Recife, Brazil, pronounced “ruh-see-fee”. The name itself actually means “reef”, although the nearby coral is struggling these days here in the state of Pernambuco, one of the oldest settled areas in the country.
We met our guide, Sergio very early in the morning. It will be our first tour not utilizing one of the cruise ships tours. As it turns out, it was a great day with a great tour guide. Our first stop was at one of the first churches in Brazil that is now a monastery. It’s called Mosteiro De Sao Bento De Olinda, in English, St. Benedicts. I learned that if SAO is before a name of a church it means that it is owned by the Vatican. The monestary was beautiful with the large wooden doors and the very impressive gold alter.
When the Portuguese first established a colony here in 1537 they called this land Terra de Santa Cruz and the local settlement was a small fishing village, it was the nearby Olinda that was the larger town to begin with. In 1630 the Dutch invaded and named the town here Mauritsstad, they also made it their capital as they felt it was a more defensible location, until they were ousted in 1654.
Sugar cane production created the wealth that came to the town, as well as harvesting the coveted brazilwood, or pao brazil which grows only in the northeast of the country and where the nation’s name eventually came from. An aside here as you may be wondering what do they actually make with brazilwood, well, most bows for instruments in the violin family are made from it, as well as its being used to make a red dye.
On to another church, the Convento de Sao Francisco had beautiful walls that could tell a story in the tiles of blue and white porcelain. It reminded me of my mother in laws blue willow collection of table wear. It was impressive . Almost every room was covered in these stories from the 17th century and 18th centuries.
The chapel had beautiful life size photos on the ceilings and gold inlays on almost every portion of the wood. They also used the Brazilian wood for cabinets to store their precious writings.
On to the market area of Olinda, we found a cute area for shopping and drinks. They had a blanket of colorful umbrellas that reminded me of Spain. We also found some of the carnival dolls here. We will visit a museum of the dolls and I’ll explain that later down the page.
We bought a door magnet here to add to my collection and hopped back on the bus with some much needed air conditioning. Today’s temperatures rose to 89 degrees. It’s miserably hot and we are were constantly reminded to wear hats, drink water and wear sunscreen.
The Holy Saviour of the World Cathedral is a Catholic Church and as our guide stated it is the most important church as it was the first one built in Brazil. The most fascinating to me was the large sculpture of Jesus holding the world in one hand and the sacred heart in the other. It is known in Brazil that he died to save the world so this was after his resurrection since it also has the marks in his hands. Very moving piece of art.
We stopped for lunch at Skillus, a Brazilian buffet that was amazing. The food was great and even better if you like tongues, calf’s foot and goat. Not me! I did try the Brazilian beef. It was amazing as well as the Brazil nuts and desserts. We had to weigh our food and pay, similar to Sweet Frog or those ice creameries in the U.S. I seem to remember some cafeteria’s weighing food but cant remember when one it was.
We had to get our bellies full as we were visiting a prison next! It is now converted to a shopping center. Here some of our fellow cruisers purchased some beautiful mosaic opals. One ring was $100 and it was beautiful. I should have. May regret that one.
The bus let us off at Marco Zero Square to walk most of the way back. It is the historical center of the city and the point from which all the distances in town are measured, it’s on the same small island as the port itself.
Around the corner can be found Bom Jesus street, During dutch occupation, several jews came to Recife, precisely on Bom Jesus St. Thus, the street is known as “Jews street”, referring to creed liberty. It is deemed the oldest street in Recife,. It was named the third most beautiful street it 2003 by Architectural Magazine. It is not that beautiful today. Lots of construction and paint is worn.
This street also has the giant dolls. Embaixada dos Bonecos Gigantes or Embassy of the Giant Dolls can be found near the synagogue of this street.
These giant “dolls” are used at Carnaval in the parades and celebrations, they’re images of famous people of Brazil and throughout the world, current or historical, and they may even be imaginary. The list includes The Beatles, Neymar, the Pope, and Darth Vader, just to name a few. When they appear at Carnaval their height is about 3.9 m (12.75 ft) so you know these “dolls” are only the top half of the partygoer.
We did hear the beaches are beautiful here, especially Boa Viagem, but unfortunately Recife is one of the most shark-infested beach cities in the world. Apparently bull sharks love it here and they are one of the most aggressive and unpredictable of their species. Thankfully we didn’t go near the water today.
Our last stop before heading to the ship was at Arsenal plaza. This place was home to the Malakoff tower, built between 1853 and 1855 , the people of the city named it ” Malakoff tower”, in allusion to the Russian fortress of Sevastopol that had resisted bravely during the War of Crimea .
It was an exhausting day but we truly enjoyed touring a Brazilian port. We cannot wait to see the many 100’s of ports awaiting us.
Rio de Janiero is our next port and we are beyond excited. We will see Christ the Redeemer and watch the fireworks from the ship. So excited!
May God bless you always!
Chuck & Lea Ann
WorldTravelReynolds 