Misto - February 22-March 7 2019: Cabedelo and Carnaval in Recife

Departing Salvador we made our way slowly up the coast to Cabadelo and the Marina at Jacaré Village. The passage was slow and the waters were littered with fishing vessels. They were well lit at night but could appear out of nowhere during the day, sometimes seeming to place themselves to guard their nets that were marked with small bouys. We dallied outside the entrance to the river until daybreak and motored up to the marina where everyone was very welcoming.

We had booked a couple of nights in Recife to go to Carnaval there. There was quite a big group going but we booked too late to get into the same hotel and so we had booked a small apartment with Air BNB, just a couple of blocks away. The first day we went to Olinda. The old town is quite delightful and we walked up the narrow, steep paved streets, past brightly pained house to enjoy beautiful views. Carnaval was only really just starting here but we definitely got the vibe that there would be lots of activity.

The next day we started early going where a huge Rooster had been erected on a bridge and then walking down the streets that would soon be filled with Carnaval revellers. We had read about a more up market way of viewing Carnaval by paying to go to a “cabin” where there would be food, drink, elevated views of the procession and, hopefully, less of a crush. A few of us decided to try that approach and we enjoyed the day watching the huge trucks pass by with their singers and musicians., while being plied with endless food and drink! We met some interesting locals there too - a lady who had been head of tourism for the Brazilian government and her family - who welcomed us into their circle and practiced their English with us. That night we walked to a different part of town and enjoyed a huge stage with musicians and performers.

We enjoyed the experience of Carnaval here in the north of the country. In Rio it is very different with the samba schools giving set performances in a huge, purpose built stadium.

Our last few days have been spent preparing to depart. We enjoyed a lovely dinner at a local beach bar with the crew of Pretaixte and the WARC dinner last night was a fun and lively event. We have enjoyed our Brazilian adventure. We chose to do more land based activities rather than a lot of cruising and have enjoyed experiencing the culture. Google translate is an essential tool as there is a language barrier, Uber is a great way of getting safely around, and with a little care we had a safe and memorable trip.