The Venice of Brazil & A Gastronomical Experience

Coming from the wide-open spaces of Wyoming, it's amazing to see all the people crammed into Recife! It is the fourth largest city in Brazil and a major port. Approximately 1.6 million people live here. That's about the size of Philadelphia, San Antonio or San Diego in the USA. it was first inhabited by the Portuguese, and then invaded by the Dutch in 1654. The Duttch were responsible for building the infrastructure of the city.The intrique network of island, rivers, canals and bridges have earned the city the nickname of the Venice of Brazil.

Recife is actually named for the stony coral reefs which have made Recife a popular beach resort with its waterfront lined with white sand and intermittent rocky reefs.

The disparity in income levels was apparent between the high-rises and a new structure on the beach to house yachts [under construction and pictured below] contrasted with the families sleeping in the park and on mattresses on the sidewalks outside of delapitated buildings.

The poverty rate in Recife, Brazil, is reported to be more than 40% of its population, indicating a significant proportion of the city's residents are living below the poverty line. Salaries for a person working in Recife is between 2360 BRL ($477 USD) and 41,600 BRL ($8,523). The primary industries of Recife include:

• Software Manufacturing: home to Porto Digital,
• Shipbuilding, automotive, petroleum refining, and petrochemicals
• Electronics, tube manufacturing, and textiles
• Fish and crustaceans, brewing, chocolate manufacturing
• Sugar Production: being one of its main exports

Our tour for today was entitled a Gastronomic Experience. First, we drove through the city to the market - pictured below - where our Chef picked out what he'd be preparing for us for lunch.

Besides fish, the market place sells everything from beef, baskets, gourds, cow horns, and herbs for medicinal purposes.

The lunch our chef prepared was fabulous. It began with cocktails made from Cachaça which is a distilled spirit of sugar cane juice, exclusively produced in Brazil. It is often erroneously thought of as a style of rum, but it has a distinct flavor profile, with a raw, fruity taste and a more subtle sweetness compared to rum. Once we finished what we thought was the meal ,we learned it was only the appetizers! I loved the crab in the shell and the empanada stuffed with shrimp. We got a tour of the kitchen [really small considering the size of the restaurant]. The main course was a stuffed fish but we liked the side shrimp dish most of all.

Better walk more than a mile tomorrow so I can still fit into the clothes I packed!