Previous stop: BelémAfter some serious agony in Belém, there could never be anything better then meeting a sweet mama in Recife, who served me fresh orange juice in a clean bed!
We took a flight from Belém to Recife (which actually stopped twice before finally landing in our final destination - so.. more like a bus), where my travel mate was going to meet two old school friends from his times in the UK.
We stayed at one of thems' astonishingly magnificent modern flat in front of the beach, where himself and his fantastic mother treated us like two starving princes.
Recife itself is a modern (Brazil parameters) city, with its big white buildings, its poor favelas, its sticky heat and its rich beachside skyscrapers. Indeed, I wonder why brazillian big coastal cities build so many huge buildings in front of the beach. Not really eye-catching, but definately a landmark.
Recife happens to lie very near to many paradisiac beaches, being therefore a major touristic destination, especially for portuguese people. Sadly for anyone looking for information on those spots, I can't help, as our stop in Recife was more like a social meeting.
We did go to the beach in front of which the city lies, as our one-and-a-half-day stay was practically filled with a daytrip to sweet Olinda and some drinks in a great pub called UK.
In Recife, even if missing its wonderful beaches, I discovered a much greater and intangible mistery, that is called friendship. My mate and his brazilllian friends hadn't met for years, and yet it was as if they had never parted.
And all that meeting surrounded by caipirinhas, great sushi and a lot of "chop" - brazilliann word for pressure beer.
Even if it was planned a bit off the spirit of our trip, the Recife episode filled me with energy and humour. both for the meeting, the rest, the food and, as usual, that contagious happyness that grasses around the brazillian coast and which I had never been part of until then.