Our trip to Brazil - January 2003
I made this site with a compilation of information and links to help my friends to get an overview of what to expect of a trip to Brazil. If there are any more questions you would like to see answered, please contact me.
Brazil
Area:
8,511,965 sq km - 5th largest country in the world
Population: 170,000,000
Capital: Brasilia
Ethnic
divisions: Portuguese, Italian, German, Japanese, Amerindian, black
6%, white 55%, mixed 38%, other 1%
Religions: Roman Catholic (nominal) 70%
Language: Portuguese
Labor force: 57 million (1989 est.)
by occupation services 42%, agriculture 31%, industry 27%
General Outlook of the People
Brazilians
are friendly, warm, and happy people. Above all they are free-spirited
and resent being told what to do. Brazilians are gregarious, outgoing,
and love to be around people. The hot climate allows them to spend a
great deal of time outdoors, often just chatting with friends or watching
people. Women should be aware that it is common (more than common,
expected!) for Brazilian men to stare at them or make comments as
they walk by; women should not respond in any way to such actions. Brazilians
can be very opinionated, and the vigor with which they argue for their
convictions often leads foreigners to believe that they are angry. Visitors
should not be offended by such behavior. Brazilians tend to view time
more as a sequence of events rather than hours, minutes, and seconds.
For this reason they may appear to have an extremely casual attitude
about time.
Southeast (São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro portions of our trip)
The Southeast is home to nearly half of the Brazilian population which is mainly housed in the cities of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte.
As a major city, Rio de Janeiro has all any visitor could expect and more. Excellent restaurants, sophisticated nightclubs, charming bars, musical extravaganzas, theatres, cinemas, museums, art galleries, fashionable stores and shopping centres, and world-class sport.
As a tropical resort, Rio de Janeiro offers a wide expanse of golden beaches, near perfect weather the year round, hotels to appeal to every taste and budget, folklore, typical foods and music, sightseeing, and the feeling that the visitor has really been abroad and to somewhere very special. None of this takes into account the overall beauty of Rio de Janeiro that has made the city famous and revered throughout the world.
São
Paulo is the business capital of Brazil, the train that pulls the rest
of the Brazilian economy. Latin America’s largest industrial and
commercial centre, São Paulo covers an area five times greater
than Paris, and is a city which offers international cuisine and a night-life
of the variety and quality of New York and Paris, but at a fraction
of the price.
Northeast (Porto Seguro portion of the trip)
Brazil’s Northeast has everything to make it one of the most sought after vacation centres in the world, especially among travellers looking for perfect weather and even more perfect beaches. This is probably why for the residents of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, the Northeast is their number one vacation destination.
From São Luís, in the North, to the Bahia Basin, in the South, the Northeast has over 3,200 kilometres (2,000 miles) of virtually uninterrupted soft white beaches, while for the historically minded there is Salvador, the former Capital of Brazil with its 154 churches, most of which are treasured architectural masterpieces. Along the coast sit the towns of São Luís, Fortaleza, Natal, João Pessoa, Recife, Maceió, Salvador, and Porto Seguro. All of which have their own charm and a diverse selection of attractions which range from camel rides over the dunes to state of the art water parks.
The Northeast is Brazil’s most folkloric region. Part of that folklore is the cuisine that has elevated the cooking of Brazil alongside that of France, Italy, China and Japan.
For more general information about Brazil, click here.