A Chance Meeting in Santarém
We had made a plan to visit Hudson and his export facility in Fortaleza during a 7 hour layover on our way back to the U.S. However, he suddenly had to go to Santarém for business. We happened to be in Santarém too so it worked out perfectly! It was our last day there before a series of 5 flights back to the U.S. the next day. So we met up for dinner.
After 3 hours of amazing Brazilian food and drinks and very interesting conversation we shared a cab back to our hotels. He told us we could still show up at his facility the next day in Fortaleza during our layover. His wife would be happy to show us around even though he couldn’t be there. Of course we agreed!
Layover in Fortaleza Turns into An Export FacilityTour!
Upon arrival in Fortaleza we checked our bags back in and hopped in an Uber to H&K Ornamental Fish. The manicured, tree lined boulevards of seaside Fortaleza were quite different from what we were used to seeing!
We were greeted by Ana, Hudson’s wife, and their employees. She gave us a warm welcome and showed us around their entire facility. We speak no Portuguese and her English was about as good as my Spanish, but we managed. We were pretty used to a language barrier by now!
She showed us the quarantine areas and told us about grand plans for a new facility in the future. There was a lot of larger sized plecos, L25s, L27s, L114s etc and a variety of angelfish and discus as well. Like most of the other facilities we had toured, their’s was spotless and well maintained.
Hudson is very proud of his export facility, which he should be! He works very hard to obtain only top quality plecos and fish. His tanks are set up so that large plecos are all kept separate from each other. This keeps them from having damaged fins due to territorial fights.
He is meticulous and exact in what he carries, and it shows. Most of his stock heads to the Asian market where he can get better prices for the exceptional fish he carries.
Santa Isabel angels at H&K Ornamental Fish 
New arrivals are floated in these small containers, so they cannot damage each other
A Tour of Fortaleza!
When we had seen everything and filmed this live stream, we asked Ana where we should have our Uber driver take us. I wanted to see the ocean and the old part of the city. I pointed on a map where we wanted to go and asked her if that would be safe.
She said “NO, you cannot go there.”
I was slightly taken aback. We had gotten used to crime being an issue and knew it was unsafe for us to be seen in public places with phones and cameras. But the gorgeous, manicured boulevards of Fortaleza looked safe! Or were they?
She explained that Fortaleza had one of the highest crime rates in Brazil and that local residents weren’t even safe on the streets, or the beaches. So that explained why there weren’t any people out on the streets!
We told her that we would just go back to the airport then. I was pretty disappointed about not getting to see the ocean, but we knew she was serious. That’s when she offered to give us a tour! She would take us to places that were safe, and drive us around the city.
We started by going to a stretch of beach that is full of resort-like properties. Families go inside the resort where the beach front is protected and fenced off. The place was packed, on a weekday. There were several of them lined up, and it seemed like a theme park.
The beach was powder white, the waves were massive. We took off our shoes and I went in as far as I could without getting my dress wet. If only we had thought to bring our swim suits!
Then we got back into the car and she drove us around the old city and downtown areas. The streets here are rough. Homeless people on the street corners, coming up to your car windows begging. Pregnant women, clearly on drugs were half naked and homeless. What a stark difference from the manicured streets we had seen earlier. It was rather frightening.
The public beach front was like a desert, not a soul to be seen as we drove along the waterfront. We talked about what a shame it is that this gorgeous city had fallen prey to such horrific circumstances. I’m very glad that we hadn’t come here without knowing anyone.
She dropped us back at the airport and we hugged and said goodbye. We are so grateful to Hudson and Ana’s hospitality and welcoming. Touring and filming their export facility was an amazing opportunity! We hope to see them on one of our future trips to Brazil.
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