Pernambuco

After Salvador I continued to make my way up the coast, for what is really the last leg of my journey :-( I arrived in Recife early in the morning and headed off to the hostel where I had made a reservation. The staff there were not very friendly at all. For a start, I called them to see whether someone could pick me up from the bus station and they left me hanging on the other end of the phone for ages, whilst every second I am calling costs me money due to my number being from Sao Paulo. When I finally made it there, the receptionnist just stared at me as if to say "what do you want?" and was so slow to find my reservation and then check me in. It almost seemed as if I was a pain for being there and wanting a room. Still, at least the hostel itself was decent enough with a nice swimming pool and hammocks around the terrace. I met quite a few people fast enough, including a Brazilian guy that lives in Toulouse, and he came to tell me that, that afternoon in Olinda, there was going to be a mini carnival going on and that a bunch of them from the hostel were going. So a bunch of us: 3 guys and 4 of us girls all headed off to Olinda together. Two of the guys were Brazilan, and one of them Argentinian. One of the girls was also Brazilian from Salvador, and the other two were German. The German girls had been staying in Fortaleza for 4 months working, and had already learnt a fair amount of portuguese as they were speaking pretty much fluently with all of us. I was well impressed by how much they had managed to learn in four months, considering that they had arrived not knowing a word.

Anyway, we all arrived in Olinda and started following the music. Essentially, it involved various Blocos parading in the streets of the historical part of Olinda, playing music, with lots of people following them, dancing, drinking, and being merry. It was nice to discover Olinda with a bunch of other people, and particularly with the festive atmosphere going on. It turns out that every sunday the different music schools and groups take to the streets to parade as a sort of rehearsal before Carnival starts, so our timing was just right! Olinda is very pretty and quaint, and smaller than Recife. It has some beautiful old buildings and a lovely view over the bay. I am looking forward to getting to know it a bit better now that I am here for a few days. The music was good, but the music that is typical of the region is Marakatu and Frevo. I was excited about the Frevo because I haven't seen any people dancing Frevo yet, but it turns out I didn't get to see any then either. I liked the music but really, I prefer the rythms of samba and axe, and samba reggae, all the music that you can find in Bahia and in Rio, and there is no samba here at all. There was one group playing something similar to samba but their main music here is Marakatu, Frevo, and also Forro. I am glad to be spending carnival in Bahia as I think that for me, carnival without samba or axe, would not be carnival! Still, the party was nice and the streets were pretty crowded.

The next day, Renata (the Brazilian girl from Bahia) and I headed off for Porto de Galinhas together. It turned out both she and I were planning on leaving on the same day, and staying at the same place, so nothing better than heading out there together! We got the bus to Porto de Galinhas, which was an adventure in itself. I have to say, after nearly two months in Brazil, I am no longer quite so enthralled with the local bus ride experience. This one was awful. For a start, there are the STUPID turnstyles in the bus that you have to get through. With luggage of any kind this is next to impossible. The worst thing is that nobody helps you and nobody seems to care that you are really struggling to get through. So I struggled to get through with my mochila...Then, the bus was full of people and so there was nowhere to sit down. In Europe, on a bus trip like that, that lasts two hours, you would never keep letting people on the bus when it was full but instead you would just schedule more. In Brazil they just kept letting more and more people onto this damned bus, that was packed and driving down dirt roads so that it kept bumping around, and winding all over the place. It was definitely a most uncomfortable bus ride. And to top it all off, in order to get off the bus we had to go through yet another turnstyle! Still, it was worth it as the pousada in Porto de Galinhas was much lovlier than the one in Recife. For a start, the staff was much friendlier. And even better, the rooms had aircon: what a luxury! When we finally made it to the beach, I realised that the bus trip was more than worth it. Stunning turquoise waters, crystal clear, and white sand: incredible! This is definitely the most beautiful beach I have ever seen, or at least within memory. Probably when I was younger I saw some similiar to this but I can't remember it, so for me Porto de Galinhas is really the most beautiful place I have ever seen. I would say the only downside to it, is that the main part of the beach is really crowded.

Porto de Galinhas has natural reefs and it is possible to take boat rides out to go and look at the fish. Renata and I went out on a Jangada (the type of boat) to the reefs. All along, floating in this most incredible turquoise water. Once you arrive at the reefs it is possible to get out and snorkel amongst the fish, or to walk on the reefs and see the natural swimming pools that are created. The water in Porto de Galinhas is very salty, so that it is almost impossible to dive down to the bottom of the sea in order to look at the fish as you just pop right back up again! Still, there are loads of fish to be seen at the surface. It's fun walking on the reefs, though I couldn't help but think how bad it must be for them to have hundreds of people walking on them every day. I think eventually it will really damage them and the surrounding ecosystem. Still, the boat ride was definitely worth it. Afterwards, we decided to go on a buggy ride as well, as they take you a bit further out than Porto de Galinhas to go and see other beaches. That was loads of fun as riding on the back of the buggy is almost like being on a funfair ride, with bumps and turns and the wind blowing strongly in your face. We got to see several other stunning beaches, and went on another Jangada ride in order to see seahorses. We actually did get to see seahorses, although I was more intent on seeing one in its natural habitat under the water, though this is hard. Instead, the jangadeiros who are used to doing this, go diving to look for them and when they find them, grab them and put them in a jar. It's cool as you get to see them but once again it made me sad that they touch them and put them in jars for us to see. It can't be good for them...

After that exciting day of boat and buggy rides, life in Porto de Galinhas mainly boiled down to beaching and lazing around. Once Renata had left I ended up on my own and so there was not much to do, particularly as I had run out of reading material and finding books in these places is very difficult! There were not many people in the hostel either and so I didn't meet anyone that I could spend some time with. Still, Porto de Galinhas was lovely and I am definitely going back there. It is predominantly a Brazilian holiday destination though, with not many foreigners there. It's probably nicer like that though anyway,as it makes it more "authentic" :-) Now I am back in Recife, here for only a few days in order to discover Recife and Olinda. This time however I decided to stay in Olinda which was a much wiser decision as not only is the hostel much nicer, but the staff as well and I have already met tonnes of people. Only problem: a slight smell of drains in the room. I better go as otherwise I will not see any of Recife except for the internet cafe! More soon