Foam Toilet Seats

Today's plan is a tour into the big city of Recife

   After a good sleep and leisure morning we were headed off at 11ish on a warm and muggy day.  Chris (say Krees) our loyal companion showed up again to spirit us off. Chris is a trooper, and we're thankful for his expertise in navigating through the mayhem they call traffic out here. He's also an excellent tour guide, pointing out spots of interest and relaying the history of places as we go along.

I'm happy we convinced I-Steve (say I-Steve) to leave most of his Istuff at the hotel.  We're going to be hitting some questionable areas of town and it won't do to be plugged in like he normally is.  We already stick out like a sore thumb, and I totally get the food chain when it comes to survival of the fittest if we happen to get held up and need to bolt.  As the slowest in the group I recognise I'm at the bottom of the food chain and most likely to get caught. I'm ok with that, I just wanna limit my chances and not advertise it.

We went directly to the Reformed Reading Room situated in the heart of Recife. Just a few minutes walk away from the main bus deport, the RRR is another one of those diamonds in the rough.  Its in a non assuming area, squeezed between several shops selling food, calendars, and cellular SIM cards.  One can easily walk by without knowing of its existence save for the glass doors and the lettering on them.  The building is narrow but upon entering the cool air is welcoming and the smiles of those inside are equal to it. 

Pastor Julius greets us and gives us a tour of the facility. Reformed literature and CD's line both walls in perfect rows.  A table with chairs and couches invite you to sit and spend some time.  Looking through the literature is encouraged which is also sold at a variety of prices. The profits go back into the RRR for expenses.  The RRR also doubles as a lecture facility with a room in the back set up to seat 20 - 30 students.  It's encouraging to hear that this facility has been a huge blessing to the churches here in the IRB.  Discussions are under way to call a full time pastor for this work alone.

We had the opportunity afterwards to do a bit of touring. We navigated by foot around the area where Chris showed us some of the local sights.  We walked by multiple street vendors, explored an old prison converted into a mall, and visited a local electronics store. 

Loud and vibrant, Recife is a city of contrasts.  The area we walked in was not for the faint of smell.  Sewage ran openly through some of the sidewalk gutters and we even observed a middle aged man rebuilding a small engine on the sidewalk and draining his oil directly into the storm drain. 

We then visited the old part of town where the Dutch settled in the 1600's.  They brought with them several missionaries and the reformed faith was alive back then already.  At one time they had as many as 20 missionaries just for the city of Recife......a stark contrast to what we have now!

Back at our hotel, and we're happy to be off our feet and sitting down. Speaking of sitting down, when did foam toilet seats go out of vogue in North America? The 70's? or 80's? I think Brazil bought over all the left over inventory.  I gotta admit they are very comfy if you're a sitter..... I'm gunna buy one when I get home.