Historic Olinda (just outside Recife)

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Sat 6th Oct:
As I was having some difficulty getting a ticket for the coach last night (coach full because of the weekend, and long queue for relief coach laid on), I played the senior citizen card and was moved to the front of the queue! What a difference this coach was to the one from Natal to Forteleza. It was like being in first class on an airline - wide comfortable seats which reclining to a sleeping horizontal position, with complementary blankets, etc. I had a better sleep on the coach than I had in the two previous nights in the last hotel.
We arrived in Recife just before 8:00 am and headed straight for the tourist office in the bus station. Again, very helpful. Phoned to confirm at a pousada in Olinda (just outside Recife) I e-mailed.´Got a metro to the centre of Recife and tried, in vain, to get a bus out to Olinda. Eventually haggled with a taxi driver for a cheap fare there. The pousada turned out to be a palace in comparison to the previous "hotel". Came complete with swimming pool, lovely garden & sun area... and all the rooms have AC (Heaven!). When I settled in I availed of their self-service lunch (cost dependent on weight) ...with a penalty for uneaten food!
Olinda is an old historic colonial town just south of Recife (much more interesting than Recife itself..and safer); one of the first colonised areas by the Portugese it is steeped in history and has 16 churches within a square mile, most dating back to the 16 century. All churches in need of renovation, some under way with the help of UNESCO, some look quite shabby from the outside. The Franciscians, Benedictines and Jesuits have places here; very popular Jesuit school in the town. I had a Brazilian guide give me a walking tour around the town - very good though all in Portugese. Lots of art & craft in the town, 'seems to be a haven for many artists. Went to a local liquer shop and sampled the many types of Cachaça; eventually bought a small bottle of coconut cachaça - lovely. Guide tried to charge me double what he quoted (though he had all the official credentials) - I was so incensed I eventually only paid him half of his original quote.
I seemed to hit Olinda at the right time as there is a festival this weekend. I walked down to the local square where a group of conchitas (girl drummers) were practising for their later performance. Festival in two stages - the early part with music displays and the later part with dancing etc. The early part was in the cathedral square at the top of a very steep hill; unfortunately when I got up there (exhausted) most of the music was finished and everyone was eating/drinking or buying goods from the many stalls there. ´Will see what the later festivities are like .....after 10:00pm.

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Photos

Backdrop of Olinda
View from top of hill outside the cathedral.

The main Cathedral
´Though many of the churches were either undergoing restoration or in need of it, the cathedral is an exception.

Gold-leafed Altar
The interior of this church was recently renovated. Much of the surrounds of the altar was sent to a New York Museum to have the gold-leaf replaced.

Colonial Style
The multi-coloured facade of the local houses added to their colonial style.

Conchitas Practise for Festival
This all-girl group of drummers spent hours practising their drumming for tonight´s festival.