The Northeast - The Rough Guide to Brazil - page 267

Oficina Brennand
Propriedade Santos Cosme e Damião (off Rua Gastão Vidigal), Várzea • Mon-Thurs 8am-5pm, Fri 8am-4pm • R$10 • T 81 3271 2466,
W brennand.com.br • For transport, see Instituto Ricardo Brennand above; the oficina is a short walk south of the Instituto
Beyond the Instituto Ricardo Brennand, past rows of workers' cottages and a brickworks,
you come to Oficina Brennand , where Francisco Brennand (the cousin of entrepreneur
Ricardo), born in Recife in 1927, displays thousands of his own whimsical sculptures,
decorated tiles, paintings and drawings. The main building is actually an old tile factory,
but now part of a vast open-air sculpture park surrounded by pristine Mata Atlântica forest.

Boa Viagem
Regular buses make it easy to get from the city centre to Boa Viagem and the beach, an
enormous skyscraper-lined arc of sand that constitutes the longest stretch of urbanized
seafront in Brazil (over 7km), protected by the slim arrecife (reef ) just offshore. Though
most of the good hotels and restaurants are here, swimming is not really a good idea;
over 56 shark attacks have been reported here since 1992, 21 of which were fatal
(though in reality sharks rarely come beyond the reef, and surfers are most at risk).
Nevertheless, the beach itself is sandy, attractive and relatively relaxed on weekdays,
and it's generally a lot quieter than other resorts, partly because of sheer size, and also
because so much seafront is dominated by residential condos, not hotels.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE RECIFE

By plane Recife's large, modern Aeroporto Internacional
dos Guararapes ( T 81 3322 4188) is only 11km from the
city centre, at the southern end of Boa Viagem. You can pay
for fixed-rate taxis at the arrivals halls (COOPSETA
T 81 3462 1584), which will cost R$17-32 to Boa Viagem,
R$40 to Santo Antônio (city centre) and R$63 to Olinda, or
opt for a pay-by-meter taxi comum , which are about the
same, assuming it's not rush hour. Alternatively, for Boa
Viagem take either the a/c bus #042 from outside the
airport (every 20min, 5am-11.55pm; R$2.80), or bus #040
(every 20min, 5am-11.55pm; R$2.25) from nearby Praça
Ministro Salgado Filho. For Boa Vista (city centre), take bus
#163 (every 20min, 5am-11pm; R$2.25) from the same
praça . The metrô (see opposite) also runs from just south of
the airport (connected by walkway) to Estaçâo Central
terminal (not the beach).
Destinations Fortaleza (11-12 daily; 1hr 15min-1hr
30min); Lisbon (1 daily; 7hr 35min); Miami (1 daily; 8hr

20min); Panama City (1 daily; 7hr 20min); Rio (26-32 daily;
5hr 20min-7hr 50min); Salvador (7-10 daily; 1hr 10min-
1hr 20min); São Paulo (11-15 daily; 3hr-3hr 30min).
By bus The rodoviária is about 14km west of the centre at
BR-232 Km 15, Coqueiral ( T 81 3452 1103), though this is
not really a problem since the metrô (see opposite) whisks
you very cheaply (R$1.60) and e ciently into the centre,
gliding through various favelas . It will deposit you at the
old train station, called Estação Central (or simply “Recife”).
To get to your hotel from there, you're best off taking a taxi.
Taxis from the bus station to Boa Viagem or the city centre
should be about R$45-55 on the meter.
Destinations Aracaju (2 daily; 8hr); Belo Horizonte (3 daily;
35hr); Brasília (3 daily; 48hr); Caruaru (at least hourly; 2hr);
Fortaleza (3 daily; 13hr); João Pessoa (hourly; 2hr);
Maceió (11 daily; 4-5hr); Natal (10 daily; 4.5hr); Porto de
Galinhas (every 30min; 1hr); Rio (3 daily; 38-40hr);
Salvador (3 daily; 12-15hr); São Paulo (3 daily; 48hr).

4

GETTING AROUND
By bus Most city buses originate and terminate on the
central island of Santo Antônio, on Rua Cais de Santa Rita.
They range in price from R$2.25 to R$3.50 (R$1.15 on
Sundays). To get from the city centre to Boa Viagem, take
either bus #042, #039, #032 or #071. For up-to-date

timetables see W www.granderecife.pe.gov.br.
By metrô Recife's light rail system runs 5am-11pm
(R$1.60; W www.metrorec.com.br), but is only really useful
for travellers as a way of getting to the city centre (Estaçâo
Central or just “Recife”) from the airport or bus station.

RECIFE FUTEBOL
Sport Club do Recife ( W sportrecife.com.br) is fanatically supported in the city, with an historic
rivalry with Recife-based Clube Náutico Capibaribe ( W nautico-pe.com.br), which has a slightly
smaller fan base (they swapped places in Série A and B in 2013). Games between the two are
known as the “Clássico dos Clássicos”. Sport Clube's brand-new Arena da Copa should be
completed by mid-2015. Ask at your hotel about buying tickets.