Carnival in Maceio

This time of the year in Brazil everybody is partying like crazy. So, it is impossible to write about any topic other than Carnival.

Since this blog is about Maceio, I have to talk about how is Carnival like in Maceio. Well, I only spent one Carnival in Maceio which doesn't make me an expert. However, that was last year's Carnival and arguably it is relatively fresh in my memory.

Carnival in Maceio is a bit different than other cities in Brazil. Maceio's Carnival is not as popular as in Rio, Salvador, Recife, and other major cities in Brazil. Most local people there actually travel to other places in the Northeast like Recife and Salvador. Also, a lot of people like to spend the whole Carnival weekend not in the city. They spend Carnival amongst friends at some local residential places like Barra de Sao Miguel about 20 miles from Maceio for example. As for tourists that decide to spend Carnaval in the city of Maceio, there are a lot of activities in hotels, bars, and nightclubs.

In reality, as far as I know, I feel that people who spend Carnival in Maceio just want to relax a little bit and are not totally crazy about Carnival. With so many options, so many places to go to like near by cities or other places in Brazil, it is hard to think Maceio would be your first option if you are into Carnival.

So, what was the solution that local people came up to have some big Carnival thing in the city? They replicated a major block parade but this one takes place exactly one week before the actual Carnival. By this way, they were able to attract a lot of people in the city to participate in the city's parade and enjoy Carnival in Maceio through this pre-event. People do not need to compromise or miss any big plan for the actual Carnival weekend.


The name of this pre Carnival parade in Maceio is called "O Pinto da Madrugada" (The Dawn Chick, translating word by word). This is a funny reference to another Carnival block parade in Recife, the largest block parade in the world with more than 2 million people. This parade, is called "O Galo da Madrugada" (The Dawn Rooster). Maceio's parade is tiny compared with Recife's one, it is young and just getting started but it is a lot of fun.


By the way, not that I am crazy about Carnival (my wife is) but I had the opportunity to go to both "O Pinto da Madrugada" and "O Galo da Madrugada" last year. I know, I know, that means that I didn't actually spend the Carnival weekend in Maceio. I have to agree with this conclusion but as I mention before, the big Carnaval party in Maceio kind of happens one week before the actual Carnival weekend. So, I can say that I sort of spent Carnival in Maceio last year.


Above the big rooster, Recife's "Galo da Madrugada" mascot with its famous yellow and red colors.

Tapioca

Inspired by Matt's blog, Gour-Matt, I decided to talk a little bit about the local food in Maceio. The first thing that comes to my mind is Tapioca, a stable food in Maceio.

Tapioca is kind of a Brazilian crepe or pancake made of Tapioca flour. It can be filled with anything from ham and cheese to even chocolate but people normally order salty tapiocas as opposed to sweet ones. They generally are filled with a little bit of cheese and coconut but you can really order as you like and there are plenty of options.

You can have tapiocas every afternoon at one of the several stands that are built on the beach, Jatiuca, Ponta Verde, and Pajucara. They stay open until late in the evening. So, you can have a Tapioca as an early evening snack, as a light dinner or a late evening snack depending on what time you stop by. Also, you can have a tapioca to go and have it anytime you want. Most regional restaurants offer tapiocas and some hotels have them for breakfast.



These stands are very simple and rustic. They are not fancy but the tapiocas are simply great.

JAPARATINGA, a beautiful place to relax

Japaratinga is a tiny city (less than 7 thousand people) located 115 Km (72 miles) north of Maceio. This year was my first trip there and I liked very much the place.

You can still make a day trip there but I would strongly recommend staying there for one or more days. There are some good hotels options there (nothing fancy though). Some hotels offer a variety of options like bike/buggy tours, horseback riding, boat trips, and even ultra-light-plane flights.

However, what I liked the most there is the fact that there are very few tourists. There is only a hand full of hotels/hostels there and all of them have only few rooms. So, even in the high season you will not find this place crowded like any other seashore city in the Northeast. You get the feeling that you have your private beach just for you, friends, and family.

The reason for that is because not everybody knows about Japaratinga and also the fact that it is far away from any major city in the Northeast of Brazil. You need at least 90 minutes to get there by car from Maceio and more than 120 minutes from Recife, the next closest big city.

So, if you are looking for a quiet place to relax and enjoy untouched natural beauties this is the place to go.