A packed cabin drops down the Lacerda Elevator in seconds, and the doors open on the Lower Town, the harbor and the busy market streets below. Behind the cathedral, the Gonçalves funicular hauls its own car up the same cliff, carrying commuters and the odd bicycle up to the old town.
Up top, the pastel squares of the Pelourinho fill with drumming, and farther south the Barra lighthouse looks out over the mouth of the Bay of All Saints. The climate is tropical and humid all year, warm in every month, with the heaviest rain from April to June. A Local Friend keeps the plan loose, so one elevator ride can turn into a whole afternoon you never scheduled.
