Feb 17, 2013 - Recife and Olinda

We docked at Recife in the early morning and disembarked to music and dancing from some locals. Recife is the 9th largest city in Brazil and the capital of Pernambuco state. It has the nickname “the Brazilian Venice” because of the rivers and the natural pools formed by the coal reefs that run along its coast. There are many lovely beaches. One of the areas in Recife is Olinda set on a hill. It is a UNESCO world heritage site as it is one of the best preserved Portuguese colonial towns. It was built in the 1500s and has narrow cobbled...

Feb 4, 2013 - Recife,Brazil

Today, Monday Feb 4th, we arrived in Recife. This is one of Gerry’s old haunts from his S. American visit in 1959. Luckily it looks a lot different today. It is a big modern city of 1.8 million people, with an old city centre. We took an excursion from the ship because we wanted to go to the nearby city of Olinda and thought that was the best way to go. A highlight was the old prison that has been turned into a tourist market with the cells being individual shops and decorated ready for carnival. One disappointment in the old part was that...

Feb 1, 2013 - Churches, colour and carnaval: Recife and Olinda

A Dutch fleet finally gained control of Olinda on February 16th 1630, after the Dutch had tried unsuccessfully since 1625 to gain a foothold on the Brazilian coast with an eye on the sugarcane production. The Spanish and the Dutch were still engaged in the 80 Years War and since Portugal was in that period occupied by Spain, the Dutch could no longer trade with the Portuguese, hence their interest to establish their own territory. It was under the governorship of Johan Maurits of Nassau (1636 - 1644) that the colony expanded and flourished....

Oct 1, 2012 - Recife - Olinda

Nous voilà maintenant à Recife chez notre couchsurfeur Joao. Recife aura été la ville de la culture car nous avons vu 4 musées grâce aux conseils de Joao. Il nous a préparé un programme avec les choses qu'il estimait les plus intéressantes pour nous selon le temps que nous avions à disposition. C'était encore mieux qu'avec un guide ! Nous avons vu le musée de la monnaie, c'est un passionné qui a collectionné différentes pièces de monnaie du Brésil et en a fait des œuvres d'art. A une certaine période, le Brésil changeait très souvent de...

Jan 16, 2012 - Recife, Brazil

Recife is known as the Brazilian Venice. Several rivers run through it and it is dotted with islands and mangroves. We take a complimentary shuttle into town to the Casa da Cultura. It is an old prison that has been converted into a handicraft market. Each cell houses a small shop selling clothing, wooden carvings and jewelry.

Nov 27, 2011 - good luck with that

As we crossed the Equator on the final day at sea we became accompanied by an ever growing flock of birds. They looked like extra large gulls with black tails and black outlines on their wings. They cruised along side us effortlessly and dropped like bombs into the water to catch fish. It was great fun for us to watch, but the crew had a big job ahead after we docked since the beautiful views from our windows was obscured by layers of bird poop. Recife gets its name from the reef which protects its harbor and was founded as a Dutch colony....

Jan 19, 2011 - Recife

Wednesday, January 19, 2011 We had a full schedule today as we combined the towns of Olinda and near-by Recife, (pronounced Hay-see’-fay; the R has an H sound) guided by Leonardo who spoke beautiful English. We are not losing any of our Road Scholar travelers yet, but we gained six, plus our new lecturer, Rodrigo Maia, who all joined us today on our excursion. When we got to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Olinda, which means “Oh beautiful”, we moved into three smaller vans to negotiate the narrow and hilly cobblestone roads that took us...

Mar 22, 2009 - Via Viagem

We arrived in Recife around 2pm today. There wasn't a whole lot to see so the tour was only 4 hours. Our first stop the pretty village of Olinda which is not surprisingly full of Portuguese churches. After a quick run through we were taken to Boa Viagem beach. Finally we ended the tour at (you guessed it) a handcraft center! There was nothing worth buying but it was housed in a really cool old jail. The shops each occupy a cell. I probably won't post anything for the next few days as we'll be crossing the Atlantic. Next stop Cape Verde!

Feb 10, 2009 - RECIFE, BRAZIL

Feb 10 DAY 11 Recife Gathered at 8:30 in an attempt to avoid the crowd. Caught a shuttle to the downtown then began the negotiations. After several attempts lucked out to find Carlos (had been an exchange student who lived in Detroit). Carlos' English was perfect; he also spoke 5 other languages and his knowledge of US history was better than ours. The negotiators worked a deal for about a third of what the Tour Company's charged. When he added more people they negotiated a lower price. We toured the city on our way to Olinda. The original...

Feb 19, 2008 - Recife, brazil

2/19 – 2/20 The 19th was a sea day and Joan was busy painting. The day has now become a milestone in her painting carrier. She sold here first watercolor ($15). But it does not end there. She has orders to produce a number more at $20 each and even has an “agent” (Mary Ellen) who is pushing Joan’s paintings. On the 20th we arrived in Recife, Brazil. In this city we took an official ship’s tour of the area. The tour started with a visit to an old prison in Recife that has recently been converted into a craft market. We bought something so...

Dec 16, 2007 - Recife and Olinda

Our first taste of Brazil - hot, noisy, hectic and tropical! After mastering the ATM we were able to catch a local bus to neighbouring Olinda - the old capital of Brazil, founded in 1537, and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A novel project has been established where former street children from the favelas give guided tours of the city.

Mar 7, 2007 - Olinda

If we visit another colonial town I think Naomi might kill me. If I take another photograph of a church or pretty coloured building, Naomi will definately kill me. Still as Olinda was our last stop before returning to Sao Paulo and leaving South America I thought it was worth the risk. Despite its colonial past, today, Olinda is really a suburb of the gritty city of Receife. Almost everything that "goes on" around here "goes on" in Receife. This has left Olinda to become a sleepy old town where minutes quickly turn into hours and hours into...