Two hours by bus in the north of Recife is located the socalled "green city" of Brazil - João Pessoa, capital of Paraíba. Its streets are lined with thousands of trees. It´s a calm city with a nice ambience and the beaches are as beautiful as it is usual in the north east of Brazil. Spontaneouslyl I joined the swim class from a high-school in Recife that participated in a swim contest there. But instead of doing laps in the pool I walked around in the city and met some cool people. I also spent an awesome time in the beach a little bit outside of the centre. João Pessoa is definitely worth a trip or to spend a day in the shadow of the parkways. It also seems to be quite a safe city even for a Gringo.