This photo was taken in the city of Penedo, Alagoas, Brazil. Penedo is located by the margins of the great São Francisco river. Across the river is the state of Sergipe, and people go back and forth daily. These are the boats used for this crossing. Located in the northeastern region of Brazil, Penedo is a very poor city, and Alagoas is one of the country's poorer states. Yet, there was a time in history when the capital of the Empire of Portugal (of which Brazil was a colony) was located in the Northeast, so we can still find some beautiful constructions and boats, both built in that time and afterwards, following the same opulent designs.