One of the few memories I have of being in Salvador, apart from the white dress, leather sandals, Igreja Senhor do Bonfim and the Elevedor, was a beautiful sandy beach where we went swimming. According to the log book, we had gone there in a dinghy along with French crew of a boat that we met in Salvador and altogether we visited a beach in Barros.
I asked the taxi driver to take me there. Preparations for Carnival were in full swing and traffic was dense. I soon spotted a beach, though, and he dropped me off. I am not sure that this was the place we visited, although forty four years of development changes places significantly. This was a beach town, with restaurants and cafes and apartment blocks. No palm trees in sight.
Nevertheless, I was here and wanted to walk on the sand and feel the sand between my toes and swim in the water like I had done at sixteen. So down to the beach I went. There were quite a few rock formations with tidal pools that people were swimming in and I decided to head off there. I had been warned not to leave my beach bag, towel and valuables on the sand, as thieves were everywhere, so I waded into the a rock pool up to my waist, carrying my beach bag over my head, and found a rocky bit where I could sit and place my towel and bag and enjoy some hours in the sun, swimming.
The water was very warm, like the Mediterranean in summer. It must have been about twenty two degrees. My kind of water. The pools were clear and unpolluted, which surprised me for a big city like Salvador. There were happy people everywhere and I was reminded again of how time can be enjoyed and life made the most of. In my usual day to day life in Switzerland, there is not much place for this and taking time to enjoy yourself on a beautiful day, away from work, is often frowned upon, left to the weekends and time off when the weather is often worse. The fast pace of life and work and family and chores and duty does not leave much space for this type of carefree day and I was envious of the beach-goers and their freedom and happiness.
I am quite sure I was the only foreigner there, although you never know these days. The water was very clear, blue, and little tropical fish of multi colours like in the story Nemo were everywhere in the little pools.
I loved it. I loved being there and could imagine a holiday here where I could spend every day in these rock pools. I tried to remember back to when we were here in 1982, but was not successful. The palm trees were not here, the backdrop of the beach was not the same.
After a few hours of swimming, relaxing, wading, watching the colourful tropical fish, reading, sunbathing and just gazing out to the ocean, I headed back to the hotel. It was a lovely beach day, spent all alone in solitude and reflection, pure and simple relaxation. I wished it didn’t have to end.
Dates: February 2026
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