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| | Safety Tips: Salvador Carnaval | | Disque Turismo (dial tourism) Tel.: 131; Pronto Socorro (first aid) Tel.: 192; and Polícia Civil (police) Tel.: 197. | - Take out with you only the money you intend to spend that day, and always have change. Don't hesitate to give it up if confronted.
- Take only and Id , Phone Number and address o
 f Hotel. Leave jewelry and valuables in the Hotel. - Wear comfortable clothes and tennis shoes, sandals will not protect you from smelly puddles and too many dancing feet.
- You should not hesitate to use taxis particularly at night.
- Don't leave your money where pickpockets can get at it in crowded locations. Assume accessible pockets will be accessed by intruders. A small plastic bag secured on cord under your top, money and keys stuffed in bras, socks, shoes etc are all recommended options
- Don't leave anything on the beach you would miss.
- Carry a photocopy of your passport but not your passport
- Don't expose a valuable camera or cell phone outside the Pelourinho.
| | BLOCOS & TRIOS: |
The ´blocos de carnaval` are formed by a ´trio elétrico` and a support car, and their space is reserved and separated by a large rope. The trio electrico is a large flat-bed truck, equipped with modern sound systems, as well as the band's equipment, which stays at the upper stage where artists perform. The trio's average speed is 2 Km/h, and it stops many times. By doing this, it is able to finish the Barra circuit at 6 Km street circuit within 7 to 8 hours. They are called "trios" because the first one was an old car ('29 Ford) with a driver and two musicians (Dodô and Osmar) in the back (the car can be seen in the museum at the Lagoa da Abaeté in Itapoan, it debuted in 1950).
The Pipoca or Popcorn Dancers: A reference to packs of Carnival crowds, nonetheless dancing as they try to get close to the trio electrico while staying outside the blocos' ropes. It is easy to fazer pipoca (be popcorn) You are pushed back by the bloco perimeter rope security creating a protected zone surrounding the moving music altar to be cordoned off by massive security efforts. The name is a reference to people jumping up and down like popcorn popping. This is a poorer crowd who are not bashful about putting their hands in your pocket yet there are many veterans of the Carnival on the forums who think this is where you best enjoy the Carnaval
The easiest way to experience all the sweet highs and bitter lows that Carnival has to offer. Your clothing and feet will get soiled; people will try to rob you; people will try to fight you; people will try to kiss you; and in the heat of the moment, people will embrace you as another dancing Brazilian.
Camarotes. These are large rooms on the first or second floor of buildings along the carnival routes, variously offering anything from hot-dogs to sushi, massage and beauty parlours, cyber cafés, live transmission of the carnival, and of course clean toilets, first aid and dance space. An all-inclusive ticket costs between $30 and $300 for a day and can be bought in advance. Prices varying considerably according to facilities and location. Abadá is not only the T-shirt [and other parts of the uniform like hat or shorts] that acts as the ticket to allow you inside the ropes of your bloco but also a capoeira term. In capoeira it refers to the pants worn. The word is derived from the Yoruban "agbada", which in Africa meant a long robe of the type worn in Islamic countries (or areas).
 | Salvador Carnival Exposed- Impressions, observations, and tips from Salvador's 2007 Carnival | |  | | "For the born traveler, traveling is a besetting vice. Like other vices, it is imperious, demanding of its victim's time, money, and the sacrifice of comfort." - Aldous Huxley | © 2005–2009 Craig Heimburger
some rights reserved | I flirt with every girl that makes eye contact with me, I said casually. The different actions vary depending on age and distance, but they're fundamentally they same: A prolonged stare; a smile; a wink; a smooch to the air; a blown kiss; arms crossed over the chest (hands on opposite shoulders); a hand over the heart; a touch to their waist/stomach/back; a thumb-squeeze on the chin; a kiss on the cheek; a kiss on the lips; etc... I continued... I pick one or two actions and have fun. If I see eyes locked on me, I'm going to give the girl/woman/grandmother a response no matter how pretty she is. It's Carnival! I do it and everyone involved feels great, laughs, smiles, and wins because of it. I don't have to be attracted or even care because the gesture is completely harmless, and they're happier and more confident for it (and of course my ego grows a little each time I'm able to give that to them). What if they're looking at you and not interested, asked one of the girls. Well, I automatically assume they're interested unless told otherwise—and that's never happened, I responded, there's not enough time to do anything but laugh, smile, and dance on. "The girls of my country are beautiful, but very cold. If you were to come to Israel and act as you do here, you would leave not with kissed lips, but with a face permanently red from all the slaps received!" Israeli housemate to Craig
| | "The absolute worst place you want to be for pickpockets is dancing next to a trio eléctrico in the lighthouse/beach section of Barra. It is in this linear position that your movements are predictable, and hands can get at you from every direction (the guy in front, behind, on your sides, and even from below—from those damn children)...I believe the epicenter of problems have moved in recent years towards the start of the circuit"...also the best place for a late evening encounter with girls or groups of Brazil's young, fun, and temporarily homeless fellow revelers. | | Related Writings | |
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| | TIPS: Places to Stay | | Book early while there are many accommodation choices. Salvador Carnaval is the first one to sell out leaving you with only an option of a long taxi commute if that. Most of the police and English speaking tourists and Brazilians will be found in the areas near the Pelourinho or the Barra. Salvador's public transport is complicated by the physical layout of the city, lots of jinks and turns. It can be quite confusing | | Ash Wednesday | | Unofficially Salvador Carnival runs to Wednesday noon, ending with a big roundup of Timbalada and other trios around the Farol de Barra. | | <nobr> </nobr> |
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