Day 44: Exploring Fortaleza

Day 44: Exploring Fortaleza

Saturday morning, we split into smaller groups and went to historical points in the city of Fortaleza.

My group started off by going to the Metropolitan Cathedral of Fortaleza. It was a Neogothic styled church, meaning that the style was gothic, but because it was not in the same time period as original gothic styled churches, historians refer to the style as neo-gothic, as in new gothic. It had all the original gothic elements, two twin spires, rose windows, stained glass, ribbed vaults, and buttresses. The inside was incredibly gorgeous, and very worked, because it took about 40 years to make! It was truly stunning.

 We went to the Mercado central afterwards. I thought it was going to be just another building where people sell their arts and crafts, but it was much bigger than that. In fact I think it was about 4 stories high, with a crazy intertwining passage ways to get around the building quicker. Most of the stores sold the same style or type of product, and that’s why it’s good to try to talk the prices down. However, I am not good at that, and did not buy anything anyway. It was interesting to see how large the structure was though.

We then went to the Dragao Center of Art. When we got there it was closed until 2, and it was only 11, so we decided to keep exploring. We found another part of that same museum where they had an exhibition on Luis Gonzaga, our dear from Luis Gonzaga, exploring the history of forro music and such.

Then we went to the Theater of Jose de Alancar but that was closed for renovation.

Later that day I got my eyebrows waxed. That doesn’t seem like it’s that important. But in Brazil, all the women had their eyebrows done. There is a salon in every corner. The women are obsessed with presenting themselves well. Even our maid would go to the salon once a week. It made me feel like I was partaking of the culture.

Overall it was a fun time looking at the different things the city had to offer.