| Food, what
great food, Seafood, Picaniha (Brazilian Steak) rice, beans, deserts all
anyone could want and so affordable we joked about it. My favorite was
the Picaniha and the rice and beans.
They even had
a nice selection of appetizers as well if you just wanted to sit, have
a drink and just a bit to eat and pick on while sitting and looking at
the Ocean. After having a huge breakfast buffet with everything imaginable
served it took you quite a while to get your appetite going again.
My girlfriend
and her son simply loved the place and that is very unusual for Brazilians
to say .To them their city where they come from is always the best! Not
this time they absolutely fell in love with Joao Pessoa as I did.
Love at
first sight !!
We spent the
most relaxing week we ever had in Joao Pessoa and really did not want to
leave at all. We could have stayed a month without any problem at all.
There is just something special about this place. It invites you, it welcomes
you, it soothes you and it wants you to stay. Although there was a clear
absence of Americans and even Europeans we were very welcome and felt very
comfortable and at home there. I was probably more comfortable then I have
felt in some places in The States. It actually reminded me very much what
I would consider a nice beach town in the States, but unfortuantely I have
not been able to find such a town in the States as they have all been built
up and turned into very crowded tourist areas like many a city in Brazil
as well.
They have a
beautiful street that runs along the Ocean from Cabo Branco to Tambau and
it is closed to traffic each morning from 6 to 8 AM for people to walk,
jog, bicycle ride and exercise by the sea. As the sun rises in Joao Pessoa
at 5 AM there are plenty of people out doing their thing each moring. The
evening falls early about 5 PM as the Sun goes down and many people go
to this little spot on the river on the other side of town where they sit
and eat and have a drink, you guessed it capariha, and listen to this Sax
player that is absolutely wonderful. He plays in the restaurant and then
goes out on a boat and while standing in the boat continues to play for
all to see, from the restaurants and passing tour boats. I guess that may
be the last stop for the tour boats. The sunset is to die for as is the
sunrise in Joao Pessoa.
At the end
of the beach strip just passed Cabo Branco is Ponto do Seixas, a lightouse
with a wonderful view of the sea and the city. It is the eastern most
tip of land into the Atlantic in all of the Americas, North and South,
a special place in a special city. South of the lighthouse is another area
called penha which is less busy but what a spot to look for a piece of
land to build a house. Not as busy as the other areas by far but close
enough and far enough away for my tastes. Being born and raised in New
York City I have looked and enjoyed spots like this most of my life.
Sure when I was younger I liked the spots with all the action going on
but now that I am older, I still like that sort of thing once in a while
but do not want to live in the middle of it any longer. Penha is not built
up but I suspect it will become an exclusive residential area in the near
future.
The prices
for real estate in Brazil are not to be believed however: you either
build your own place or get used to rooms that are considerably smaller
then we are used to here. There are some rather large houses but they do
cost more then the advertised 2 and 3 bedrooms that are actually very small
by our standards. Construction costs are half of what they are here. And
the quality has different ranges but the construction seems to be very
good.
Joao Pessoa
is not one of these party towns but it does have its places to go and even
quite a few clubs for those that enjoy dancing and music. It start to settle
down after 11 PM during the week and not much later then that on the weekend.
I have never been out late in Joao Pessoa, but imagine the nightlife is
good. To repeat Joao Pessoa is a great city, so great that I will be returning
this month to look for a place for me and my family. I want to buy a piece
of land we can build on and call our own!!
I will surely
keep you aware of my findings as I look deeper into this wonderful place.
I have only scartched the surface so far but the deeper I go the better
it gets.
The following
is the first article Richard wrote for the magazine:
If you would
like to submit an article to Escape From America Magazine Click
Here |
