Itamaracá travel guide

North of Igarassu the road passes through coconut plantations to Itapissuma, where there is a bridge to Itamaracá island. According to the locals, this is where Adam and Eve spent their holidays (so does everyone else on Sunday now). It has the old Dutch Forte Orange, built in 1631; an interesting penal settlement with gift shops, built round the 1747 sugar estate buildings of Engenho São João, which still have much of the old machinery, charming villages and colonial churches, as well as some fine, wide beaches. At one of them, Praia do Forte Orange, Ibama has a centre for the study and preservation of manatees, Centro Nacional de Conservação e Manejo de Sirênios or Peixe-boi (Tue- Sun 1000-1600.)

There are pleasant trips by jangada from Praia do Forte Orange to Ilha Coroa do Avião, a recently formed sandy island, which has rustic beach bars and a research station for the development of wildlife and migratory birds. The beaches of Sossego and Enseada also have some bars but are quiet and relatively undiscovered. The crossing is 3 km north of Itamaracá town; recommended for sun worshippers.

Further north again, two hours from Recife by bus, is Pontas de Pedra, an old fishing village with a nice beach, lots of bars and opportunities for fishing and diving.

At the Pernambuco–Paraíba border, a 27-km road goes to the fishing village of Pitimbu, with jangadas, surf fishing, lobster fishing and lobster-pot making. There are no tourist facilities but camping is possible and food is available from Bar do Jangadeiro. To get here, take a bus from Goiana, US$1.