Welcome to Recife, Brazil
Recife is the capital of Pernambuco state, northeastern Brazil. It lies on the Atlantic Ocean south of Natal and is the chief urban center of northeast Brazil and an important transportation hub. It lies partly on the mainland and partly on an island. Dissected by waterways, surrounded by rivers and crossed by bridges, Recife is full of islands and mangrove swamps that magnify its geography. It is known as the American Venice, thanks to its fluvial similarity with the European city, and is considered one of Brazil's cultural capitals. Its fine natural harbor is enclosed by a coral reef. Recife exports great quantities of the hinterland's products, including sugar, cotton, and coffee. First settled in 1535, the Portuguese officially founded it in 1548 as the port for nearby Olinda, Recife was settled by fishermen and sailors. The city was plundered by the British in 1595 and was occupied by the Dutch from 1630 to 1654, prospering under Maurice of Nassau. After the Dutch occupation, Recife replaced Olinda as capital of the Pernambuco captaincy. During World War II, an Allied air base was there. The city has three universities and several research centers and museums; it has long been famed for its intellectual groups and political ferment. In addition to its modern buildings, Recife has a 17th century cathedral, a Dutch fort, an elaborate government palace, and the ruins of what is believed to be the first synagogue in the New World, which flourished during the Dutch period.
January 18, 2006
Today we are in Recife, Brazil. It is still early morning, so we haven’t gotten off the ship yet. We have word that it is rather dangerous here for tourists, not to wear any jewelry or carry anything valuable. People often have their ear rings stolen off their ears. Don’t know how much of this is urban legend, and how much truth. We’ll be careful.
We missed our stop in Natal, Brazil because the winds were too high for our large ship to go into the shipping channel. It was a disappointment, but you have to go with the flow. We always seem to have enough to do here on board.
Carter and I went to a crew bingo night several nights ago and it was so much more active, loud and fun than the usual passenger bingo games. It was especially nice to see the crew in regular clothes, rather than their uniforms. They were relaxed and having a good time, rather than being quiet and super polite to the passengers.
Our cabin is on the small side and since we had the couch removed so Alemitu could get a bed, they had to squash the one chair into the corner between Alemitu’s bed and Carter’s side of the bed. That meant that every time Carter wanted to get out of bed, he had to climb over the chair in a very undignified manner. Well, he finally could handle it no longer and moved the chair over to my side, wedging it between my side of the bed and the desk. I found this impossible to deal with and yesterday morning asked the cabin steward to remove it. What a deal! Now we are all happy!
My bite on my arm is finally going away, thank goodness. It was funny that I was the only person I know of who got bit in the Amazon area. I shudder to imagine my magnetic strength for the mosquitoes when we arrive in Kenya or India.
Winnie
posted by Hills @ 7:38 PM
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