Brazil Blog

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Salvador

Filed under: Lisa in Brazil - April 27th, 2006

Salvador as many know if a large city in Brazil in the state of Bahia. Salvador is known for its many afro-brazilian people as well as its amazing carnaval celebrations in the streets.

Salvador is along the coast and has some amazing beaches. Pelourinho is the oldest neighborhood in Salvador and has some beautiful architecture, and many tourists walking around with cameras. I was warned many times about this area and it being dangerous but I never encountered anything of the such. This area has many little shops to buy souvenirs such as the Bom Fim bracelets that are very popular in Salvador.

Bom Fim is a church that is located just outside the city of Salvador. The bracelets have been known to be good luck. If you make a wish and tie the bracelet on, your wish will come true, and you must leave the bracelet on until it falls off. Once the bracelet falls off, that signifies that your wish has come true. I currently have one on my left wrist:) Still waiting for the wish to come true!

Salvador also offers a day trip, or possible longer to a place called Morro do Sao Paulo. This is one of my favorite places in Brazil so far. From Salvador you take a bus costing about $50 reals one way to get to the island. Once you get there, you feel as though you are in another country. The Island is very small, and you can walk everywhere you want to go. There are 5 beaches, but most of the action resides within 3. The beaches are known by numbers, not names. Beach #2 is the place with the action. It is very easy to go to this Island with no place to stay and find one as soon as you get there (depending on season I suppose). Pousadas are similar to motels or hostels in a way. There are many along all beaches, varying in prices from $20 reals - $150 reals per person. This is an excellent place to go to relax and get away from things for a while. It is much less dangerous on this island that the city of Salvador. To return back to Salvador, you simply catch a bus from the same place you were dropped off. The return price is $50 reals as well.

Some of the recommended beaches to stay at in Salvador are Pituba, Itapua, Ondinha, Farol de Barra, and Amaralina. The water is very beautiful and green, and the water is good to swim in. There are also many palces to surf if that is what you are looking for. There are other beaches further from the center of the city with georgeous green water, but they are approximately a 40 min drive or a 1 hour bus ride.

Overall, Salvador was a beautiful place to visit, and if you are thinking of travelling there, make sure you go to Morro do Sao Paulo.

Northern Brazil

Filed under: Lisa in Brazil - April 12th, 2006

Well, I know its been a while since I last posted a blog, but things can get pretty crazy when you are up in northern Brazil. The sun shines all year round, and its hard to come in off the beach and write a blog. Today I decided would be the day to just write a quick note about what I have seen so far during my nordest meaning northern Brazil adventure.

Right now I am traveling with 3 friends up to 5 major cities of Northern Brazil. We have so far seen Salvador, Maceio, Recife, Natal and are now in Fortaleza. These cities are all the capital cities of their regions. All of these cities have their own special traits that make them very unique.

Salvador is in the state of Bahia and is known for its capoeira, and afro-latino people. There are some amazing beaches here, with a vast coastline. The center of the city has a lot of action, especially in the Pelourinho neighborhood which is the oldest part of Salvador.

Maceio is a smaller city, with approx 2 million people. There are many beaches, but a few of them in the city are polluted. If you want to see one of the most beautiful beaches, hop on a bus or cabbing it out to Praia do Francés is where you should go. The beaches are green and gorgeous.

From Salvador we decided to take an overnight trip to the city of Morro do Sao Paulo. It was so beautiful. You need to take a boat there from the docks in Salvador, and it is about $50 reals each way. Once you get there you will be amazed with is beauty and relaxed atmosphere. There are many tourists here, which makes it fun to meet people from other countries as well. It is really easy to go there with no plans, and shortly have many because people will approach you and tell you of whats happening that night, and where to stay etc.

Recife is another larger city, with plenty of things to do every day of the week. There is another part to it known as Olinda which is where the city began. Olinda has some of the oldest buildings in Brazil. Recife is known for one of is beaches called Boa Viagem meaning good voyage. It was very popular a few years back, but once surfers started getting attacked by sharks, people started to find other beaches to attend for fear of the sharks. You will still hear of a few attacks, so its best to not swim too deep in the waters there.

We also took a bus to a city called Porto das Galinhas. This means chicken port. It was called that because it used to be the secret location to here the slaves were smuggled in. This place is very beautiful. It is a 2 hour bus ride from Recife, and once you get there you will feel as though you are in a little touristy town full of cool souvenirs, and postcards etc. The beach here is beautiful and green, and there are reefs right off shore that you can take a boat to for a very reasonable price, or you can swim out to and rent a scuba mask. You will see many tropical fish here.

The next city was Natal. I really love this place. We stayed just outside in an area called Ponta Negra. This would be where I would recommend staying. There are many pousadas (hotel/motel type place), hotels, or hostels. There is always something to do in this area. During the day there is a beautiful beach with surfing, shopping, restaurants, and during the night there are clubs, pubs, and restaurants as well.

From Natal you can take some day trips. One of the ones we took was to the Dunes. We went by dune buggy to the dune park. It was amazing. It cost $200 for 4 people for the day. You can decide if you want a ride with or without emotion, and we obviously got the one with emotion which was really fun! We were able to stop and do camel rides, sand boarding, ski bunda, and a zip line into the water. All of the activities were relatively cheap, ranging from $4-$15 reals.

Another side trip we took was to Pipa. This is another city about 1.5 hours from Natal. It is a small city which can be walked from one end to the other in 20 minutes. Here you will feel a hippi -ish atmosphere that is very laid back and relaxing. If you are interested in swimming with dolphins that is a possibility here. If you get to the bay of dolphins around 10:30 you will be able to stand in the water and watch dolphins swim around you for hours. The only danger here is the tide rises very fast and if you get stuck in this bay you will have no way out until the tide goes back down.

So, this takes me to Fortaleza. I have only been here for one night, so hopefully as I spend a little more time here I will have more to tell. I am really enjoying it so far, and we seem to have found the most active part of the city to set up camp. We are right by Mereilles beach. There is beach volleyball, capoeira, soccer, and much more happening here.

Ok so that sums up that last few weeks of my adventures here in Brazil. The north is a very beautiful part of Brazil and should definitely not be missed.

Rolling Stones in Rio - FREE concert

Filed under: Brazil General/ Lisa in Brazil - February 2nd, 2006

As many of you may have heard, the Rolling Stones will be going to Rio de Janeiro on the 18th of February. This concert will be free for anyone to attend, and will be held on the Copacabana beach. I have recently returned from Rio de Janeiro as you may have seen from some of my pictures, and I had a wonderful time. I saw the location where the concert will be held. It is right out from on the copacabana palace.

The Rolling Stones have been to Brazil many times and they have chosen to come back again and put on a free concert because they enjoy the people and the country so much.

If you are interested in going, make sure you look into it right away, the appartments and hotels are getting booked up fast.

Another problem that you should solve as soon as possible is getting your visa and passport ready. There are many countries that require a visa in order for the citizens to enter Brazil. In order to get a visa, you must also get a plane ticket first in order to show the Brazilian embassy that you have a return date.

I myself am hoping that I will be able to attend this concert. I know there are going to be so many people going since it is free. The Rolling Stones are very popular here in Brazil. It is being very well advertised so I would also suggest getting here a couple days in advance, and the day of the concert, show up a bit early so you can at least get a glimpse!

Hopefully everyone who wants to attend this concert is able to go, if you have any questions, dont hesitate to go to the ask us section of this website, and we will answer to the best of our knowledge.

A Night at the Beach

Filed under: Lisa in Brazil - February 2nd, 2006

Recently during my travels in Brazil I was staying near Camburi. This is a very beautiful location with beautiful beaches, hot weather, and great night life. One night I decided to go to a night club called Galeao. I also walked around the downtown area which was crowded with people everywhere. There were many street vendors selling things from jewelery, to food, to alcoholic drinks. After walking around I decided it was time to go dance and have some drinks at the club. The night life at the clubs doesn´t usually start until around 12 or later.

Once inside Galeao I was so impressed. The bar isn´t completely closed off from the outside. Many places in the bar you can look up and see the sky. There was also a seperate room that I enjoyed a lot because they played popular american music.

Inside this club there were many beautiful people drinking and laughing. I also ran into many people who spoke english. The prices of drinks vary from bar to bar. Here, they were around $5 reals for a beer, and $6 for a Smirnoff Ice. They also serve tequila for $9 reals. To get into this club was one of the most expensive clubs I have been to. It is $27 reals for girls, and even more for men.

When we left the club around 3:30-4:00 am, the downtown was still just as busy. Since the club is located on the beach, we decided to go for a walk in the sand.

Once we got to the beach, we saw so many groups, each with 15-40 people. We joined into one of the circles where there was one guy playing the guitar and many more singing along.

It was an amazing time, and everyone I met was extremely friendly and open to meeting new people and trying their best to communicate with us.

New Years in Brazil

Filed under: Lisa in Brazil - February 2nd, 2006

This past new years from 2005-2006 I was lucky enough to have spent it in Ubatuba, Brazil. Ubatuba is a small beach town about 3.5 hours from Sao Paulo City.

The day of the 31st I spent soaking up the Brazilian sun on a beach called Tenorio. I was there with several of my Brazilian friends and one friend from home. We ate shrimp and fish, played volleyball and drank ice cold refreshing beer. Around 5 we packed up and headed back to the house to shower and have dinner.

At about 9:30 we decided to head down to long beach. We all walked along the sand to find a good spot as we were drinking and laughing. Since its legal to drink alcoholic beverages anywhere in Brazil, most people dont leave their houses without a cooler full of beer, wine and coolers.

When it starts getting closer to midnight, fireworks start exploding and everyone is on their feet. By now, the beach is pretty much packed with people, almost everyone dressed in white which symbolizes a new start to the new year.

At midnight, everyone yells HAPPY NEW YEAR, or FELIZ ANO NOVO as they say it in Portuguese. Everyone kisses and hugs anyone within range. After all the kisses we all run down to the water to jump 7 waves. This is a good luck tradition througout Brazil.

A day at the beach

Filed under: Lisa in Brazil - January 9th, 2006

I will tell you a bit about my experience at the beach. I will start from the time you get up. For me, I am definitely not an early riser. This means I am usually up around 9:30 or 10:00, and heading off to the beach around 11:00. By this time, most of the beaches are quite crowded, but there is always a spot to put my umbrella and towel.

All the beaches will most likely have bathrooms, life guards, restaurants, vendors or all kinds, and perhaps banana boat or sail boat rides.

I really enjoy how the beaches have vendors. I feel as though I don’t even need to get up most of the time. There are people selling pop, water, beer, BBQ cheese, churros, shrimp on a stick, beef on a stick, peanuts, hot dogs, ice cream, popsicles, etc.

If you are at the beach alone, be careful when leaving your things unattended. Its easy for people to steal if they think you aren’t watching your things. I personally have never had a problem, but I have always made sure I had someone watching my stuff.

At most beaches you will be able to rent a surf board, or body board. Some beaches even offer lessons. If you are looking for some exercise while at the beach, I would recommend this. Some other options are kayaking, volleyball, fresco-ball, soccer, and fishing.

Hopefully to all you reading this you will soon have your own stories to share with me!

Beaches in Ubatuba

Filed under: Lisa in Brazil - January 9th, 2006

Recently I spent a week at the beach. It was a great experience. The name of this small beach town is Ubatuba. It is about 3.5 hours from Sao Paulo. During the summer months the population of this town grows by 10 times.

There are many beaches along the coastline in Ubatuba. The main difference between the beaches will be the size of the beach, the size of the waves, as well as the residential or non residential area it is located.

You will find some very small beaches, usually having smaller waves that are more appropriate for families with children, or those looking to relax and swim in waters without getting plowed over by waves.

You will also find extremely long beaches that have larger waves, more appropriate for surfing and /or body boarding.

The other difference between beaches is the neighborhood in which they are located. Some beaches will be along the main road with lots of parking and restaurants along the boardwalk. These beaches are extremely busy and full of people. Other beaches are located in residential areas in which you have to park further away. These beaches usually have less people and are a bit more relaxing.

It’s also possible to find empty beaches, but you will have to drive a little ways out of the city and perhaps blaze a bit of a trail.

Filed under: Lisa in Brazil - December 26th, 2005

Favelas - Slums

A few days ago, I found myself travelling into a favela because the family that I am living with have friends who live there. Once we got there, things quickly changed from paved roads and bare streets, to dirt roads, filled with people walking and children playing.

Since we drove into the favela, right away I noticed how the dirt roads were not maintained at all, and there were many rocks, and crevases, as well as garbage build up on the sides of the roads.

In favelas, those who live there do not have to pay for the land they use, but they are responsible for building their own homes. They must however pay for their electricity.

I had the chance to go into a house in the favela, which was really sad to me because there were 7 people living in this house, and there was a kitchen, 2 bedrooms and a bathroom.

Since many people in favelas can´t afford cars, this is the reason the streets seem to fill up with people when you enter. Usually favelas have a location within walking distance for people to go shopping for both food and clothing.
If you do plan on going into a favela, be extra cautios about what you are wearing and what you have in your bags. The young innoscent looking children could be looking to steal from you. Jewelery is also a bad idea because it will attract unwanted attention.

I felt as though many people were looking at me, and not because I look like a gringa, but because in favelas, they usually know who lives there and who doesn´t. This alone is enough to attract attention. I would recommend if you are wanting to go inside a favela to get the right people to go with you. Some offer guides that have tours throughout the favelas, but some of the smaller ones don´t offer this service.

Overall I had a great experience going into the favela. It showed me another world, and made me understand a lot more about what some people go through. I would recommend the experience to everyone as long as you do it safely.

Filed under: Lisa in Brazil - December 26th, 2005

LISA IN BRAZIL

Background about myself

Well, first off I will give a bit of a background information about myself. I have been here in Brazil since December 1/2005. This is my second time in Brazil, the first time I came I stayed for 6 months, and this time I plan on staying around the same. I speak english as my first language, but I have learned a lot of Portuguese just from being here, and being surrounded with it daily. I am living with a friend, but I am also travelling around to different cities quite often. I will be writing about my experiences down here, and trying to let people know the differences, and the exciting things there are for us tourists!
If there are any questions you have, or anything you want to know about Brazil, there is an ask us section on the site, or you can reply to my blogs.
I hope you enjoy reading about my experiences, and I hope that one day you are able to come down and visit Brazil for yourselves.