Recife, Day 31

Woke up to the news that it was past nine o'clock and we were on the hourly rate. We whipped our stuff together and flew out the door, in the end they didn't charge us anything extra and, despite trying to pay, my Portuguese wasn't good enough to get the message across and Rob and I got the night for free.
The hostels we stayed in were rough, offering a few hours for a few reals if you needed a room quick, but not for long. Alex slept on his own over the road and apparently that was even worse, lipstick smears predominant around the walls and mirrors.

We nipped off in the car to see the biggest tourist attraction of the city: the Iglesa de San Francisco. It was a nice church; distinctive with its old tiled entrance and gargoyle lions. Also on the other side was a huge expanse of jungle with virtually nothing in it, just a jungle joining the middle of a city. Had some lunch down by the sea and Fran Hunter, a friend from Leeds, walked past. I knew she was in Brazil but not here and it was lucky I saw her, because it'll probably be a while now.

So we ate, lounged around with a few beers and then drove again, taking as much time in Recife to find a hostel as it did to get there. This car travel is frustrating sometimes and its definitely getting on top of Alex and Raphael. Everyone was bit low in the evening: the hostel was poor and the girls in Olinda (historic town by Recife) were paying a lot less, the weather was bad and we were all a bit tired. Found an all you can eat sushi for about six or seven pound though and its amazing how quickly you pick up with some decent food.

Been thinking about what I wrote a few days back, about these notes nose-diving in terms of interest. Realised that I haven't been illustrating places well because we haven't been fully exploring them. Our stays since Sao Luis have been ephemeral as we've charged off further round the coast to see another resort. Leaving Pipa one night before the girls was a mistake, though it meant I saw Fran. Not staying in Olinda last night was a mistake as well. Maybe having a bigger group size is blurring the thought processes a bit. From now on we haven't got time to make any more mistakes.

Still, though, we do have a lot of miles to make up and have to keep moving, and I can't say the whole experience hasn't been eye-opening, and we're still making as much of our time here as possible. And a few days in Salvador and more in Rio will make all the rushing worthwhile.