Porto de Galinhas - Pernambuco's postcard
Written: Jan 27 '02 (Updated Jan 27 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Warm people, beautiful beaches, great food, "caipirinhas" and so much more
Cons: Children begging in the streets and in the restaurants
The Bottom Line: don't stay in the cities, rent a car and explore Brazil's beauty
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| teresarg's Full Review: Brazil |
Brazil was always my dream vacation. Three years ago I finally was able to travel there for the first time, with my son and daughter ( they are now 22 and 19)
I spent one week in Porto de Galinhas, Pernambuco, a northeastern state of Brazil, as I already referred to in my previous review about Olinda.The capital of Pernambuco is Recife and I stayed there two days before heading to Porto de Galinhas where I intended to spend New Year's Eve (and it was the best I ever had ).
About Recife there is not much to say, as it is not a nice town, it's dirty , dangerous and has no beauty. The beach of Boa Viagem is polluted, it's the town beach and there are signs advertising to be careful for there may be sharks in the water . One of the days I spent in Olinda and the other one we took a tour in town with a guide the hotel in Recife had recommended us.
And Charles, our guide, was the best thing that happened to us in Recife. He really was the mark of Pernambuco's people. They are warm, kind, humble, friendly and always willing to help. I mean Pernambuco's people cause though Brazilians are warm and friendly in general, I made another trip to Rio de Janeiro and Bahia a year later and found out "Pernambucanos" are different.
In Porto de Galinhas we had another guide, Mr. Carlos and after knowing in what conditions he lived, with few money, four kids to support, living in a 2 division small house that he had to share with four other relatives I asked him how could they be so happy and cheerful, always so positive being so poor and having such conditions. You know what was his answer? " What can we do Madam? Being sad is not going to change things!" That is their philosophy of living. They may be very poor, have lots of difficulties but the smile is always on their faces. That is a lesson I've learned ( well ,sometimes).
Charles was a nice man, polite, cheerful and very honest.He lived better than most cause he was able to buy his own car.
As we had rented a car to go to Porto de Galinhas, we arranged with him to meet us at the airport where we were going to leave the car on our return, cause our plane was at the end of the day and we wanted to spend the afternoon shopping at the mall.
Porto de Galinhas is a small village 55 km distant from Recife, to the south. The traffic in Recife was awful but as we left town Brazil started to show its beauty.
The road to Porto de Galinhas was very good and wide. Everything was green, full of vegetation and we saw a lot of "fazendas" ( big farms), their cattle, sugar cane plantations and the "jagunços" ( the managers of the farms) riding their horses with the typical hats on. The landscape was fabulous!
Our hotel was the "Armacao do Porto", a standard hotel, a "pousada", in front of the beach. It had small houses, bungallow type. The lobby was very exotic, a mixture of balinese and brazilian furniture and decoration. There were two pools, one for adults and the other one for children. The rooms were large, clean and comfortable and we had an "hamaca" to rest outside on the terrace. The pool had a bar that served some snacks and beverages.
There was a restaurant where we had our buffet breakfasts. And I love brazilian breakfasts! We had a choice of several tropical fruit juices, coffee, tea, chocolate, milk, several kinds of bread, homemade cakes, cheese, cold meats, homemade fruit jams, tropical fruits and some typical brazilian dishes such as fried or boiled bananas and "carne de sol" ( made of dried meat).
The gardens were well cared and staff was friendly and polite. There was something of a familiar feeling about that hotel that made us feel at home.
The beach of Porto de Galinhas is very long and as the hotel was 1,5km far from the village center, the beach in front was almost desert. It was beautiful, surrounded by coconut trees, white sand, clear blue waters.
As we had a car we explored every beach and all the spots in Pernambuco. It has many beaches and each one is different from the other. Each one has its unique beauty. Some have calm waters, some are good for surfing, some are rocky, some have both river and ocean and some have "manguezais" ( sort of thinner sugar cane in the river waters where people catch "siris", river crabs ).
You can find almost desert beaches over there. Most beaches are only accessible by buggy. Mr Carlos was our guide with the buggy and he did not only drive us through the sands to the more hidden beaches. He stopped to pick some fresh cashews from the trees ( be careful when eating them cause cashew left me a spot in the bathing suit that never left!), he took us, at my request , to particular houses to buy tropical fruit preserves and he was always willing to help with something we needed with a smile. I still remember Mr. Carlos' thin face and his friendly bright smile!
The beach in the center of Porto the Galinhas is always more crowded but we were there a couple of times. There are coral reefs and when it's low tide we can hire a "jangada" ( rustic wood boat) to take us to the natural pools that are formed there. They have lots of fishes.
The beach is also funny cause there are many women selling their typical brazilian dishes, homemade pies, people selling crafts, others selling grilled cheese,children selling fresh cashews, even oysters with lemon are sold there. One day I tried a little of everything and was really full and could not go to the bath anymore!
What felt good too was to eat a grilled lobster or a fresh fish in the sand.There are small restaurants in the beach and we can order seafood or fish and beverages without having to leave the place where we are. They provide small tables, forks and knives and what a delight! And it is really cheap, I payed 35 dolars for 3 grilled lobsters with rice and salad and 3 coconut waters!
Porto de Galinhas doesn't have many shops. In the center there are a few but at night there is a small market where they sell local crafts. Right in the center of the village there is a good, though somewhat expensive , and modern shop with beach wear. They have very nice (and small) bikinis, men and women bathing suites . Next to it is the most charming coffee shop in Porto de Galinhas, colourful , which, at the time, was the only place in the village where I could have an expresso (I am a coffee addicted, I must confess)and a small shop with very nice crafts.
There is a place not to be missed : it is an atelier (unfortunately I don't remember the name) of a local artist that paints wood and has some very nice crafts. But the main thing about this place is that he opened it to teach the local children how to paint . By doing this, he not only avoids that they beg in the streets or still, but also provides them the opportunity to have a profession and earn some money beacause their paintings are exposed there and anyone can buy them.
The problem is that there are too many children begging in the streets and even when we are eating at restaurants on the beach children come and ask us to give them the spares.
That was very sad for us to see and made us loose our appetite.
At night we usually drove to the village center and had a drink at one of the esplanades by the sea. There were also several houses of "forró", a typical dance of the region.
Our New Year's Eve: We spent it at the hotel. We had dinner outside , the tables were all very well decorated with tropical flowers and fruits. The dinner was buffet and was not exceptional but it was good.
In Brazil it is a custom to dress in white on New Year's Eve so we dressed in white like most of the people. Music was played all night, specially brazilian music, and if you like brazilian music, imagine how it felt like, to listen to it in Brazil! There was a performance of popular dances from Pernambuco:the "trevo", it is a very popular dance of the region, specially in Carnival, they dance it with small colourful umbrellas, and the "forrò". After they performed the dances they came to our tables and invited us to dance with them!
Right after midnight we went to the beach and with a bottle of champagne we made toasts to the New Year and skipped 7 waves, making a wish for each one ( another brazilian custom). There was a beautiful full moon in the sky and
it was a hot night! It was the best New Year's Eve we ever had and my next year was one of the best in my life ( I'm 45)! Maybe it was the good energy this place had :)
SOME TIPS:
FOOD AND BEVERAGES:
Caipirinhas (very alchoolic),natural tropical fruit juices ( acerola, mango, guava, pitanga, etc.)
- Casquinha de siri (small filled crabs)
- Moquecas ( shrimp, lobster or fish with coconut sauce and green pepperoni)
- Bobo de Camarao ( another shrimp dish)
- Feijoada ( black beans with various meats)
- All dishes with fish and seafood
- Tropical fruit desserts
RESTAURANTS:
- "Beijupira", a very exotic restaurant ,lovely, excellent food,in a garden with candles. Must be booked some days in advance
- "Itaoca", in the center , right on the beach, very good food.
- "Peixe na Telha" , in the center, on the beach, try the "peixe na telha", a delicious fish very well seasoned served in a tile
LODGING:
- VILLAGE PORTO DE GALINHAS, a little more expensive than Armacao, but very nice and very well located.
- SUMMERVILLE RESORT, luxury, it was being built by the time I was there
- HOTEL ARMACAO DO PORTO, standard, very comfortable and affordable
- Many Pousadas, budget lodging, but nice.
BEST BEACHES:
- Porto de Galinhas( long, calm waters, coral reefs)
- Maracaipe (good for surfing)
- Muro Alto( only accessible by buggy)
- Cupe
- Cacimbas (rocky)
LAST TIPS:
- always rent a car in Brazil, that is the best way to discover its beauty
- use a high sun protector film , the sun is very hot
- try to go in their summer ( from November to April), it is the best time
- don't stay in towns, go and discover the coast
- go with an open mind, if you go to the northeast don't seek luxury, look for comfort.
- try every food and beverage you can, they are great!
- drink a lot of water and coconut water.
THE VERY LAST TIP: ENJOY IT AS MUCH AS I DID!
Thank you for reading
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
teresarg
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Member: Teresa
Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Reviews written: 13
Trusted by: 30 members
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