Porto de Galinhas, Maragogi and Maceió
Back from the jangada ride with only one earring
Start with the stretch of sand the raft left from, and the walk back afterwards.
Whether an earring lost on a day out to the reef pools at Porto de Galinhas or Pajuçara turns up depends mostly on where it came off. The beach, the water's edge where you got on or off the raft and the route you took back from the sand are all ground a detectorist can cover.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewellery recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone in Porto de Galinhas, Maragogi or Maceió with a metal detectorist who can search there.
Tell us what happened and where. We find a detectorist who can reach the beach, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
Recife, Praia dos Carneiros and Maragogi are on this page as well, along with the city beaches of Maceió, Praia do Francês and the Fernando de Noronha archipelago, which is part of Pernambuco.
Write down when the raft went out and came back
Two times matter most: when the raft left the sand and when it brought you back. Note them now, with the time you first noticed the earring was gone. The reef pools on this coast are best visited at low tide, so those times let a detectorist set your day against the tide table instead of guessing.
Ask everyone who was on the raft for all their pictures from the day, not only the best ones: a picture that happens to show your ear can settle whether the earring was still there on the way out. Pin the spot where you sat and the place you stepped on and off the raft, and go through the bag and the pockets of what you wore before anything goes in the wash.
Places we cover in Porto de Galinhas, Maragogi and Maceió
- Recife
- Praia de Boa Viagem
- Porto de Galinhas
- Ipojuca
- Praia de Muro Alto
- Praia de Cupe
- Praia de Maracaípe
- Serrambi
- Praia dos Carneiros
- Tamandaré
- Fernando de Noronha
- Baía do Sancho
- Baía dos Porcos
- Maragogi
- Praia de Barra Grande, Maragogi
- The Galés and Taocas reef pools
- Praia de Antunes
- Praia de Burgalhau
- Praia da Peroba
- Praia do Patacho
- Maceió
- Praia de Pajuçara
- Praia de Ponta Verde
- Praia de Jatiúca
- Pontal da Barra
- Praia do Gunga
- Praia do Francês
- Marechal Deodoro
The beaches, town by town
Recife, Ipojuca and Tamandaré are in Pernambuco; Maragogi, Maceió and Marechal Deodoro are in Alagoas.
Porto de Galinhas village
Porto de Galinhas, in Ipojuca, sits south of the Recife airport. Its main draw is the natural pools formed by the coral reefs, which people reach by jangada, and the village centre is full of craft shops, with bars and live music after dark. If you still had it once back ashore, include the boardwalk and the village streets in your account.
Muro Alto, Serrambi, Cupe and Maracaípe
Muro Alto, north of Porto de Galinhas, has resorts along it, but wide public stretches of the beach stay open to everyone. Serrambi draws people for its quiet and for long walks. Cupe and Maracaípe, the latter just south of the village, are where people go to surf.
Praia dos Carneiros
Carneiros is in Tamandaré, a town on the coast south of Recife. The church of São Benedito stands by the sea on Carneiros, and it is the easiest landmark to count from when you describe where you spent the day.
Maragogi
Maragogi is on the north coast of Alagoas, about halfway between Recife and Maceió. The town beach, Praia Maragogi, lies near the Maragogi river and is used for water sports. Along the same coast are Barra Grande, Antunes, Burgalhau and Peroba, so tell us which beach you were on and whether you went out by boat that day. Out on the reef, the Galés, Taocas and Barra Grande pools are reached by catamaran, schooner or speedboat, with trips timed around low tide.
Fernando de Noronha
On Fernando de Noronha, the Baía do Sancho is reached by boat or down a stairway set in a crack in the rock, and its waves are strong in summer. The Baía dos Porcos is a short strip of sand where pools full of fish form in the rocks at low tide, with the Morro Dois Irmãos standing between it and Cacimba do Padre. Say which bay it was and how you got down to it.
Pajuçara, Ponta Verde and Jatiúca
These are Maceió's city beaches. Pajuçara is one of the busiest on the seafront, with a craft fair by the sea, and jangadas take people from there to natural pools that form at low tide between sandbanks and reefs. Ponta Verde has calm, clear water for kayaks, paddleboards and windsurfing. Jatiúca has coarse, reddish sand, a calm sea and a cycle path along the front.
Praia do Francês
Praia do Francês, in Marechal Deodoro, is known for its warm natural pools. It also has a wilder part, known as the surfers' area, with big waves and the livelier bars. The first thing we will ask is which of the two you spent your time in.
Boa Viagem in Recife
Boa Viagem is the beach of the Recife neighbourhood of the same name, lined with tall buildings and hotels, and the calçadão beside it is where people walk and run. A pin for the building opposite your spot on the sand is the most useful thing to send.
How we handle it once you write
One conversation, kept open
Everything runs through the WhatsApp conversation you open with us, and nobody new takes it over halfway.
Your pins become the plan
We turn your pins, photos and times into a short written brief, so the detectorist knows which beach, and which part of it, to cover first.
Questions back to you
Expect a few questions of our own: which ear or hand, whether the clasp or the back had been loose, when you last touched it. The answers decide where a search starts.
The money question, answered early
We explain the costs before any search is booked, and we are glad to go over them twice if the first time leaves questions.
Reef lines, surf and lagoons
Much of this coast has a reef line close in, but not every beach sits behind one.
Sheltered water and open water
At Muro Alto a wall of reef shelters almost the whole beach, and a long band of reef protects the water at Boa Viagem. Serrambi has a sheltered stretch and an open one. Cupe, Maracaípe and the surfers' area of Praia do Francês face bigger waves. Tell us which kind of water you were in when you noticed.
Where fresh water meets the sea
At Praia do Gunga the sea meets the Lagoa do Roteiro, so people swim in salt water and fresh water at the same beach. Pontal da Barra, a Maceió neighbourhood of lagoon-side craft workshops, lies on the shore of the Lagoa Mundaú. Say whether you were in the lagoon or the sea.
Questions about Porto de Galinhas, Maragogi and Maceió
Does it matter whether the earring went before or after the jangada ride at Porto de Galinhas?
More than anything else. A loss on the beach before you set out, or in the village streets afterwards, is one kind of case, and a loss out at the pools is another. Give us the times you set out and got back. If it most likely went out at the pools, say which one the raft stopped at and whether you stood, swam or snorkelled there.
Can a phone that dropped off a kayak at Muro Alto be looked for?
Yes. The water at Muro Alto is calm and shallow, sheltered by a wall of reef along almost the whole beach, and people hire kayaks and paddleboards to use on it. The two things we need are the spot on the sand you set out from, and whether you were still heading out or already on the way back when the phone went in. Describe the case and its colour.
How should I describe a spot on Pajuçara beach in Maceió?
Pin the part of the promenade opposite your towel. The cycle path and the sports courts both run along it, so a photo taken from the sand that shows either one helps us place you. Then say whether you went into the water or out on a jangada, and when you last felt the ring on your finger.
What is the best reference point on Praia dos Carneiros for a lost bracelet?
The church of São Benedito, which stands by the sea on Carneiros. Say which side of it you spent the day on and roughly how many minutes you walked from it, and whether the bracelet was on your wrist when you swam. If it has a charm or a clasp with a safety chain, describe it.
Is it worth asking about glasses lost in the water at Ponta Verde?
Yes. The water at Ponta Verde is calm and clear, and people kayak, paddleboard and windsurf on it. Tell us which of those you were doing, or whether you were only swimming, and pin the point on the promenade you were facing when the glasses went. Describe the frames, colour and all.
The engagement ring was lost on a beach day near Maragogi, and we are not sure which beach it was.
Barra Grande is close to the village, Antunes has a calm sea, Burgalhau has reefs and natural pools, and Peroba sits at the border with Pernambuco. Send the name of the place you stayed and a screenshot of your map history for that day, and we can work out the beach with you.
Somewhere on a run along Boa Viagem in Recife, the strap on my watch gave way.
The Boa Viagem seafront is a long one, so pin the start and finish of your run, plus any point where you stopped or crossed onto the sand. If your running app kept a route, send a screenshot of it.
At Praia do Francês we spent the morning in one part of the beach and the afternoon in the surfers' area. Where would a search start?
On the sand, at the two places you had your things, and along the way you walked between them. Pin both, say roughly when you moved across, and tell us where you were the last time you are sure the chain was round your neck.
Porto de Galinhas, Maragogi and Maceió
Start with the beach and the time of day
Recife, Ipojuca, Tamandaré, Maragogi, Maceió or Marechal Deodoro.
The beach and roughly what time it was are enough to begin with. If you still have the other earring of the pair, photograph it next to something for scale. Open a WhatsApp conversation with those, and we will ask for the rest there.