Salvador da Bahia - A land to discover

The World ARC fleet is heading to Brazil, the fifth largest country in the world. The fleet will arrive having just completed several weeks at sea whilst crossing the South Atlantic from Cape Town. The journey totalling 2,600 nautical miles is a long one but was fortunately broken up, almost at the half way point, with a stopover in the small mid-Atlantic island of St Helena.

But about Brazil
Brazil shares a land border with every country in South America except for Ecuador and Chile. Brazil's history is related to Portugal since 1500 and is now the only Portuguese-speaking country in the American Continent. Being such a big country, with a total area of 8 million square kilometers, Brazilian topography and geography is very diverse and comprises of a large variety of ecosystems.

The World ARC Stopovers
The first port of call in this amazing country will be Salvador da Bahia or by its historic name - São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos (Holy Savior of All Saints' Bay). Its also known as Brazil's capital of happiness due to its easy going population and countless popular outdoor parties. The city of Salvador is also notable for its cuisine, music and architecture and will surely be an interesting city for the World ARC crews to visit during this special time for Brazilians that is Carnival.

The Salvador Carnival is by far the biggest street party in the world. Every year, around 2 million people participate on the Salvador Carnival Parades. During six consecutive days, from 5pm to 5am, dozens of Bands make a parade along the streets, playing on big trucks (called Trios). Usually one or more Trios and Artists form a "Bloco". Click here for Youtube link.

The fleet will then enjoy a free cruising period. During this time they may discover the All Saints Bay before sailing north to maybe visit Recife and the oceanic archipelagos of Fernando de Noronha. The fleet rendez-vous in Fortaleza is on 6^th of March. Fortaleza is the capital city of the Ceará state, best known for its extensive coastline, with 370 miles of sand.