Shark Town
Date: 10/19/2006
The beginning of the Boa Viagem district in Recife.
International Living Postcards-- your daily escape
Friday, Oct. 20, 2006
Recife, Brazil
If you’re bored with miles of sandy beaches and tranquil blue waters, and want to add a little excitement to beach life, then the city of Recife on Brazil’s east coast may be for you. This city of 1.5 million people enjoys magnificent weather all year, with a pleasant, sustained onshore breeze keeping the city relatively cool and always fresh, day and night. The beach is wide with plenty of soft sand, as well as a handful of artisan stands and snack bars.
The exciting side of the beach scene here is that if you stray too far off shore, you’re more likely to be eaten by a shark than at any other beach in Brazil.
In fact, sharks are virtually unheard-of anywhere else on the coast, but I’m told they carry off bathers (or portions thereof) quite frequently here. Since there’s a reef near shore, it’s safe to swim if you stay on the inside of that reef, but some locations dry out at low tide, tempting bathers to stray into the deeper seas--shark territory. Surfers are the usual victims, being further out and naturally more adventurous.
Sharks aside, the beach is nonetheless popular, and you’ll see people walking and jogging from 6.30 a.m., and sunbathing all day. The nicest beach I saw that had a wide sandy area and a large protected place to swim was on the 3,500 block of Avenida Boa Viagem, where I also investigated a few properties.
Beachfront and near-beach view apartments sell quickly here. In a new building a half block from the beach--currently under construction--large 1,600-square-foot, four-bedroom apartments (including a maid’s suite) start at $218,000. Directly on the beach we saw some larger new apartments (1,900 square feet) from $269,000 (prices increase the higher the floor). Both these high-end developments are selling through Sérgio Miranda, and you can reach their agent José Carlos at jcrodrigues@yahoo.com.br. José doesn’t speak English, but if you send him an e-mail, he tells me he can have it translated into Portuguese.
Directly on the best section of beach, I saw a one-bedroom apartment in the elegant Edificio Place Vendâne building. The owner was asking $79,000, tel. + (55) 81-9638-5511. I’ll have more details for readers of the print edition of International Living.
While you’re in Recife, save plenty of time to sample some of its great restaurants. We had many a good meal with both cuisine and atmosphere reminiscent of Brazil’s wild gaucho heritage, as well as some of the coast’s best seafood. Be sure to try the shark…
Lee Harrison
Roving Latin America Editor, International Living
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P.S. If you’re considering a move to this part of the country, I have a good legal contact: Roberto Trigueiro Fontes of Trigueiro Fontes Advogados. He not only has offices in Recife, but in six major Brazilian cities. His firm is an excellent resource for becoming a resident, as well as for starting a business (import-export, for example). E-mail rtf@trigueirofontes.com.br.
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