In 2016 Steph and I ended our South America trip by celebrating Carnival in Rio De Janeiro. We were joined by Steph’s friend Karina who was on her own backpacking in South America and our friend Leo, a local resident of Rio, whom we had met earlier in our trip through Patagonia. We hadn’t even planned on going to Brazil, but when Leo mentioned that Carnival was happening earlier than usual that year we decided we could fit it into our itinerary and started to play with the idea. We couldn’t resist going after I reached out to my brother-in-law’s cousin Caroline, who was living in Rio, to see if she thought it was a good idea. To our surprise, she offered us her apartment for free since she was going home to Paris on vacation. We figured we might meet up with Leo for a day while there. As luck would have it, Caroline and Leo’s apartments were only a 5-minute walk apart, a crazy coincidence considering Rio is South America’s 3rd largest city, so he spent multiple days as our local guide, showing us the ropes of how to take in Carnival like the locals do.
Eight years later we had finally returned to Brazil to explore more of the country and decided to arrange our itinerary so we could experience Carnival in Salvador, the epicenter of Afro-Brazilian culture.
Getting To Salvador
With Brazil hosting Carnival for the first time since the 2020 shutdown we knew that transportation around the country would be a challenge if we didn’t book well in advance. A month before Carnival, we went online to book our overnight bus tickets from Chapada Diamantina to Salvador. Steph had managed to book a lower-level sleeper seat and received a confirmation, but Jon and I couldn’t get a reservation to go through. Instead, we booked ours at the Rio bus station (sadly we couldn’t get sleeper seats like Steph), and we carefully tucked away the printed paper tickets in our wallet.
A month later, exhausted from a long day of hiking and waiting for the midnight bus, we boarded only to discover 2 people in our assigned seats. This would occasionally happen, despite seats being assigned, but the situation would always be resolved when tickets were compared and someone realized their mistake. In this case, however, both parties had tickets for the same leg of the trip in the exact same seats. We finally figured out that the woman who sold us the ticket had accidentally selected January instead of February for the month and our bus had long since left. As luck would have it, there were 2 sleeper seats left on this bus and Jon and I received a free upgrade on a bus we didn’t have tickets for and the three of us slept comfortably all the way to Salvador.
An Early Start
With a few hours until check-in time at our Airbnb, we stored our bags at the Salvador bus station and set out to explore the area. The streets were calm despite lots of setup happening of drink carts, countless porta potties, medical tents and performance areas. We walked down to the lower city and explored the seawall before taking a ride up the Lacerda Elevator and making our way back to the bus station to grab our bags.
Our Airbnb for this stop had been a bit of a hassle as our host had already informed us that our rental was no longer available, but she offered us her own place instead which was still in a good area. The apartment was located in the neighborhood of Santo Antônio Além do Carmo, a short walk away from the old town known as Pelourinho where Salvador’s more traditional Carnival celebrations take place. The cobblestone streets and colourful buildings compose the quintessential scene one imagines when thinking of Salvador. We didn’t have to work hard to find ourselves in the heart of the party. We had just enough time to paint our sunglasses with glitter nail polish (the only festive thing we had time to grab) before a blocco started right outside our front door. We bought some beers and followed the party of drummers and dancing spectators down the street to Largo de San Antonio where a bandstand was set up with rotating musical acts.
The Pelourino Circuit
That evening we walked to the nearby neighbourhood of Pelourino. There was a large stage with a schedule of well-known Brazilian acts performing at the entrance of the neighborhood. Beyond the stage were narrow inclined streets lined with stalls selling costume pieces, caipirinhas, beers and snacks, that led to a plateau with a main square where various groups emerged from the narrow alleys to parade through the square, picking up followers before disappearing down another narrow street. Some groups followed trucks with performers on them while others walked to the beat of their own drummers. Somehow all the different sounds avoided clashing with each other. If you liked something you could follow it and if you didn’t you could wait a few minutes for it to move on. It was exhilarating and incredible.
To get into the neighborhood we had to pass through a security check (one of the rare lineup situations in life where the women’s lineup is faster than the men’s) so despite being out at night, it felt like a safe and relaxed experience. The area was festive but the crowd was by no means overwhelming. There was rarely a wait for drinks, food, or the bathrooms. There were even people stationed at most of the porta potties to hand us toilet paper on our way in. We couldn’t imagine a better Carnival experience.
Day 2 and The Dodo Circuit
The next day we decided to experience the Dodo Circuit. Much different from the Pelhourino Circuit, the Dodo Circuit runs massive 18-wheel trucks known as Trios Electricos through the streets with a performer and their band playing on top of them. There are a few ways to take in the circuit. One is to pay to gain access to a viewing platform with bar service. It sounded like a great option until we saw the price tag. The next option is buying an abadá, an expensive shirt that identifies you as having paid the price of admission that lets you walk and party on the street in front of the 18-wheeler. Dozens of volunteers walk along holding a large rope creating a net around the area to keep those without an abada out. We had no interest in this option. The final option is to be Pipoca which translates to popcorn. This is the crowd outside of the roped-off street area on the sidewalk enjoying the circuit free of charge. You can guess how it got its name.
Considering big crowds are not our thing, we opted to be popcorn so we could have the experience for 30 minutes and leave, or so we thought. The circuit is famous for running along the seawall and we made the mistake of checking out the coastal view just before the first truck passed. Despite there being long distances between the trucks, by the time we were ready to leave the street was impossible to cross because they were for Abadas only. We were completely cut off from accessing any other city streets. Trying to get ahead of the trucks by pushing against the partying crowd along the seawall was a long and stressful experience. We have no photos since puling a phone out didn’t seem safe. Once we finally made our way out we were happy to return to the calmer festivities of Pelourino for the evening and ended the evening with a small crowd at the bandstand near our apartment listening to some great Beatles covers.
Back to Rio
With a few days left before our flights home and another offer from our friends Caroline and Sylvain to use their apartment, we flew back to Rio. We had hoped to take in some of Rio’s Carnival but discovered we were arriving on the last day. Having already taken in the classic highlights of the city on previous trips, we opted to walk around the neighborhood of Centro to take in the city’s beautiful architecture. We also managed to connect with Leo for drinks and dinner in Copacabana.
Returning Home
Steph headed to Sao Paulo a few days after us, but our final day was spent the same way, buying coffee, Cachaca and Sonho’s (our favorite Brazilian treat) to take home to our families and friends.
When we landed back in Canada my parents were ready with jackets, hats and mitts to help us adjust to the almost 50-degree temperature difference. It didn’t take long for us to start thinking about the next big trip!
