A road trip between two state capitals in the Northeast of Brazil.
Maceió (Alagoas)
Maceió has become a great Brazilian city, with its poor and rich zones well defined. Its long coastal, of more than 4 km long, is apt to enjoy walking it. At 30 km at the north of the city is Ipioca beach, one of the few almost completely without pollution and perfect for bathing. As in all the Northeast area of Brazil, the difference between tides is important and generally after the midday, the sea starts to rise rapidly. There are still fishermen there that, besides going out to the sea in their small sailing boats, they have a series of wooden fences installed with hooked nets, in which they catch crabs and fish, taking advantage of the sea level changes. At 40 km at the south of Maceió and going through a great coconuts farm, it can be reached the Gunga beach, where it is also possible to enjoy a marvelous sea. The waterfront route continues to the south, going through Cureripe to the mouth of the São Francisco River, that separates the states of Alagoas and Sergioe.
Penedo (Alagoas)
Penedo is located on the San Francisco River, at about 25 km of its mouth in the Atlantic Ocean. Through this river the riches of the interior of Brazil were taken away in the colonial era. Penedo is a medium sized city, with about 65.000 inhabitants and that had great importance in the times of the Empire of Brazil (up to 1889), but that afterwards remains set aside, as the principal route tracing and also the train was projected farther to the north, for what its importance remained halted; so much so, that even today, the river is crossed with a ferry. The city has several antique residences, from the landowner families of the zone, some of them in good conditions of conservation. Besides, there is an important historical area on the hill facing the river, with colonial constructions, many baroque churches and cobblestone streets with a succession of houses, (some of them with fronts of 4 m width) that form a nice urban ensemble.
Aracajú and São Cristovão (Sergipe)
Forty years ago, Aracajú was a very special place in Brazil, where one had the desire to eventually stay to live. Nowadays, it has become “another city” of Brazil, with its monotone buildings, its shopping malls and its coast completely blocked by the tourist and real estate development. Although the beach is wide, it is not apt for bathing because of the sea pollution. This happens in many cities in Brazil. Since two years ago, they are working on the restoration of the central area of the city, in the zone where the seat of the state government is located. Some kilometers to the south of Aracajú it is the small city of São Cristóvão, that had formerly been the state capital up to the end of Century XIX, that is a place that is worth visiting. It is not easy to find the access to the country road that leads to São Cristóvão, but once there, it is worth to walk its historical area.
