From festivals in Fortaleza to turtles in Suriname
Thanks to Jon Coates who sent us this article after his recent holiday to Brazil.
High waves or calm water?
Beach resorts along the coast of Brazil are quite different in nature, so when it comes to choosing the right one it’s important to make an informed choice as to avoid errors.
Distances are large in Brazil. From Fortaleza in the North is over 500 KM to Natal in Brazil’s Northeastern tip, which is the country’s most talked about charter destination which has been popular with Northern Europeans for some time now and has had some UK flights from time to time.
Ponta Negra
At the beach of Ponta Negra in Natal tourism is clearly labelled. Souvenir shops have been hastily erected and are fighting for attention. Here the wind blows almost every day and the waves hit the beach. At Morro do Careca dunes the water is calmer making it popular for families with children and on weekends it is full of Brazilian bathers. Often you’ll find friends and family gathered on the beach for swimming, drinking beer and grilling from early morning until the sun goes down.
When darkness falls people wake up to life. Simple beach bars selling beer and cocktails, some boys playing football on the beach. Every street corner is filled with Brazilian music from the CD vendors that boasts great speakers and cheap pirated discs. One can see that the city begins to become accustomed to tourists. Not least on price.
Pipa
Then consider Pipa, a few hours’ bus ride further south on the coast, more exciting. The actual place is aggregated along a long cobbled street with exclusive boutiques, cosy restaurants and simple hotels. Pipa is a colourful picture perfect little town.
If you want to see dolphins, you can walk to Praia do Madeiro, dolphin beach, says the woman at the tourist office.
It takes 45 minutes before I reach there the next morning. I do not see any dolphins but that’s life. The sunshine yellow sand beach is uniquely beautiful.
Isango has a wide range of prebookable tours available on “The Golden Coast”
Porto de Galinhas
The journey from Pipa to Porto de Galinhas is an adventure. First, it is an hour by minibus to the main road. A simple sign with blue paint declares the bus stop. But when I try to get on the driver gesticulates that you can not. The bus is full. Next bus is coming two hours later.
But then the driver smiles and spreads a towel on the steps along the front of the bus. I jump on board.
Three and a half hours later we roll into the city of millions, Recife. From here it’s only metro to the centre, then bus to the airport and then another bus. I sleep a little for the last hour bus ride down the coast.
Porto de Galinhas is a quaint fishing village that has managed to retain its charm, despite hordes of tourists from both South America and Europe. “Galinhas” means chicken and was formerly a code word for slaves. Porto de Galinhas was in other words, “slave port”.
Today, local budding entrepreneurs have focused on the word and each shop is full of ugly little chicken souvenirs. I follow the chicken-tracks on the pedestrian area down toward the water.
For flights to Brazil try Opodo. The airport code for Natal is NAT. The airport code for Recife, Brazil is REC