Recife - Tuesday June 24

Brazil has so many interesting things to see and do that we've lost count.

Every morning I wake up early and hear the sounds of the city coming to life.

Around 8:30 each morning, I hear a speaker announcing something in the street. It sounds like an old-time campaign truck, but I have no idea what it is saying. Must learn more Portuguese...

Hopefully it isn't something about the Americans deciding to Shock & Awe Recife. No one seems to be ducking and covering, so I ignore it and go back to blogging.

It is a national holiday (Sao Joao) so the bodega downstairs is closed. I don't bother trying the mall...

The fam sleeps late but we hear from some friends that they want to visit nearby Olinda. The plan is to find a taxi that fits six passengers...depart with our party of four...and pick up two friends on the way. After 30 minutes of investigation with the help of the doorman, it becomes clear that six-passenger taxis don't exist in Recife.

Heck, I haven't figured out how to even dial a phone reliably. 90 percent of the phone calls we try to make to/from landlines and cell phones don't seem to work. We answer the phone when it rings. Bad idea. Must. Learn. Portuguese.

We resolve to take a taxi, but our friend Nina (thanks Nina!) comes to the rescue and offers to drive with us. Olinda is just to the North of Recife. We are at the southern end in Boa Viagem, but the drive is under 35 minutes.

During the whole drive, we try unsuccessfully to reach our other friends via cell, Whatsapp, and carrier pigeon. We get to Olinda, and we find them sitting in front of a cafe. Such is Brazil.

They have been waiting 30 minutes but are in good spirits. We walk around some historic churches and eventually settle on a place for lunch. Sergio knows the chef, of course, who is from Ghana but speaks and cooks in French.

We enjoy a nice meal and good company, and set out on foot to explore more of Olinda.

We climb a steep hill, expecting to find a deserted hilltop only to find a bustling market filled with street carts, food vendors, and many small arts stores.

The city has a beautiful view of Recife, that is why it is called Olinda. On occasional corners we smell the smoke and see the remnants of last night's bonfires. Here I learn they have nothing to do with Brazil's victory.Today is a national holiday, so many shops are closed. We take photos and dash into nearby stores when it rains (which it does on and off most of the day).

We encounter a mariachi-type band. Sergio knows everyone in it. We stop at several art boutiques where Sergio knows the artist.

Francisco gives my kids Portuguese lessons; in exchange, they keep him from running into traffic (he's five years old).

Nina is patient trying to teach my wife and I some Portuguese. Francisco has the better students.

The elevator tower atop the hill is flooded and inoperable. The breath-taking view from 40 feet below will have to suffice. My wife's fear of glass elevators is rendered moot.

I ask Michele if either of us is ready to move to Olinda. Nice place to visit, but too much mental energy to even contemplate living in a place like Brazil. I begin to think wistfully of NJ for the first time in a long time.

After a few more hours of a walking tour of the quaint buildings, it is already 17:00 and time to go, as there is dusk, rain, and traffic to contend with.

Nina gamefully drives us back to Boa Viagem.

We helax at home, catch up on email, make some pasta, watch countless highlights of today's games interspersed with really bad Brazilian soap operas.

Have we really been here nearly a week? The days begin to blend together, no matter how distinct each on is one its own.

Boa noite!