From Buenos Aires to Italy

Mom went back the next day because she wasn’t better and the doc diagnosed her as having bronchia bacteria something or other, gave her meds and Mom was out for the count. Cancelled her Catamaran tour, doctor’s office stamped ticket so we could be credited for the SE fee.

Recife, Brazil was colonized as part of Dutch Brazil during the mid-1600s. With its many small islands linked by some 50 bridges, Recife has been called the “Brazilian Venice.” A vast mangrove park in the middle of the city adds to the scenic allure. On the city’s namesake island, echoes of the Portuguese and Dutch colonial settlements line the elegant streets of Recife Antigo, the Old Town. The Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue here was the first synagogue in the Americas. Today, Recife’s vibrant traditions are on display at the Tunisian-style Malakoff Tower.

Yesterday we thought she’d be  better and the Catamaran & the Casa de Cultura sounded like a fun event, so we booked it.  However, by the morning Mom was out for the count.  She declined to go, but insisted I go and have fun.  

The idea was fun, go and visit the sites of Recife cruise through the Capibaribe River and through its maze of waterways on a catamaran, but that’s where it ended.  Nicknamed the “Venice of Brazil”, the actual tour became repetitive.

We took a route through the city and the buildings we saw, some beautiful and some in dire need of repair, were interesting. The problem was, when we boarded the catamaran, we were taken to the other side of the same buildings. 

We did go under a number of bridges which was fun and interesting and we did also see some beautiful sculptures that I was able to get pictures of.

But when we got back they took us to a former prison which has been turned into the Casa de Cultura that serves as a market in which pieces of Afro-Brazilian art come to life. But it really was just a couple of hallways in the old prison with lots of very small shops of trinkets and souvenirs.

Tonight The Decades, a band of 4 and 4 singers, performed for 45 minutes songs from the 50’s, 60’s, and the 70’s. It was pretty darn good.  I’d met one of the singers in the World Cafe and we struck up a conversation and I told her of mom and my background in theater and she said she’d love to talk with Cathy sometime before the cruise ended.