Olinda

We have spent the past two days in Olinda, which is the cultural counterpart to the larger city of Recife.

Olinda is a quaint city, with a very European feel. Narrow, cobblestone streets, brightly painted houses, and as our guide book puts it, "satisfyingly decaying architecture". We spent both yesterday and today exploring the many churches, museums, and hand-craft shops.

We befriended a local shop keeper, even though neither of us spoke the other's language. Basically we understood every 5th or 6th word! His name was Ruy, and he got a kick out of how close his name was to Ray's. He asked us how long our trip was, and when we told him he laughed and wrote down two phrases (which we later looked up). "90 dias nao ferias....aposentado", translation: 90 days is not a vacation.....it's retirement!

We had dinner at a nationally known restaurant called Oficina do Sabor, where we indulged in their house specialty....pumpkin stuffed with tilapia in a coconut sauce. Wow....our eyes were rolling as we ate. Soooo good!


In about an hour we'll be heading back to Recife to catch a 14 hr overnight bus to Salvador. We've found these overnight buses are ideal....extremely comfortable seats that almost fully recline, we don't lose any days to travel, and we omit the cost of a hotel! Go to sleep in one city, wake up in another!