FUN! WHAT TO DO, WHERE TO GO IN BRAZIL

Here is a list of interesting places to go when visiting Brazil. Actually these recommendations are divided into two parts: The FUN page (this one!) lists the usual places where most turists go. For those lucky people with more time and money (or in the lack of money, more spirit of adventure) there is a second page here called ADVENTURE, where you will find a list of those places off the beaten paths. Well, as far as the normal easy-to-get-to places are concerned, here are the usual suspects:

The tourist industry is one of the biggest in the service sector, unfortunately Brazil lags far behind in this area. In 1997 there were an an estimated 600 million international tourist trips, of which only 3 million went to Brazil, or less than half of one percent. This is nothing coompared to many other countries, most of which have much less to offer than 5 thousand miles of beach, a nice tropical climate, the greatest rain forest on Planet Earth and a wonderful friendly people. Brazil has to learn to promote itself and invest in infrastructure.

Anyway, back to the the subject of places to visit:

Rio de Janeiro

I have never seen any statistics, but Rio must account for well over half of all tourist trips to Brazil. This is perhaps the most beautiful large city in the world. It has it all: Climate, green forests, sharp brown mountains thrusting up in the sky, white beaches, blue skies and green waters.

Rio has plenty of good hotels and many of them are reasonable. Food and shows are great, but the main attraction are the beaches, specially the young women on them. Everything the song says about the "Girl from Ipanema" is true, but don't forget the girls from Copacabana, Leblom, Sao Conrado, Barra, Recreio, and my favorite beach, Grumari.

To see Rio is easy. Nature has provided two great platforms: Sugerloaf and Corcovado. Both are wonderful sites where your eyes can feast on the beauty that is Rio. If you have a chance, climb the lower hill of Sugarloaf. It is a great walk up and takes less than an hour from Leme Beach (at the northern end of Copacabana). Once in a great while (one hour every few years) you can see an old sailing ship under full sail coming in or out of the bay. That is a something few people see, but it is so wonderful. When you go up to Corcovado, take the little cable train from Larangeiras. It is a nice trip. Make sure it is a clear day, because sometimes low clouds will obscure the view of the city and beaches.

We lived in Rio for 10 years, so there are many places that I could recommend, but many would be hard to get to. If downtown, visit the Confeitaria Colombo, a nice old style restaurant that hasn't changed in 100 years. Check out the mirrors. Not far away from there is the Rua do Ouvidor, where Carmen Miranda sold hats before her talent took her to Casino da Urca, New York, and Hollywood. Another place I liked, just down the street, is the Gabinete Portugues de Leitura, an old traditional reading room. I wonder if it is still there?

If looking for food, there are lots of good options, but most cater to the business crowd. The oldest part of town is down near Praca 15. Check out the museums and the fish market. Stay away from Praca Maua and Praca Tiradentes. These are not places for the tourist. Another fun thing is to go see a samba school rehersal in the suburbs. This usually is done in group excursions and is quite safe. Sometimes they will throw in a visit to a Macumba ceremony (voodoo black magic), but I personally have zero interest in that stuff.

A fun trip is to take the ferry to the island of Paqueta', in the bay. This is a small island where cars are not allowed. It used to be quite abandoned, but I have heard that it has been cleaned up and is a nice place to visit. Other great day trips is to the Royal city of Petropolis, up in the mountains above Rio. This is where the Royal family went to escape the hot, humid summer temperatures (before air conditioning). It is a really nice small city.