Untamed Travelling organised a study trip for a select group of travel advisors along brazil’s most beautiful:
“Shaking buttocks, overripe fruit, the most beautiful beaches in the world and other tropical surprises…”
Rio
‘Favela, samba school & hip Santa Teresa’
You must have been in Rio if you want to believe it: this city with its mundane beaches is spectacular in a natural setting.
We stay at the world famous Copacabana beach. You look out for the many bathers, cariocas (as the people of Rio are called), tourists and the many vendors. Most hotels are located on this beach, including the very well-known Copacabana Palace Hotel. This hotel is currently owned by the luxurious Orient Express chain which includes Hotel Das Cataratas in Iguassu. However, in recent decades, the chic and mundane heart of Rio has moved more towards Ipanema and Leblon, which includes the great Fasano Hotel (design Philippe Starck) and top restaurants such as Zuka Designer Food.
An insider’s tour in the Santa Martha favela surprised everyone in a positive way: beautiful views but also a warm welcome. It contributed to a better understanding of Brazilian society. The inhabitants are very open and free, a very nice exchange took place. An unforgettable experience and good to see that the so much lower class cariocas now live happier than a few years ago when the favelas were still territory of the drug dealers.
The next morning we stand in the pouring rain at a local market; We were taken by a fruit expert. At each stall we can taste a multitude of tropical fruits; new flavours come along such as custard apple, cashewfruit and cocoa. And I haven’t eaten such a delicious strawberry anywhere in my life, a culinary experience!
In the afternoon it’s time for the old town of Rio: the (new) cathedral of architect Reidy makes a terribly ugly impression from the outside but has beautiful light inside. The charming district of Santa Teresa is popular with everyone; it is pleasantly busy and exudes a nostalgic artist atmosphere. Views, lunch and pool are sublime at Hotel Santa Teresa, a real must if you don’t want to sit on the beach.
Via the colourful steps of Selaron we return to the lower parts of the city and then get up for the samba in Rio.
Tonight we go to a rehearsal of the samba school Salgueiro; throughout the year,
rehearsed, danced, tumbled and sung in preparation for the great Carnival. Salgueiro is one of the better known ‘schools’ and has often won prizes. The ‘schools’ are clubs with musicians, designers and dancers; a serious matter!
Upon entering, the noise and the popular crowd are shocking and we would like to turn around. Slowly we see what is happening: the beautiful dancers with spectacular behinds do their best to be ‘chosen’. Organizers are introduced and encouraged and when the drums start the hall (read sports hall) is loose and you feel what a popular entertainment this is. Great!
Ilha Grande
After bustling Rio, it’s time for some peace, greenery, sea and beach. We set off for the paradisiacal Ilha Grande on the Costa Verde. This is west of Rio, a bus ride of a few hours and then a crossing with a cleaner. Sounds idyllic, however the storm makes it an adventurous journey. We end up zigzagging and shaken in the cozy village of Abrao, the only place of some significance on the jungle-clad island.
It’s so beautiful here! Beautiful bays everywhere and a very green hinterland with a perfect network of hiking trails. A place to stay! We can enjoy a day and take a trip to what is called one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, the virgin Lopes Mendes (accessible only by boat and on foot).
Ilha Grande used to be a prison but today it is a protected nature reserve. Fortunately, there are (still) no major resorts on the island, only charming small-scale pousadas. That’s really part of the atmosphere.
Buzios
Back to the mainland and on to another hot spot of the cariocas, Buzios, the peninsula east of Rio with no less than 27 beaches. The ‘Saint Tropez’ of Latin America a few hours from Rio with what is said to be a good nightlife.
Ouro Preto
Today a long day of travel through the interior to the state of Minas Gerais, fortunately with a very good (originally Italian) guide on board who can tell us everything we had always wanted to know about Brazil.
Minas Gerais made his fortune with gold and diamonds and built in beautiful Baroque style cities such as Ouro Preto (‘black gold’). This town was the center of the 17th century gold rush; the black color of the gold was caused by the iron oxide in the soil. In 1750, this place was bigger than New York. The unesco world heritage site has no less than 13 churches and many museums; The Florence of Brazil… Until the end of the 1980s, the nearby gold mine was still in use. You can visit the mine by train.
After all this art, it’s time to say goodbye to Brazil. We fly back from Belo Horizonte, a huge city with little tourist value but with the special Sao Francisco chapel of Oscar Niemeyer.
Photography: Jo Fransen
