Recife, Brazil - Churches, Brazilian BBQ, and Art
We traveled as far east as one can travel in Brazil, and enjoyed the hospitality and food in Recife.
Discover Colonial Brazil in Recife and nearby Olinda and step back in time along narrow, winding streets amid meticulously restored homes, churches, and lovely plazas. — Regent
We docked at Porto do Recife Cruise Terminal at 0900 on a partly sunny Sunday (January 19th). Recife is the fourth-largest metro area in Brazil, with a population of approximately 3.7 million, so we are talking about a big city. Lots of skyscrapers lined the coastline, and many more are under construction.
Once again, we booked a Regent-sponsored tour, and once again, we had a police escort as we traveled throughout the city. Since Portuguese is the national language, and since Sherpa and I have a vocabulary of three — hola, obrigado, and cerveza — we stayed with the organized group today.
We took the included tour, Recife, Olinda, and the Brennand Institute. The highlights included:
Explore the 16th-century colonial town of Olinda, a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its period architecture.
Browse the Sé Catedral.
Then, travel to Recife to visit the baroque-style Golden Chapel, named for its gold-leaf covering.
Enjoy Brazilian Barbeque at a Recife restaurant.
Visit Instituto Ricardo Brennand, a cultural complex featuring a castle, a weapons museum, an art collection, and gardens.
After a thirty-minute bus ride and a transfer to smaller vans to negotiate the narrow cobblestone streets, we arrived in historic Olinda. (Oh, beautiful!) We began our tour with a walk through Se Catedral. Our guide was friendly, knowledgeable, and provided us with a thorough understanding of the places we visited — always much appreciated! The cathedral was built in 1586 and is on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
The cathedral has an extensive patio with expansive views of Recife and the Atlantic coastline. We added a few birds to our life list while there — Sayaca Tanagers, Rufous-bellied Thrushes, and Social Flycatchers. Of course, we also saw Black Vultures hanging out on the cathedral’s steeple — they are everywhere, everywhere, everywhere!
This colorful decor definitely caught my (camera’s) attention. We stopped across the street from the cathedral for a bit of shopping and refreshments.
Fresh coconut water. We were grateful to quench our thirst! And this coconut water was …delicious — nothing bottled compares to the flavor of a coconut whose top has just been lopped off and handed to you.
We didn’t purchase anything at the little shops. However, I did find two tablecloths at street vendors — a colorful, loosely woven cloth in the traditional style, known as a renda de bilros, and a slightly coarser, white cloth made from coconut fibers. Both are unique additions to my international tablecloth collection.
We left Olinda around 11:00 and returned to Recife for our next stop, the baroque-style Golden Chapel. We walked through a small museum, then a well-maintained courtyard, and finally entered the…
…the Golden Chapel! Wow! Built in a time of great prosperity, the chapel is rich in decoration. Practically every space on the church’s walls, altars, and ceiling is covered with paintings and gold. Quite the effect! The church, dating back to 1588, is a visual wonder.
In an odd way, it reminded me of the Sistine Chapel — small, opulent, art everywhere, and neck craning required.
If you look around, there are plenty of interesting paintings with usual scenes. I rather liked the combination of heretics, gold leaf, and Portuguese tile!
Midday, we stopped at a Recife restaurant, Spettus Steak House. The Brazilian-style barbecue was magnificent. Seven or eight varieties of grilled meat and shrimp, cheesy bread puffs, salads, rice and beans, and more. It was a never-ending parade of food - a truly fantastic experience.
Brahma Chopp, a 4.8% ABV pale lager, is Brahma’s leading brand in Brazil. Sherpa ordered this beer to accompany his meal. It was the only local beer available — he vigorously refused the offer of a Stella. The Brahma Chopp was, in Sherpa’s opinion, a “light-bodied mediocre beer,” and though it satisfied the “destination beer” requirement, Sherpa would not purchase it again. 4/10.
Next post: We visit the Instituto Ricardo Brennand.
Another beautiful day!!
That Golden Chapel! Amazing! Thanks fie sharing.