Artfully Ann's Adventures

Travel - Recife, Brazil - February 26, 2014

Recife, capital of the Pernambuco state, is a large city of 1.3 million inhabitants located in the northeastern part of Brazil. Today it is an industrial powerhouse with among others textile, chemical, nutrition and minerals processing as the most important industries.
Recently, the service sector has gained a stronger hold on the economy of Recife. The city now hosts the second largest medical and pharmaceutical industry in Brazil and is one of the most important cities in software engineering.


Recife, also, is finally understanding its touristic potential as well. A rich cultural and historical heritage, a relatively well developed tourist infrastructure and having some of the nicest beaches in Brazil nearby, draw in more and more visitors.

However, for Brazilians it has often been considered the “Venice of Brazil”, and its emerald-green waters, numerous bridges and sunny beaches have long been a popular escape for Brazil’s Carnival travelers. The city is well underway in getting ready for Carnival as the ship stops for our visit today.
John and I woke up late this morning. Having an inside cabin, it is hard for us to tell what time it is in the morning. We knew the ship was in port because the ship was not rocking. We finally got up for breakfast, walked past the pool and noted that the air was still, hot and humid. Remember, we are still near the equator!

We ate breakfast, looking out on to the port and watching large forklifts move huge pieces of cargo around the dock. They were moving many pieces of motorized equipment, and at least 50 large wind turbine blades were stored on site awaiting shipment.

This – looking at the tremendous scale and complexity of worldwide logistics - is one of our favorite pastimes while traveling. I think we both wish we could be forklift drivers or mega crane operators in our next life. I love big machinery!!! I guess that is why construction has always been attractive to me.

By the time we got tired of watching freight movement on the dock and realized we would have to take a bus just to get to the port gate, we decided to stay on board the ship. We had no official tours schedule for the day and it was very warm. OK…another “sea day” would be just fine with us.

Some of the passengers did go ashore and had rave reviews for the UNISCO World Heritage Site Olinda, the colonial capital of Brazil, and souvenir shopping at the old prison. I understand that each prison cell has been made into individual shops. Some loved the shopping and some did not. Most of the items available near the tour sites are often priced too high and are often similar. (This is the same around the world.) One passenger indicated that she went to one shop and the item she wanted was priced at $20 US and at another it was priced at $15. Both prices seemed high to her. She didn't buy anything. Many passengers came away empty handed.

Maybe they are all waiting for Rio de Janeiro. We are!! Stay tuned for the continuing adventure!!