TRANCOSO QUADRADO AND VILLAGE

The small square that is historical Trancoso, called the Quadrado, was once the only civilization for kilometers and kilometers. On horseback, the trip to Porto Seguro to sell sugar and cocoa products took an entire day. But life in the Quadrado was slow and simple. As you walk into the square, you can imagine how life here must have been. The place is intact, with its small structures perfectly restored and functioning as restaurants or pousadas. At the far end of the square, toward the cliffs that overlook the ocean, is the town church, looking exactly as it did in the 1500s. As you walk toward the cliffs, you’ll pass locals (including indigenous people) selling rustic jewelry and other items in the square. The quality of these handmade goods is generally much higher than that of neighboring towns, so if you’re going to do some purchasing, Trancoso is the place to do it. Most visitors drop their jaw when they reach the far end of the Quadrado, which overlooks the ocean. The view here is world-class. Below you, the Rio Trancoso glides toward the ocean with a couple of serpentine turns between sandbars and past tall palm trees. You might want to hang out at this viewpoint for awhile to drink it in. Later, you can walk down to become a participant in the scene.

The Quadrado used to be the only part of the village and was home to 12 traditional families that lived quite isolated from the rest of the world. Families would arrange marriages between young men and women only if they lived on opposite sides of the square. The principal economy of the village was, of course, fishing. The village was discovered in the ’70s, along with much of the Southern Bahia coastline. In the ’80s, it underwent a major transformation, with the addition of electricity, telephones, and, little by little, investors from other parts of Brazil, who built their pousadas and restaurants in town. Today, the Quadrado remains much as it did before civilization hit. No outdoor lights are allowed in the square and, if you want to walk around the area at night, you might want to bring a flashlight.

On the other side of the Quadrado, away from the ocean, is the new part of the village, known as the Bosque area. An extension of the Quadrado, this is where you’ll find some of the town’s more well-decorated restaurants and boutique shops. The entire Bosque area consists of just a few streets: the main road entering the town and a few others forming a single square block.