Brazil 2007
Sao Paulo, the economical capital of Brazil was our first but unplanned stop. A mistake in the booking gave us a day to look at the city. It is very big, poor people sleep in cardboard boxes on the streets and there are a few nice places. One day was enough.
The Iguazu falls are probably the most beautiful waterfalls in the world. They are on the border between Argentina and Brazil. Most of the falls themselves are in Argentina, but the best overviews can be seen from Brazil
Salvador de Bahia is the old capital of Brazil. It is a very African influenced city. The old city has an upper and a lower part. The lower city has the harbors and the poor man’s residential areas. The upper city has the churches, nice squares and the government buildings
Olinda is an other town with many old buildings. It is very close to Recife. It’s streets are full of colorful houses and there is always music day and night
Fernando de Noronha is a small island about 300 km off the coast of Natal. It is completely unspoiled, without hotels and a limited number of tourists per day. It is a sanctuary for dolphins and sea turtles. On one side of the island fierce waves hit the island. On the other side there are peaceful beaches.
The Amazon is spectacular. You do not see a lot of wildlife because the forest is so dense. We were there after the rainy season and there was about 9 meters of water, which drops 10 cm per day. We did see river dolphins and some semi domesticated “wild” animals.
Manaus is city the flourished with the rubber boom from 1890 - 1920. In that time a beautiful Opera house was made. Today it is the trademark building of the city. Now it is the gateway to the Amazon.
The Pantanal is the bird watchers paradise. It is the largest wetlands in the world. After the rainy period it is a marsh with 20-30 cm of water. In the dry period it is a savanna. The large blue Hyacint Ara is one of the most spectacular birds, but there are hundreds of other species around. Apart from tourist a major part of the income is generated by herds of cattle with cowboys,
Brasilia is a new capitol, exactly in the center of the country. It was built in the 1960’s en has wide avenues and lots of modern architecture. Both the parliament building (on the left) and the cathedral were designed by Oscar Niemeyer.
Rio de Janeiro is the most famous city in Brazil. The statue of Christ the Redeemer is one of the new world wonders. Apart from this statue, Rio is famous for Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, Carnival and lots of nice areas.

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