Blogs from Olinda, Pernambuco, Brazil, South America - page 4

South America » Brazil » Pernambuco » Olinda February 1st 2007

After spending over 14 hours travelling, I finally made it to Brazil. I can't really complain about my journey, except for the extra hour spent in the sky between Lisbon and Recife. My pousada (guest house in brazil) decided to welcome me with a caipirinha (a cocktail), which definitely helped after all that travelling. I'm currently in a town called, Olinda, which is down the coast from Recife. Olinda is pretty beautiful, full of palm trees, churches and art shops / galleries. I'll put up some photos later. Its quite hilly, which makes it difficult to explore when your body is adjusting to the heat and a new time zone. Its also surprisingly easy to get lost! My first travel buddy is an American called Will, who arrived at exactly the same time as the me. ... read more

O, que linda....!

South America » Brazil » Pernambuco » Olinda January 29th 2007

der strand von Carapibus

Churchclimber

sind nach João Pessoa also in Jacumâ, genauer gesagt in Carapibus gelandet, einem verschlafenen Doerfchen mit wunderschoenen, fast menschenleeren Straenden, Klippen, Buchten, tuerkis-gruenem Meer,... also wieder einmal ein wunderschoenes fleckchen erde - davon gibt's hier in brasilien ja genug! naechste station war dann die stadt olinda. nicht zu unrecht haben die portugiesen, als sie das erste mal diese schoene fleckchen erde betraten, ausgerufen: "O, que linda área para uma cidade!" auch wir sind beeindruckt von der schoenheit dieser stadt: 20 kirchen, enge verwinkelte gaesschen, palmen, gruenflaechen, renovierte haeuser, strand... diese stadt hat einfach charme. ausserdem hat hier der carneval, der sogenannte "pre-carneval", schon begonnen und die stadt in eine einzige party-meile verwandelt. alles ist auf der strasse, eine parade jagt die andere, alles tanzt zu samba, frevo und mar... read more

Fio Dental - Chapter 12: Olinda

South America » Brazil » Pernambuco » Olinda July 18th 2006

BRA

sapere18

Olinda exists as Recife’s cultural release valve. A retreat from Pernambuco’s intense, run down, and chaotic capital, it possesses all the characteristics of a colonial town, but is a more humid and steamier version of its competition in Minas Gerais. Wherever I go, at any hour, a coat of perspiration covers my head and neck. Bathing is only a temporary reprieve from the stickiness. Lofty coconut palms rise above the town’s orange tiled roofs. The turquoise Atlantic batters nearby beaches, viewable from Olinda’s Praça da Sé in its upper town. Seven miles further south rises Recife’s massive strip of skyline into which Denver’s would fit at least eight times. Apartment high rises and office buildings run the length of the coast until the day’s haze impedes further vision. Only a few thousand yards offshore, the various ... read more

We have caught the sun again!

South America » Brazil » Pernambuco » Olinda April 15th 2006

sugar cane fields

bec chaffer

We are now in Olinda, a town on the outskirts of the busy industrial port city of Recife, 14 hours (by bus!) north of Salvador. The main objective here for me, as Recife does not spark much interest is to relax and make the most of the sunny days and cross fingers that the periods of rain falling each day is shortening in duration the further north we travel! Olinda is a bit of bohemian artsie scene with heaps of markets and stalls although being Easter long weekend there is not too much open - this is good!.. so i am not persuaded to buy anything!. The town has one main peak where a great looking (.... wait for it.... yes.... another!) church sits in a square high above the bay of beaches below. For photos ... read more

Carnaval 2006 - How the professionals do it

South America » Brazil » Pernambuco » Olinda March 3rd 2006

Parade of 100 Puppets. Hopefully the nightmares won't last long

wherearewenow

Hello Everyone! Carnival, spelled Carnaval in Portuguese, has ended which is a little sad, but at the same time is probably best for our bodies, we need some rest! We started our celebrations on Friday, Feb. 24th, and didn’t stop until about 4:00pm Wednesday, Mar. 1st. We did get some sleep in between, but I am sure we won’t be getting up as earlier as we have been. Fortunately, we had no problems with thievery, well someone did make off with a small, very small bottle of our sun block (which by the way is very expensive here!), but other than that no problems at all! We witnessed one or two people getting billy-clubbed by the police, here if you cause problems it’s a beating first, questions later, but other than that it was a great, ... read more

The Day of Virgins

South America » Brazil » Pernambuco » Olinda February 22nd 2006

Shake shake shake...shake your booty

wherearewenow

Hello Everyone- Well it is getting close to Carnival time! Although this holiday is somehow tied to religion, it is a time with lots of colorful music, heavy drinking, exotic dancing, indulgent eating, or to sum it up, complete debauchery! We have our outfits all ready to go, the guys will be Captain America for half and Thunder Cats for the other half, while the ladies will be dressing up occasionally as Cleopatra - with very shiny (and little) gold outfits. It officially starts on Saturday the 25th of February this year, but the parties have been going ever since the start of the New Year. They do a lot of practicing to ensure that they are good and ready to party when Carnival arrives. As for us, we have not experienced too many of the ... read more

Excuse me sirs, do you happen to know the time?

Brasil!

South America » Brazil » Pernambuco » Olinda February 10th 2006

Brasil

Arrived at Rio airport knowing I had to meet Luke and Mike in Salvador on the 21st, that was as far as my planning went. Although I did read Alex Bellios book on Brasilian Football, very good.....After the cold weather of Patagonia and in preparation for Carnival relaxing on a beach sounded like the best option. I headed to the Go! desk and tried explaining my situation usual problem, me no speak tha Portugesa they no speak mucho Ingles. Luckily a Brasilian guy in the queue spoke english and helpfully translated my situation. A discussion with the Go! staff ensued where they all decided the best and cheapest option for me is Puerto Negro. The next flight was in 8 hours, result. Puerto Negro is a beach resort in the north east near the city of ... read more

Brief history of Brazil

Following three centuries under the rule of Portugal, Brazil became an independent nation in 1822. By far the largest and most populous country in South America, Brazil overcame more than half a century of military intervention in the governance of t...more history

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