Recife-Olinda, Brazil
So I fly into Brazil the a few days before Carnaval. The first thing I see, which is pretty fitting, is a huge group of Carnaval dancers in the airport. They were dancing around in their traditional costumes playing the music. Recife is separated into two parts, Old Recife and Olinda. Olinda is well-known in Brazil for Carnaval. Many Brazilians prefer Olinda because it has parties on the street called blocos parties and because every party, concert or event is free.
I stayed with a friend of my Brazilian friend in Recife. Some other friends showed me around the city and took me out for parties. I was amazed how hospitable they were. I had a place to stay, personal tour guides and great company all around. So in other words, I was a pretty lucky guy.
The first day my friend Vao showed me around Recife which is a beautiful city. It is known as the Venice of Brazil because of it`s atmosphere and scenic canals. She then showed me Olinda which is the infamous Carnaval town. It was cool to see the city before it explodes with millions of people on the street. That night we went to a giant party in the back of someones house. There were 500+ people with a giant stage. I can`t say I`ve been to anything like that in Canada. Towards the end of the night it started raining too and when it rains in Brazil, it pours. The nice thing though is that it is always warm, so even though everyone is completely soaked, no one really cared. You really can`t break that Brazilian spirit, haha.
The next day we checked out a popular Recife beach and I saw Football de Praia for the first time. You might have seen it on TV before but it`s volleyball but only with your feet. It is huge in Brazil and Brazilians are amazing at it. I also tried out a popular beach sport called paletta which I`m planning on importing to Victoria by the way. It is raquetball on the beach. You use have a wooden raquet a tennis ball sized ball that you hit to eachother. You pretty much try to keep it going with your opponent as long as possible. I played with this old guy who has been playing it for decades. Some Brazilians really take it seriously, haha. After that I went to my friend Andre`s English class to speak with the class so everyone could practice their English. I got to learn a lot of cool thing about Brazilian culture. We then went to Old Recife for a pre-carnaval party. During Carnaval Old Recife is completely decorated, it has many concerts and it pretty much the party of the night. That`s where you`ll the Penembooku music called frevo. Each region of Brazil has their own form of music and dance. For example, samba is only native to the Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro regions.
Friday was the beginning of Carnaval. The official start is at night so we decided to go to Penembooku`s most famous beach Porto Galineas. It was about an hour away and my friend was nice enough to drive me there and show me around. On the way I saw a lot of sugar cane harvest and coconut farms. The beach itself was amazing. It had the nice sand with the tropical see-through water. It was the first time I`ve ever seen a beach like that. And the surfers over there put the Tofino surfers to shame. That night I went to my first Carnaval party in Old Recife. It was completely packed. There were a bunch of blocos walking around playing music and people were walking along them dancing the frevo and getting pumped up for the beginning of Carnaval. You couldn`t help but absorb the amazing atmosphere. After a bit of an adventure I had the first Carnaval party under my belt.
The Saturday was the first street parties of Carnaval in Olinda. This is what Recife-Olinda is famous for. And oh man, I was not ready for that. Canadian girls, you have nothing to complain about Canadians guys being to forward in bars. All I can say is Pemberton or Merritt Mountain Music Festival doesn`t come anywhere close in terms of debauchery. Uncomparable...
So in Olinda the streets are packed with blocos parties walking around playing music, holding the giant mascot puppets followed by a mass of people dancing the frevo as well as `meeting` new people. The weather is blaring hot, there`s beer, water and sweat flying around. In two words, pure pandemonium. You don`t know Carnaval till you come to Brazil and experience it.
That night Andre and I went out to Old Recife to enjoy the night parties. That night there were many concerts around we enjoyed. My favourite one was Gogol Bordello. They are a Ukranian band that were playing to a Brazilian singer. You have to checfk them out on YouTube.com. They play an upbeat type of folk rock. It`s tough to explain but they were amazing. Towards the end of the night the skies opened up and we had another famous Brazilian rain party. No one cared though because the music was so good. What an incredible night that was!
I stayed with a friend of my Brazilian friend in Recife. Some other friends showed me around the city and took me out for parties. I was amazed how hospitable they were. I had a place to stay, personal tour guides and great company all around. So in other words, I was a pretty lucky guy.
The first day my friend Vao showed me around Recife which is a beautiful city. It is known as the Venice of Brazil because of it`s atmosphere and scenic canals. She then showed me Olinda which is the infamous Carnaval town. It was cool to see the city before it explodes with millions of people on the street. That night we went to a giant party in the back of someones house. There were 500+ people with a giant stage. I can`t say I`ve been to anything like that in Canada. Towards the end of the night it started raining too and when it rains in Brazil, it pours. The nice thing though is that it is always warm, so even though everyone is completely soaked, no one really cared. You really can`t break that Brazilian spirit, haha.
The next day we checked out a popular Recife beach and I saw Football de Praia for the first time. You might have seen it on TV before but it`s volleyball but only with your feet. It is huge in Brazil and Brazilians are amazing at it. I also tried out a popular beach sport called paletta which I`m planning on importing to Victoria by the way. It is raquetball on the beach. You use have a wooden raquet a tennis ball sized ball that you hit to eachother. You pretty much try to keep it going with your opponent as long as possible. I played with this old guy who has been playing it for decades. Some Brazilians really take it seriously, haha. After that I went to my friend Andre`s English class to speak with the class so everyone could practice their English. I got to learn a lot of cool thing about Brazilian culture. We then went to Old Recife for a pre-carnaval party. During Carnaval Old Recife is completely decorated, it has many concerts and it pretty much the party of the night. That`s where you`ll the Penembooku music called frevo. Each region of Brazil has their own form of music and dance. For example, samba is only native to the Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro regions.
Friday was the beginning of Carnaval. The official start is at night so we decided to go to Penembooku`s most famous beach Porto Galineas. It was about an hour away and my friend was nice enough to drive me there and show me around. On the way I saw a lot of sugar cane harvest and coconut farms. The beach itself was amazing. It had the nice sand with the tropical see-through water. It was the first time I`ve ever seen a beach like that. And the surfers over there put the Tofino surfers to shame. That night I went to my first Carnaval party in Old Recife. It was completely packed. There were a bunch of blocos walking around playing music and people were walking along them dancing the frevo and getting pumped up for the beginning of Carnaval. You couldn`t help but absorb the amazing atmosphere. After a bit of an adventure I had the first Carnaval party under my belt.
The Saturday was the first street parties of Carnaval in Olinda. This is what Recife-Olinda is famous for. And oh man, I was not ready for that. Canadian girls, you have nothing to complain about Canadians guys being to forward in bars. All I can say is Pemberton or Merritt Mountain Music Festival doesn`t come anywhere close in terms of debauchery. Uncomparable...
So in Olinda the streets are packed with blocos parties walking around playing music, holding the giant mascot puppets followed by a mass of people dancing the frevo as well as `meeting` new people. The weather is blaring hot, there`s beer, water and sweat flying around. In two words, pure pandemonium. You don`t know Carnaval till you come to Brazil and experience it.
That night Andre and I went out to Old Recife to enjoy the night parties. That night there were many concerts around we enjoyed. My favourite one was Gogol Bordello. They are a Ukranian band that were playing to a Brazilian singer. You have to checfk them out on YouTube.com. They play an upbeat type of folk rock. It`s tough to explain but they were amazing. Towards the end of the night the skies opened up and we had another famous Brazilian rain party. No one cared though because the music was so good. What an incredible night that was!
posted by Kean @ 7:16 PM
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