Recife

It took twelve hours to get from the door of my apartment in Belém to the door of the pousada in Carapibus, Paraíba, but the trip was totally worth it. I had three fantastic days on the beach featured in the previous post and its neighbors. My activities consisted of walking along the beach, staring at the beach, playing in the waves on the beach, read-napping on the beach (sometimes without the read part), eating on the beach, and drinking beer on the beach. The area has seen a little more development since I was there two and a half years ago but everything was very quiet as it is the low season. Some hotels and pousadas were renovating in preparation for the December – February summer season.

I spent a day in Recife, which is one of the oldest cities in Brazil, the second most important city in the northeast after Salvador, and the capital of the state of Pernambuco. Recife is built on a lagoon and canals course through parts of the city. Because of this geography, some liken the city to Venice, but that comparison is a bit of a stretch. The oldest part of the city, Recife Antigo, has a redeveloped area called Polo Pino with some shops and restaurants. There is also a new (since 2003) mall with outrageously expensive stores. I spent the afternoon walking around the bustling commercial district and in the markets. For snacks, I had a coconut-sweet milk cake and braised corn, the latter of which was common street food in Cameroon.