Recifé

Today we are in Recifé, the Venice of Brazil. It’s made up of three main islands all connected by bridges. After a quick breakfast we met in the theater at 7:45 am for our catamaran tour. We had a great guide on our tour named Patricia who spoke great English and plans to go to South Carolina soon.

Because we docked in a working port we took shuttle from the ship to the terminal and from there got on our tour bus #1. We shared a catamaran with another group and though it was very hot, there was shade on the boat. We got to see two rivers, stingray river and capybara river. There were no sightings of either namesakes though. We made wishes as we went under the canal bridges.

Next we went to the artillery square to see the giant rooster *snicker* and the puppet museum from the Carnivalé parade. They even had a Jigsaw replica I got to hold. We almost ran out of time because Patricia got very excited talking about the history of the city. It was invaded and sacked many times and even had a coup that only lasted 75 days. But during that time they created a flag and national anthem that they still use today.

Our tour concluded around noon. I bought a dress at the port and it’s wonderfully comfy. We also heard we were VERY lucky…a gentleman died on the steps up to Christ the Redeemer statue the day after we visited. Rio de Janeiro authorities actually CLOSED the monument for three days!

Today we goodbye to Brazil. Coming up are three sea days.Read more