Praia de Pipa, Northeast Brazil
BRAZIL | Sunday, 13 July 2008 | Views [793] | Comments [1]
From Saõ Paulo, we flew on economical GOL airlines to Recife, the capital city of Pernambuco state in the northeast of Brazil. Recife (HAY-see-fay) is a huge metropolitan city, but it has a shady reputation and also the highest murder rate of any of the Brazilian state capitals. Needless to say, we didn't stay in town for long. Ben and I spent two nights in the suburb of Olinda, which is a quieter, safer alternative to Recife. Olinda is a colonial charm and worth a day's wander. A lot of the buildings and churches were badly in need of repair though, and for some reason, most of the famed art galleries and ateliers were closed too.
After Olinda, we attempted to use public transportation to take us 3.5 hours north to the beaches in Pipa. Using a combo of a cab, a bus, a colectivo, and just plain walking, we eventually arrived at our wonderful pousada, Pousada Xama, in the chill beach town of Pipa. The vibe was great from the start--the beaches and town were all within easy walking distance, no huge crowds and perfect weather. The air in the northeast beaches is also reported by NASA to be the second purest in the world after Antartica. While Ben went to surf, I ventured out to find myself a Brazilian bikini. When in Rome, right?
Our stay in Pipa was wonderful. Each day started with a HUGE fresh buffet breakfast at our pousada, complete with fresh fruit and homeade cakes. Then Ben and I would walk down the street, where we had our pick of beaches. Our first day, we went to the surfing beach, Praia do Madeiro, where Ben taught me how to surf. I'll be the first to admit that surfing is pretty tough, and after numerous attempts just to balance on my board, I eventually got up on a wave or two. I'll refrain from remarking on Ben's patience with me.
We spent the next day relaxing at Praia do Amor, also another great surfing beach, but the waves were a bit too much for us. We settled for bumming around on lounge chairs. Our favorite beach by far was at Baia dos Golfinhos, where the water was super calm, the beach nearly deserted and you can literally swim with dolphins in the wild. You could only get to Golfinhos during low tide via the beach. Complete with an agua de coco vendor, it was paradise. After the sun set, we would wander up and down the main avenue in Pipa in search of dinner (we ended up eating at the same little restaurant, Beija Flor, three different times) or Havaianas for me.
We would have loved to spend another month just at the northeast beaches, they are amazing. As always, the time just goes by too fast, and we found ourselves headed back to Recife/Olinda to meet up with the other triplet, Amy Cooper.
Tags: beaches & sunshine
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