February 5, 2012
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What you must see in Recife
Get in, get out, and get it over. I always feel a little dirty after a trip to Recife. Like something wore off on me. But it is a lovely place. They are preparing for the largest Bloco in the world for Canaval later this month (over half a million people for one part of one celebration: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recife#Carnaval.2FCarnival). I pity the line of cars stuck in traffic: I take the bus.
By car, the trip from my lil city to Recife (over 4 million: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recife) is about 40 minutes. It is almost two hours by bus. But you see more. I see more in Brazil than in the USA because I haven’t quite learned to see only what is expected. I am still open to novidades. To learn to see, you must learn to forget to expect. You only find what you are looking for. I am looking for beauty.
All of the buses from my town go to one place at the end of the line. I don’t know what the name of it is, but it is close to most everything, as well as the metro, which gets me close to everything else. What to see in my Recife:
1. Airport. You need to know how to get there because there are always going to be complications with your visa. Always. From the end of the bus line, take the metro to the Airport stop (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recife#International_airport).
2. Shopping Recife. A short walk in the opposite direction of the airport from the metro station. This mall boasts in being the largest in South America (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recife#Shopping_centers) whether this is true or not, I get lost more often inside it than anywhere else outside of it. If you need your “USA fix,” they have McDonalds, Burger King, and Subway, as well as a large theater that turns the air conditioning up (or is it down?) more than any other place in Northeast Brazil. Bring a sweater.
3. Boa Viagem Beach. Beaches in Northeast Brazil are some of the best in the world, but around the big city, they are pretty dirty (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pernambuco_beaches#Recife_beaches), and boast some of the highest rates of shark attacks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recife#Shark_attacks) . So if you don’t want to swim, there are some nice beach shops, and some amazing churrascarias with their unlimited meat on machetes. This is all in walking distance of Shopping Recife.
4. Mercado San Jose. Without taking the metro, a short walking distance from the end of the busline is a huge open market with street after street of fresh fruit, clothes, and bootleg DVDs and CDs. All the street vender food you are supposed to stay away from is there, which is probably why I like it so much. Be careful to keep hydrated in the hot sun by stopping for a coconut, which they open quite impressively with a machete. There are plenty of typical arts and crafts, as well as beautiful old Cathedrals where you can sit in and feel very small.
5. Casa Cultura. If you walk a couple more blocks, you come to the old prison that was remade into a huge tourist attraction (which is right next to the Central Metro Station). You will get sick of shopping before manage to enter every single cell which is now colorfully decorated with Brazilian culture and a price tag.
6. Shopping Boa Vista. Much smaller than Shopping Recife, but not too far from Casa Cultura, they have a small theater that is not so cold and a Thai food place called “Walk to Wok.” Really. I am not making that up. And it is delicious.
7. Recife Antigo (Old Recife). If you take the main road from Shopping Boa Vista to Old Recife, it is a good distance, but on Saturdays the used book sellers line up their books for a dollar or two. Otherwise, a good book can’t be had for less than $20. You cross two bridges and hold your purse tight, for this is the highest concentration of homeless people and street children in Recife. The beautiful old architecture mingled with crooked old trees is dazzling. Turn left and go to the oldest synagogue in North and South America (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recife#Museums).
8. Livraria Cultura. On the little island-like Old Recife, if you turn right after the two bridges, you reach the largest bookstore in the city: Livraria Cultura. The only card in my wallet (besides ID and debt card) is my Livraria Cultura card. I love that place. Next door, they restored an old slave market into a trendy mall, so buy a book and then go enjoy some delicious (and expensive) fresh fruit frozen yogurt.
9. Marco Zero. Going straight until you hit the ocean, you run into Marco Zero (zero mark) where Recife began. You can take a boat out to the breakers to see the torch statue, and see cruise ships leave the harbor.
(and yes, I did take all of these pictures myself. grin)
10. The trip home. But even lovelier is rumbling home, as the bus lulls you to sleep and jerks you awake with speed bumps and holes in the road. And if you are lucky, you catch sunsets like this:
