It has been said that when explorer Duarte Coelho Pereira first laid eyes on a small area of land situated on a hill in the Northeast of Brazil his first words were, “Oh, Linda,” meaning “Oh, Beautiful” in Portuguese. That was just the beginning of how the town of Olinda became the first European settlement of Pernambuco in 1535 and its allure is as strong today as it was back then.

Just a short drive north from the state’s capital of Recife, Olinda is a much needed break from the hustle and bustle of the city. Here there are no skyscrapers or throngs of people waiting for the bus. Instead, you’ll find a quaint town overlooking the Atlantic ocean. Colorful homes line one cobblestoned street after another and whichever direction you turn it’s likely that you’ll run into a church dating back to the 1500’s.

For many American tourists, the…