RIO DO ENGENHO

The term engenho refers to a handcrafted "sugar cane mill" that produces sugar, rapadura (a highly prized confection in Brazil) or cachaça. The first engenho in Bahia was built by order of Mem de Sá, the first governor of the state, on the banks of the Rio Santana, 10 km southwest of Ilhéus (the river was later renamed Rio do Engenho). Near theengenho, the settlers built a chapel in 1537, considered the third oldest in Brazil. You can visit theengenho (modernized) and the chapel... when it is open.