Rainy Recife and beautiful Olinda...

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Don't worry, Recife has never been very high on my wish-list...and it's still not after two days spent here....but we are on the way to the East...and a place which is supposed to be fabulous!



We first did Santiago to Buenos Aires, than spent a short 12 hours in Buenos Aires before flying to Sao Paolo than Recife. This part of the trip was going to be trickier...as we have now with us all our bags of a year spent in Argentina. Not having a scale at home, I just had to guess what would be the damages....well...142kg in checked bags...and I guess something like 60kg in carry-on between 3 of us. I knew 142kg checked bag would hurt on TAM...it did...a little... and a first into paying for extra kilos for me for quite a while...total damages...110usd, could have been way worst.



We spent 2 nights in Recife. The city is huge, and even having done my homework, doesn't seem to have that many landmarks. And guess what, it has been raining quite a lot...the is tropical rain...with rain never lasting more than 20 minutes....but still...rain...



I'm also really wondering how they are going to welcome thousands of fans next year for the World Cup...in terms of choice for a nice hotel, the place is pretty limited. It is also time for us to brush on our Portuguese....as here they still have clearly no idea of what multilingual means. So for us it's a mix of Spanish and English trying to understand what is going on. The fun is starting with the menu, but we have been so far pretty lucky with our picks....as this is the only way we can really do to try to pick food.



Also...this is no Argentina. Went around a decent size supermarket...I couldn't live here. They may complain in Argentina about the crisis....food wise....they still have hundred times more choice that in Brazil...and prices...are simply double, minimum than in Argentina...so not as good and double price...not easy for us!



Next stop, still in Brazil, and the most expensive place of the country....we are ready for a shock...but hopefully rather for the sunsets and underwater encounters than for anything else.



Coming soon...sand...water...and hopefully some cool blue skies...



So we re-packed...gone are the ski and winter gears...on are the summer gears....took a while. We spent also nearly a full day in Olinda, few kilometers north of Recife. Recife is huge towers...Olinda...is back in time and a UNESCO site.



The place could do with way more tourist money, as there is a lot to renovate...but on the other side, it feels like you have Olinda for yourself. I guess once the World Cup is on in just 12 months, it will obviously be another story!



We had a lunch of crepes...how original is this! Than spent the full afternoon walking around the quiet streets...an the many artist's ateliers. Would have been better with a bright blue sky....but we hope to keep that one for our next stop.



Next flight in few hours....for a place which supposed to be amazing...we'll see...coming soon, more of Brazil...

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Comments

[Home and Away]

$110 for every flight you take from now to Bangkok...
is going to add up to quite a hefty sum...not to mention having to lug all that stuff. Have you considered shipping everything except what you need for your travels?

[Maisondubonheur]

Hi Bob!
Well...being multi-tasking....between golfing...diving...skiing...and two kids getting on with a full suitcase of toys...and electronics....we'll deal with it. Don't worry...should be the last first and last flights we had to pay on a full round-the-world....not that bad at the end. This is also why we didn't stop in Rio....would have loved to take the kids there....but the logistics was too much of a nightmare. Imagine...domestic flights in Brazil don't even have business class anymore...so no way to pay a little more to avoid the baggages fees...all per kg here! And the best part of it...we are now in an amazing place, middle of nowhere....with crazy slow internet....and the only fast site to access is...guess...travelblog....should I reply to my business emails through TB??