Owner: Brazil Travel Blog URL:www.braziltravelblog.com Join Date: Sat, 07 Apr 2007 16:55:07 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: A blog written from São Paulo for anyone with their minds set on a trip to Brazil. Site statistics:Click here
News: entrance fee to visit Itaipu dam 2007-04-25 12:47:03 From 1 June visit
ors will have to pay R$15 to do the basic tour round the Itaipu dam, near Foz do Iguaçu. Up until now, the visit was free. Notas do Turismo contains the information with a link to a detailed press release by the management of Itaipu detailing the different types of visits to the dam.
In my opinion, the basic tour of Itaipu - the one done by the vast majority of tourists - is of marginal interest. Visitors are shown a video presentation where they learn about the wonderful effect the construction of the dam had on the environment - any mention to the monstrous external debt resulting from the construction of the dam is conspicuous by its absence. After the presentation, there is a quick tour around the external part of the dam.
If the gigantic spillway is closed on the day of the visit (and it only opens when the dam is bursting at the seams) the visit is, to be honest, quite boring. It was free, though. That is not the case any longer, and for any engineering fans, I Read more:entrance
World Travel Awards 2007-04-24 12:03:16 I don’t know who is behind the WorldTravelAwards
, but the prestige that comes along with a media partner such as the BBC is seriously damaged by some of the errors contained in the list of nominees. At least in the Latin America section, I wonder whether the treatment given to other parts of the world is equally poor.
First, there is a geographic section called Central & Latin America and a different one called South America. Someone should be taught that South America is part of Latin America.
Second. One of the five nominees in the category of South American airline of the year is the Brazilian airline Varig. I imagine the only criteria applied when drawing up the list of nominees is the money paid by the companies to buy their placement on the list. Otherwise, I don’t get it. Varig is a company that nearly ceased its operations, that left thousands of passagengers stranded worldwide, and that fired thousands of employees violating all sorts of labour rights. Is tha
May desktop calendar 2007-04-30 12:53:36 The desktop calendar for the month of May is already available for download at the calendars section of this blog. This month we bring you a snapshot taken at the pool of the hotel Paraiso do Morro, in Arraial d’Ajuda, state of Bahia, with the sea in the background.
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Top 10: favourite places in Brazil 2007-05-03 12:28:21
This is a list of my top 10 favourite places in Brazil
. It only includes places I have visited - for that reason you will not find on the list potential jewels such as Ilha Grande.
1. Fernando de Noronha (Pernambuco)
Noronha is where you will find the most beautiful beaches in the whole of Brazil, and crystal-clear waters of unparalleled beauty. A place like no other in Brazil.
2. Paraty (Río de Janeiro)
Atlantic rainforest, desert beaches and the best preserved colonial architecture in the country come together to make of Paraty a very special destination. On top of that, Paraty is close to Rio and São Paulo.
3. Lençóis Maranhenses (Maranhão)
While it’s not easy to get to the Lençóis, the reward more than makes up for the long journey. A unique landscape of dunes and lagoons where mass tourism hasn’t left its mark yet.
4. Jericoacoara (Ceará)
Another destination with a nearly-mythical status among travellers. Captivating sand dunes in a remote setting.
5. Iguaz
Brazil in pictures: sunrise 2007-05-02 12:25:16
Today there is dense fog in São Paulo, so I will go back in time a few days to show another spectacular São Paulo sunrise.
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May 2007 2007-05-01 13:00:52 It’s May. April was the first full month for this young blog. From now on, I will publish a monthly recap of what was written during the previous month.
In May we wrote about:
the following accommodation was reviewed: Porto Preguiças Resort in Barreirinhas.
the following restaurants were reviewed: Tabua de Carne in Natal, Camarões in Natal and Sabor do Mar in Paraty.
we saw pictures of the sands in Jericoacoara, the monument to the Portuguese discoverers in Porto Seguro, a beautiful sunrise in São Paulo, vendors at the beach, imperial palm trees and cattle in Bonito.
in the tranport section we learned how to get from São Paulo and Rio to Foz do Iguaçu, from Montevideo to Porto Alegre and São Paulo and from Buenos Aires to São Paulo/Rio.
in the false friends section we learned that puxar doesn’t mean to push.
in the links section I mentioned the Quatro Rodas guide and Backpacking Brazil.
as well as that, there was plenty of travel-related news.
we explored the possib
Fare check update 2007-05-04 12:47:44 I’ve just completed the monthly update of the Fare check page of this blog, where you will find a small sample of routes and prices of flights with the two most important airlines in Brazil. More routes available on request.
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News: fear of flying 2007-05-08 21:07:42 Does anybody know whether there is a joint body with members of the Argentinian and Brazilian governments coordinating air safety policies in both countries? In the last few days, you read the headlines of La Nación and they lead you to think you are reading the Folha de São Paulo. You are surfing at the O Globo website and have a feeling of being reading ClarÃn. The coincidences are amazing. And the common denominator is that the times are rough for those with fear of flying.
The latest on the neverending saga of chaos in the air in Brazil is a report by the Globo network on their 1 o’clock news revealing the serious problems facing the control tower at Guarulhos airport when it needs to communicate with pilotos. The problems are a result of interferences from pirate radio stations. A tape reproducing a hair-rising conversation between an air traffic controller and a pilot has been played on the news. With a touch of black humour - the interference on the system was coming f
More wonders of the world: Itaipu dam 2007-05-08 12:19:41
List-based books are definitely the flavour of the moment. And travel guides have joined in as well: with the royalties earned from the sales of 1,000 places to see before you die Patricia Schultz can retire and spend the rest of her life travelling around the globe. It is now the Rough Guide’s turn. On their 25th anniversary, they have released a series of books of lists, one of which is called 25: Wonders of the World. On the list we find the usual suspects (the Forbidden City in Beijing, the Taj Mahal, the giants of Easter Island, Angkor Wat, the Perito Moreno glacier and other equally wonderful places). Bottom of the list, a surprising, if not not baffling, presence: Itaipu dam, in Foz de Iguazu.
To include Itaipu dam in a list of 25 wonders of the world can only be explained in two ways: first, less likely, whoever chose to include the dam is an engineer in love with megavats and the power of water in motion; my second theory, much more likely, is that whoever included Ita
Brazil in pictures: ceramic tiles of São LuÃs 2007-05-07 12:34:26
The most visible part of the spectacular colonial heritage that earned São LuÃs the title of World Heritage Site are its ceramic tiles. Ceramic tiles were used in the past because they allowed for a better thermal insulation of the houses (São LuÃs is near the Equator, always hot and muggy) and because of its durability and easy maintenance. It rains in São LuÃs during six months, and common walls had to be rebuilt often.
Unfortunately, the sorry state of abandonment of the cultural heritage by the authorities theoretically responsible for its conservation means it is hard to find a piece of tile that is not broken, cracked or painted. One of the most outstanding exceptions is the front wall of the Pousada Colonial, covered in tiles with relief, as seen in the next picture.
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Two Brazilian travel blogs 2007-05-10 12:49:09 Many of you will have realized that, when it comes to blogs on travel and Brazil, the blogosphere is wanting in interesting material. That’s why today I want to mention two Brazilian
travel blogs that have consistently managed to offer useful information to its readers. Two blogs written by Brazilians for a Brazilian readership. For those that read Portuguese, here are the links.
The first blog is Ricardo Freire’s Viaje Na Viagem, who was mentioned in this blog when I wrote about his Beach Guide. Ricardo is one of the best known and more respected Brazilian travel journalists, and his blog reaches a wide and loyal audience. In his blog, he deals both with international and local destinations. The Brazilian content of his blog is invaluable. As a result of a close collaboration between Ricardo and his readers, a vast amount of information on Brazil is published every day.
The weakest side of the blog is the non-retrievability of information - this is a weakness that needs to
Brazilian videos: Zu Lai Buddhist temple 2007-05-09 12:36:49 I am beginning to publish today a series of videos
on Brazilian
destinations. I am producing the short presentations (less than 3 minutes) under the deviajeabrasil.com name - the Spanish branch of this blog. The video that inaugurates the collection is about the Zu Lai Buddhist
temple in Cotia, near São Paulo. An unlikely Brazilian gem.
You can either watch the video on the YouTube screen provided below or download a high-resolution version of the presentation from de viaje a Brasil/videos.
It is an audiovisual presentation, so make sure your computer speakers are on! Hope you enjoy it.
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Link: Socicam (bus routes) 2007-05-14 13:23:53 A good while ago I mentioned on this blog the website of the ANTT (a Brazilian government body) with information on Brazilian bus companies and the routes
they operate. A very useful page though quite hard to explore - I’ve mentioned several times that top-notch information is not seen in Brazil as a priority when it comes to helping tourists.
Today I want to mention an equally interesting resource, the page of Socicam. If you get over the inital shock (the design of the site is dead ugly) you will be rewarded with some useful information. Socicam is a company that runs several bus stations in Brazil and its site contains information on the bus routes operating from those stations. This is the list of bus stations run by Socicam: Angra dos Reis (Rio de Janeiro), Aracajú (Sergipe), Fortaleza (Ceará), Guarujá (São Paulo), Mogi das Cruzes (São Paulo), Niteroi (Rio de Janeiro), Poços de Caldas (Minas Gerais), Ribeirão Preto (São Paulo), RÃo de Janeiro, São Carlos (São Paul
Brazil in pictures: floral display 2007-05-12 21:57:48
In the country were beauty and tragedy fight a daily battle, there is always a flower around the corner to tip the balance in favour of the former.
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News: GOL now accepts Visa and MasterCard 2007-05-12 21:43:28 Smashing news ahoy! I’ve found the following bit of information on payments at GOL’s website:
Foreign passenger, now you can buy Gol’s tickets with your American Express Card, Mastercard or Visa.
Gol only operates with banks which are part of the MasterCard
SecureCode system. In the event of any questions contact the customer service center of your bank credit card issuer.
Up until now, you could only buy flights with GOL through their Brazilian website with an American Express card.
Will this be the end of the torment that was trying to purchase a GOL ticket from abroad? Straightforward purchase of GOL tickets had become the Holy Grail of the foreign visitor to Brazil, and it would seem the problem is now about to end. Don’t forget to let us know if you manage to buy a ticket for a GOL flight!
UPDATE: a reader of De viaje a Brasil reports serious problems trying to purchase a GOL ticket with her VISA card. Apparently, the payment went through but GOL denies h
Reviews: Pousada Manacá, Arraial d’Ajuda 2007-05-11 12:28:15
NAME: Manacá Pousada Parque
WHERE: Arraial d’Ajuda, Bahia
WEBSITE: www.pousadamanaca.com.br
IN ENGLISH: yes
PRICES ON THE WEBSITE: no (consultation by email available)
LOCATION: five minutes from the centre of Arraial, on the road to Trancoso.
THE BUILDING: the different buildings of the pousada are found in the middle of a 6.000 m2 garden with numerous trees (species identified with labels) and flowers. The rooms are surround the garden. There is a small swimming pool at the top of a cliff with views to the sea and Porto Seguro.
THE ROOMS: there are two types of rooms: the ones found on single-floor chalets, and the ones found on the two-storey houses. All the rooms have air conditioning, ceiling fan, minibar, tv, bathroom and a hammock.
PRICES IN AUGUST 2006: accommodation was included in the package we bought from São Paulo - the flights worked out at unbeatable prices this way. We paid approximately R$90 per room per night.
BREAKFAST: included in the price. Good buffet w
Brazilian videos: festas juninas in São Luís 2007-05-17 12:20:52 This is the second video from the deviajeabrasil.com collection.
It’s longer than the previous one (5 minutes) as it portrays a Brazilian
festival that is hardly known outside Brazil and even inside the Brazilian boundaries. I’m talking about the festas juninas -very popular all throughout Brazil- they way they are lived in São Luís, capital of the state of Maranhão. The video presents three different folk displays:
the tambor de crioula, an Afro-Brazilian dance practiced mainly by descendents of African slaves. Three drums, each one with a specific function, dictate the rhythm.
the quadrilha, a dance of English origin, present in the festas juninas of all Brazil.
and the bumba-meu-boi, of which I gave quiet a lot of information a couple of days ago here.
The soundtrack for each of the three blocks corresponds to the music played during the events.
You can watch the video on the YouTube screen provided below. This time I haven’t been able to make a high-resoluti Read more:videos
Brazilian blogs round-up 2007-05-16 01:50:09 This is a first of a regular round
-up of the most interesting material published in a few Brazilian
travel blogs. Do bear in mind that the links point at blogs in Portuguese written for a Brazilian readership. For reasons of quality and interest, I’m going to focus on Ricardo Freire’s Viaje na Viagem and Rodrigo Purisch’s Aquela Passagem, blogs I wrote about here.
During the last few weeks, Ricardo Freire has published posts with information on a handulf of interesting destinations:
a trip from São Luís to Fortaleza, going through the Lençóis Maranhenses and Jericoacoara
information on the Praia dos Carneiros, in Pernambuco
the rota ecológica between Pernambuco and Alagoas
from Salvador to Boipeba
from Ilhéus to Boipeba
Corumbau
As for Rodrigo Purisch, he’s brought us the following interesting stuff:
Star Alliance announces its tariffs for round-the-world trips leaving from Brazil
partnership agreement between TAM and LAN
short news: OceanAir will fly
Bumba-meu-boi 2007-05-15 12:32:32
I’m putting the final touches on a presentation on the festas juninas in São Luís (update: the video is already here) and found it appropriate to give some background information before I upload the presentation. The bumba-meu-boi from Maranhão is one of the most wonderful cultural manifestations of all Brazil - you can read more about it on the following Wikipedia article in Portuguese. I’m more concerned here with practical information.
COULD YOU DESCRIBE IN A FEW WORDS WHAT’S THE BUMBA-MEU-BOI?: an artistic display that combines dance, music and theatre. The central character of the performance is the ox - or rather, a figure of an ox carried by a person.
IS IT THE SAME AS THE BOI-BUMBÁ?: no, it’s not. Although both share the same origin, the boi-bumbá es is typical from the states of Amazonas and Pará and differs greatly from the bumba-meu-boi.
WHAT ARE SOTAQUES?: if you want to make the most of festivals in São Luís you need to know that sotaques
Carnival of cities - roam around the world 2007-05-14 18:25:11 An entry from this blog (Brazil in Pictures: 25 de março street, São Paulo) features in the Carnival
of Cities hosted by Carole A. Lane at her The San Diego Beat blog. A fascinating trip around the world in one single post. Thanks for all the hard work putting together the carnival, Carole!
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Bem-vindos 2007-05-18 13:08:25 [This is a post for the newly-arrived Brazilian readers of both this blog and its Spanish version]
O De viaje a Brasil foi mencionado há já vários dias no blog do Rodrigo Purisch, e agora duas leitoras do Viaje na Viagem do Ricardo Freire também mencionaram este blog. Gostaria muito de dar as boas-vindas aos novos leitores brasileiros do blog, e agradecer o calor humano que para mim é, sem dúvida, uma das características mais marcantes do povo brasileiro.
Tanto aqui como no blog em inglês escrevo para leitores estrangeiros, o que não significa que os dois blogs não possam ser aproveitados por brasileiros também. Mas é lógico que vocês já sabem o quê é um preço parcelado e também como se dislocar de Rio até São Paulo. Além de estarem muito bem servidos com admiráveis profissionais da qualidade e competência do Ricardo Freire.
Muito obrigado, Lena e Emília, pelos gentis comentários deixados sobre o blog. Sim, meu relacionamiento com o Brasil, em geral, e São Pa
False friends: vitamina 2007-05-18 12:23:31 Don’t be troubled if someone asks you whether you want a vitamina. As well as a substance, a vitamina in Brazilian Portuguese is a drink, very similar to a smoothie, but usually prepared with just fruit juice and milk. If you have misgivings about the hygiene of the place where you will be ordering one, skip the milk bit and go for just a fruit juice (suco).
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TAM Airpass - information in Spanish 2007-05-22 05:12:09 A friend of De Viaje a Brasil - Spanish
version of this blog - got in touch with TAM in Spain last week and got sent a Word document that contains all the information
you need to know about the TAM Airpass. Unfortunately, it is in Spanish only, but I’m making it available for download in case it’s of any help to any reader here. You can download the file here: TAM airpass 2007.
There seems to be some confusion about the way TAM interprets the use of its coupons. At one stage, TAM Spain told a reader of the blog every time the plane touches down you use one coupon. But today another friend of the blog has told us he purchased the Airpass in Belgium and has been able to use one coupon to fly from A to B with a stopover in between.
Best thing is to get in touch with TAM directly. If you can really fly from A to B and use only one coupon regardless of the number of stopovers the Airpass is an interesting alternative indeed - if only for long-distance flights.
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Brazil in pictures: Lençóis Maranhenses 2007-05-21 05:12:00 Regular readers of the blog know I have a soft spot for that awesome and wonderful placed called Lençóis Maranhenses. I am working now on an audiovisual presentation of our trip to the area (like the ones I have already published on the Zu Lai temple and the Festas Juninas in São Luís).
Regulars of the blog also know that once a week I like to publish pictures of my adventures around Brazil
. And because the pictures I am publishing today portray a very special place, they come in six!
June is the perfect month to visit the Lençóis and São Luís, and in the coming days I hope to complete a series of entries on the Maranhão region.
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7 new wonders of the modern world re-revisited 2007-05-25 12:14:15 Soon, the business acumen of an intelligent entrepeneur will get all the glory: in a few week’s time we will know the 7 new wonders of the world - according to the poll carried out by a private company. As the date nears, the activity in the copy+paste travel blogosphere intensifies. I might have to switch off my feeds reader for a few days.
I have written previously on the topic (7 New wonders of the world). A wise text in Spanish by Jorge Gobbi (Dinero, votos y maravillas) presents me with the opportunity for a new entry on the topic, with some fresh news on the Brazilian race for a place among the top 7. Jorge, incidentally, is one of the few intelligent people around who has mantained a critical attitude towards the whole 7 New wonders initiative.
The poll leaves me quite cold; the monumental (no pun intended) attention given to it, doesn’t (someone argued recently that thanks ot the initiative he had ended up knowing more about some of the wonders on the final list. Go
June desktop calendar 2007-05-25 06:33:52 [next month’s calendar arrives a few days earlier than usual as I’m going to be away next week]
The desktop calendar for the month of June is already available for download at the calendars section of this blog. The festas juninas take place in Brazil during the month of June, and one of its most interesting forms is the bumba-meu-boi carnival in the state of Maranhão. The picture that illustrates this month’s calendar portraits a young dancer of a sotaque de orquestra group.
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Torre do Banespa 2007-05-24 05:23:46
There is an unmissable place in the centre of São Paulo: the Altino Arantes building, better known as the Torre
do Banespa (Banespa Tower, nowadays in the hands of the Spanish Banco de Santander). From the top of the skyscrapper there is a 360 degree panoramic view of part of the metropolis.
Up until now the biggest limitation to a visit to the building was the fact that it only opened from Monday till Friday. During the month of June, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the construction of the tower, visitors will be allowed to the top of the building also on Saturdays and Sundays. Opening times are from 10 till 17.
Entrance is free (I would make the most of it, banks do not tend to give anything free). Access to the elevator is through the João Bricola street, a few meters away from the São Bento station of the São Paulo underground.
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From Porto Alegre to São Paulo by bus 2007-05-23 05:45:26 How do I get from Porto
Alegre to São Paulo
by bus?
There are several companies doing the trip. Itapemirim is one of them. Prices from R$125 one way. The trip takes 18 hours.
[Don’t forget there is a list of all the questions & answers published in the blog here]
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Holidays: Arraial d’Ajuda 2007-05-26 06:48:03
Dear readers, I’m taking a week off, this evening I’ll be boarding a plane on route to Arraial d’Ajuda, where I will spend a week of holidays with my wife. If any of you are around the area, you might see us walking around camera in hand and a tripod on the shoulder. If the weather allows it, we will revisit Trancoso and the Espelho beach as well. We will return con many photos, stories and information to share. Back on 4 June.
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Back from hols 2007-06-04 05:22:29
Time flies when you are on holidays! We’re back, rested, and full of energy avid to share with you lots of information about dearest Brazil. In a week we have revisited Arraial d’Ajuda and Trancoso, and we’ve made it as far as Caraíva.
During the coming days I will be publishing information on the destinations we have visited, its beaches, pousadas and restaurants. The Discovery Coast is one of the most appealing tourist destinations in Brazil: beautiful landscapes, excellent beaches, good food and pousadas, in a region that it is not that expensive. And contrary to what it seems to be the norm in Brazil, public transportation works really well, making it easy to travel the region on your own, at a very affordable price.
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