Our last day in Maceio was spent at Gunga beach

Gunga beach is located about 45 miles south of Maceio

We spent a lovely day drinking coconut water, 

body surfing the waves and swimming in clean blue water

 Coconut trees for miles and miles

 Big girlie in her attempts to climb a coconut tree

 In the late afternoon we rented 4 wheelers and drove them 5 miles south of the beach to 

explore Falesias do Gunga

 Included this picture just for my Dad the rock lover

Packing for 7 is no small feat no matter how long or short the trip

Boats, trains and planes

We used every mode of transportation on this holiday

Planes to get to Recife and back home

Cars to buzz around the cities

Ferry to transport our cars from Recife down to Maceio

and later in this post a train ride

 It was a super short ferry ride but shaved 1+ hour off our drive

and the best part...it was R$5 = about $1.75usd per car

That's a super cheap boat ride if you ask me

We arrived to Maceio where Rob spent time on his mission and explored the city

The next day we took a commuter train to Rio Largo

 a small city about 45 minutes outside of Maceio

Rob had lived in Rio Largo for 3+ months

Wowza, did we stand out like tourists

We try our best to blend into the crowds but for a city that gets virtually no tourists we were the talk of the town

When we boarded the train for Rio Largo there was a security guard for the train

The entire ride he ended up staying in our train compartment

We assumed to make sure things were in check for our family

When we got off the stop of Rio Largo he asked what we intended to do there

Rob originally had wanted to walk the city with our family

but after speaking with him and a few other people right in the square we decided it would be best to just hang out right in the downtown

We found a juice shop and enjoyed fresh juice, French fries and then boarded back onto the train

It was a shame that we were not able to see more of the city but were happy to make it back to the hotel that night without any issues

What was most fascinating during the train ride was watching the towns outside of the windows

I don't think much had changed from when Rob was there 20 years ago

Such simple conditions

We can now check Rio Largo off our box

Gringos @ Galinhas

Porto de Galinhas is a small beach town located about 90 minutes south of Recife

Everyone we spoke to had raved about this area

Our family was super excited to have some downtime in the sun

and have some water to swim in where we weren't spotting shark fins

 Enjoying delicious delivered to us Acai

 Popsicle on the beach, good to the last drop

How can you go wrong?

 Can't resist getting a picture with the chicken at Porto de Galhinas

literal translation...port of the chickens

 Some filtered beach pictures and the expecations that we had...

The true view of our beach 

It was beautiful beach and suprislingly clean but super crowded

We were so happy to be staying at a Pousada about 5 miles south of Porto de Galhinas 

Our next beach day we were provided with a private beach experience

It was lovely!!

  

 

Our beach view the following day at our Pousada

Literally had to pull the kids from the water with the sun long having set

Old town Recife & Olinda

Recife  is the fourth-largest city in Brazil and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco in the northeast corner of South America. Recife was founded in 1537, during the early Portuguese colonization of Brazil, as the main harbor of the Captaincy of Pernambuco, known for its large scale production of sugar cane. It was the former capital Mauritsstad of the 17th century colony of New Holland of Dutch Brazil, established by the Dutch West India Company. The city is located at the confluence of the Beberibe and Capibaribe rivers before they flow into the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a major port on the Atlantic. Its name is an allusion to the stone reefs that are present by the city's shores. The many rivers, small islands and over 50 bridges found in Recife city centre characterise its geography and led to the city being called the "Brazilian Venice".

The Historic Centre of Olinda, 7 kilometers (4.3 mi) north of the city, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1982, and both cities' Brazilian Carnival are among the world's most famous. 

 We started out morning with a tour guide pickup at our Air BnB

I was sure glad to see him

After driving around Recife the day before with two small rental cars 

I was really happy to turn the driving over to an expert

Traffic was crazy, drivers were crazy and it was hard to keep my lead car in view

 Toured around the downtown Recife

 

  

 Carnival is super, super popular in this area

They have the second largest Carnival parade just behind Rio

We stopped in to one of the museums that displays the Boencas Gigantes

It was fun letting everyone pick their favorite character

 Another museum displayed the traditional outfits worn for the carnival parade

 We were then back in the van for a short drive to Olinda

 Coconuts galore

 My little with her prize from the trip

A traditional carnival umbrella

 So many colorful doors, walls and colors made for some fun photos shoots