The morning of 17 July found Mullinnix steaming for Sao Salvador, Brazil, literal translation, Holy Savior of All Saints' Bay. A city on the northeast coast of Brazil and the capital of the northeastern Brazilian State of Bahia. Salvador de Bahia (aka Sao Salvador) is a major port city and the capital of Brazil's Bahia state. The American consul prevailed on the CO to host an afternoon reception for all the Americans living in the area. The crew rigged up awnings and set up tables on the fantail. The supply officer made arrangements for a bunch of finger food to be provided for the ship’s guests.
Celery was a big hit! So much so, the crew asked some of the locals what was the big deal. One of them replied, "It's the first time since we've been in Brazil that they had bitten into anything that crunched."
A relatively short trip found Mullinnix moored port side to berth 8 with fifteen fathoms of chain to the starboard anchor at 0903, 19 July. Ships present included the Brazilian Corvette May V-22 and numerous merchant vessels. Civilian pilot, Captain Raimundo A. Lins, made maneuvering the harbor channel of Sao Salvador a breeze.
Salvador is located on a small, roughly triangular peninsula that separates Todos os Santos Bay from the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The bay, which gets its name from having been discovered on All Saints' Day forms a superb natural harbor, and Salvador is a major export port, lying at the heart of the Recôncavo Baiano, a rich agricultural and industrial region encompassing the northern portion of coastal Bahia. The local terrain diverse, ranging from flat to rolling hills and low mountains. The coastline featuring sandy beaches, sea cliffs, mangrove swamps, and a number of islands, the largest of which, Itaparica, being a famous resort area.
After near paradise in Rio followed by 3 days in Sao Salvador, the crew was wondering if they could have too much liberty. That was nearly impossible wasn't it? They were about to find out. At 0935, with the guidance of Civilian Pilot Captain Arlinido M. Santos, 22 July, Mullinnix headed to Recife, Brazil. The buzz on the fantail was centered on how the women in Recife would stack up with those from Rio and Sao Salvador. A sailors imagination can do some awful funny things to imagines of beautiful women in their minds.
