Recife is famous for three things: (1) a rocking Carnaval, (2) having the highest murder rate in a
ll of Brazil, and (3) having the most fatal shark attacks of any city in the world. Most of the attacks -- some in only waist-high water along the shore--involve the particularly aggressive bull shark, which is why so many result in fatalaties. (That, and the fact that pollution and over-development along the shore has decimated the sharks' natural food supply and they are basically starving and majorly peeved.) Above is one of the warning signs that line the entire beach.
I actually had to do a fair amount of paperwork in connection with the MBA program, so I booked ahead and made sure I got a reasonably priced hotel room with high-speed internet included in the price of the room. To make a long story short, there was a snafu of sorts, whereby after I arrived, the Golden Tulip Hotel repeatedly confirmed that there would be in-room internet access for free. Hours later, they changed their minds and informed me that they would have to run a cable into my room and the cost of internet access would be about three times what I was paying for the room. Nice.
Fortunately, I know my way around a snafu. I gave a delightful little performace at the Golden Tulip, then stormed out during the city's busiest tourism week of the yea
r (it was the eve of Carnaval, after all), and booked myself into a 26th floor beachfront suite at the swanky Beach Class All Suites hotel. (Budget, schmudget--right?)
The Beach Class is the left of the two highrises in the photo on the right.
Once I checked in, I did a little work on my laptop in the south wing of my suite, before retiring to the balcony, where I scrutinized the shoreline for hours, hoping to see some shark activity. No such luck, but I really can't knock the view (below).
ll of Brazil, and (3) having the most fatal shark attacks of any city in the world. Most of the attacks -- some in only waist-high water along the shore--involve the particularly aggressive bull shark, which is why so many result in fatalaties. (That, and the fact that pollution and over-development along the shore has decimated the sharks' natural food supply and they are basically starving and majorly peeved.) Above is one of the warning signs that line the entire beach.I actually had to do a fair amount of paperwork in connection with the MBA program, so I booked ahead and made sure I got a reasonably priced hotel room with high-speed internet included in the price of the room. To make a long story short, there was a snafu of sorts, whereby after I arrived, the Golden Tulip Hotel repeatedly confirmed that there would be in-room internet access for free. Hours later, they changed their minds and informed me that they would have to run a cable into my room and the cost of internet access would be about three times what I was paying for the room. Nice.
Fortunately, I know my way around a snafu. I gave a delightful little performace at the Golden Tulip, then stormed out during the city's busiest tourism week of the yea
r (it was the eve of Carnaval, after all), and booked myself into a 26th floor beachfront suite at the swanky Beach Class All Suites hotel. (Budget, schmudget--right?)The Beach Class is the left of the two highrises in the photo on the right.
Once I checked in, I did a little work on my laptop in the south wing of my suite, before retiring to the balcony, where I scrutinized the shoreline for hours, hoping to see some shark activity. No such luck, but I really can't knock the view (below).
Somehow, I think I managed to spend 5 days in Recife and not take a single photo of myself. I met up once again with Tiffany, who had taken a detour to Joao Pessoa for a couple of days before coming to Recife. We enjoyed some fabulous homemade caipirinhas on my balcony, and after the 4th or 5th, we were sure we were seeing sharks in the ocean...
After finishing up in Recife (and avoiding the beginning of Carnaval altogether while I was there), I headed off for Salvador. As far as Carnaval is concerned, this is the equivalent of jumping right from the frying pan into the fire... 
Last glimpse of Recife.
Next up, Salvador!
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