The title of this song by composer Ary Barroso (Aquarela do Brasil*) is perfect for this colourful and diverse country. And I’m not just talking about its landscapes, its fauna and flora. Its people and culture are also part of this mix.
*Here is a YouTube link, if you want to see the cartoon made by Walt Disney, in 1942. The story takes place in Rio de Janeiro, when Donald goes to visit Joe (Zé Carioca), his Brazilian cousin. The Luso-Brazilian singer Carmen Miranda will make a special appearance. You will also find “Tico-Tico no Fubá”, another classic of Brazilian music, covered by Alys Robi under the title Tico-Tico in Quebec.
In 1969, in the song País Tropical, the singer and composer Jorge Ben Jor wrote: “I live in a tropical country blessed by God and beautiful by nature”. He is right!
Besides having the greatest biodiversity in the world, Brazil is also a great cultural mix. The population of this immense country can have several origins: Indigenous, African, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, French, Dutch, Lebanese, Syrian, Japanese, etc.
Did you know that the Japanese (about 2,000,000 people), Italian (about 30,000,000) and Lebanese (about 6,000,000) diasporas in Brazil are among the largest in the world?
And immigration did not only happen in the past in this country, as it has never stopped welcoming people of many origins. Among the most recent are immigrants from Cuba, China, Haiti, Venezuela, Paraguay, Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, South Korea, Congo…
When you think of Brazil, the first thing that comes to mind is Rio de Janeiro, which is undoubtedly the country’s best known city and the gateway to tourism. Another example is the megalopolis São Paulo, the country’s economic capital and one of the largest cities in the world.
Since there are already articles about these cities, I would like to introduce you to other destinations I visited during my last trip to my home country.
The Federative Republic of Brazil has 27 units (26 states and the Federal District), divided into 5 regions:
These regions were classified according to the socio-cultural and geographical similarities of their states.
During this trip, we passed through cities located in 4 regions:
Leaving Quebec City in winter is always stressful because of the weather, which can sometimes lead to flight cancellations. Fortunately, we did not have any problem.
Contrary to Air Canada’s bad reputation regarding official languages, for French of course, the crew members spoke six languages on the flight from Toronto to São Paulo, including French and Portuguese.
After the direct flight of about ten hours from Toronto (YYZ) to São Paulo (the airport is located in the city of Guarulhos) (GRU), we took a flight to Recife (REC), in the North-East of the country.
Since we had a few hours wait at the airport in São Paulo, I asked someone from the family to come and meet us. This allowed us to spend time with my family, set up a local SIM card, eat and drop off our four 32kg suitcases in his car, so we could leave with only a backpack.
A few weeks later we met in Belo Horizonte, my home town, as this person was going there for the holidays.
Foundation of Recife: in 1537 Population of the city: about 1,700,000 (9th largest in the country) Population of the agglomeration: about 4,000,000 (6th largest in the country)
After a 3-hour flight, we arrived in Recife, the capital of the state of Pernambuco and one of the largest cities in the North-East region.
Recife is the oldest state capital in Brazil. The beaches are very famous and attract many tourists every year. Its Carnival is very popular, as are those of Olinda, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador.
We stayed at the Internacional Palace Hotel, which is located in front of Boa Viagem (“beach of the good trip”), in the district of the same name.
Unfortunately, this beach has already had cases of shark attacks. You should therefore be careful and only swim when the tide is low, as the coral reef offers protection.
At the beach, there are food and drink stands, as well as chairs and umbrellas for rent, or free of charge, if we buy food and drink. Our favourite place on the beach was Joseph’s kiosk, a Frenchman who worked on the beach with his Brazilian wife and daughter with whom we took our chairs every day.
The Boa Viagem area is the best and most affluent in the city, with good dining and accommodation options. The typical cuisine of the North-East region is very rich, so it’s a good opportunity to try new stuff. Many restaurants offer free shuttles, so we don’t have to walk around in the evening, as this is not recommended.
The historical center of Recife is very beautiful, although poorly maintained. Renovations would do it a lot of good. For those who love colonial architecture, this is a great visit. You can discover the historic center by yourself. We went there one day by taxi and another day on a guided tour. Keep an eye on your belongings, especially cell phones and wallets.
We took a lovely catamaran tour where we passed under bridges in Recife (which is called the Brazilian Venice), while the guide explained the history of the area.
We left Recife to spend a few days in the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha. On our return, we stayed at the Jangadeiro hotel, located in front of the sea, still at Boa Viagem beach.
This time, we visited two interesting museums:
Olinda is located a few kilometers from Recife, a bit like Quebec City-Lévis. You can go there by taxi, Uber or guided tour. Some people prefer to stay there, instead of staying in Recife. Olinda is a beautiful city of colonial architecture, located by the sea. Walking through its cobbled streets is like taking a trip back in time.
Founded in 1535, Olinda is the oldest of the Brazilian cities declared part of humanity’s historical and cultural heritage by UNESCO.
Despite the need for maintenance of its historic houses and the loss of several 16th century buildings with the Dutch attack, Olinda still has dozens of baroque churches and convents of great historical value. Olinda was the capital of Pernambuco, but after the Dutch attack and the recovery by the Portuguese, the title of capital was given to Recife.
The Olinda Carnival is very popular, as is the one in Recife.
*As I don’t like big cities, I prefer to visit them when there are no big events.
Porto de Galinhas means “port of chickens”. This beach, located in the municipality of Ipojuca, has been voted the best in Brazil more than 10 times by tourism magazines.
Initially, the beach was called Porto Rico because of its abundance of pau-brasil (the wood that gave the country its name). At the height of slavery, it was the main trading point for illegal slaves in northeastern Brazil, who often arrived hidden under crates of guinea fowl called Angola hens. The arrival of illegal slaves in the port was announced by the phrase “There are new chickens in the port!”. Thus, the beach of Porto Rico became known as Porto de Galinhas.
Today, the area attracts millions of tourists annually to visit the beautiful beaches and natural pools formed by the coral reef.
Upon arrival, we booked our dinner, before leaving for a jangada (raft) ride to see the natural pools and swim with the fish, and a buggy tour to visit other beautiful beaches in the area, such as Maracaípe, Muro Alto and Cupe. After the visits, we ate at the restaurant and visited the village shops.
This region deserves more than one day. Next time, I will stay at least a week, to practice la dolce vita, idleness (you can choose the name you want)!
After an hour flight, we arrived at the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha (commonly called Noronha), which is THE dream destination in Brazil.
This archipelago of about 3,000 inhabitants has a natural park status, and is on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
The number of visitors is limited and there is a “preservation fee” charged on arrival, as well as a fee calculated by the number of days. There are also centres for the protection of fauna and flora.
Several beaches are public. However, the most beautiful ones are part of the national park, for which you have to buy an access card that you have to show at the gatehouse to get in. On these paying beaches, we can also find snack bars and souvenir shops and snorkeling equipment rental.
The island is small, but we can’t do everything on foot. Options are taxi, bus and buggy/scooter/bike rental.
Since everything is “imported” from the continent, the cost of living is more expensive in Noronha. For accommodation and catering, we can say that it costs 2 to 3 times more, compared to the continent. Our pousada, very simple, was more expensive than our 4-star hotels in Recife. But as this place deserves to be visited at least once in a lifetime, we disregarded the prices.
The Sancho beach has been voted several times as the most beautiful in the world by TripAdvisor. This beach is located at the bottom of a cliff and people with reduced mobility cannot access it, as to get there they have to climb down ladders and stairs installed on the rocks. However, for those who stay above, trails to the lookouts are accessible. The alternative to the ladders/staircases would be a boat trip, to see the beach from a distance.
After the lookout forS ancho beach, there is a lookout to see the two rocks in the sea (known as the Two Brothers), which are the symbol of the archipelago. This lookout, designed to view them from the top of the cliff, is often very busy.
Leão Beach (Lion Beach) has been part of the national park network for two years. This is an area where turtles lay their eggs. It is possible to see them, but visits are controlled.
Sueste beach is also part of the national park network. It is a large beach where we could see many animals including rays, turtles, sharks and baby sharks as well as fishing birds. At 4pm everyone has to get out of the water because it is dinner time for the sharks and turtles, and human presence can disturb them.
The beaches of Cachorro (Dog Beach) and Conceição are linked by a path.
Other beaches, such as Boldró, Americano, Bode, Cacimba do Padre, Atalaia, are also worth visiting and can be reached by different paths. Some of these trails can only be accessed if a booking was made in advance, sometimes several days beforehand.
At the public beach of the port of Santo Antônio, people can bathe for free and that where the boat excursions leave from.
We went on an excursion to admire the most famous places on the island: the rocks of the Two Brothers, the mount of the Peak, several beaches, a pierced rock and many others. We stopped for a swim, where we saw the Sancho beach and the Two Brothers from a distance. For several minutes, our boat was followed by dolphins that seemed to have fun following us.
Attention
It is possible to admire the animals but it is strictly forbidden to bathe with them or to touch them. For example:
Also, regular sunscreen is not allowed unless you have an eco-friendly option.
Please respect the animals!
Foundation of Manaus: in 1669 Population of the city: about 2,200,000 (7th largest in the country) Population of the agglomeration: about 2,700,000 (11th largest in the country)
After a 4-hour flight, we arrived in Manaus, the capital of the state of Amazonas and the largest city in the northern region.
This city, founded by the Portuguese in 1669 at the confluence of the Negro and Solimões rivers, is at the centre of the largest tropical forest in the world. It was known in the early 20th century as the Paris of the tropics, due to the luxury of European architecture during the rubber cycle, attracting foreign investment and immigrants from all over the world.
Manaus is the third largest industrial centre in Brazil (after São Paulo and Rio) and the headquarters of several research, scientific and environmental organisations.
We visited the city centre without a guide and, as suggested by many people, with some caution.
We used Uber to get to the Mercure Hotel to enjoy the pool a bit before dinner and the show at the Amazonas Theatre. The next day we took a boat trip to see and do several interesting things:
In the evening we went to the Manauara shopping center to eat at the famous Cachaçaria do Dedé.
This part of the trip was only done to visit some of my family, so I’ll leave it here only for the chronology.
After seeing some of my family in the city of Montes Claros, in the north of the state of Minas Gerais, we flew to my home city, Belo Horizonte, the capital of the state.
Foundation of Belo Horizonte: in 1897 Population of the city: about 2,600,000 (6th largest in the country) Population of the agglomeration: about 5,900,000 (3rd in the country)
As we had already visited this city before, we dedicated these few days to family and friends.
The Inhotim Institute (60 km from Belo Horizonte, in the town of Brumadinho)
The Inhotim Institute has one of the most important collections of contemporary art in Brazil and is considered the largest open-air museum in the world. It occupies an area of about 1000 hectares, of which about 10% is open to the public.
This institute is a beautiful mixture of park, botanical garden and museum. It has a research center, restaurants, shops and a hotel.
The historical colonial cities of Congonhas, Mariana and Ouro Preto (100 km from Belo Horizonte).
I like Ouro Preto so much that I decided to go there again (I don’t remember how many times I went there).
We drove with friends to Ouro Preto, and this time we added to our visit the nearby town of Mariana, where I had never been. Once in Ouro Preto, we took the tourist train that runs the 18 km between the two cities for an hour.
This old railway, built in 1883, has been revitalized by acompany called Vale. The trip on the little train is very interesting. We spent part of the day in Mariana before taking the train back to Ouro Preto for the rest of the day.
The city of Mariana, founded in 1696, is the oldest in the state of Minas Gerais. This was a time when the area attracted many gold miners. The city’s economy is primarily mining, which accounts for 80% of its gross domestic product. It is part of the iron-ore quadrilateral, which accounts for 60% of Brazil’s iron ore production. The region is also rich in precious stones and metals.
With its numerous baroque buildings, it is also a tourist city which is part of the Royal Route (Estrada Real), a tourist route linking places that were important during the gold rush.
Mariana was the first capital of the state, before being replaced by Ouro Preto.
The beautiful city of Ouro Preto (then called Vila Rica) was founded in 1711, following the discovery by pioneers of gold in the rivers of Minas Gerais in the late 17th century. Several gold seekers, followed by merchants, came there to make their fortune. This city quickly became prosperous and very important.
Around 1750, it had more inhabitants than the cities of Rio de Janeiro or New York. Its wealth allowed it to build a multitude of baroque churches, many of which were decorated by the architect-sculptor “Aleijadinho”, nicknamed “the little cripple” because he was disabled. His work is magnificent and deserves to be admired. Ouro Preto is without a doubt the most famous and important colonial city in Brazil.
It was the first historical city in the country to be protected by UNESCO and the second capital of the state, before being replaced by Belo Horizonte. Built on several hills with steep slopes and cobblestone streets, it is highly recommended to have good shoes to make the visit more enjoyable.
We visited fewer places in Ouro Preto since we had already visited it. However, there is much to discover in this picturesque and mysterious historic city.
This city has 18 churches, 12 museums, the municipal theatre, the university, the public library, the train station, the soapstone handicraft market, old mines, several hotels and restaurants as well as many other sites. It is possible to stay a few days in these cities because there are so many things to see. Sometimes certain areas are blocked off and inaccessible for an inside visit.
Despite the tragic past linked to slavery and Portuguese domination, the historical cities of Minas Gerais, especially Ouro Preto, have contributed to literature, science and especially to the movements towards Brazilian independence.
Congonhas is about 80 km from Belo Horizonte. Its main attraction is the Sanctuary of the Good Jesus of Matosinhos, which was created in the eighteenth century by Aleijadinho and is considered one of the greatest Baroque works in the world. The UNESCO-protected shrine includes a church, stairs, a terrace, twelve soapstone sculptures of Old Testament prophets and seven chapels.
We visited it on another trip, but because of its proximity to Ouro Preto and Mariana, it is worth spending at least a few hours there.
Other historical cities worth visiting in the state of Minas Gerais are Tiradentes, São João Del Rey and Diamantina.
Foundation of São Paulo: 1554 Population of the city: about 12,300,000 (1st in the country) Population of the agglomeration: about 21,250,000 (1st in the country)
The airport of Belo Horizonte is located about 45 km from the city centre, in the town of Confins. Once at the airport, it only takes an hour to fly from Belo Horizonte to São Paulo’s Congonhas airport, which is much closer than Guarulhos. We stayed a few days in São Paulo to see the family since we had already visited the city.
For more travel ideas, you can read Caroline’s article.
However, I recommend you to visit:
As São Paulo is a large, densely populated city with a lot of traffic (more than 9,000,000 cars, motorcycles, buses and trucks), travel time can be greatly affected.
Foundation of Curitiba: in 1661 Population of the city: about 1,950,000 (8th largest in the country) Population of the agglomeration: about 3,550,000 (9th largest in the country)
Before returning to Quebec, we decided to spend a few days in another city and our choice was Curitiba, an hour’s flight from São Paulo. It is the capital of the state of Paraná, the Ecological Capital of Brazil and the largest city in the southern region.
The southern region is known for its cold climate and its population of European origin. For example, in Curitiba, there are residents of Ukrainian, Italian, Polish and German origin. The city is known worldwide for its green projects and for the creation of the Bus Rapid Transit system in the 1970s, which has inspired many cities around the world.
To visit the city on foot, we chose a hotel near the city centre. To visit the other attractions, all you had to do was buy a ticket for the Linha Turismo double-decker bus, which passes by all the city’s attractions. It is possible to disembark everywhere on the route and get back on the bus back 5 times (not enough, in my opinion, but hey… When attractions were close, we walked or used Uber services to take the bus back a bit further).
Not all of these places are essential for a visit to the city. However, as we had tickets for two days with the Linha Turismo bus, these are the places we visited, some of them more than once.
If you are lucky, you will see a capybara (capivara) in one of the parks. It is the largest rodent in the world, weighing up to 91 kg and measuring up to 1.2 m in length and 60 cm in height. It looks like a giant guinea pig and is the town’s mascot.
Back in São Paulo, we stayed a few days with our family before returning to Quebec.
We flew back on December 30 to touch down in Canada on December 31, just in time for the New Year.
This is the end of our 4 weeks trip in Brazil. There is so much to see! On every trip, I try to balance family, friends and the places I want to visit. I can’t wait for the next one!
YQB-YYZ: Air Canada YYZ-GRU: Air Canada GRU-REC : Azul REC-FEN: Azul FEN-REC: Azul REC-MAO : Azul MAO-GRU: Gol GRU-CNF : Gol MOC-CNF: Gol; CNF-CGH : LATAM CGH-CWB : LATAM CWB-CGH : LATAM GRU-YYZ: Air Canada YYZ-YQB: Air Canada
All hotels were booked through hotels.com. There were not many chain hotels in the cities we visited.
In Recife, we tried two different hotels(Hotel Internacional Palace and Hotel Jangadeiro, the latter after the trip to Fernando de Noronha) and both facing the sea in the Boa Viagem district.
In Fernando de Noronha, we stayed in a simple pousada(Pousada das Andorinhas).
In Manaus, we tried the Mercure Manaus Hotel, in the Adrianópolis district.
In Belo Horizonte, Montes Claros and São Paulo, we stayed with family.
In Curitiba, we stayed in a hotel near the city center(Hotel Slaviero Slim Curitiba Alto da XV).
We mostly used Uber. This time, I was not afraid to take taxis, but I had bad experiences in my country of origin and in my language…
The taxi was used twice:
Whatever your choice, taxi services or apps (Cabify and Uber) are cheap.
It is relatively affordable to eat out in most cities in Brazil. In Fernando de Noronha the prices are higher, although it is still possible to find affordable options.
The portions are often huge. Ask the waiter (use a translation app, as most people don’t speak other languages there) if one dish is enough for two people. In Olinda, we ordered two different dishes and I had to ask to take half of my plate with me to give to a homeless man on the street and make him very happy.
Do not drink tap water and consume only industrial ice cubes.
In bars and restaurants, it is customary to ask for a 600 ml bottle of beer (very cold) to share, but there are also beers on tap (this is called chopp).
If you are several people, be careful. Often they do one bill for the whole table (I hate that) and sometimes it’s hard to tell who ordered what. It is best to ask before ordering to have separate invoices.
The tip is included in the bill, but this does not prevent you from giving a little more, if you want.
At the beach, there will be several vendors, but at least they are not pushy like in the Dominican Republic. Hahaha
At the beach, you can try Coalho cheese (cheese on a stick, like a popsicle), coconut water and corn sold by independent vendors.
Drinks and small portions are normally bought at the kiosk we choose to have the free chairs and umbrella.
Try the following specialties:
Here are the credit cards we used during our trip to Brazil. The last one was to pay Uber.
Thanks to milesopedia and the group members for the opportunity to share my experiences, tips and even blunders. I am learning a lot from you and I am happy to add my contribution.
Savings are here:
