More from Valde

He is not a fan of George W. Bush. Apparently, before the attacks of 9/11, taxi drivers could park right where the cruise ships docked. But now, cruise ship passengers must ride shuttle busses to the passenger terminal, and the taxi drivers must wait for them there. "George Bush thinks taxi drivers are terrorists," Valde told me, "so we have to park over there." I hadn't realized how ridiculous the rule was until we came back and I saw that the gangway was roughly half a block from the terminal. (On the way out, we circled around a couple blocks and the absurdity was not quite so obvious.) Since foot traffic is forbidden in the port area, I had to ride a bus that half block. I was the only passenger. I suspect that half-block ride was the most inefficient use of fuel in which I have ever participated.

Valde claims to speak half a dozen languages that he learned working as a longshoreman when he was younger: in addition to English, he said he knows German, Dutch, Polynesian, Japanese, and Chinese, all acquired outside classrooms.

Valde is very enthusiastic about his town, Recife, and very dismissive of Rio De Janeiro. "If you gave me free airplane tickets and free hotel, I wouldn't go to Rio", he told me. He complained of the violence, the crime, and the corruption there, warning me of criminal gangs that station one guy in the bank to see who is getting cash so he can phone a confederate outside with a description of who to rob for how much. Fortunately, while I'm in Rio, I'll be in guided tours and won't need to be lucky enough to find another taxi driver like Valde.