Travel Guide Olinda

Olinda is perched on a small hill, covered with baroque churches and coconut trees, white and pastel houses overlooking the sea and reminiscent of the Pelourinho of Salvador. Sloping streets cross the old quarter, classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. There are some marvels bequeathed by the Portuguese: the churches, black and gnawed, even more beautiful when abandoned. Olinda, smaller and less extroverted than Salvador, seems to be frozen in a theatrical and provincial solitude. One could retreat there for a week in the serenity and refinement of the place... until coming down to earth: a few dozen meters away, at the bottom of the hill, the ordinary concrete is used as a backdrop for the rallies that are held between the crazy bus drivers. Let's go back up the hill and discover the wonders of Olinda! In the distance, on the ocean, we can see huge flat-decked ships, lined up like sentinels, motionless and decorated with lanterns like on July 14th! Here, we find a human dimension, lost in Recife, too big, too impersonal. Here, culture reigns, we see it omnipresent in every corner of the museum city to which friendly high school students, fiery capoeiristas or hilarious rastas give an air of authenticity. This is no longer the big city: the people here are friendly, cheerful and spiritual.