Salvador

If you like humungous street parties, Salvador, Bahia is the place you want to be.

It's a crowd participation party as parades of live bands on big tall floats with powerful sound systems roll through the city and endless crowds of partiers follow along dancing and drinking until the point of passing out.

The traditional Carnival dates are from the Friday before Ash Wednesday to Fat Tuesday but in Salvador the party continues into Wednesday with more parades winding up the exhausting 5-day celebration on Ondina beach in the afternoon where people end up partying in the tents along the beach.

If you're asking yourself why I say exhausting celebration, it's because everybody who's ever gone to Salvador for Carnival has stories of partying, meeting people and leaving the party just to return to the party later for another round and it goes on all night long for 5 days. So, prepare yourself to get some rest during the day so you can be in the streets all night long.

There are two main parade routes, one downtown running from Campo Grande to Praca Castro Alves and the other going from Barra to Ondina. People pay money to receive a t-shirt with the band's name on it and a pair of shorts. With this outfit, they can party along side the musical trailer separated from the rest of the crowd by a cord of rope.

All around the city people put up stands to sell drinks and play music, turning the city into one great big party. There are creamy fruit drinks called batidas mixed with cachaca, a domestic sugar cane liquor about 80-proof. The most typical Brazilian cocktail, caipirinhas, made with lemon, sugar and cachaca are also a hot item and there's never a shortage of beer to drink.

The predominant music is Axe whose songs are always accompanied with dance moves that all the locals have learned and can't wait to show off for Carnival. Some of the moves remind one of Dancehall Reggae style dancing with lots of hip thrusting. This is serious Carnival country. Get prepared to party your butt off. You'll probably need another vacation to rest up from this one!