Olinda

Olinda is an awesome city/town. Quaint, colourful and on a hilltop, a much more pleasant version of the Pelhourinho in Salvador. Minus the hustlers. We stayed in a pousada but it was definitely more of a boutique hotel - an old converted colonial mansion with tall windows, wooden floors and lots of light. Though we were put in what we think used to be the coal room, as it was small and tucked away at the back of a terrace - for an expensive price.

Still there was lots of music, street bars and great sights - not to mention a ridiculous number of churches - all connected by a series of ancient underground tunnels that historians are still unsure what they were used for. We went into one under Olinda´s most important church that was closed off, and I think these guys must have been smuggling dwarfs because it was incredibly low ceilinged. Even for me.

We spent a lovely day wandering up and down the cobbled streets looking at all the colourful buildings (check Lee´s album for pics of these) plus there were many fantastic and some weird art galleries, including art from recycled plastic items. Now that was a creative bunch of sculptures that I probably never would buy and display in my home, but commendable all the same - toothbrushes, roll on deoderant bottles, fabric softener bottles, coke bottles you name it.

We head back to Olinda from Pipa so that we can fly to our next destination. No more buses as we need to save time until we set off through the Amazon to Venezuela!