Today we’ve arrived at one of the smallest Brazilian towns we’ll visit, Maceio. During the wintertime, Macieo’s population is around 350,000. During the vacation season of December and January, the population is near 1 million with visitors from all around Brazil and other South American countries. The view from the cruise ship is most impressive of any of the cities we’ve visited, a large clean harbor flanked on both sides by beautiful sandy beaches.
Without an organized tour, we hop aboard the complimentary shuttle that takes us into the downtown area, to a small handicraft mall that is right across from the beach. The beach area is very clean, packed with tourists enjoying the warm water and sunny skies. Every block or so along the palm shaded brick walkway is a thatched restaurant/bar area offering everything from beach showers, buckets of beer and tasty Brazilian snacks. We find a comfortable table at one of these restaurants, order a couple beer and some delicious BBQ pork ribs, an interesting beef and cheese snack and a wonderful tilapia fish in a refried been type mix with a fried potatoe /hash brown like topping. So far, Maceio is our favorite stop since leaving Barbados.