Hey everyone...Sorry for starting with spam, you know it´s not my style...but given that I got stuck in the bus station of Recife today for the next 5hours, because it´s the 30th Dec and everyone is leaving the town to passing New Years Eve on the seaside, there is no single place left for me in the autobus to Praia da Pipa.
So, don´t be scared (especially Mathis) that I am so comunicative in the last time, I am really fine, that are only the circumstances ;)...and perhaps I miss you also a bit at these special days so far away from home.
So, my first Christmas far from home in my life I spend in Porto de Galinhas ("Chickenport"). This place got got his strange name from his dodgy history during the period where the slave-dealing got forbidden in Recife by the end of the 19th century, so the smugglers ha to find other ways to get slaves into the country.Therefore they arrived to shore in this village nearby to Recive proclaiming a shipment of "Angolan Chicken". Nowadays Porto de Galinhas is famous for his fine beaches around and therefore changed to a quiet touristic spot. My guide told nme something about hippy place, but I guess like the same fate like the Indians in Brazil they werebanished by the masses of tourists. But none the less the it´s a nice place to relax & making long walks at the beach and of course for surfing. Latter one I skipped this time, after 1 month of travelling I had a kind of mini burnout and prefered simply hanging around for christmas.
On the morning of 24th I met Ale, a really sympatic guy from Sao Paulo, and his family at breakfast or better they met me, since I don´t like to eat alone I ask ]ed for a seat at their table ;). We had a nice chat, mentioning my big christmas plans going alone in Churrasceria (it´s a kind of barbecue restaurant where you can eat grilled meat...very typical in the South of Brazil). So, obviously their heart melted and they invited me staying for Christmas with their family. So the wine I bought at the supermarket who was thought to drink at night at the beach alone, I brought around as a little present for dinner. PS.: If you bring a wine around here for an invitation at someone´s places, they call it "chici"...so actually I should ask for the next time what is more common to bring around. So in the evening we went alltogether to a village nearby to the house of the uncle. Here family and friends came together and arrange a christmas buffet in the backyard with chicken and pork roast, codfish-maniok casserole, salads and rice and farofa which you eat for every meal.
Traditionally you start with the christmas dinner at midnight, after wishing everyone (also calling friends far away) the best and give kisses, like we do it for New Years Eve. Teh traditional Christmas desert is Panettone here, but a more elaborated version to his italian origen...freher, with chocolate and orange flavour. Also they served a kind of jelly roll filled with guava marmelade which is a typical sweet for the region Permanbuco. So, I had really luck spending the evening with this people which really were so nice to me. Side note: The father wasn´t a bit worried that I didn´t enjoyed the dinner..given to my german rationality / state of being unemotional (= call me DATA :) ) , it´s not sufficient in Brazil telling one time that you enjoy everything, you need to aver it several times. Next night I went with Ale and some other people from the hostel to my first Forró party, it´s a music style similar to salsa, but you dance more closely. It´was nice to see it, but after 2-3hrs the music get a bit monotonous given by the same rhythm. Unfortunetly Ale forgot his promising dance past, given by only old dancing partners he has as he said (=só estou brincando), so I looking forward dancing with you again on a rock concert in Sao Paulo ;).
After Christmas I went to Olinda, a beautiful colonial city, with lots of churches and multicoloured houses. There I eattended a "Maracatu" a kind of drum session which they usually do for Carneval. So people went throught the streats playing their drums, followed by the crowd who danced and drank lots of bear. After that on Sunday night the people got stuck in the streets and places drinking more acohol, eating barbecue and until the last music finished...as usual here in Brazil ;)...."Only today counts, who cares about tomorrow"... this could be Brazilian Mantra.
Recife in contrast to Olinda, is huge and modern. Skyscrapers and wides streets mark the city. But surpringly it was not that bad as I thought..there are several nice spots in the center, although the main reason why I came here to visit 2 recommended museums for brasilian art and architecture, which both were closed :(. So I strolled the day through the center, which was a only big market, full of people who sell every useless, cheap stuff you can imagine.
Nowadays quality shops are very rare to find in city centers in Brazil. They moved in huge air-conditioned shopping centers in the suburbs where the middle and upper-class families life and which are only accessible by car. That´s also a reason why big sities change in a kind of ghost city on Sundays ... the people spend there time at the shopping center or at the beaches ... and you find any soul in the comercial and busniss district in town. So these days aren´t the savest either to plan sightseeing in town.
So, to close this post it´s only left to wish you all a really nice New Years Eve, have a good part and not too much demanding New Year´s Eve resolution to not get depressed 2 weeks later. I am out of this game this year. In Salvador I got this lucky wristlet at the "Igreja do Bonfim" (= Jesus Church) closed with 3 notes, every single one represents a wish of mine, and I only have to wait patiently (that´s the hard part for me ;) ) until the wristlet will fall of. Daniel from Lençois already weared his one since a year and there is only a fine string left. So, I think the lesson I should learn is to be patient...I got it!!!