Nordeste 2024 September – The travel
Nordeste is Northeast in Portuguese.
A 12-day trip in Brazilian Northeast from Fortaleza to Salvador.
I went down by bus from Fortaleza to Natal, João Pessoa, and Recife.
Maragogi was a 1-day excursion to a neighbor state (Alagoas) from Recife.
Due to the distance, I travelled by plane to Salvador, and came back home also by plane.
Goals for this trip were:
- meet some friends;
- sightseeing (old and new places);
- try to keep my study and exercise routine.
My idea was to spend 3 days in each city, except Natal, where I don’t have friends.
Natal
The first destiny was Natal, where I went by bus (Viação Guanabara), the trip is 9 hours during the night.
I planned to stay just one night in Natal, then I was short in time.
During the day, I went on a boat excursion in Ponta Negra beach.
In the afternoon, I checked into my hosting place, Mar de Ponta Negra, by the way. It was curious that, due to the geography of the city, I was on floor minus 5.
The night I spent in a good bar/restaurant with live music called Dona Moça.
João Pessoa (Jampa)
From Natal, I went down to João Pessoa (Jampa) in the following day (Viação Progresso), just 3 hours by bus.
I usually like to stay in Tambaú or Cabo Branco, this time I stayed in the first one, at Pousada dos Anjos.
As I always do in Jampa, went to some bars and restaurants I like (Bahamas, for instance), visited pôr do sol at praia do Jacaré, and went to the beach.
Hint: when coming back from Jacaré beach, wait some time (15 to 30 minutes), to avoid dynamic fares at Uber.
And don’t take the overpriced cabs, unless you are rushing. The place is become a more tourist place each time I visit, sadly.
Recife
João Pessoa is very close, just 2 hours by bus (Progresso or Total), to a big city, Recife.
You can buy the ticket directly at the bus station, as there are several times available.
I stayed at Rede Andrade Onda Mar, at Boa Viagem beach.
Nice stuff there. It was very close to Smart Fit, where I practice gym.
By the way, in all the three cities (Natal, João Pessoa, and Recife), I went to the gym
There are many Smart Fit units around Brazil and other Latin America countries.
One of my concerns during these trips is to maintain my physical activities.
Another advantage of Boa Viagem is the fact that it is very close to Guararapes Airport.
Maragogi
While in Recife, I reserved 1 day to go to a neighbor state of Alagoas, to visit Maragogi (called as Brazilian Carib).
I really didn’t like the road, as the guide told me – and I agreed – it seems very dangerous to drive, and also the violence, if travelling at night.
If you don’t know the way, I recommend going using a travel agency in a visited guide.
But when we arrived there, it was really an astonishing place, we’ve made a boat excursion to the natural pools and reefs.
The fish at Maragogi reefs.
Salvador
The distance between Salvador and Recife is 690 km.
Due to the distance, I went by plane instead of bus.
Salvador Card
Arriving at the airport, I took the subway, for the first time in Salvador, I stopped first at Mussurunga Station to obtain my Salvador Card, which allows me to use the public transport.
Again by subway, I went to Rodoviaria Station, from where I took a cab to Rio Vermelho, where I was going to stay.
This time, I decided to stay at Pousada Solaris, in Rio Vermelho, instead of Ondina, as usual.
This hostel is practically in front of Acarajé da Cira, a tourist place.
Salvador is a big city with a huge coast, full of nice beaches.
Some of the beaches I like to visit are Farol da Barra and Amaralina.
Farol da Barra
This is the way, walking from Ondina to Farol da Barra.
I didn’t know that it was possible to visit it – there is also a museum inside – and see the neighbor from the top.
From Farol da Barra to Ondina and Rio Vermelho direction above (the white building is Oceania), and in the Porto da Barra direction below.
Amaralina
From Rio Vermelho, in the opposite direction when compared to Farol da Barra, we have Amaralina beach.
Many locals don’t like Amaralina. They consider it dirty, violent, and ugly.
But I have to admit I love this beach for one simple reason: it was the first one I knew in Salvador.
I walked from Amaralina to Rio Vermelho, but a friend of mine recommended not to do this again…
Nordeste 2024 September – Conclusion
It was a short time, but I visited 5 cities in 5 Brazilian states!
I reached my goals:
- meet some friends;
- sightseeing (old and new places);
- try to keep my study and exercise routine.
In addition to this, this was the first long trip I’ve made in 2024, due to financial reasons.
Before this one, I just did more short trips, to Canoa Quebrada (June), and Redenção, Baturité, and Guaramiranga (August).