On July 31, 2015, Brazil's Ministry of Environment announced Recife's botanic gardens as one of the best 5 gardens in the country, and the only one located in northeast Brazil. After reading this, I felt sheepish that I hadn't bothered visit yet- a decision based on several opinions that the gardens were just sort of "meh." My pre-judged opinion changed the minute I was greeted at the gate: kind employees, free entry, and immediate access to an authentic, living rainforest. An ecosystem firmly established in the dark soil cleared the way for entirely different ecosystems up in the canopy with plants growing upon plants upon branches, with vines connecting one end to the other.
Everywhere I looked there was something worth seeing: pinky-sized mini bee hives, ant farms, flowers, fungi. Agile Sagui monkeys jumped from tree to tree making faces for the cameras, fat lizards raced across the paths, and gasp-worthy spiders perched like sentries on their webs. I'd hoped to see some wild life and felt satisfied about these discoveries. But then I gazed high into the trees and saw sloths! Up until now we'd only seen sloth-crossing signs while driving to random beaches out of the city, so seeing the real thing was very exciting. These small 3-toed fur balls sat dozing, gazing and munching on leaves. Better than that, some of them began to lithely climb down the vines, seeming to stare at Mark while he took their picture.
My kids enjoyed the wild life, but what they really loved was the sensory garden, where they could touch different textures of clay, sand, and soil that perpetuates life in the forest. They could smell various herbs and listen to the sound of water falling. Basically: they played with rocks and dirt, and got completely filthy. But everyone was very happy. My advice: go. The Jardim Botanico de Recife is very much worth peeling yourself away from the beach and coconut water for a true rainforest experience only 30 minutes away.
Everywhere I looked there was something worth seeing: pinky-sized mini bee hives, ant farms, flowers, fungi. Agile Sagui monkeys jumped from tree to tree making faces for the cameras, fat lizards raced across the paths, and gasp-worthy spiders perched like sentries on their webs. I'd hoped to see some wild life and felt satisfied about these discoveries. But then I gazed high into the trees and saw sloths! Up until now we'd only seen sloth-crossing signs while driving to random beaches out of the city, so seeing the real thing was very exciting. These small 3-toed fur balls sat dozing, gazing and munching on leaves. Better than that, some of them began to lithely climb down the vines, seeming to stare at Mark while he took their picture.
My kids enjoyed the wild life, but what they really loved was the sensory garden, where they could touch different textures of clay, sand, and soil that perpetuates life in the forest. They could smell various herbs and listen to the sound of water falling. Basically: they played with rocks and dirt, and got completely filthy. But everyone was very happy. My advice: go. The Jardim Botanico de Recife is very much worth peeling yourself away from the beach and coconut water for a true rainforest experience only 30 minutes away.
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| Peeking through the canopy. |
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| Greenish tint comes from algae growing in the fur. |
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| Smiley |
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| Fruit from the Coité Tree meaning "true gourd." The fruit is used as an instrument in Afro-Brazilian music. Also a great waterproof container. |
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| Sensory garden where every kid fought the urge to throw these rocks into the air. |
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| Pond reflection. |
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