Jardim Botanico de Recife

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.

Peeking through the canopy.

Greenish tint comes from
algae growing in the fur.

Smiley

 Fruit from the Coité Tree meaning "true gourd."
The fruit is used as an instrument in Afro-Brazilian music.
Also a great waterproof container.

Sensory garden where every kid fought
the urge to throw these rocks into the air.

Pond reflection.

Marcos Pontes and Space Tavel

Astronaut turned life coach/
motivational speaker/
engineering consultant

After dragging my kids around a few too many beaches in the pouring rain, I decided to spice up the kid's "winter break" in Recife by taking them to a mall. Sort of. Specifically, a mall that advertised a month long "Children in Space" exhibit in honor of Marcos Pontes, Brazil's first (and currently only) astronaut who blasted into space back in 2006, spending a week at the International Space Station with the Russians. The exhibit's claim to fame promised a strict thirty minutes of unfettered space learning; with blue suits, hair nets and shoe covers. We watched a 6 minute video, walked around a few model planets, and stared at tiny models encased in glass. Well, I did all these things while the kids staggered under their ill-fitting, giant space helmets, totally distracted. 

I felt their space experience lacked any sense of awe and wonder but chocked it up to the stale circulated mall air. But then they lead the kids to a looming space capsule lined with 3 inch foam and spray painted stars for a galactic dance party. The kids went absolutely insane, dancing and body slamming in the black light. They refused to leave that sweaty fun pit for thirty more minutes, but to the space employee's delight who put the songs on repeat. In the end I managed to peel off their uniforms but immediate freedom allowed them to run back into the dance party. I'd say this made up for Schlink rainy day death marches in the sand. 

Margonaut

A slightly underwhelmed astro-tot
before the foam pit throw down.

Festa Junina

Festa Junina in Caruaru. Credits: Camocim VIP News.

Perhaps less well-known than Carnaval, but definitely just as important, northeastern Brazil's Festa Junina marks a day (more like weeks) of parties integrating traditions from Brazil, Europe, and Africa involving a mash-up of saints- Johnny, Petey, Paulie and Tony. It's also a day of honoring the end of the rainy season and the sanctity of marriage. Throw in a little bit of country square dancing called quadrila, costumes, and a whole mess of music, food and drink, and you've got the makings of bewildering yet meaningful traditions. Recife alone will host 200 parties, shows and concerts around the city wheras 2 hours inland the city of Caruaru, the capital of Forro, hosts the biggest Festa Junina party in the world.

I say bewildering because every single decoration and costume blasts with color and design. Multicolored flags and plastic lanterns cover the ceilings. There are so many pictures of saints and icons that it gives an Orthodox church a run for its money. Ladies sport loud dresses all pinned with ribbons, pom-poms or miniature dolls. Even the mock bride, who represents matrimony and re-birth wears a white dress with neon pieces of flair. Men might wear plaid button downs with tattered pants and straw hats. Others might wear gaucho costumes or bandit outfits from the sertão or backwoods of NE Brazil. Those without naturally large freckles, gap teeth or pencil thin mustaches- are drawn on. 

Mercado Sao Jose- HQ for... everything. 

A whole ton of lace and polyester. 

Decorative lanterns. 

The music and dance, called Forró is just as colorful, sounding like a mix of salsa, country, polka, mariachi and blues. It's heavy on the accordion, acoustic guitar and triangle with catchy syncopated rhythms and tells stories of homesickness, love (lost or found), passion, or jealousy.

Then there's the food. I have never seen so many things made out of corn before: bread, cake, porridge; popcorn, couscous, and cookies. Only Brazilians call them broa, bolo de milho, canjica; pipoca, cuzcous, and aberém. Corn on the cob, meat on a stick, soups in a pumpkin. At Festa Junina, you go big or go home- eating is mandatory fun. It was here where I discovered my daughter's love of farofa covered steak (toasted cassava root)  and Deets enjoying corn flower based cookies.  

Of course, the kid's school spent a large amount of energy organizing and executing their own Festa Junina. Normally my son keeps a low profile and doesn't like mass group performances. Believe it or not, he embraced the loud music and cheering fans as his class took the floor to dance. He's also repeatedly asked to wear a mustache. Margo wanted to sleep in her dress and asks me every day to wear batom- Portuguese for lipstick. I think Brazilian indoctrination is working. For me too because I am just starting to understand the love and respect this country has for the classics. On the surface these celebrations seem over the top, but Brazil has a unique way of embracing its heritage- and I certainly could use more of that. 

 

Boys getting ready for their guitar solos.

Jaqueira Park

I talk a lot about the beach. I know this. Recife's reputation and tourism thrives on its very existence and I frequently forget the city offers more than sand and coconuts. The city has its share of museums, markets, and praças (plazas, piatas, squares- whatever you want to call them) along with shockingly large shopping malls, medical empires, and waxing joints.  In efforts to recognize other charming aspects of the city I lured the kids with promises of rocket slide and picnic food to one of Recife's better known parks: Jaqueira Park.  It's an adorable park with canopies of trees offering respite from the blazing sun rays. Jaqueira has four playgrounds, a running path, dirt bike park and skatepark. It has a cement roller rink, spaces for yoga and a new free-weight workout area.  They even have wifi and volunteer security guards. Nevermind that it took me over an hour to get there, when twenty minutes would have sufficed. Traffic is horrific here and the drivers all have a little bit of sass, so it can be a major fun-sucker.  

When we arrived by 8am, the park was already in full swing. Brazilians are good for that. I always see people utilizing these open air gyms- the normal schmos, the gently toned, the juicers. Along the running path I enjoyed watching an absurdly large number of power walkers, joggers, and those people who don Kbands and "sprint" with their human anchor. (Mark calls them exercise cummerbunds.) The kids beelined to the rocket slide with full intention of blasting to the moon for moon cheese. I pretended not to see the rusty metal ladders or slippery wooden bridges that my kids defiantly conquered barefoot. I pretended to not notice my poor choice of wearing jeans when the heat and humidity of the day seeped through. I did notice however, that the kids genuinely enjoyed themselves and by default, I did too. 

Managing distances and milestones.

Deets said this was a swing for wheel chairs.
I think he's right. 

Zip line, purposely made with a swing
that could only fit the ass of a child. 

Shoes? Pffft. Atta girl.

Low Tide in Boa Viagem

Exploring Recife's beaches during low tide always ends up interesting. Besides exploring the reefs that are full of tiny crabs, fish and seaweed, the kids and I often find various remnants the ocean left behind: live, dead, and inanimate. I regularly see washed up jellyfish, all blown up with very threatening purple tentacles whether they are dead or alive. We wander amongst oyster shells, seashells, and the occasional dead fish and sand dollars. But as beautiful and colorful the beach is here, it is not immune to copious amounts of trash- plastic bags, shoes, and popsicle sticks seem to be the biggest culprits. Luckily glass and cans are recycled and fishermen take care not to leave hooks in the sand, so for the most part, fear of cutting our feet is only hampered by reef rock and forgotten broken plastic spoons or forks.

Avenida Boa Viagem

Mega low tide- no sharks here.

She dressed herself. I swear.

Today however, what should I find floating by our legs? A kidney. Yes, a kidney still attached to the previous owner's mesentery and ureter. With a couple of flies feasting away, the urine creator was a blood-sucked, yellow-white color, about  6" x 4" and bobbing like a castaway without direction or hope. Of course, being the dramatic realist that I am, started scanning the area for other body parts, maybe an arm or a head with eyes and mouth horridly frozen open to suddenly pop up. Maybe its sister kidney would suddenly wash up on shore too? Obviously I redirected my children to cleaner waters, but felt the zombie organ was following us, and it was. (Never mind that we were all following the current.) After calming my criminal intent paranoia, I surmised the kidney came from a goat or a cow, perhaps used as bait and either fell off a fishing line, or carelessly discarded into the sea. I'm going to think that anyway.

Exhibit A: Right sided kidney

Embaixada Dos Bonecos

Mark and I enjoyed a touristy afternoon in Recife Antigo (Old Town Recife) and Marco Zero, the official starting point of road measurements around the city. With his usual scoffing of the map, we simply wandered through the streets admiring old buildings, churches, and markets. Neither of us had visions of hitting up museums, but just as quickly as we discussed this we walked right into the Embaixada dos Bonecos Gigantes, or Embassy of Giant Dolls. It is the headquarters for these 88 pound, top heavy, fiber glass dolls that are worn over the shoulders of parade marchers, most notably during Carnaval.  

Tiptoeing in, the entrance felt a much like the mysterious entry of a carnival freak show; the rainbow streamers lifted in the breeze creating just enough to get a glimpse of hair, glitter and plastic smiles. I was startled when we entered through the curtain because there they were: big heads and unblinking eyes staring us down as if we interrupted their important meeting. We circled the room, exploring the faces and goofing off. It was short visit, but one definitely worth taking- especially if you have kids.

Want one with your own likeness? You could go all out and get a handmade boneco, mini-sized or giant. The process is fairly simple: you give them a picture and chitchat about clothing options and the artists get to it. They cost between 250 to 1,800 USD and takes 2-3 months to complete. Imagine one of these bonecos in your living room! I think it would be the greatest conversation starter ever. Mark morbidly jokes that when he kicks off, I should stuff him and put him on my couch. I'm thinking this could be more fun...