Praia dos Carneiros

We woke up early the next morning and got a ride from our host's brother-in-law's taxi driver to the hotel that he runs.  Really, its more like a mini-paradise with huts you can stay in.  We didn't get to stay there (though I'm highly considering it for when I can one day afford it), but they let us use the facilities to hold our stuff while we spent the day on the indescribable beauty of Praia dos Carneiros.

Our first sight upon walking in on this hidden paradise were the wild turkeys running around everywhere.  There were also monkeys running around and climbing up trees, and a big peacock prancing around.  My thoughts, "Is this the real life, or is this fantasy?"

Monkey.

Peacock.

I wanted so badly to lay out in that hammock, but the fact that I hadn't paid the hundreds of dollars that everyone else had paid to be there kept me from doing it.

The weather was absolutely ideal. What a comeback from the disappointment we experienced at Porto de Galinhas! 

I didn't get this off of Google images.

Nor this.

Between the sand and the water there was a stretch of reef filled with sea urchins, sea anemones (I admit using spell-check on that one), little fishes, crabs, and hermit crabs.  Jaren and I spent some time on the reef trying to catch tiny fishes and crabs, and then feeding them to the anemones.  It's still fun.

Jaren and I took a little exclusive excursion on a boat, who showed us what there is to see at this wonderful beach.

The boat stopped at a little secret spot where the sand was filled with pieces of what they call "white mud," though its really more of a clay, that you can rub on your skin.  Legend has it that the clay has healing effects.

I didn't think that I could ever be whiter than I already was, but I guess I was wrong.

At the end of the boat ride, the guy let us borrow his snorkel gear (for a reasonable price) and we got to go around the natural pool in the middle of the reef.  Luckily I didn't get the girl mask (the guy said my head was too big for it).  Amongst the coral were lots and lots of fish, and it was really cool to stick your head down there and watch them inside the little caves.  Some of them were really colorful, and when they hit the sunlight that came through the reef they would glow bright shades of blue or yellow.  You had to be careful not to get poked by the sea urchins, which everyone says are poisonous enough to send you to the hospital.  

Also, I'm not sure what the other two snorkelers in the back of the photo are doing.

Tamandaré

We finished our classes early this week, so Jaren and I got permission to go on our own to the beautiful Praia dos Carneiros (Beach of the Sheep).  The beach lies close to a small coastal town called Tamandaré, which was a 2-hour bus ride outside of Recife.  When we arrived there, we found a little place to stay the night for a low price, and instead of going straight to Carneiros we lunched and then went to the beach 300 meters from the place where we stayed.  

 On the beach of Tamandaré.

 My white body.  The beach was very calm and relaxing, but unfortunately the water was kind of murky with bits of wood and what not, so it wasn't good for swimming.  But it was a peaceful stroll.

 My wonderful travel mate Jaren.

 This was a very old church with mason symbols on the front of it, which I thought was kind of interesting.

 The beach was littered with boats for fishing, shrimping, crabbing, etc., as well as with torn up neon shorts.

 Some big black clouds started to come over the top of us, and threatened to pour down over the top of us, but luckily it didn't rain.

 So Jaren and I wanted a picture together on the beach close to this cool white chapel, and the lucky passerby that came by soonest was an older fellow that didn't know how to use a camera to save his life.  We had to explain and explain and explain how he had to hold down the button all the way for at least a couple seconds, but he couldn't seem to do it.  The way he held the camera wobbling away from his face made me wonder if there was a golden snitch inside the machine.  This was one of the pictures Jaren took trying to explain to our friend how long to hold down the button.

 The result of our labors.  When we saw that it took, we cheered for our photographer like he had scored the winning goal of the World Cup.

The sun set on our day in Tamandaré.  (The most poetic comment I could come up with for this photo)

An American Dinner

 Jaren had the incredible idea of preparing an American meal for our beloved family here in Recife.  They invited over their extended family to partake in this feast.  Jaren made fried chicken breast from scratch, along with mashed potatoes, gravy, and corn.  It took hours for us to get it ready, but it was well-worth the wait.  Usually Brazilians are sceptical about trying new things, but they loved this food so much!  Jaren even admits that he was kind of bummed that there were no leftovers.

Juliana's father was the first to try it, being the patriarch of the family.  Look at the look on his face.  He is a barber, and he had cut our hair earlier that day.

Porto de Galinhas

Porto de Galinhas ("Port of Hens") is probably the most popular beach in Recife, but unfortunately the day we chose to go it was very rainy.  The Porto is famous for its "piscinas naturais," natural "swimming pools" in the reef that trap hordes of tropical fish when the tide goes down. 

This is me with the fishes.  When the tide started coming back up, they let us jump in with them, which was kind of sweet.

  And this is what the "piscina" looks like from a backed-up view.

The fishes.

 On the beach I bought a little crab and a couple of raw oysters to eat (I didn't get sick).  Then for the grand finale we bought this plate of 5 lobsters with some lime--so, naturally, our lunch was literally was sub-lime.

There was a second beach we were supposed to go to, but unfortunately the weather was getting pretty crummy so we just stopped above it and took pictures.  It was too bad it rained!  We didn't get the full Porto de Galinhas experience.  But what are you gonna do.

Olinda

 Olinda is a city right outside of Recife, which is one of the oldest in South America.  The first Europeans to arrive gave the city the name from the expression "Oh, linda!"  ("Oh, beautiful!") which was probably said a time or two, for obvious reasons.

 In Olinda, there is a fascination for life-size (or bigger) human dolls with exaggerated features and expressions.  These four interesting characters are sitting down for a nice afternoon tea, or perhaps a luncheon.

 On top of the hills of Olinda you can get a good view of Recife, and the contrast of the quaint, colorful Olinda buildings against the skyscrapers of inner-city Recife makes the difference between the two cities obvious.

 This is an old Catholic chapel that was one of the first constructed in Brazil.  It's obviously been refurbish extensively, but parts of the cobblestone road leading to it (which the picture doesn't show) are still the original.

 This house has a tree growing out of it.

 I sometimes wish there were buildings of lime green, hot pink, and vivid tangerine in the States.

 A couple of bulldog ants taking a leaf who knows where.

 This doll is worn and used during the festival of Carnaval, the biggest celebration on the Brazilian calendar.  The one wearing the costume does some dancing, and when he twirls, the fabric arms swing, and it looks like a lot of fun.

 The city of Olinda is beautiful, but it sure is hilly.

 This is a nice view of the ocean from the tops of the hills.  And, oh look!  There's me.

 Here's another good view of the line between Recife and Olinda.  Its kind of a bummer, but the weather has been less than optimal lately... (its currently the middle of winter here)

 Here's Jaren doing his little dance that he does.  I'm happy for him.

 This middle mask has the Pernambuco state flag painted on it.  It's also the only one with pupils.

 These two guys came up and started singing to Brian.  They are called "repentistas," apparently because they think up all their lyrics on the spot.  From what I heard, they were singing about Americans and money, and I don't remember what else.

This was on the travel guide inside the taxi that took us back to Recife.  The English translations were wonderful--"This does exist."