Olinda - An open-air art gallery

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Backpacker heaven! We negotiated a price at the wonderful Casa Maloca which more than rivalled any hostel in town. Toni, the landlord, is from Slovakia but has lived in Brazil for 20 years. He looked after us very well and we were sad to only stay for 3 nights. The kitchen was fantastic and to eat on the veranda overlooking the skyscrapers of Recife was quite something. Actually, sitting there for breakfast was a particular highlight too, with more than enough fresh tropical fruit, delicious coffee, mango juice and hot German bread. Bliss!! You don't just go to Toni's pousada for the hospitality and the breakfast though, the whole house is an art gallery. He even has a print of a piece commissioned for the football World Cup which is an amazing work of art.

The art is everyewhere you look in Olinda. Famed for its Carnaval the streets are wonderfully decorated. Carnaval images are everywhere. The municipality also have sections of walls for graffiti artists to use. I suppose its a form of control over the graffiti. Some of it is brilliant.

Olinda is a beautiful place to stroll around following cobbled streets around its hills. Colonial architecture and churches greet you at every turn. It is a truly incredible place to pass a few days.

There are also some beaches nearby. Despite the warnings about sharks, we decided to spend a couple of hours soaking up the sun and enjoying the sand. Apparently better beaches are only a 20 minute bus ride away but we're not that fussy!!

The same cannot really be said for nearby Recife. It is a huge functional city with a few nice areas to see. We enjoyed the old area which is currently being restored. The sculptures of Brazilian poets were good too, but the information plaques are not in very good condition. A real highlight is the "Casa de Cultura" located in the old prison. Nowadays it hosts lots of handicraft sellers but several of the small jail cells are preserved for you to see.

With only 2 months left before our flights to London we had to move on though, and we were not exactly relishing 13 hours on a bus to Salvador!

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Photos

Famous Artwork
Directly opposite our pousada

Fifa Artwork
Close-up are several footballing pictures. From a distance it's a portrait of Sepp Blatter!

Trish...
...as many of you never thought you would see her!

Shark Attack
It would appear to be a credible threat!!

Tropical Fish
On sale in bags by the Central Metro station

Railway Museum
Only it was closed for refurbishment. They left the trains on view though.