Brazil Recommendations

Here are a few recommendations of our favorite hotels, restaurants, tour operators, etc.

Hotels
Ihla Grande: Overnativa Hostel. Christina's cooking is the highlight of this place... great breakfasts are included and you can pay $3 for a delicious home cooked dinner.
Olinda: Pousada d'Olinda. Nice common space with a pool and grassy area. There's a huge difference in rooms.... Make sure you get one out back.
Gaibu: Aguas Marinhas. Right off the beach, amazing oceans views from the hammock up top. The Belgian owner is a bit strange but this may just have been a language barrier (well, maybe not as he did have Nader transcribe all the words to a Black Eyed Peas video he was trying to learn how to sing).

Restaurants
Rio: Livros e Cafe (at least that's what we think it was called). In Santa Teresa, a bookstore/cafe set up on a hill off the main street. We were drawn in by the ambiance (funky bookstore, live music, casual crowd) and ended up having the best pizza either of us had ever tasted. Sorry to not have better directions but do try to find this place if you can...

Tour Operators
Rio: Be a Local. Their favela tour was excellent... Our guide / owner of the company was very knowledgable and had a genuine respect for and commitment to the community.