Traveling Rockhopper

What’s more “Brazilian”: football or samba?
Well, the answer is a bit tricky, because bot hof them are definitely symbols of Brazil; however, bot of them not originate from Brazil.

What’s the most popular sport in Brazil?
-Of course, it’s football.
I should probably just write “there is no Brazil without football”. 😉
However, football came to Brazil only at the end of 19th century.

Another very well known beach in Rio de Janeiro (and in Brazil) is Ipanema Beach, located in the Ipanema district.

Which one, Copacabana or Ipanema, is better?
-Well, hard to say; I didn’t spend much time on any of them, however, Copacabana looked like “always crowded”, so Ipanema would be my choice.

Copacabana beach is located in Copacabana district of Rio de Janeiro.
I guess, Copacabana is the most famous beach in the world!
One can easily recognize the area by its characteristic promenade (partly seen in today’s picture). Isn’t it a nice pattern?

Some people claim, that the most beautiful beaches in the world are located in Brazil.
I’m not sure, is it true, but there are some very famous Brazilian beaches (not only the ones I’ll show you tomorrow and the day after).

The flag of Brazil (A Auriverde) is one of the better known flags. And there are in Brazil many souvenirs just with the image of the flag. Well, I think the flag is very nice; I’m saying it also as an astronomer. 😉

I have to admit, before visiting Rio, I didn’t really expect to see any historical buildings there. But you can find an old town in Rio de Janeiro.

Sugarloaf is a mountain in Rio de Janeiro, of about half of the height (396 meters) of Corcovado Mountain.
I think, Sugarloaf and Corcovado mountains are must-visit places in Rio; both provide scenic views.

One can take a cable car to reach the summit of Sugarloaf.

Sugarloaf is also popular among the rock climbers.

Corcovado is a name of the mountain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
It’s 700 meters high and mostly famous for the statue of Jesus Christ (Christ the Redeemer).

The statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro (Christ the Redeemer statue) is one of the big (literally big) attractions of Rio. Moreover, the statue is kind of symbol of Rio de Janeiro and even of Brazil!

The statue is 30 metres tall (plus 8 meter pedestal).
It’s located on the Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park.

Is it worth to go there?
-Absolutely! The trip to the top is very nice and the view is beautiful.

Rio de Janeiro (or just Rio) is a capital of Rio de Janeiro state; but it’s not a capital of Brazil.

Rio is very popular among the tourists and I guess, people visit Rio all year round.
Within the next days, I’ll show you some of the “must-see” places in Rio de Janeiro.

If you don’t have so much time in Brazil, go to Rio de Janeiro. You’ll find there (and its vicinity) a bit of almost everything what typical for Brazil, i.e., World Heritage Sites, nature, beaches, jungle, birds, forest, waterfalls, samba, carnival, football and fresh food (with Açaí dessert). 🙂

It may be not the best place in Brazil; someone may even say it’s the worst one. From my point of view, Rio de Janeiro is so diverse and interesting, that’s why I’m saying it’s “the best of Brazil”.

For sure, there are more beautiful places in Brazil, but Rio has many advantages, you can reach it quite easily, plus in Rio and its close vicinity there is lots to do and lots to see.

What’s the name of the waterfalls, Iguaçu or Iguazú?
Well, both names are correct, the first one is rather use in Brazil, the second one in Argentina. However, in English, I guess, people just say Iguazu Falls.

Iguaçu is one of the amazing (and famous) waterfalls.
Iguaçu is located on the border between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.

I’ve already showed you one picture of this powerful waterfall when I was talking about Argentina.

Amazon River (The Amazon) is one of the largest and longest river the world (depending on definition).

Amazon rainforest (Amazonia, the Amazon Jungle) is the main and most biodiverse rainforest on our planet. It partly belongs to Brazil, Peru, Colombia, as well to Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.

When I hear that someone is going to Brazil, I say “try Açaí!!!”.
Açaí are small, black/purple berries from the Açaí palm (Tuipan, Euterpe oleracea). It’s kind of “jungle fruit” that gives lots of nutrition to local people.

While being in Brazil, you have to try Açaí juice or “frozen pulp”, doesn’t matter how it supposed to be called; it also doesn’t matter that it may not look very tempting (today’s picture); what matters – that it’s so delicious! 😀 I was drinking it everyday (or at least twice a day) when I was in Brazil. And when I think about Brazil, I miss Açaí immediately…

There is one bad thing about Açaí. People realised that’s so healthy and called it as one of the “superfood”, so these days you can buy different dietary supplements with Açaí.
But don’t buy them!
Açaí is healthy, but many of its “amazing characteristic” are not really based on scientific research. It’s usually better to buy some of the local (fresh or frozen) berries, e.g., blueberries, raspberries, strawberries. Moreover, because of some craziness about Açaí, more and more Açaí is exported from Brazil, what means that precious food is “stolen” from local people.
So, please, enjoy Açaí, but only in Brazil!

There are actually many reasons to visit Brazil, depending what we like most, i.e., nature (beaches, birds, forest, jungle, waterfalls), Rio de Janeiro, football, carnival.
I have one more reason, the sweet one, and will tell you more about it tomorrow. 🙂

Brasília is the capital of Brazil.
The idea behind is that the capital supposed to be located more or less in the middle of the country, so there was a decision to build a new capital-city; it lasted 41 months(!) and in 1960 Brasília was officially inaugurated.

If architecture is your passion, Brasília is probably a place you want to visit. 🙂