Geography

 

As you can see, Brazil has 26 states, 27 counting the capital, which is known as Distrito Federal or Brasília. The biggest state is Amazonas, where the Rain Forest is located. The most populated is São Paulo; only the capital has more than 19 million inhabitants. To go from São Paulo to the Rain Forest, for example, you have to go by airplane, unless you don’t care about staying 2 days in a car, traveling in freeways not in a very good condition.

Brazilian distances are huge, if you have to travel more than one thousand kilometers, the best you can do is go by airplane. If the trip is short, you can go by bus or car.

Brazilian inter-city’s bus stations are busy all year around, but if you don’t know anything about the region, it’s the safer way to travel. The highways are considered dangerous and sometimes confusing, although constructions are always being held, some parts are new and with great signalization, but if you’re not sure, it’s cheaper and safer go by bus. Brazil doesn’t have trains for passengers, only for cargos, so don’t count on it. To rent a car, you’re going to pay an average price of $25 per day.

Money

The currency of Brazilian Real to Dollar is: 1.00 USD = 1.60300 BRL.
Check before you travel: http://www.xe.com/ucc/

Language

In Brazil, they speak Portuguese! If you know Spanish it can help, as Spanish and Portuguese are very similar languages. Brazilian people understand quite a lot of Spanish. With the modernization of the country, and the number of foreign tourists rising, more people are learning English as a second language, although there’re still those who can only speak Portuguese, especially in poor regions.

Hotels and expensive bars almost always have bilingual staff. You don’t have to worry about a 5 stars hotel in Rio de Janeiro doesn’t have anyone speaking your language.

General speaking - Brazilian Portuguese:

• Hi=Oi
• Good bye=Tchau
• Yes=Sim
• No=Não
• Thank you=Obrigado
• Welcome=De nada
• How are you?=Como está?
• I’m fine, and you?=Estou bem, e você?
• Good Morning=Bom dia
• Good Afternoon=Boa tarde
• Good evening/night=Boa noite
• Meu nome é João=Meu nome é John
• What’s your name?=Qual o seu nome?
• Nice to meet you=Prazer em conhecê-lo
• How much is it?=Quanto é?

Having Fun

Brazil most famous music is SAMBA. They dance separately or in couples and you’re going to find people dancing all over the place: clubs, bars, restaurants, beaches… The most important event/party that happens every year is called Carnaval. It happens in February or March, for a whole week. It vary on the days, each year is a different starting date. Parties are everywhere. They can happen in clubs, on the beach, or even in the street.

The most famous Street Carnaval in Brazil is in Salvador, when an average of 1,5 million people participate, including tourists. If you go to your local tourist agency and ask about Carnaval in Brazil, you’re going to be surprised with the variety of choices for holidays available at this time of the year, to all kind of budgets. The regular drinks (and the cheapest) are Caipirinha, Vodka with soft drinks and lots of beers. You’re going to walk and dance a lot, so bring water, sun cream and a heat (because the sun is extremely hot) and comfortable shoes.

Climate

The weather changes depend on the region. The tropical area, which is above the city of São Paulo is the warmest. The Tropic of Capricorn crosses the country in the latitude of this city. Below the weather begins to become chiller. In the north the average temperatures are between 15ºC to 35ºC all over the year. While in the south, it has 4 seasons. The fall starts in March, winter in July, spring in September and summer in December. The average temperatures in winter are 5ºC to 15ºC. In some regions, especially towns located in hills, it can snow. The most famous town in the south of Brazil is Gramado, where the German architecture and the cold weather in the winter give the sensation of being in Europe.

In the summer, doesn’t matter what part of Brazil you’re, the weather is normally shiny and the temperatures rise from 25ºC to 40ºC.

Cuisine

Perhaps the best piece of Brazil. Food is cheap and there’re innumerous options. The typical meal of a Brazilian family consists of rise, beans, meat, pasta and salad. They usually eat altogether, in large portions. The most famous dishes in Brazil are Churrasco (barbecue) and Feijoada (Beans mixed with vegetables and meat). The choices of fruits and vegetables are probably bigger than if you live in Europe. The products are of best quality and most of the time organic.

The fruits and vegetables are bigger and tasty. If you go to a supermarket, you’re going to find a big patisserie with all kinds of breads and cakes. Patisseries and supermarkets in Brazil are very common; they have a huge option of products, especially in the matter of food. On the other hand, if you’re going to be having meals in restaurants, be prepared for the differences between them.

Feijoada

Buffet por quilo (Buffet by kilo) – The cheapest one
They’re huge in options of food: salad, meat and pasta. You’re going to pay an average price of $1,50 per kilo, in touristic places, which are the most expensive areas. If you’re vegetarian, don’t be afraid to go, as they can offer a big variety of vegetarian dishes. They usually don’t have table service and the selection of drinks is limited.

Rodizio – Eat as much as you want

There’re different types. It can be of barbecue (which is called Churrascaria), japonese food, chinese food, sea food or pizza. For you to have an idea of how diversified these places are, the best “rodizios de pizza” serve more than 80 types of pizza, you sit and wait for the waiters to bring all of them to you. Brazilian people eat pizza with ketchup, mayonese and mostard, so don’t be afraid if the waiter asks you if you would like any of them. The same with other kind of culineres, you can be surprised if the chinese restaurant doesn’t taste like chinese food from your country, but more like a mix of brazilian and chinese. In Churrascarias the surprise is the little chicken heart, served just like the meat below.

A La Carte

Choose from the menu, the variety is usually big, and depending on the region you’re going to have dishes according to the local culinere. They can be very different, being cheap and simple (you’re going to get more food in your plate) or expensive and refinados, with a bigger selection of imported products and drinks (as wines and spirits).

Most Important Capitals

If you’re in doubt about where to go, here are the most important capitals, with international airport. I believe these cities show a lot about the culture of Brazil, being important to be known. Though if you want to relax or have a different kind of adventure, I would advise beaches or forests, with touristic guides showing the area. A famous option is Fernando de Noronha.

Rio de Janeiro

São Paulo

Porto Alegre

Salvador

Brasília

Manaus

The summer vacation 2006 has been all this for me. To enter Portugal has been very intriguing, it has been like putting a foot into a parallel world, like feeling part of the Europe because it is still situated on the Mediterranean Sea, but also living some days in a distant dimension, full of influences of people so much different from us, came also through the Atlantic Ocean.

I have wanted to live in my way this vacation, I wanted to feel this always desired travel experience in my veins, I felt on my skin the climate changes from a State to another one, leaving Italy by motorcycle, passing through the windy zone of the Southern France and through the very arid one of the Central Spain, to finally reach Portugal at the level of Lisbon; it has been wonderful to set back immediately of one hour the hour hand of the clocks and to discover a gentle and pleasant breeze, cropped lands with vineyards and cork oaks and villages completely made with white little houses.

Another fascinating fact for me, even if unexplainable, is that I did not understand yet how before I always had understood quite well the language through the radio and TV stations and on the contrary I was not able to distinguish a word staying in that place for some days.

During the trips it is often impossible to find hotels or camping areas in the big cities, even if for Portugal I wrote down a lot of details, but a bit because of the tiredness due to the travel and a bit because it is always hard to ride in the traffic I opted for small villages but quite close to the urban settlings, to avoid the high prices and to rest in peaceful sleeps outside the big cities, it is not absolutely hard to find a receptive building in Portugal because everywhere you go you see in front of you a multitude of bedrooms for the night, called ?quartos?, often with the bathrooms inside them, situated along tiny streets and onto narrow staircases, into ancient buildings, but always furnished with simplicity and taste. I have found very affordable prices with open and closing times nearly non-existent, because often in Portugal the receptive buildings have all-day opening, really not bad for the tourists.

Something which you can notice immediately in every village, big or small one, of Portugal are the ?azulejos?, hand-painted ceramic tiles which get the name from the colour of the pigment used, that is the azure-blue, you can find them almost everywhere and they give an Arabic atmosphere to the walls.

Another fascinating aspect of the Portuguese culture is the cooking, strictly connected to the products of the ground and it is also a mixture of influences carried by the sea and the ocean which makes you feel familiar to it and stranger at the same time. The typical dishes are represented by the ?bacalhau?, that is the codfish cooked everywhere along the streets and into the restaurants and in a lot of ways, especially smoked, by the ?açorda?, that is a soup of little pieces of bread and olive oil, cooked in a very folksy and immediate way and because of it very appreciated by the Portuguese people, by the vegetables sold along the streets such as the ?galegas? and the ?favas?, that are cabbages and broad beans, by the ?leitao? meat, that is the small pig, by the fruits such as the ?melhao?, that is the yellow melon, and by the typical desserts such as the ?pasteis?, that are the pastries, and the canapés with custard, in sum Portugal represents also a triumph for the taste.

Walking across the streets of the small villages and of the big cities, without distinction, you can feel a way of living in harness with the nature?s rhythms, despite the progress have invaded also this corner of Europe, in fact it is typical the slowness of the Portuguese people, I have noticed it by myself, no one who barks in the traffic, no one who runs and has breathlessness along the streets, quiet smiling faces everywhere, I am sure we could learn a lot from those people.

In sum, I think it is worth to travel to Portugal, anywhere in that State, because you can have a unique experience which surely makes a mark in your heart.