Maceio and Recife, Brazil

Part 1:

After departing from Salvador, we took a bus 9 hours north to Maceio. Our Airbnb host, Juan, graciously picked us up at the bus terminal at 5am and brought us back to his cozy apartment. After we set down our bags, he offered to make us all a round of Capirinias, a Brazilian drink made from Cachasa, lime slices, and sugar. We showered and went back to sleep until 9am. Juan had plans to go to the beach (Praia Barra De Sao Miguel)  with his girlfriend and her family and invited us to tag along, so we quickly got ready and headed out the door. Juan, his girlfriend Daiana, and her son Diego were awesome hosts.

Maceio, we stayed about 3 blocks from the point. (google pic)

Praia Barra De Sao Miguel -- avoiding the sun as usual.

google pic

We stayed at the beach for a couple hours and then transitioned to a party at a house rented by Daiana´s extended family. They shared amazing home cooked food  like lamb and lobster, and then we chilled by the pool, had some beers, and then headed back to the apartment. That night we wanted to make dinner for Juan, so we went to the grocery store and bought our ingredients. Dinner took longer to make then expected, and we ended up stuffing outselves at almost midnight and then immediately passing out.

The following day we rested the whole day, and didn´t leave the apartment until 8pm to take a short stroll by the beach. The next afternoon we took the bus to Recife. (5hrs)

Part II:

We arrived in Recife around 8pm and hitched a ride to Eli´s house with our busdirver for about half the price of a cab. (We met Eli at the Airbnb in Salvador.) Eli´s  family had prepared a dinner for us once we arrived, and we ate quickly after settling in. We were grateful that his daughter offered her room to us, and we stayed three nights.

No we didnt fly in a plane and take this.... google.

We woke up to a lovely breakfast, and shortly after we went to a small store to buy food so we could make a meal to thank our hosts. After returning to the apartment, Marcela went to the complex pool with Eli and his two kids, Alysson and Alice, while I stayed back to prep lunch. We ate scalloped potatoes, steak fillets and salad after Eli´s wife returned from work around 1pm.

After lunch, Marcela took off with the female members of Eli´s family for a birthday party. Eli and I stayed back,  had some beers, and watched a movie. After the girls returned, we all went out to explore the downtown areas of Olinda and Recife. It was dark, but we managed to get some pictures.

We went here and took an awesome picture, but somehow it got lost. Google.

The next day was Alysson´s 6th birthday so we had a small celebratory breakfast with cake and singing, and eventually headed toward the beach for lunch. The beach we went to was not as nice as others we had visited in Maceio, but we were on the beach in Brazil so we weren´t complaining. Eli´s family left us after lunch to go birthday shopping, and we took the bus back to the apartment a few hours later.

After we returned, and the family returned from the shopping trip, Alysson was the proud owner of a battery powered mini-ATV, which was promply assembled in the parking lot downstairs. Once the project was completed, the question of where this mini-atv would be stored became the topic of conversation, and when we attempted to bring it up the elevator, it didn´t quite fit. We took the hand bars off, and made it up to the apartment, but storage will still be an issue! :-/

Badass 6 year old Alysson

The next moring we packed our bags and met up with the family to get our final lunch together. It was a nice "by the kilo" type buffet, and afterward we said our thank-yous and goodbyes.  Then we braved the unknown public transportation system, transferred a few times, and ended up at the bus station. Couldn´t have made it without google maps.