Country Overview: Travelling in Brazil

Posted by Steve on June 22, 2009, at 9:22 pm | Category: Brazil, Country Overviews, General | Leave a comment


View at Picasa They are used to being fed – they’d never be this tame otherwise!25-May-2009 14:21, Panasonic DMC-FX3, 2.8, 5.8mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 100

Introduction: Brazil is the 5th largest country in both geographical and population size in the world. Its also the only one in the whole of South America that has to be that little different and speak Portuguese as opposed to Spanish. As its also the most expensive, we’d planned to use it almost purely as a landing stop and speed on up to check out the Amazon. As it turned out, neither of these things happened and we still managed to have a great time!

Local name:	República Federativa do Brasil	Flag:
Population:	198,739,269	Life expectancy:	72.0
Size:	3,265,059 sq mi	Currency:	Real
Capital:	Brasilia	Capital population:	2,160,100
Language:	Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French
Religion:	Roman Catholic 74%, Protestant 15%, Spiritualist 1%, none 7% (2000)

When we went:21st May to 12th June 2009

Where we went:Flew into Rio, detoured to Ilha Grande via Agra dos Reis, then to Paraty, bus direct to Rio, plane to Salvador de Bahia, then plane into Bogota, Colombia (via Sao Paulo & Manaus).

Where we stayed:

El Misti in Rio - The first hostel we stayed in on our journey, and the first place we made some great friends. R$80 for double with shared bathroom. Great atmosphere, cozy, ok kitchen, water goes off for an hour or so every day but apparently thats Rio not them. Titi the manager is very helpful. Excellent breakfast with toastie maker. Would stay again.
Apartments in Ilha Grande – A great find, Ilha Grande was beautiful and as we knew people staying in hostels we could meet to be social there, and chill out to ourselves in this fantastic apartment. R$60 for both, or R$25 pp, no breakfast. Would sleep up to six, has hob, fridge and TV. Tel: (24) 3361-5053
Historic Centre Hostel in Paraty – This hostel has so much potential, and definitely make the BBQ (R$20 all you can eat/drink), the owner John is English. There was a few management ‘discussions’ out in the open while we were there which did not help the atmosphere, but its definitely the closest and probably cheapest near the town centre. Good breakfast. R$70 for double with private bathroom.
Alpha Hostel in Barra, Salvador – A great looking hostel with lots of space and friendly staff. OK breakfast, no cereal. Completely dead when we were there though. Huge kitchen, few ants but that is around a lot. Adam the manager is a good guy. R$80 for double with private room.
Galeria 13 in Pelourinho, Salvador – Relatively new, famous for its huge dogs Spartan and Zulu. Owner Paulo is English I think?! and has great knowledge of the area. Excellent atmosphere, budget pricing. Stayed in dorms for R$25. Great breakfast including eggs.
Albergue das Laranjeiras in Pelourinho, Salvador – Best looking hostel yet with Roy Lichtenstein styling. Amazing rooms, rudimentary breakfast, little atmosphere. Helpful staff, HI accredited. $R86 for double with private bathroom.

Things we saw: Beautiful beaches, white thing on a stick that is actually tofu cheese (sold and toasted mainly on beaches), lots of begging, many local festivals.

Things we did: Sweated to the top of Corcovado and lump one of the Sugarloaf. Chilled on Copocabana beach. Went snorkelling in the Blue Lagoon. Lost our minds attempting to play cards with internationals. Went to a few hospitals, and also beautiful parks. Made friends and enemies with insects.

The Food: They like deep fried things, salgados (variety of budget pastries), but didn’t really seem to have a lot of their own cuisine. A huge country, various parts have their own influences such as Salvador has mainly african. There we tried Moqueco, a coconut based dish that is very heavy with palm oil – without the subtleties and spiciness of a good Thai curry.

The Drink: Lots of beer! And also – now one of my favourite drinks, is a Caipirinhia. This is a cocktail made of Cachasa, sugar, lime and ice. Tastes like a Mojito, but is generally strong and goes great with a barbeque. This is the national cocktail of Brazil. Beer is about R$1-1.5 (~50p) in shops, and R$2-3 (~£1) in bars/hostels. Caipirinha is anywhere from R$3.5-7 (£1-2) depending on where you shop.

Top five things to remember: The beautiful island that is Isla Grande, would definitely go back. The fact that every town or city you visit, generally has a festival of some kind on. The El Misti crew that we made great friends with and have kept bumping in to time and again. Climbing Corcovado, hard work but very rewarding. Jungle boy. James Bond scene on the Sugarloaf. Sticky Bob.

The not so good things: The incessant begging and pestering (we’d better get even more used to this!), tearing my medial meniscus in Paraty. The undeserved bigging up of Salvador de Bahia, although that could have been our mobility difficulties. Cobbled boulders in Paraty. The fact they speak Portugeuse instead of Spanish.


Always tough posing for a shot in Rio, you have to get it in quickly before the sun blinds you. View at Picasa Always tough posing for a shot in Rio, you have to get it in quickly before the sun blinds you.25-May-2009 15:21, Panasonic DMC-FX3, 5.6, 5.8mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 100	We had to wait about ten minutes to get the stairs clear for this photo, its packed up there! View at Picasa We had to wait about ten minutes to get the stairs clear for this photo, its packed up there!23-May-2009 18:44, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 14.0, 28.0mm, 0.002 sec, ISO 800	The El Misti crew, on a boat in Ilha Grande! Left to RIght is Stewart, Francis, Marcus, Lynette, Me, Jaqueline, Cindy and Marco. View at Picasa The El Misti crew, on a boat in Ilha Grande! Left to RIght is Stewart, Francis, Marcus, Lynette, Me, Jaqueline, Cindy and Marco.27-May-2009 16:36, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 14.0, 28.0mm, 0.002 sec, ISO 800
He’s such a happy chappy! View at Picasa He’s such a happy chappy!27-May-2009 19:45, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 4.5, 105.0mm, 0.008 sec, ISO 800	Its not a bad place to spend the afternoon! View at Picasa Its not a bad place to spend the afternoon!27-May-2009 17:23, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 18.0, 28.0mm, 0.001 sec, ISO 800	Munching some japanese noodles at the festival. View at Picasa Munching some japanese noodles at the festival.30-May-2009 21:43, Panasonic DMC-FX3, 2.8, 5.8mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 200
And then back to jungle boy, who makes it look spectacular with ease! View at Picasa And then back to jungle boy, who makes it look spectacular with ease!31-May-2009 16:11, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 10.0, 105.0mm, 0.002 sec, ISO 800	Obstacle! Stand off! View at Picasa Obstacle! Stand off!26-May-2009 22:21, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 4.0, 45.0mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 400	One of my favourites. View at Picasa One of my favourites.06-Jun-2009 21:06, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 25.0, 50.0mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 400
After booking into Galeria 13 in Pelourinho, we hopped out for a spot of ice cream. View at Picasa After booking into Galeria 13 in Pelourinho, we hopped out for a spot of ice cream.07-Jun-2009 20:39, Panasonic DMC-FX3, 2.8, 5.8mm, 0.077 sec, ISO 200	The happy couple, ready to start investigating coral! View at Picasa The happy couple, ready to start investigating coral!27-May-2009 15:43, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 11.0, 80.0mm, 0.001 sec, ISO 800	Marcus put on a fantastic spread for dinner, I was a happy man and managed to squeeze in thirds. View at Picasa Marcus put on a fantastic spread for dinner, I was a happy man and managed to squeeze in thirds.27-May-2009 22:34, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 4.0, 28.0mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 400