Recife's Quaint Neighbor-- Olinda

There were a few places I wanted to see while In Recife: the beaches, Olinda and Old Recife.

After a short bus ride, I found that I had gotten off a couple of kilometers past Olinda, so I enjoyed sitting under the shade of a palapa while sipping a beer. It was a pretty setting and much less crowded than I found the May Day beaches to be in Recife's Boa Viagem area.

After refreshing myself, I made it to the very picturesque town of Olinda that ran up the hill from the beach area. The cobblestone roads ran up the hill past lots of old churches, art galleries and studios, restaurants, museums and beautiful colorful homes amongst the trees.

From the viewing tower

I ended up eating at an LP pick, the Oficina do Sabor near the top of the hill by two churches. it is just to the right of the Igreja NS do Ampora church you see below which was first built in 1613.

In addition to a great shrimp with mango sauce seasoned with tarragon sauce along with a mound of rice infused with coconut milk with slivers of toasted coconut and finely chopped scallions, I had an expansive view of Recife in the distance.