Recife ~ “The Brazilian Venice”

Looks like a fake backdrop ~ But, it is very real.

Recife gets its name from the coral reefs that shelter its harbor. Reef translated into Portuguese is Recife. The city has over 50 bridges interconnecting all the islands to the mainland. That is why it is referred to as the “Brazilian Venice.”

Before we left the ship for the day, we enjoyed what seemed to be a parade of sail boats. I’m sure they were all headed out for just another normal day of sailing along the Brazilian coast.

FYI: Tap each photo to see a larger version

Our goal for the day was to go for a walk to find the Jewish Synagogue museum, the local ice cream shop, and enjoy all the sights and sounds along the way.

This street was known as Judeus (Jewish) Street during the 17th century. Today it is called Bom Jesus Street referring to an arc placed at the end of the street.

We found the museum only to discover it was closed for the day. We did return the next day to find it opened and fascinating.

As I understand it, in 1654, of all the Jewish families fleeing the Portuguese Inquisition in Recife to New Amsterdam (New York) 23 refugees survived. Most New York Jewish families can trace their heritage back to these same refugees of 1654.

Museum✔️

Next on our quest was to find the local ice cream shop we had heard so much about. After asking directions from several nice Portuguese speaking locals and a grand downpour we stumbled upon said shop. The sun came out and presto, we spotted the ice cream cow!