Reife Palace Hotel Recife

... though I am sure many other parts would dispute this).  Many people who visit the area tend to stay in Olinda because it is pretty, feels safe and is small.  It had a very similar feel to Lençois, actually - though maybe with a more cultural aspect.  One little bugbear of there is that you are accosted almost incessantly by ´guides´in blue t-shirts who want to show you their town and claim they can get you into places which are closed (churches in Olinda keep very idiosyncratic ...

... on a taxi - local price - and as we arrived in Olinda a group of friendly drunk people rushed around us shaking our hands and speaking in broken English welcoming us to Olinda and wanting their photos taken with us. They were from Rio and made us dance both Frevo and Samba before we were allowed to pass - we passed! They were actually really funny and friendly and it broke the energy of before and we returned home with smiles on our faces. We are ready for day 1 of Carnaval ...

... Plus I understand the accents better here so I~m fluent here I get what is going on. They use too much slang in Salvador. Anyway, Its easy to get around here, not too bad, I have to laugh... I´m apparently Loy´s friend. The hotel owner Marcello recognised me instantly on arrival and within a few moments of Loi arriving to greet me and them negotiating he had organised Tracy´s transport from the airport, and offered us ...

After 2 more continuous nights spent sleeping on buses, and a lot of time spent in (surprisingly entertaining) bus stations, we arrived in Recife - an enormous modern city on the North coast. We decided to stay in the neighbouring town of Olinda, Recife´s smaller, historical counterpart. Olinda really is a postcard destination with narrow cobbled streets full of quaint brightly coloured houses and impressive colonial architecture everywhere. It was easy to spend 2 days just ...

... also in Portuguese...quite tough). It made me and the other Americans want to play Scrabble, so we borrowed the teachers set to play. We ended up playing two games and having dinner inbetween. For dinner, I had my first Brazilian hamburger, com tudo, including lettuce, tomato, cheese, bacon, and a fried egg. Yes, an egg on a hamburger. And no, it doesn't compare to those in the states. Later, I said my goodbyes to Jesse, and he left at about 2am ...

... Carlos apparently came looking for me today... It´s nice to have a local friend. Because he works with children a lot he doesn´t lose patience with me with my portuguese, and he has that gentle manner that I understand. I´d also like to train with Anderson more. It makes me laugh though because its not because of either of these reasons that I want to stay... its because I´ve got an invitation to train with the ballet ...

... Simply perfect. 30C plus, calm with spectacular beach view from our pousada terrace. In true Brit style, we took our towels down to Gaibu & Calhetas beach first day, slopped the sun tan lotion on and sat back - our sleep only interrupted by occasional dips in the warm blue sea to cool off. Just what the doctored ordered. This bliss came to an abrupt end however later on that afternoon. As we walked off the beach, we ...

... algumas dúvidas e queria entender melhor as conseqüências de sua decisão. Foi muito gratificante vê-la, já no fim do primeiro encontro, certa de sua salvação e, também, percebendo hábitos que precisava deixar de lado. Ela já foi a uma igreja e sente-se bastante segura com sua nova vida. Muito nos surpreende a maneira como ela tem deixado Deus agir. Foi um ...

... from the area... there were even multiple chastity belts on display. Man, am I glad I wasn't raised in the 1700-1800s... metal underwear with 2 strategically placed holes and a padlock? Not my idea of style or comfort :) Anyway, he constructed a castle to house it all, and it's now a public museum. We met back up with Marisa at home, who had been at an appointment to ...

... and very hilly town. We chose to stay in a place recommended in Lonely Planet, called Pasado d´Olinda. Room a little on the basic side but friendly staff who spoke English plus it was cheap ~ 20GBP per night including breafast. My budget is starting to get back under control after a few weeks in South America! My body is falling to bits this side of the Inca Trail experience. My knees are still ...