Fortaleza, Natal and João Pessoa which one to go for?

When I arrived on the coast of Brazil, Fortaleza, Natal João Pessoa was my three first cities to visit. First impressions are important. When I travel to several similar cities, it is challenging to grasp the city’s essence quickly. As I said in my last post, when visiting Salvador, it is difficult to pick the right cities on the spot when you want to travel a bit more freely and not have to book everything in advance. These three cities gave me very different first impressions. However, my view of them could be completely wrong.

The Brazilian long coast

At first glance, Brazil’s extremely long coast seems full of beach cities. On my four-week trip around Brazil, I had booked the first destinations, like São Paulo, Brasilia, and Manaus Amazonas. Now, I was going to have two weeks of unplanned travel. By finding the best flight combination, I arrived by the coast in Fortaleza. For those who know me well, they know beaches are generally not what draws me to a place. There must be something more; in Fortaleza, it was an interesting theatre.

Fortaleza

This city has a spacious, modern feel, and this urban beach is undoubtedly appealing. I was walking out very early, and like in many beach cities, the body of the inhabitants had to be in shape. Many people were jogging on the beachfront, from young athletes to quite mature people.

The Art Nouveau Theatro José de Alencar is an exciting building from 1908. It can be said to be an early globalisation building. It is made of Indian iron, cast in Scottland, and erected here in Fortaleza, Brazil. The city has a small historical section but is mostly relatively modern.

The Story of Iracema

This story tells of a Tabajara princess and her love for a white Portuguese settler. Iracema uses magic to make the man fall in love with her. Away from her people, she loses her magical powers and her lover. A statue of Iracema is sited on the beach, and according to the legend, she stood awaiting her beloved’s return.

Natal

Natal means Christmas in Portuguese. Unfortunately, my first impression of this city was so annoying that it did not improve. I arrived at the bus station at sunset, and Google Maps did not show precise information about where the bus to the centre was. Areas around bus stations are often full of suspicious people, so it is not a place you want to hang out for too long. Therefore, I took a taxi, something I very rarely do. He gave me an estimated price, and he started to drive; I looked at the map and argued when he went in the wrong direction. He pretended not to understand and ended up driving a vast D-tour, and the price became more than double.

Fortaleza dos Reis Magos

I can forgive him for not knowing of the hotel I gave him, but he should still have known the way to the beach. I booked the hotel on Booking, which was in the regular price range I used on this trip. However, this was the worst hotel I have ever stayed in, ever, I think—the corridor, the doors, the room, the bed, the bathroom, everything. I had booked two nights, but there was no way I could stay there for so long. I did not even undress that night. I wanted to see the Fortaleza dos Reis Magos I had read about before arriving. So at six thirty in the morning, I walked the hour to reach the fort. Of course, it was not open yet, but I had a nice walk, took pictures, went back to the hotel, and left the city before eleven o’clock.

João Pessoa

My last stop in this post is João Pessoa. I had planned to go here next but hadn’t booked anything yet. Therefore, I booked an Airbnb before I boarded the bus and left Natal. During the bus journey, the host wrote to me in Portuguese and asked if I could call him. Since he wrote in Portuguese, I gathered that he did not speak English. So I just wrote to him, saying when I would arrive.

This was a resident block with a reception. No host was there. The man in the reception did not speak English, so he called down one of the residents. They were helpful and told me my host was not the most reliable. Thankfully, the guy in the reception knew that another host in the house had his flat free, so he called him. The host and his wife cleaned it quickly, and I got a place for the next few days. You find friendly people everywhere.

Also, João Pessoa has a long beach, several kilometres long, and lovely places like the park above. I have one complaint about João Pessoa, though. They have not integrated their bus system into Google Maps, so it is difficult to find where the buses go, and there is no information on the bus stops. For that reason, I did not get to see the historical part of the city.

This post may not have included many positive superlatives, but it was about places I visited, and every city can not please everyone. However, there are plenty more exciting places to write about in Brazil, so stay tuned!