Bahia Beach Culture

As you can imagine, the beaches are the main attraction for Bahia residents and visitors to Litoral Norte. Social culture and local business are very much tied to the crowds. In my travels, the various beaches have different natural characteristics and clientele, however, they have some things in common. No beach tags! Thats right. The beaches are free! You can take the friends & family and not have to mortgage your house. Below are two friendly Baiano lifeguards, giving us the thumbs up. 

Bars are considered public places on the beach to eat, drink, swim and listen to music. Designated by colorful plastic tables, plastic chairs and umbrellas, you can sit in the sand, sit in the water or in some cases, in a river that flows into the ocean. A typical Bahia beach bar is below. 

Bars usually serve beer, Caipirinha, mixed drinks, water and soda. 

They also serve a wide variety of food such as French fries, bolinos (fried balls of fish or cheese). Most have simple meat platters or fish platters served with rice, a tomato salad and farofa.  Some serve moqueca (fish stew) or caldinho (fish or crab soup). Waiters or waitresses take your orders and check if you need more beer. It is a custom in Bahia to leave the empty bottles under the table.  At the end, the waiter counts bottles and places the amount on the check. A lot of beer is usually consumed over a long period of time. I will go more into detail in the Bahia Beer Culture segment. 

Bahia bar food Pititinga Peixe (small fried fish) 

Acarajé e Abará (A traditional Afro Brazilian food in Bahia, made of fried or steamed beans, served with shrimp, vatapa, caruru and tomato salad) is made fresh by local vendors and brought to the table.   

The Waters of the Atlantic are totally different than the cold green New Jersey Atlantic I grew up with. First, Bahia's ocean is so clean and clear you can see your feet...imagine that. Some shallow places you can actually see fish!  The ocean doesn't have a salty or brine smell.

The natural characteristic of each beach is different, for example the waves in some beaches are very strong, not recommended for little children. There are natural rock reefs that protect some beaches during low tide, however when the tide comes in, it's time to back up. 

Some beaches are longer and shallow for lower waves which is great for children. Some beaches have joint access to a river. The river shores are calmer and shallower than the ocean. Bottomline, the Atlantic Ocean in Bahia is marvelous! 

The high tide, the waters come up to the bar tables on the river side of the beach as my sister in law strikes a pose. 

Vendors, now this is where it gets really interesting, if you sit long enough you will see just about anything you need or want sold by a vendor. Vendors walk the beach selling hats, sunglasses, suntan lotion, sunscreen, chargrilled cheese on a stick, caldinho soup, popsicles, kites and acarjae.  However, my favorite is fresh fish! Yes, fresh fish! 

Well, these communities were originally fishing villages and the fisherman still go out in the morning to bring back catches. You can choose by size, variety and price. The Bar will cook the fish for you and serve it at your table. Beach life is very good in Bahia!   

Thank you for reading my travel blog. My name is Howard W. Tucker. I am honored to be your guide to Bahia, Brazil. I have traveled to Bahia for 10 years. I am currently a resident of Brazil, living in Bahia with my wife and family.  As my travel companion, I will be introducing you to sights, sounds, people and culture of this incredibly amazing and diverse country.  

I welcome your thoughts and suggestions about places we can both explore so please feel free to contact me at htvision4edu@gmail.com