Maceió, Brazil

Our guide was Gabriel. His English was lacking so some information was unclear and needed to be looked up when we were done. Oddly, more people speak German than English in this town. There were some names that we couldn’t capture as we were trying to understand the details.

Maceió is an indigenous term for spring. Most maceiós flow to the sea but some end up forming lakes. There are numerous maceiós and lakes in this part of Brazil; because of this, the city was named Maceió, and is in the state of Alagoas.

They were founded on December 5, 1815 and soon became the capital on December 9, 1839. There are three levels to the city - sea level, mid level and upper level which break up where people live, where churches and commerce are, and where the government resides.

There are 1.1 million people that live here, the average worker makes $300/month and the average rent is $300-$400/month. Suffice to say you need multiple incomes to live.

Those that can afford to buy a home pay $100,000 a few blocks from the sea to $200,000-$500,000 for those on the water.

One of the first things we saw was a replica of the Statue of Liberty which was inaugurated in 1827. Didn’t expect to see this first thing in the morning!

We went to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Pleasures Church (in Marshall Square - which is its modern name) which was built in 1840. Eighteen people have been working to scrape off old paint since 2015. The work seems endless.

The great soccer star Pele passed away a few months ago. Brazil is in the process of renaming several things after him now as you can’t put names of people on buildings until after they die.

Then we went to Jose Rubahal Square. This is a small park in a neighborhood but looks over the entire city. A local gave us each 5 or so beads and then we made wishes for each one and threw it over our shoulder with hopes that they will come true.

We went to the handicraft market (we walked in one end and made a beeline to the other end) and crossed the street to the beach. The water is crystal blue and the sun was about to set. At this time of day the temperature was moderate and there was a nice breeze.Read more