Northeast coast of Brazil

Spending a couple of weeks travelling with my Dad through five of the states in the Northeast of Brazil (Rio Grande do Norte, Pernambuco, Sergipe, Alagoas and Bahia). Brazil has 26 states in total, so plenty more to visit at some point! The Northeast is a very popular tourist destination as it has some of the best beaches in a Brazil and lots of the towns are known for their music and party atmosphere. 

Rio Grande do Norte 

Natal (Ponta Negra) 

Natal is famous for its beaches and sand dunes. We stayed in Ponta Negra, a lovely beach resort just outside the town. We found an English bar, Carumbar, so my Dad was happy (he likes talking but can't speak Portuguese!). Met lots of nice people, swam in the pool, walked around, went to the bar, ate 'prato feitos' (rice, beans and meat). We stayed an extra night so that we could hear Arni, the owner of the guesthouse where my Dad was staying, play in his band at Carumbar. One of the songs was an Irish tune which Arni's wife and I danced to - it was a lot of fun and everyone in the bar seemed to love it (not sure if it was the music or our dancing...). 

Praia da Pipa (and trip to Sibaume)

Praia da Pipa is a very cool place - it's small, with one main cobbled street, lots of little shops, restaurants and bars. We stayed in a great hostel which was spacious and had a swimming pool. We met lots of people there and I spent one day with some new Brazilian friends going to the beach at Sibaume and a night out at a forro club. So much fun! I want to go again...

Pernambuco

Recife 

We spent 3 nights based in Recife, with one day in Olinda and one day in Porto de Galinhas. Recife has lots of canals, but we learned that canals in Brazil are not the same as in the UK - they're generally sewage canals! 

Olinda

Olinda is 'beautiful' in Portuguese and the town really is beautiful, even if not all that well maintained in places. It was my Dad's 60th birthday when we went to Olinda and we had a nice leisurely day walking around, drinking coffee and eating cake at periodic intervals! 

Porto de Galinhas

Known as one of the nicest beaches in the Northeast of Brazil. The water is amazingly clear, the beach is beautiful and the town is nice to walk around, a bit like Pipa. There are lots of crazy looking chickens dotted about (galinha = chicken). The name of the port actually comes from the ships which smuggled in slaves after the slave trade was banned in Brazil - the slaves were hidden by crates of chickens. Pretty grim.

Alagoas

Maceio 

Maceio is the capital of Alagoas state and I thought it would be good to stop here on our journey Southwards towards Salvador. The beach is a bit like the one in Santos, with a cycle track running along it and then the road next to that. One thing of note was the ice cream cafe Sorvetaria Bali - you can help yourself to whatever ice cream and topping you want and then you pay by the weight of it. Great stuff! 

Penedo 

Lovely colonial town, full of interesting buildings. It's very easy to walk around the historical part of town, which is by the Rio Sao Francisco - the third largest river in Brazil. We stayed in the Pousada Colonial, a converted colonial mansion house, which I loved.  

Sergipe

Aracaju 

Capital of Sergipe and another stopping place on our way to Salvador. The state government building was impressive, looking out onto the main square. We stayed in the Centro which is quite a way from the beaches. We were a bit beached out by this point, so decided not to make the trip to see the beaches. Went instead to the markets just North of the centre - there's a local craft market and a food market. 

Bahia

Salvador 

Last stop - Salvador! Salvador is a great city, with the Pelourinho historical centre, lots of churches, music and artwork, and beaches nearby just outside the city centre. The one slightly annoying thing is that tourists get hassled all the time by people wanting money - usually they try to do something for the money eg. one guy went off to find some ice for me when the bar I was in had run out and then proceeded to try to rip us off by demanding ridiculous amounts of money for the ice...You live and learn! 

It was a whirlwind couple of weeks and we packed lots in, with great variety in the types of places we visited, where we stayed, what we ate and who we met. A really good experience!