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."