Recife, Brazil

Last night, we saw a show with the best acrobats we’ve ever seen. It was the Gold Art Duo from Ukrainian (You might have seen them on Americas Got Talent.) If you get a chance, I highly recommend seeing them. They are incredible! I especially enjoyed their balloon performance. 

Today we visited Recife (pronounced ruh·see·fee), Brazil. Recife means “reef” in Portuguese (the official language of Brazil). So, it is named after the man-made stone reefs that protect the three islands that make up Recife. It is also the name of the largest city on the islands.

Recife has 4,000,000 residents. Unfortunately, 40% of the population lives in poverty, and the crime rate is very high. As a co-traveler expressed it, “Recife has three types of people, the people  who have nothing; the people who have just a little more than nothing; and the people who have a lot, which they presumably got by selling barbed wire, security cameras, and electric fences to each other…

At any rate, during the short amount of time that we spent in the city, we observed poverty at a level that we had not ever really seen before. Heartbreaking…

One interesting fact (for folks back home) is that one of Recife’s most historical figures was Medeiros e Albuquerque. This famous fellow is known for writing the lyrics of the Brazilian Republic Anthem in 1890!

After visiting the city, we visited the art institute of the famous Brazilian sculptures Francisco Brennand, who passed away in 2019 at the age of 92. Oficina Ceramica Francisco Brennand is the artist’s home, museum, and workshop. Its primary attraction is its sculpture gardens, which occupy several dozen acres in the Atlantic Rain Forest outside of town. 

Much of his art could be considered erotica, but there were still plenty of sculptures and gardens for us tamer art enthusiasts…

Back onboard, we saw our first wildlife while at sea. We enjoyed seeing many Atlantic flyingfish sailing through the air just off of our starboard side.

We will be at sea for several days while en route to Rio De Janeiro for a New Year’s celebration on Copacabana Beach.

Vejo você em breve (which means “see you soon” in Portuguese.)