PASSARELA DE ALCOOL

It’s ironic that the Passarela de Alcool, or Alcohol Pass, did not get its name because of all the alcohol that gets sold there every night. Rather, the name was given to this particular road back in the 1800s because it was the principal passage by which alcohol was carried down to the port for shipping out of the city. Today, the area is Porto Seguro’s main spot for eating, drinking, shopping, and drinking some more. The Passarela is lined with shops, restaurants, and temporary stands that sell jewelry, clothing, crafts, and traditional Bahian cocktails. It has become difficult to define exactly where the official pass begins and ends; the area has spilled over onto the streets leading up to the original road and even along one or two of the side streets. After dark, the first signs of festivities are noticeable at the Praça da Paz (with the large clock sculpture in the middle) as you walk through town along Avenida 22 de Abril (with the ocean to your left). The praça is not the official start of the Passarela, but there are several restaurant/bars there with outdoor seating and live music to deter you for awhile. Keep walking, passing the intersection of Avenida 22 de Abril and Avenida Getúlio Vargas, where you’ll see a large sculpture of a mermaid in the small Praça Ináia. (The sculpture may also represent the Candomblé deity, Iemanjá, a sort of goddess of the sea.) Keep walking straight and you’ll come to Avenida Portugal, which is, officially, the Passarela de Alcool.

The Passarela warms up every night at around 5 p.m. and goes until about 11 p.m. It’s not a late-night party zone. Rather, it’s where the crowd begins the evening’s activities. There is a small amusement park with a Ferris wheel around halfway down the Passarela, and just prior to the park, there is a strip of restaurants with outdoor seating where you can eat and watch the mob. Here you’ll find the famous barraca (tent) Help, which was one of the first on the Passarela and still the best place to get drinks, especially the traditional Capeta. At the far end (the calm end, relatively speaking), you walk into an area lined with 17th-century cottages that are now restaurants, artist ateliers, and boutique shops. This is called the Praça da Bandeira. There are places to sit and relax for awhile in this area—before you make your way back up the Passarela for the second round.