“So, do you like Porto de Galinhas?” the night shift receptionist asked me.
I’m not a very good liar. When I do lie, I lie by omission—my clients don’t know I’m in Brazil if they don’t ask how I’m doing after the latest snowstorm.
“I do,” I replied. He was a Porto de Galinhas native, and I didn’t want to hurt his feelings.
Yes, it’s expensive, and it’s just… you know, a car ride with Instagramesque moments.
“Já foi às piscinas naturais?”
I shrugged. “Maré alta.”
Porto de Galinhas is famous for the tidal pools that form in the coral reefs around it. But it has to be low tide, and the tide times were painfully early in the morning.
“Pôr do sol na Maracaípe,” he whispered, like a doctor who had just made the diagnosis and written the prescription.
“I think I walked along Maracaípe Beach. Right after Porto de Galinhas Beach, right?”
When in doubt, I follow Brazilian advice. I hesitated the next day, but by 4 p.m., I had my fill of conversations in Spanish and Portuguese in the water. I grabbed my Havaianas and started walking along the beach.
I walked past the Brazilian flag. Past the Maracaípe sign where I had stopped and turned around the day before.
Damn. The sunset was definitely on the other side, behind the palm trees.
Right. Time to ask a Brazilian.
“The sunset? Yes, just keep going and take the small inland path if the tide is too high to cross on foot.”
I followed the cryptic advice and found the caminho through houses, away from the beach… and I arrived at another beach. Or rather, a river? The sea? Something in between.
And of course, tons of Brazilians were already there for the pôr do sol, boarding jangadas—the local wooden boats.
I boarded one too for 60 reais, not quite sure what I was doing but convinced I was at the right place at the right time.
It was unreal. The jangadeiro took the six of us through a narrow stretch of seawater and suddenly stopped.
“Who wants to dive in and find seahorses?”
Strangely enough, no one but yours truly—a lot of Brazilians can’t swim.
A seahorse was found and released. A crab was found and released as well.
The sun started to set as the sky slowly turned orange.
From the jangada, I watched the colours shift from blazing gold into soft pastels.
I was buzzing. This was what I had been looking for.
Praia de Porto de Galinhas, R. dos Navegantes, s/n – Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Coqueiral de maracaipe – Maracaipe – Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Praia de Porto de Galinhas, R. dos Navegantes, s/n – Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Coqueiral de maracaipe – Maracaipe – Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Praia de Maracaípe, Ipojuca – State of PernambucoPraia de Maracaípe, Ipojuca – State of PernambucoPraia de Maracaípe, Ipojuca – State of PernambucoPontal de Maracaípe, Al. Pontal de Maracaípe – Maracaipe, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Pontal de Maracaípe, Al. Pontal de Maracaípe – Maracaipe, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Pontal de Maracaípe, Al. Pontal de Maracaípe – Maracaipe, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Pontal de Maracaípe, Al. Pontal de Maracaípe – Maracaipe, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Pontal de Maracaípe, Al. Pontal de Maracaípe – Maracaipe, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Pontal de Maracaípe, Al. Pontal de Maracaípe – Maracaipe, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Pontal de Maracaípe, Al. Pontal de Maracaípe – Maracaipe, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Pontal de Maracaípe, Al. Pontal de Maracaípe – Maracaipe, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Pontal de Maracaípe, Al. Pontal de Maracaípe – Maracaipe, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Pontal de Maracaípe, Al. Pontal de Maracaípe – Maracaipe, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Pontal de Maracaípe, Al. Pontal de Maracaípe – Maracaipe, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Pontal de Maracaípe, Al. Pontal de Maracaípe – Maracaipe, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Pontal de Maracaípe, Al. Pontal de Maracaípe – Maracaipe, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Pontal de Maracaípe, Al. Pontal de Maracaípe – Maracaipe, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Pontal de Maracaípe, Al. Pontal de Maracaípe – Maracaipe, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Pontal de Maracaípe, Al. Pontal de Maracaípe – Maracaipe, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Pontal de Maracaípe, Al. Pontal de Maracaípe – Maracaipe, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Pontal de Maracaípe, Al. Pontal de Maracaípe – Maracaipe, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Pontal de Maracaípe, Al. Pontal de Maracaípe – Maracaipe, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Pontal de Maracaípe, Al. Pontal de Maracaípe – Maracaipe, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Pontal de Maracaípe, Al. Pontal de Maracaípe – Maracaipe, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000
Wait… That’s Not the Sun
I decided to walk back to Porto de Galinhas the same way I’d come, since another sunset addict was heading back too.
And suddenly, close to Porto de Galinhas, after half an hour in the twilight, we spotted a bright orange ball rising just above the sea.
“Wait, that can’t be the sun. It just set behind us.”
“Holy shit, it’s the moon!”
It wasn’t Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon or Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Bad Moon Rising, but just a once-in-a-blue-moon moment.
We sat on the beach and watched the show.
And just like that, something shifted, and I started to love Porto de Galinhas.
That night I learned something—talk to the jangadeiros. When we arrived in town, I went straight to them and asked about the tidal pools.
“8:30 a.m. tomorrow.”
You bet I bought my ticket.
Praia de Maracaípe, Ipojuca – State of PernambucoPraia de Porto de Galinhas, R. dos Navegantes, s/n – Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Praia de Porto de Galinhas, R. dos Navegantes, s/n – Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Praia de Porto de Galinhas, R. dos Navegantes, s/n – Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Praia de Porto de Galinhas, R. dos Navegantes, s/n – Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Praia de Porto de Galinhas, R. dos Navegantes, s/n – Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Praia de Porto de Galinhas, R. dos Navegantes, s/n – Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Praia de Porto de Galinhas, R. dos Navegantes, s/n – Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Praia de Porto de Galinhas, R. dos Navegantes, s/n – Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Praia de Porto de Galinhas, R. dos Navegantes, s/n – Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000
“Are you a morning person?” I asked the jangadeiro the next day.
“Do you see me talking? It’s too early.”
Same here, buddy.
It was a short ride to the first pool and… oh my God, so many fish. I jumped in.
They had a particular taste for French meat. They weren’t shy about it.
The clouds cleared, and we moved to a deeper pool. Same waters, different fishes. The jangadeiros watched us from the boat, clearly amused by non-locals who had never swum with yellow, blue, and red tropical fish.
Okay, I get it now.
Porto de Galinhas is special.
Those three completely random experiences made the detour worth it.
Praia de Porto de Galinhas, R. dos Navegantes, s/n – Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Praia de Porto de Galinhas, R. dos Navegantes, s/n – Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Praia de Porto de Galinhas, R. dos Navegantes, s/n – Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Praia de Porto de Galinhas, R. dos Navegantes, s/n – Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Piscina Natural de Observação, Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – State of Pernambuco, 55590-000Piscina Natural de Observação, Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – State of Pernambuco, 55590-000Piscina Natural de Observação, Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – State of Pernambuco, 55590-000Piscina Natural de Observação, Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – State of Pernambuco, 55590-000Piscina Natural de Observação, Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – State of Pernambuco, 55590-000Piscina Natural de Observação, Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – State of Pernambuco, 55590-000Piscina Natural de Observação, Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – State of Pernambuco, 55590-000Piscina Natural de Observação, Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – State of Pernambuco, 55590-000Piscina Natural de Observação, Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – State of Pernambuco, 55590-000Piscina Natural de Observação, Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – State of Pernambuco, 55590-000Piscina Natural de Observação, Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – State of Pernambuco, 55590-000Piscina Natural de Observação, Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – State of Pernambuco, 55590-000Piscina Natural de Observação, Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – State of Pernambuco, 55590-000Piscina Natural de Observação, Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – State of Pernambuco, 55590-000Piscina Natural de Observação, Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – State of Pernambuco, 55590-000Piscina Natural de Observação, Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – State of Pernambuco, 55590-000Piscina Natural de Observação, Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – State of Pernambuco, 55590-000Piscina Natural de Observação, Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – State of Pernambuco, 55590-000Piscina Natural de Observação, Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – State of Pernambuco, 55590-000Praia de Porto de Galinhas, R. dos Navegantes, s/n – Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Praia de Porto de Galinhas, R. dos Navegantes, s/n – Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000Praia de Porto de Galinhas, R. dos Navegantes, s/n – Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca – PE, 55590-000
