Brazil
Pernambuco
January 2023 • Pernambuco state is in the northeast, anchored by boomtown Recife and bohemian Olinda and blessed with Fernando de Noronha, an archipelago located 350 miles offshore. As a showcase for Brazil’s commitment to environmental sustainability, Noronha is an expensive side trip. To ensure the beaches remain invitingly pristine, a contingent of cops from Recife is trained in environmental law enforcement and stationed in Noronha for weeks at a time. (One assumes there’s a lengthy list of officers interested in this assignment.) Spent three nights partying with a group of cops led by Augusto, who encountered us in the road wearing two guitars across his back and said we should join him and his friends at a nearby bar. Five hours and a few dozen liters of Heineken later, we were thoroughly deputized.
