Brief stop in Lisbon then off to Brazil. Arrive Recife 14.30 local time, in a very spinky spanky airport. Why Brazil, you may well ask? Well, I spent a year in Central America and have always wanted to go to South America. A couple of friends were going so I could share the flight with them and also share their apartment: free once I got there. And I wanted to do something completely insane and spontaneous. It's so hard to be spontaneous a) when you have children and b) when you're in a wheelchair. So with this chance, how could I turn it down?
Stay at the Beach Class Suite. Right on the beach, new hotel with stunning views over the Atlantic and crashing waves to rock me to sleep. Have the most incredible breakfast I've ever eaten in my life - endless fruits (how come pineapple never tastes like that in England?) Lots of shrimp to eat. A mix of Portuguese and Dutch architecture and cuisine. Recife is known as the Venice of Brazil, because there are so many rivers. What a beautiful place it is! And how dangerous! Some say it's the most dangerous city in Latin America, and I'm warned not to wander about at night, not to travel in a car with windows open, to go everywhere in taxis...
Kerbs are some 18 inches high and no nice dropped kerbs either. Luckily, I have specific destinations recommended: the mall, which would not be out of place in New York, and is wonderfully flat once inside. And a taxi tour to Olinda. "Founded in 1535 by Portugal, Olinda is atop a small hill between the coast and the traditional sugar cane plantations. Olinda was Pernambuco’s first capital. At the time, Recife was nothing more than a tiny port utterly dependent on Olinda. It changed after 1630 when the Dutch penetrated the northeast of Brazil. The invaders invested in Recife and burned Olinda." How things change. Incredibly steep, cobbled roads, steps everywhere. A complete nightmare with wheels, but from the comfort of a taxi and a driver with whom I can converse in a mix of Spanish and Italian, perfect.
Manage to go swimming, Pay a couple of guys from the hotel to carry me from the beach edge to the water and drop me in the cool waters, white sand and palm trees... Amazing. I so love swimming, and wasn't sure I'd ever be able to go again without a boat. To lie there and float in the waves, feeling the tang of the salt...
What a place of contrasts: extreme poverty side by side with great wealth. Smart black cars glide by whilst on the sidewalk people pull trolleys stuffed with wood and cardboard. When I've travelled before, the contrast hasn't been quite so dramatic. I love this city! Want to explore more, but as this is an insanely spontaneous fly in, fly out visit, it's just going to have to wait until another time.
