This time nature made the call! Two or three facebook posts on the beauty of Maragogi/Al beach soon took me to flight search and easy purchase of what seemed to be my “soul-demanding” trip. I’d get to Maceió on Sunday early morning and take the plane back to São Paulo from Recife/Pe 13 days later. Maragogi is an amazing beach between these two cities! Yes, I was excited.
A few days before departure I booked 2 nights on Fernanda’s house through Airbnb, and I had the luck of her offering to pick me up at the airport for fair price. The bedroom was just right: fresh, spacious, with a private bathroom and a good mat. Fernanda and her daughter were really welcoming hosts who made me feel at home. I’m sure I left a new friend in Maceió! I ended up spending not 2 but 8 days there, giving up the stop on Maragogi or other top beaches I thought about visiting, and going straight to Recife.
Maceió is surrounded by astonishing beaches, each one with its uniqueness in beauty that unfolds as you go along the shore. On top of that, the brutal variation of the sea level throughout the day creates multiple scenarios - the Brazilian Caribbean, as people there say! The tourists, nevertheless, crowd parts of the beaches under their umbrellas and loud music. Step away from them and you will check pure nature under your feet. I had a great time traveling to the beaches and exploring them by myself without any rush!
It wasn’t easy to move to Recife. Airbnb helped me again and I found a simple bedroom for really good price in a “good-vibes” house where 3 young friends live. I was content with the amount of incredible beaches I had visited in Maceió and my heart now seemed to be leading me to connect to people and explore city life. There went I: 4 hours on bus and the toughest commuting experience I have ever had. Right there, on the bus and metro station, beggars, dirt and hawkers set the scene. People looked tired resting against the wall, the floor or the few benches while waiting for the lazy train that took so long to arrive. I couldn’t hide my curiosity looking at all that picture: a religious singer made the soundtrack of the trip with his microphone and electric guitar inside that crowded wagon where hawkers were going back and forth trying to sell their goods, a cockroach, a poor scenario through the windows and the passengers sustaining their dignity on their mobiles, in informal talks or in silence. After that, my backpack and I had the surprise of reaching to a huge queue of people that desperately jumbled inside the late bus as it parked there. I was totally stunned but had the instinct of jumping inside it when people started hesitating to analyze if they could still fit in there. I travelled pressed against the door, my backpack and I, jumping in and out at every stop for people to leave. God, what life do this people live?! It seemed to be a constant struggle. That made me so sad...
But the bright and enchanting part of Recife didn’t take long to arrive. After a cold shower I lay on the peaceful net surrounded by beautiful plants in the balcony of my “new house” and was called by Raissa offering me acerola juice; and then Giovani invited me to have lunch with them, and then we started a restful delicious Monday lunch talk! To me, these conversations were the biggest attraction of the city – people are proud of Recife and of their state of Pernambuco. They know a lot about their traditions, festivities, countryside cities and their geographical regions (each of them so particular in nature and culture). Lots of regional rhythms and well know artists were born in Pernambuco. It’s the crib of Frevo. People dance and love their carnival (the most important of Brazil). And they are always egger to share all this with you if you want to, what makes interesting every single interaction! I could hear, see and feel a poetic sense of belonging on people everywhere. My overloaded soul was feeling nourished and alive back again.
Getting back to São Paulo wasn’t that easy. It was like I wanted to keep that experience for real and for life - that sea, those people, that mood, that lively calm, those dances, those rhythms. But São Paulo has no ceremonies in showing its busy and self-demanding personality. I felt tired and a sense of urge took my following days insisting that I should run away from there. I feel better now, though - better conscious about those amazing things that deeply moved my spirit and alive enough to face and enjoy the pain and the treats life reserve for us, regardless where our feet decide to be.
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