brazil, the State of Bahia Is a Place

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In northeastern Brazil, the state of Bahia is a place of colonial architecture, remote beaches and spicy seafood stew. David Hochman brings his appetite for all of the above. Photographs by Maura McEvoy BOha, hia

A local street ven- dor in the doorway of Jardim das Delí- cias, in Salvador. Opposite: A pastel- splashed backdrop of colonial architecture in Salvador’s unesco-preserved Pelourinho district.

1 town & country statue of Jesus that watches over Salvador, Brazil, isn’t quite as im- pressive as the one overlooking Rio de Janeiro. Compared with the co- lossus atop Corcovado, this one, on a bald outcropping on the Atlantic waterfront, is practically human in its proportions and easy to miss. But one feature stands out. t“Notice theh hands,” our guide,e Mauro Marchesini, says with a crooked grin as we He is right on all counts. Ceramic Portu- round a corner on Avenida Oceânica. There before us is the seven-foot-tall Christ in guese tiles ornament the walls inside and white marble, surrounded by tourists aiming cell-phone cameras. “One hand points out. Pilgrims of all ages file into the stifling south,” Mauro says. “The other, to the ground. The message is: if you want to work, go Sala dos Milagres, the Miracle Room, south to Rio or São Paulo. But if you want to experience life, if you want to dance and where casts of body parts, in wax, plastic celebrate and forget the rest of the world, stay right here in Bahia.” and even gold, dangle from the ceiling as As if we needed confirmation from on high. For days my wife, Ruth, and I have been thanksgiving offerings for cures. There are in Bahia, one of Brazil’s largest states (the size of France), splitting time between the children everywhere, with vacant eyes and laid-back splendor of far-off beaches and Salvador, the pulsating and frequently unho- gnarled limbs, some begging for coins. ly capital city of 2.5 million. The extremes we’ve encountered—tropical isolation ver- Others are animatedly hawking Candom- sus urban spectacle, chic retreats versus crumbling colonial treasures, posh high-rises blé prayer beads or fitas, colorful ribbons versus unthinkable poverty—speak to the complexities here. It is little wonder that tied around the wrist for good luck. writers like the late Jorge Amado, author of Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, and mu- The luck, it turns out, is ours: we emerge sicians from Gilberto Gil to Caetano Veloso have found endless inspiration in Bahia’s to discover young musicians in Olodum confounding dualities. Even God has to divide his attention. Drum Troupe T-shirts performing in the As we say goodbye to Jesus, Mauro taps twice on the dash- church square. Paul Simon famously incorporated Olodum’s mys- board of our black sedan; our driver, Marcos, whisks us through tical drum beats on his 1990 album, The Rhythm of the Saints. Now Salvador’s Lower City, passing hordes of locals as we go. Almost the group, like many around the city, uses its clout to help young everyone is black and dressed in white. people like these find a way out of poverty through apprentice- “Is today a holiday?” Ruth asks. ships, education programs and simply making music in the streets. “Every day is a holiday in Candomblé,” Mauro says. It’s all enough to leave us feeling charged up and hungry for more. Although Brazil is the world’s largest Roman Catholic na- “Will it be moqueca again?” Mauro asks. This is his way of tion, Candomblé is the primary faith in Bahia. The religion, teasing me. Since our first night in Bahia, I have been singularly which fuses Catholic rites with elaborate animistic ceremonies obsessed with the spicy seafood stew (pronounced moh-KAY- and offerings, is a living legacy to the millions of slaves the Por- kah), by far the tastiest emblem of Bahia’s melting-pot mojo. As tuguese brought here from West Africa over the course of three orange as a pumpkin, the dish teems with fragrant garlic, on- centuries, beginning in 1548. For generations Candomblé was ions, tomatoes, coconut milk, whatever’s fresh from the sea and practiced in shadowy secrecy, but it is now a mainstay of just red dendê oil, the local artery-clogger. After the nearly twenty- about every church in Bahia—and there are said to be 365 in four-hour trip to Bahia from Los Angeles (with layovers in Lima central Salvador alone, one for every day of the year. and São Paulo), the moqueca, served alongside piquant malague- Today is Friday, when white is worn to honor Oxalá, the Afri- ta peppers and golden manioc flour, was as potent a jet-lag rem- can deity of creation. Of course, the most lavish tributes are saved edy as I can recall. So what if it’s a cauldron of saturated fat? for Salvador’s Carnaval celebration, arguably the world’s largest; Everywhere you go in Bahia, chefs emerge from kitchens, in- sequined drummers and masked and spangled dancers party sisting that their moqueca is the finest in Brazil. With Mauro’s through the night for a week, usually in late February, in homage help, I am determined to settle that score myself. He ushers us to all manner of divine beings. into Jardim das Delícias, his favorite moquecaria in the Pelourin- “Prepare yourself for five centuries under one roof,” Mauro ho, the unesco-preserved neighborhood of colorful facades says as we reach Bonfim Square and the neoclassical, 18th-cen- and slanted cobblestoned streets that is among the Americas’ tury Church of Nosso Senhor do Bonfim. It’s hard to know when most stunning repositories of 16th- and 17th-century colonial he’s exaggerating. Though he was born in Salvador, Mauro’s par- architecture. In the bougainvillea-shaded courtyard, I speed- ents are Italian, and he has the wry wit of an outsider. “It is a read the entrées, ignoring Ruth’s plea to try something healthful A women’s drum holy place,” he says. “Just hang on to your wallets and cameras.” for a change, and settle on a moqueca with shrimp, extra spicy. troupe, with fanciful drums—and sticks—on parade through the streets of the Pelourinho. 3 town & country The view from Convento do Carmo, a Salvador hotel, onto All Saints Bay. Below: Jardim das Delícias’s moqueca, a seafood stew. “You know this quest just might kill you,” Mauro says. He’s Opposite: Early probably right. But there’s comfort in knowing I would die happy. morning on a cobblestoned street in the Pelourinho. Mention to a savvy traveler that you’re going to São Paulo and the expectation is that you’re going for business. Rio, of course, conjures up images of hedonistic parties on beaches lined with hotels. But say “Bahia” to anyone who knows it and there’s inevitably a pause, followed by a smile, followed by an envious, “Ahhh, Bahia.” Even if they don’t realize it, what those people are sighing about is the Cacao Coast. Put it this way: Salvador is the perfect place to spend several days at the start and end of a visit. It’s called the Capital of Hap- piness for good reason. The sweeping vistas from the Upper City onto All Saints Bay are stunning. Shabby old colonial man- sions are getting face-lifts; one is now the gleaming new Museu da Gastronomia Bahiana, a government-run cooking academy where women in turbans and bell-shaped dresses serve the classics of Bahian cuisine (such as xinxim de galinha, a tradi- tional chicken and shrimp stew, and quindim, a yellow-custard dessert). And we stayed in the sexiest Carmelite monastery on earth. Convento do Carmo is a fabulously reconstructed 1586 friary in the heart of the Pelourinho, where our two-floor loft apartment came with vaulted wood ceilings, multiple plasma- screen TVs, L’Occitane bath products and a pillow menu that would answer any monk’s prayers. But there is a yang to Salvador’s yin, and it lies along Bahia’s ivory-white coast about 180 miles to the south. When we touch down in Ilhéus after a short flight south from the capital, the pace is noticeably slower. On the chauffeured forty-five-minute Land Rover ride to Fazenda da Lagoa, our hardest decision is whether we want to hear samba or bossa nova on the CD player. Fazenda da Lagoa has been open only a few years, but we’d heard it was already drawing sophisticated customers like the designer Valentino and Lizzy Jagger. Then again, as we bounce along the potholed access road with darkness and the rain forest closing in around us, I suddenly wonder if we are in the right place. In fact, where on earth are we? Our driver doesn’t speak a word of English, and we’ve come to the edge of a wide, inky black river. That’s when we spot the boat—the S.S. Mucki. “Mucki” is Mucki Skowronski, a renowned artist and designer from Rio, who owns Fazenda da Lagoa with her husband, Arthur Bahia (yes, his real name). She welcomes us aboard her canopied ferry, which has bright-red cushions and pillows handsewn with colorful silhouettes of Brazil. As we cruise to the chic eco-resort, her sense of style wins out over our panic. Skowronski figured that the best way to preserve her 1,500 untouched acres along the coast was to build minimally (there are only fourteen cabins) but with maximum taste. That translates into guest pavilions with walls of sliding glass that open to the

5 town & country The intricate sandstone facade of Salvador’s Church of the Third Order of St. Francis. Opposite: Wax body parts—offerings made of the infirm— at the Church of Nosso Senhor do Bonfim. The reception A Fazenda da Lagoa cottage at Fazenda beach bungalow, da Lagoa, a resort with linens south of Ilhéus on designed by owner the Cacao Coast. Mucki Skowronski. sea-scented air and groves of coconut palms. Inside are gauzy-netted platform beds and a veritable Pop Art gallery of Skowronski’s splashy floral oil paintings, rainbow-striped wall hangings and hand-beaded chandeliers. (Most of her work is done in a Rio atelier, where she mentors teenagers plucked from the city’s poorest favelas.) Behind our bed is a tapestry with del- icately beaded stars as sparkly and awe-inspiring as the ones in the Southern Cross overhead. It’s not until the next morning, however, that we behold the true star of this resort. We hadn’t even seen the ocean when we arrived; now, as an arc of white sand stretches for miles in both directions without a footprint in sight, I understand where the languid groove in all those songs by João Gilberto, the father of bossa nova, comes from. Forget Ipanema: this is the beach of your dreams. The best thing to do at Fazenda—in fact, the best thing you may ever do—is what we spend each morning doing: pedaling cruiser bikes along the hard- packed sand for what seems like forever, stopping here and there for a dip in seas so clean, so warm, so private it feels illicit. At the resort itself, only a few of the staff members speak English, but that doesn’t mean the service isn’t world-class. Raise a flag on your cabana and a waiter in white will appear with a breakfast of fresh fruit, local eggs and Portuguese Fazenda’s library, cheese bread. There is moqueca on the lunch and din- stocked with ner menus, thankfully, and the servers remember exactly which tions, which still provide their sweet goods to much of the world. paperbacks for beach reading. chile peppers I like—the tiny yellow malaguetas—and have them Our first stop is back in Ilhéus, a vibrant colonial town founded sliced and ready for me each night. in 1534. The writer Jorge Amado grew up here, and the city as he The evening before we leave, we meet another couple in the saw it lent a backdrop for his best-known novel, Gabriela, Clove main pavilion over toasted cashews and caipirinhas, the drink and Cinnamon. In the Ilhéus of his books, cocoa barons kill one made of cachaça, a sugarcane liqueur, and tropical fruit juices another for power and land; the city is swarming with thieves that is the favorite local libation. She is model-beautiful; he’s a and prostitutes. Today Ilhéus is a sleepy beach town. Amado’s São Paulo businessman, clearly successful, who admits he’s a mansion is a canary-yellow masterpiece in the middle of the city, perfectionist when it comes to picking his getaways. “In Brazil, with festive salons made of jacaranda wood and Carrara marble. everybody has a secret beach they think is the best,” he says. But it’s hard to imagine Amado himself getting a better recep- “But between us, this really is the one.” tion in town than Susy and Paolo, who are honked at and waved to by nearly every driver and shopkeeper we pass. Our plan is to lunch at Itacaré, the surf town forty miles to the The truth is, there are secrets all along Bahia’s coast, which north that’s recently become a haven for talented artists (and es- contains some 600 miles of white-sand beaches. You simply need cape artists) looking for Nirvana on earth. But Susy and Paolo to know whom to ask. Susy Roosli is an exuberant Swiss expat are dead set on an adventure, and as we drive along the region’s with blonde hair and a string-bean figure whose business attire is remote main road—the BA-001 parkway, which wasn’t paved un- a teeny bikini under a T-shirt and shorts. She came to Bahia twen- til 1998—we end up at Txai resort instead. ty years ago and never left; she now runs Órbita Excursions and Txai (pronounced chai), on a hillside ten miles south of Ita Tourism, a company we’ve hired to give us the lay of the land. caré, is undoubtedly the most gorgeous place to stop for lunch Susy and her hunk-of-a-Brazilian husband, Paolo Veloso, in South America. Set amid coconut groves, the resort was the drive us through the heart of Bahia’s cocoa and sugar planta- first truly glamorous hotel to open in Bahia; aside from its › 00 A surfboard custom-made by Skowronski, hanging in the 9 town & country TK at the resort. Mucki Skowronski and her Rhodesian ridgebacks, Cacao and Joaquim, roam- ing the beach at low tide. Opposite: A candy-colored awning over the sundeck at Fazenda da Lagoa’s pool. 11 town & country Fishing boats anchored in the NATIVE INTELLIGENCE: BAHIA harbor of Ilhéus, a 16th-century port town. Bahia lies on Brazil’s Atlantic coast between the equator and the Tropic one hour north of Ilhéus. For classic Bahian dishes as well as so- of Capricorn. Roughly 800 miles north of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, soaking up the splendor of the Ca- phisticated international fare. 2 Salvador is Bahia’s urban hub and capital, a colonial jewel on an ancient cao Coast, there are few places Avenida do Contorno (Lower City), bluff above All Saints Bay. The city is divided into two parts, Cidade Alta that can match a mahogany tub in Salvador; 011-55-71-3326-2211; (Upper City) and Cidade Baixa (Lower City); the top hotels are in the Shamash, the hilltop spa above the www.trapicheadelaide.com.br. historic Pelourinho district, in the Upper City. Getting around town on Atlantic. Book one of the forty rus- On the Maraú Peninsula, a your own can be tricky—narrow one-way streets, arcane traffic rules—so tic rooms, or rent a bungalow on short stroll down the beach from it’s advisable to use taxis or hire a driver through your tour company. stilts. Doubles from $560, bunga- Kiaroa resort, Bar das Meninas Though the beaches everywhere in Bahia are spectacular, those to the lows from $790. Itacaré; 011-55-11- is a supercasual lunch spot (mo- south of Salvador—on the so-called Cacao Coast, a short flight away—are 6858-7777; txai.com.br. queca, grilled local fish) where you home to the sought-after resorts. English is taught in most schools, but Bahia by Way of Bali can live out your barefoot-in-the- it’s helpful to travel with an English-speaking guide (see below) or else Amid sleepy fishing villages on the sand fantasies. Taipu de Fora, to keep a Portuguese phrase book handy. Maraú Peninsula, Kiaroa Eco- Maraú; 011-55-73-3258-9035. Luxury Resort, about three When to Go hotels and hidden beaches. Salva- hours north of Ilhéus, offers up- Where to Shop It’s no exaggeration to say that the dor tour guide Mauro Marchesini scale accommodations in twenty- In Salvador, housed in an 18th- weather is almost always great in (011-55-71-9144-4400; ways1000@ eight suites and bungalows. The century colonial mansion in the Bahia: warm and humid year- msn.com) speaks English well; thatch-roofed oceanfront villas Pelourinho, D. Kläy Gems & Arts round, with temperatures averag- he is knowledgeable and beyond are the ones to book: most have a brings Swiss quality to jewels like ing seventy-eight degrees. The accommodating. personal plunge pool. The inviting the imperial topaz, produced only best time to go depends on your 8,600-square-foot main pool, tiled in Brazil. Stones can be purchased appetite for festivities and crowds. Where to Stay by hand, has a palm-enshrouded individually or as jewelry made December through March is the Oasis in the City island in the middle and a swim- on-site. On the ground floor the celebration season, especially dur- For elegance in bustling Salvador, up bar. At the spa, don’t miss the company runs a school to train ing Carnaval. If it rains at all, it nothing comes close to Convento Armonía Ritual couples’ four- disadvantaged youths from the does so between April and July. do Carmo. The magnificently hand massage. Doubles from $415, community as goldsmiths and renovated former friary, with bungalows from $735, including gem-cutters. 27 Largo da Cruz do Getting There courtyards and gardens, stately breakfast and dinner. Maraú; 011- Pascoal, St. Antônio Além do Car- American Airlines (aa.com) flies dining areas and a spa, dates from 55-71-3272-1320; kiaroa.com.br. mo, Salvador; 011-55-71-tktk-tktk. direct to Salvador from Miami 1586 and is a sanctuary on a hill The colorful boutique Bau Bau (nearly eight hours) every night, atop the Pelourinho. Doubles from Where to Eat has a fine collection of alluring with a connection from New $442. 1 Rua do Carmo, Salvador; Named for the city’s literary lion, folk art and paintings. 37 Rua York’s JFK. Last year Korean Air 011-55-71-3327-8400; pousadas.pt. Amado is Salvador’s best new res- Gregória de Matos, Pelourinho, (koreanair.com) launched the Designer Chic taurant for contemporary Brazil- Salvador; 011-55-71-tktk-tktk. only nonstop service between Los on White Sand ian cuisine, like chicken in molho For first-rate art and antiques, Angeles and São Paulo, with over- Rio fashionista Mucki Skowrons- pardo (blood sauce) and black an- try Oxum Casa de Arte. Among night flights three times a week. ki’s Fazenda da Lagoa is as styl- chovies over asparagus risotto. It’s the porcelain and gilded mirrors ish as it is remote. With fourteen worth having a caipirinha at the are pieces by noted muralist and Travel Experts brightly colored bungalows on an bar for the views of All Saints Bay painter Carybé, whose work is in Based in Salt Lake City, Pan untouched Atlantic reserve forty alone. 660 Avenida Lafayete Salvador’s Afro-Brazilian muse- American Travel Services (800- minutes south of Ilhéus, this is Coutinho, Salvador; 011-55-71- um. 18 Rua Gregoria de Matos, Sal- 364-4359; panam-tours.com) is a Valentino’s hangout of choice on 3322-3520; amadobahia.com.br. vador; 011-55-71-321-0617. high-end tour company that really these perfect shores. Romantics Colonial grandeur and fiery fish Opened in 2006, the govern- knows Bahia; agents Doug Wren need look no farther. Villas from stews in a garden setting make ment-run Museu da Gastrono and Brett Steele have lived there $550, including breakfast and din- Jardim das Delícias a must on mia Bahiana is a restaurant and and return often. In Brazil, Susy ner. Una-Ilhéus; 011-55-73-3236- any moqueca tour. 12 Rua João de culinary institute and the place to Roosli, at Órbita Excursions and 6046; fazendadalagoa.com.br. Deus, Pelourinho, Salvador; 011-55- find Bahian cookbooks, foodstuffs Tourism (011-55-73-3234-3250; A Taste of Paradise 71-3321-1449. and kitchen utensils. 13/19 Praça orbitaexpedicoes.com.br), has a It’s impossible not to love the lux- Sleek and chic in a reborn wharf José de Alencar, Pelourinho, Salva- sixth sense for divining the finest urious yet laid-back Txai resort, district, Trapiche Adelaide serves dor; 011-55-71-3324-4553.

april 2009 14 Oh, Bahia continued from page 000

glass-walled library and sumptuous spa, Saints Bay; the service is sophisticated; its charms are decidedly rustic. The sun- and the menu is rich with international faded bungalows in a hodgepodge of ar- flavors, from the risotto with quail and chitectural styles are simply appointed, shimeji mushrooms to the mini apple pies with furnishings of local hardwood. But for dessert. But the place still can’t shake its homey quality feels like a rain-forest the power of Bahia’s history. The most antidote to the antiseptic sameness of so popular items are the ones that rise out many ultraluxe resorts. of the vortex of influences that have With the afternoon waning, we have shaped this region’s music and culture as time only for a quick açaí cocktail in Ita well as its food: vatapá, a shrimp, coco- caré, which Ruth dubs “the cutest town nut-milk and palm-oil paste; acarajé, a ever.” Susy and Paolo want to make sure spicy bean fritter that came from Nigeria. we catch the last car ferry to the Maraú This time, even Ruth can’t resist join- Peninsula, an all-sand elbow into the At- ing me in moqueca heaven. As we look out lantic that until 2003 was home mainly to to floodlit waters, dipping into the most fishermen, coconut farmers and the occa- elegant fish stew yet—this one has mus- sional pioneering backpacker. As such, it sels, shrimp, soft-shell crab and lobster— behooves me to downplay the joys of Ki- we feel a rush of gratitude for the glorious aroa, the lavish new resort where we ending to our pilgrimage. It’s just in time, would spend the next few days. If you though. My soul may be willing, but my don’t like private plunge pools in Bali- heart can’t take much more. ∂ nese-style bungalows, a swim-up bar and ingredients flown in fresh daily to the ho- Fashion and tel’s airstrip, then don’t bother visiting. Shopping Information But I will say that Bar das Meninas, a lady Wanderlust beach cantina in the nearby village of All jewelry available at Bergdorf Good- Taipu, serves a world-class (and blazingly man, NYC, 212-872-2579; padmalakshmi. hot) bowl of you know what. com. Page 1-2, 6: Gucci gown, gucci.com. Page 4: Roberto Cavalli gown, roberto- cavalli.com. “Back for more punishment?” Mauro asks. The Dare to Dream Sweepstakes Returning to Salvador feels like coming NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER home. Mauro and Marcos meet us at the OR WIN the Dare to Dream Sweepstakes. private airport after our half-hour charter Sponsored by Hearst Communications flight from Kiaroa—the fastest way to Inc. Go to win.townandcountrymag.com, make the trip—and we quickly get down and complete and submit the entry form to business. Ruth has shopping to do; I pursuant to the on-screen instructions. have one last stop on my tasting tour. The Beginning December 15, 2007, at 12:01 moqueca at Jardim das Delícias was good, a.m. (ET) through January 15, 2009, at albeit in a Brazilian auntie sort of way. But 11:59 p.m. (ET). (1) Grand Prize Winner my sources are telling me there’s nothing will win $250,000. Odds of winning will de in town that rivals the fish stew—or the pend upon the total number of eligible en chic ambience—at Trapiche Adelaide. tries received. Must be thirteen years old At the end of a pier in a gentrified gal- or older and a resident of the fifty United lery district that was once the most dere- States or the District of Columbia. Void in lict part of Salvador, the restaurant offers Puerto Rico and where prohibited by law. a glimpse of what the city itself might Sweepstakes subject to complete official look like in years to come. The decor is rules available at win.townandcountry modern, with a wall of windows above All mag.com.

15 town & country