Feeling closer

Thanks to those who let us know about the fires - we ARE getting CNN now, so are keeping up to date at last - have even been able to read street signs in Yea!
Yesterday we went to Olinda - no, not Olinda in the Dandenings, but an earlier one - a World Heritage area established in the 1500s by the Portuguese ... it's on a hill above the Brazilian city of Recife (said "Hea-ssiff"), looking over the city and the sea like a view from the Dandenongs, so we wonder if the Aussie one was named after the original.
Most people on the ship caught buses, but we shared a taxi with two friends - our driver, Valdi, spoke some English, but it gave me a good chance to practice my (extremely limited) Portuguese. We went to St Francis' monastery, decorated with wonderful P-gese tiles, and a great painting of the Last Supper, with a cat eating the scraps under the table! At the top of the hill we visited the Cathedral de Alto Se and lots of craft shops etc, then headed back downtown towards the VERY smelly river and the beautiful beaches. Recife has over 3 million people, most housed in huge highrises, so it's an interesting city from the sea. The illusion of sophistication, however, is soon dispelled when you realise that just about every road is still cobblestones, with problem areas still dug up by a man with a shovel, and the cobblestones replaced by hand, knocked into place with a hammer!
As we travel east, we're only 12 hours (13 for those with daylight Saving Time) away from you - we're feeling closer to you all the time! Fond wishes to all F&J