The capital’s beaches recorded a high flow of bathers

Contrary to what many people imagine, the first business day of the week is usually busy on Salvador’s main beaches. This is the time when many traders take advantage of the low customer circulation after the weekend to close their stores and recharge their energy for the work period that begins again.

Today, the movement had a special reason, after all it was the third Monday in October, when Traders’ Day is celebrated. Due to the holiday, the beaches registered heavy traffic until late afternoon on Monday. In Barra, the concentration of people extended from Porto to Morro do Cristo, with bathers taking advantage of the holiday to relax before returning to work on Tuesday.

One of them was businessman Daniel Pedreira, 45 years old, who went to Praia do Porto da Barra with his wife Manuela. “This rest is more than deserved. We work a lot, so it’s always good to have a day to relax a little, get out of the routine and enjoy the sunset. After here, we’ll return home and start everything again tomorrow,” he said.

Daniel arrived at the scene at 2pm. Due to the number of people on the sand strip, he had to wait around 30 minutes to be able to get comfortable. “I queued up, sat on the sand while waiting for a seat to become available and I still had to compete with other people who wanted to go ahead. Still, the day is great, I’m with my wife enjoying the sun, so there’s nothing better” , celebrated the trader.

The person who also had to wait to get her chair was self-employed Lavínia Khalifa, 23. She said that she arrived at the beach at 1:30 pm and that she wanted to go to Penha beach, which is closer to her house. However, the desire to spend the day with friends spoke louder.

“Because it’s a beach where everyone feels comfortable, they decided to come here. When I arrived it was quite crowded, so much so that it took us a while to get a table, but so far everything has been fine. There were five of us, but friends started arriving and we were already There are more than ten of us. It’s been an incredible afternoon”, he reported.

Head of operations Felipe Uribe, 35, arrived in Barra in the morning. Colombian, he has lived in Salvador for six years and went to the beach with his wife, daughter and friends. “We arrived at 9 am, which is when Porto is quietest. I take advantage of the holidays to bring my family and friends to spend the day. This is a beautiful, cozy and great place to enjoy today,” he said .

The movement was also seen in other coastal regions such as Itapuã, Amaralina, Ondina, Boa Viagem and Ribeira, where the movement began on Monday morning. In Amaralina, the night started off lively with bathers taking advantage of a wall that formed in the area while others prepared a barbecue.

Traders’ Day dates back to the sanction of Decree-Law No. 4,042, on October 29, 1932, by President Getúlio Vargas. The decree reduced the working day from 12 to eight hours and was signed after a march, which brought together around 5 thousand workers from the commercial sector of Rio de Janeiro, then the capital of Brazil, who walked to the Palácio do Catete, which was the seat of the federal government.

*With guidance from sub-editor Fernanda Varela