O Nordeste: The Northeast

Although I visited 12 cities in nine days, this trip was by no means glamorous. It was actually very tiring because most of the time I slept on buses or in bus stations. I only stayed in a hostel when I had to. Nevertheless, it was lots of fun, and it was the longest trip I’ve ever been on.

Day 1 – En Route + Serqipe

I left home at 7:30 on a Friday evening. I was about to get to the first city at around 4:00 a.m. However, I fell asleep and missed my flight. I had to catch another one, but it wasn’t direct. I went through the airports of Salvador and Brasília before I got to Aracaju in the afternoon. I had the choice of seeing either Aracaju or São Cristóvão in the day. I picked the latter because it’s a World Heritage Site. I still got to see the former in the evening. The bus to the next city was just after midnight. I had three hours, so I started reading the magazine I got from the plane. To my surprise, I knew the person on the cover. It was none other than Alex Atala, chef of the fourth best restaurant in the world. I had met him three days before when I ate at his restaurant. Anyway, I went to my bus and slept almost the whole way. I got to Maceió at around 5:30 although the trip seemed longer. I was still a bit sad that I wouldn’t see my students again.

Convento de São Francisco e Igreja do Bom Jesus da Glória (Museu de Arte Sacra) na Praça São Francisco

Day 2 – Maceió
I decided to start with a walk on the beach (romantic, right?) and come back through the city centre. There were many historic buildings and churches, but 75% of them desperately needed restoration. I got to the famous beach and it was pretty cool. I tried something new for dinner: Sururu (Mussels broth), and I watched the second half of the Euro Cup final. Again, my bus to the next city was around midnight, so I went to the bus station and slept until then.

Praça Marechal Floriano Peixoto

Day 3 – Pernambuco
I got to Recife at 6:00 a.m. I put my bag at the hostel and went straight to Porto de Galinhas (Port of Chickens), a famous beach nearby. I got back to Recife in the afternoon and I was able to see some of the downtown. The hostel was really nice and I met some of the people there. Earlier that day, I put my phone on the charger…in the bathroom (bad idea). That night, I found out that it had drowned. I was more upset about not having a phone than losing that particular phone.

Porto de Galinhas

Day 4 – More Pernambuco
After having a delicious breakfast, I went to Olinda, another World Heritage Site. Then I had lunch with ex-President of AIESEC Canada Vito!

With Vito

Then I went to thhe downtown to continue my tour. I asked a guy to take a picture of me and he ended up being my personal photographer. I got him some juice to be courteous and we parted ways. 

Associação Comercial

I walked around a bit more and all of a sudden, all the buses stopped and people started protesting. I thought to myself I’ll take the metro, but everyone thought so too, naturally. It was a stampede, and I had to catch my bus to the next city. I took a taxi, but there was traffic on the streets too. By the time I reached the hostel, the protests had ended. I took the bus to the metro. I wasn’t going to make it, but at that point, I had been in Brazil long enough to know that buses and planes usually leave late. I was right, and although I was ten minutes late, the bus didn’t leave until another ten minutes. I got to João Pessoa at night and started looking for a hostel. I had an address, but it was too far. I asked the taxi drivers and they sent me to one which was nearby. The price was incredibly cheap ($7), but as I stepped into the room, I knew why. It stank of mould and everything was old. It was the shittiest hostel I’ve ever been in. Never mind hostel, the shittiest building I’ve ever had the misfortune of being in. You get what you pay for, right? On the bright side (not so bright, though), I had the room all for myself, there was a double bed, a TV, a fan, a table and chairs. Oh, and there was room service too! It’s funny how they had all that but not the basics: cleanliness and quality. Then I thought I heard some people having sex in the other room. I went to investigate, but then I figured it was some guy watching porn (yes, the TVs had porn).

Day 5 - João Pessoa

After rotting in the room for about eight hours, I had a cold shower and went sightseeing. It was very easy to see everything because I had a map, and there were signs everywhere. Then I went to the most Easterly point in the Americas. I met someone who drove me around a little. I walked around and saw the beach and other things. Then I had an all-you-can-eat buffet (including churrasco) for $13 only. I had to ask the waiter several times just to check. It was actually a really good restaurant, but it was cheap. That night, I went to Natal.

Praça Antenor Navarro

Day 6 – Natal
I woke up and went straight the beach. The hostel was so close that I managed to go to the beach, come back and take a shower before checkout. It was such a beautiful beach! It was about 25° but the water wasn’t cold. The golden sands reflected the rays of sunlight, and the water was very clean. There were no waves, no pebbles in the sand and a backdrop of hills and sand dunes. It was paradise. At the hostel, I just rested for a few hours. I had been walking all day for five days, and getting a bad night’s sleep, so I needed it. Then it started raining. Regardless, I went to see a sand dune park, but it was closed because of the rain. Scumbag Zeus strikes again. I still went to see the biggest cashew tree in the world. It was like a little forest. Then I took the bus at night.

Praia de Ponta Negra

Day 7 – Fortaleza

I arrived in the morning. There was no tourist information, so I just hopped on a bus. It took me a while to get to the downtown. I was right beside it, but I managed to waste an hour with my bus detour. I asked around and managed to get a map. There was quite a bit to see, but I managed. All in a day’s work. I ended up on the beach and watched the beautiful sunset there. There was a handcrafts market and people doing all sorts of things.

Ponte dos Ingleses

Day 8 – Teresina

I did not plan to come here in the first place. I had planned on going to another city in that state, but it turned out to be too far. Therefore, as usual, I went to the downtown and walked around. There was no tourist information but I followed the signs. I ended up having a nice day. I also went to a floating restaurant where two rivers meet. I went there by Moto taxi. Just as the name suggests, it’s a taxi using a motorcycle. It’s cheaper and kind of fun. Incidentally, this is the only capital in the Northeast which is not on the coast.

Igreja de São Benedito

Day 9 – Maranhão
I got to São Luís very early in the morning and I went on a bus to Barreirinhas. I had a few hours before the next bus to Lençóis Maranhenses. Instead of exploring the town, I decided to go on 9gag the whole time. I laughed a lot, so it was worth it. The main attraction was Lençóis Maranhenses. This place has little lakes within a desert. The sand is so pure that you would think you’re in the Sahara. There were barely any plants or rocks, just sand and lakes. It was unlike anything else I’ve seen.

Lençóis Maranhenses

Day 10 - São Luís

I got here the night before and went to a hostel. It turned out that they had no spots, so I was told to go to a hotel. It was actually very late, and I wasn’t about to get robbed on one of my last days in Brazil. So I jogged to the hotel and it turned out to be ok. A beggar followed me into the hotel, and she made it look like she was with me. Anyway, it turned out to be cheap, and it was a pretty good hotel. The building had this old charm to it. The next day, I set out for what would be my last sightseeing adventure in a new Brazilian city. São Luís is the only capital founded by the French. In the downtown, there are about 300+ old buildings. I think that it is potentially one of the best cities to visit in Brazil. Emphasis on potentially. Although it is a World Heritage Site, 90% of the buildings have not been restored, and the downtown is left for the poor and homeless. This is a trend in the Northeast, but I don’t understand. Usually, countries take care the most of the downtown or the oldest part of the city. In Brazil, they are indifferent. Even in São Paulo, the downtown is not the fanciest place.

 Feira da Praia Grande

I got back to São Paulo that night. It was great to be home, finally, and to use a proper shower and bed.