Natal

Natal is a sprawling city which I found difficult to navigate due to a lack of signposting and arriving at rush hour! I spent a night at the Novotel (£60 B&B for two) in order to get a feel for the city centre. I walked along the seafront from the hotel that evening but was told not to go past a certain point as it is unsafe for tourists. Franscisco, an English speaking lawyer who spends his evenings working at the tourist information centre near Praia Dos Artistas is extremely helpful. The free maps that are available from the centre have adverts to do your bit to help stamp out the child sex trade, so that is obviously a problem here. I don't know quite what impact this issue might have on the city's reputation, but the same problem hasn't stopped 'ordinary' tourists visiting Thailand or Sri Lanka. There are a large number of hotels and pousadas to be found near the city centre beaches plus dozens and dozens of tall apartment blocks.