“What this?” I asked the taxi driver, pointing to the brightly lit building on top of a tall hill as we were crossing the Terceira Ponte connecting the cities of Vitória and Vila Velha.

I was trying to remember the map I studied before coming to Vitória to find my bearings. The airport where I had just landed was in Vitória, between Jardim Camburi and Jardim da Penha—I knew the neighbourhoods by name because Feng and I talked over where I should stay for ages. Picking the right neighbourhood in an unfamiliar city is harder than it seemed. Eventually, we settled on Vila Velha, just across the bridge.

It may have been the right decision because the taxi had just driven through Vitória and it looked awfully quiet for a Saturday night. It was only 7 p.m. but streets were pitch-dark. In fact, this strange building was the first sign of life I had spotted since the airport.

The driver glanced at me in the mirror, surprised.

“That’s the Covento da Penha,” he replied.

Oops. Yes, obviously. It was a bit as if I had asked, “hey, what’s this iron tower in the middle of the city?” in Paris. Eh, I’m new around here. Sorry, I forgot about the city’s famous landmark for a second. I saw pictures of it, though.

The Covento da Penha was high on my list but I wasn’t sure how safe it was to climb the hill alone. I asked a police patrol by the beach the following day—yes, the police can be a reliable source of info once in a while, and they’ve always been nice to me.

“Go on a Sunday,” they recommended. “It’s a busy day, you won’t be climbing the hill alone.”

Duh. Should have thought of it.

The streets of Vila Velha were dead quiet on Sunday. It was a sunny day, everybody was at the beach.

I found the entrance at the bottom of the hill pretty easily and there were a few shops and tourists. I could have taken a van straight to the top of the hill and the bottom of covent for five reais ($1) but I wanted to walk. It felt safe enough. I sound obsessed with safety but there are part of the world where you just shouldn’t be alone in the middle of nowhere…

It took me about twenty minutes to reach the top and oh, what a view! From the bottom of the building, you get to see Vitória, the Terceira Ponte and the bay. In a way, it looks like Rio de Janeiro—green hills, ocean, bays…

I kept on climbing to reach the top of the chapel and the view was even more stunning with Vila Velha sprawling below and the dark cloud adding atmosphere to the scenery.

Not bad for an introduction to this corner of Brazil I’m discovering this week.