Salvador, Brazil Travel - A picture can paint a thousand words

Salvador is alive with the African-Brazilian culture; displayed in the people, the arts, the food and the language. Under the fierce heat of a pulsating sun a great miasma of sounds, colours and smells fills the town square. You realise immediately that you are the foreigner there, in their homeland, and among their people. Street vendors are on every corner: old ladies dressed in traditional domestic attire sit serenely behind stalls, selling their handicrafts; young men work tirelessly, roasting seasoned cheeses over small tins of hot coals.

Groups of retired men talk and joke on park benches, smoking cigars and sipping cold cervejas; and everywhere children roam freely without a care in the world, banging pots and pans in Pied Piper bands. At times it is hard to believe that these people, so rich in culture and soul, are continually fighting just to stay afloat above the overwhelming problem of poverty afflicting their country.

Wandering through the city centre one day, my boyfriend and I were enticed by a quaint little art store consisting of a mere passageway no more than a metre in width, yet boasting hundreds of paintings stacked up and literally spilling onto the sidewalk. After perusing the stock we both decided to purchase a piece of artwork. My boyfriend chose a colourful piece depicting a rural village scene-a group of young black teenagers dancing barefoot in an empty courtyard to the beat of a lone man's drum, rhythmically circling a small fire, urged on by a ring of people clapping; they dance to entertain, hearing the beat of the drums, but they also dance to heal their soul's, hearing the cries of their forefathers. My painting is of a slave girl carrying an infant; bleeding, dirty, clothes torn, hair shaven to the scalp, yet still exuding a natural beauty and eloquence. Art stores line the streets; Salvador is a living canvas, spoiling the local artists with an abundance of subjects to choose.

Before taking the pieces up for final purchase, we covertly discussed our negotiating price range then stepped up to the table! Approaching the dealer first, my boyfriend started with an offer of half the marked price; I almost choked when I heard this, a seemingly arrogant first bid. To my surprise however the dealer hesitated, and though but briefly, it was an instant too long; pouncing on the opportunity my boyfriend withdrew his offer and made to leave the store-a tactic we had seen played out by many a client before us. The dealer desperately called him back, and submitted to a sale-price at an overall reduction of 60%!

Almost as if he realised immediately the loss in profit he had just suffered, the dealer turned to me with a scowl. Though aware that I was severely disadvantaged by having only an A-B-C' knowledge of the Portuguese language, I threw aside my reservations, and readied myself to negotiate; matching negotiating swords', we strike and parry, calling on all our wit and skill. After finally agreeing on sale terms of approximately half-price, I leave to withdraw money from the nearest cash-machine, only to find on my return that he has reneged on our deal and increased the sale price! At this point I decide to change tact, and attempt the "lets leave" retreating manoeuvre.

This time it proves unsuccessful, and instead seems to anger him, for he then proceeds to harass me for not completing the transaction! Following us outside onto the street he continues haranguing. Not deterred by this latest development, I willingly jump back into battle. It wasn't long before a sizeable group of people had gathered to watch this spectacle, many joining in to shout advice and recommendations!

Eventually a policeman intervenes to quash the commotion and disperse the crowd; as if then deciding that I had earned his respect as a worthy negotiating opponent, the dealer smiles, accepts the initial agreed-upon price and bids me happy travels! Though taken aback by this sudden change in mood, I likewise thank him, and move off to get some deserved lunch, firmly holding our paintings that will forever remind us of Salvador-the people, the food, the music, the spirit and the atmosphere, and a thoroughly entertaining art-deal, so much more than a thousand words could ever convey.