The Atlantic's other side

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A huge bay on the shortest crossing

The Baía de Todos os Santos is one of the largest bays on the Atlantic coast of the Americas, and Salvador sits at its entrance on a steep escarpment — an upper town for administration and residence, a lower town at the water for the port. The two are still connected by a lift.

The location matters for a second reason. This part of Brazil is the closest point in the Americas to West Africa, and the prevailing winds and currents of the South Atlantic make that crossing relatively fast. The Atlantic here is at its narrowest, and that fact organised three centuries of forced movement.

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