“From this Central Plateau, from this lonely place that will soon become the brain of the highest national decisions, I set my sights once more upon my Country’s tomorrow and foresee this dawn with unbreakable faith and a limitless trust in its grand destiny.”
- Juscelino Kubtschek, Brasília, October 2nd – 1956

Brasilia was founded in 1960 amidst criticism from several sectors of Brazilian society. Against all odds, president Juscelino Kubitschek realized the dream of bringing Brazil’s capital into the heart of Brazil, in a deserted area called Planalto Central(“Central Plateau”).

Below: Brazilian Congress, Early Morning

Brazil’s first Constitution(1891) established the aproximate area for the construction of the new capital, but it wasn’t until 65 years later, in 1956, that President Kubitschek would make it his administration’s most ambitious project to build the new Capital and move the entire Brazilian political structure away from the beaches of Rio de Janeiro and onto Brazil’s desert-like heartland. A political and economic plan dubbed “50 years in 5″ for the development of Brazil.

Below: Monumento JK – Juscelino Kubitschek's final resting place in Brasilia

French-born architect Lucio Costa and Rio de Janeiro native Oscar Niemeyer were the architectural masterminds behind Brasilia’s Airplane shaped plan.

Brazil’s new capital would become a treasure chest of symbolism and innovative urban construction. An airplane with the Country’s command at the cockpit and the population living on its wings, giving lift to the airplane and to the nation with it. The Airplane region of the city would be dubbed “Plano Piloto”(“Pilot Plan”). Several surrounding neighbourhoods and cities were build to support the Capital’s construction.

The cockpit hosts the “Praça dos Três Poderes”(“Three Power Square”), where the main palaces of the 3 branches of government face each other in the Republic’s Pantheon. The cockpit faces East, symbolizing the direction towards the rising sun.

Below: The President’s official residence, the Palacio da Alvorada. Picture taken across Lake Paranoá, from North Peninsula.

Each wing is a residential zone, with 64 residential divisions each. Brasilia’s Plano Piloto measures only 16 Kilometers from wing to wing, with a central area of roughly 1.5 Kilometers, where the city’s main local Bus station is located. Towards the western side of the Airplane’s body, you will find the engines : the industrial zone, main TV Antenna(a landmark on the Capital), President JK’s final resting place and Brasilia’s regional Bus and Train Station, the Rodoferroviaria.

Below: Surrounding the Airplane is the Paranoá Lake, an artificial body of water that brought new life to Brasilia. The City’s most luxurious homes are built near the shores of Paranoá Lake. Below, a wide angle view of Brasilia(on the background), taken from the JK Bridge early in the morning.

Brasilia’s project included “superquadras”, self-contained neighbourhoods that would include schools, sports infrastructure, pharmacies, groceries and everything to allow the citizen to fulfill every daily need within a walking distance of their homes. Each wing hosts 64 superquadras, numbered 100, 200, 300 and 400 from West to East, and from 2 to 16 from the center toward the wing tips. Due to free market demands this project was never realized. Quadras tended to concentrate a certain type of commerce, depending on market demand. Thus, certain superquadras’ commercial zones are known for being the “Computer Quadra” on 208 North, or the “Pharmacy Quadra” on 102 South, for example.

Below: A photo of Brasilia’s central zone, facing East, you can see Congress far in the background. This central zone, the South Commercial Sector, is part of the Airplane body, in between the wings. Here, and on its North counterpart, is where you’ll find most banks, hotels and shopping malls in town.

Fun Fact
The Portuguese alphabet does not include the letter K. Despite that, every superquadra in Brasilia includes a building K, so that letters J and K, Juscelino Kubitschek’s initials, mark the 10th and 11th adjacent buildings, respectively.

Brasilia does not allow traditional car crossings. Every crossing was designed as a two-story four-leaf clover, so that cars never cross each other. Modern adaptations on several surrounding neighbourhoods have broken this rule, but this street design still prevails in the originally planned areas.

Despite political controversies, typical of most world political Capitals, Brasilia reaches 50 years of age at its best shape. Several celebrations are planned for the Capital’s birthday, on April 21st. Sports events, musical attractions(Madonna is rumoured to be the main attraction this year) and several festivities are on the agenda. If you happen to be in Brazil around this date, don’t miss the chance to get to know more about this exotic little village in the heart of South America.

On Sunday, April 26, Alexandre Manzan conquered another important victory on the 2009 XTerra Brazil championship. Staged in the beautiful scenario of Teresópolis, in the Rio de Janeiro State, the event had João Carlos exit the water first with Manzan closely trailing him. Manzan took the lead during the bicycle leg and completed the event in first place with his well known running performance.

On a clear day with perfect weather, the event was very positive and there was great celebration among athletes after the event. Some of the organizers are considering a second event still this year, again in Teresópolis, to expand on the success of this first race, although specifics and probable dates were not provided.

We congratulate Alexandre Manzan on his victory and look forward to hist next races in the 2009 XTerra Brazil calendar.

Photos courtesy of BikeBros.com.br. Visit the BikeBros.com.br web site for full coverage and many more photos during and after the event.

Yes, in fact we do! Our international hotel database is called AllWebHotels.com

Please visit AllWebHotels.com for a complete listing of hotels in 195 countries. We try, as much as possible, to list email addresses, telephones and complete contact and location data about all our hotels.

So you’ve finally reached the point where you can plan for your well deserved vacations. You’re looking at the finances of foreign exchange, comparing prices, finding the perfect dates, but you still haven’t made up your mind about one small detail: where will you be going?!

Well, we have a suggestion for you. Not surprisingly, we think you should be heading right over to Brazil, of course!

Northeast Brazil

North American and European travelers will find the exchange rate extremely attractive. At approximately 2.20 Brazilian Reais for the US Dollar and at just over R$ 3.00 for the Euro**, you will find Inns and small hotels all over the paradise beaches of Bahia, for example, for prices around U$ 50,00 per night, including breakfast. Popular destinations include Morro de São Paulo, Itacaré and Trancoso. We assure you, you will fall in love with the region. French President Nicolas Sarkozy surely liked the region, spending the new year’s vacation at the luxurious Txai Resort in Itacaré, Bahia. Prices there range from U$ 1500,00 per night, but you don’t need to spend like a head of state, at just a few kilometers, same setting and same natural beauty, you will find small Pousadas(Inns) with everything you need for a perfect trip, at just tens of Dollars per day.

Another very attractive destination, also in the Northeast of Brazil, will be the Rio Grande do Norte beaches. The capital of the state is Natal(Christmas), the symbol of the city are the 3 Wise Men of Biblical origin. The Christian tradition here comes from the early Dutch colonizers and Jesuit colonization by the Catholic Church over this region. Don’t let the religious simbology fool you though, Natal is a city for all peoples, which you’ll promptly discover upon arrival. The Ponta Negra beach is a tiny little beach with the famous “Bald Man” hill at the end, here you’ll find more english speakers than anywhere else on this region, except, perhaps, a little farther south at the Praia da Pipa. Pipa is a very tiny village down south that has apparently been taken over by foreigners in love with the region. There you’ll find every culture, diverse gastronomy, and many, many activities. Just watch the tidal tables if you intend to catch the right waves for surfing!

Flying South

When you think Brazil, you’re probably thinking of sunny beaches and very little clothing. Well, there’s another Brazil that many visitors haven’t heard of: Southern of Brazil. Colonized in large part by Germans and Italians, the south is an entirely different country. In fact, there have been ideas of secession in the past, gladly no longer a strong movement these days. The South is all about romantism, splendid food, wines, home brewed beers and as you may expect, chili weather. When we said German, you probably thought “Oktoberfest”. Well, you thought right! Brazil’s most popular German tradition party begins precisely on October First(no pun intended) through the November XV street in Blumenau!

History fact: We mentioned the Novermber XV street in Blumenau where Oktoberfest begins, so you might wonder why it shows up as a street name everywhere in this country. Well November 15th is Brazil’s Proclamation of the Republic day. In our old capital of Rio de Janeiro, in the year of 1889, we overthrew our Monarch and became a Republic on this date.

Don’t miss our Brazil travel tips for many more interesting destinations. From Texas-style country parties in Barretos, São Paulo, to amazing natural adventures in Bonito, Mato Grosso do Sul, we will bring you enough Brazil destinations to hopefully convince you of your next travel destination!

** Official exchange rates data from March 25, 2009, subject to fluctuation. Please consult with your broker for the precise rates at time of travel.

For ???????? ????? ????????historical reasons, electrical voltage is not the same all throughout Brazil. This fact  may cause a bit of confusion to those just arriving, so we’d like to provide an overview of what you’re likely to encounter in more popular destinations.

Although most modern devices will work with any voltage from 90V to 230V AC, if you have some specialized device you better watch or the supply could get damaged.

All of Brazil is standard 60 Hz AC and voltage may vary from 110 V, to 127 V to 220V.

Belo Horizonte is 110V

Brazil’s Capital, Brasilia is 220V

Buzios, RJ : 110V

Corumbá, MS 110 V AC

Curitiba 110V

Florianopolis: 220V

Maceió, AL : 220V

Manaus 127 V AC

Natal, Rio Grande do Norte 220V

Porto Alegre, far south of Brazil 110V

Rio de Janeiro 110 V

Salvador, Bahia : 110V

São Paulo – you’ll find both voltages, you should ask when arriving at your hotel. Can be 110 or 220V AC. Most hotels have 110V outlets along with 220V for your commodity.

If you are traveling to deep country like Amazon regions or internal Goiás, Minas Gerais and elsewhere you may find unstable electricity at times(from personal experience).

The cold wind and freezing waters of the São Paulo shores did not affect the mood of the athletes. Early morning August 25, 2007 and triathletes from all over the world gather at the sands of Ilhabela for the start of the 2007 edition of the Nissan XTerra Triathlon competition.

To most of us, São Paulo means big business, big city, fast living, 13 million people population and …well, business again. But at just a couple of hours drive(212 Kilometers) from the metropolitan lifestyle of São Paulo capital you’ll find the Ilhabela region. The name of this region is a portmanteau made up of 2 words meaning “ilha”(island) and “bela”(beautiful). The several islands which make up the Ilhabela archipelago configure the ideal location for radical sports : mountains, clear water, lots of green and a peaceful location disturbed only once a year by the intense sports action of the yearly Nissan XTerra Triathlon meet.

This year the Traveler.com.br-sponsored triathlete, Alexandre Manzan, arrived 2nd place just 1 minute behind Canadian Mike Vine. The event is a modern radical style triathlon which requires extreme physical preparation and long experience in triathlon competition. The constantly changing scenario, highs and lows, sometimes strong winds and freezing water(as was the case this year) make a tough challenge for the hundreds of triathletes who enter the event.

For those of us not competing but looking forward to being in touch with nature, Ilhabela is an ideal spot for adventure travel. Camping fields, hotels and inexpensive hostels can be booked through Traveler.com.br or specialized Ilhabela sites such as Ilhabela.com.br.

The transfer can be made easily, from São Paulo(via Litorânea bus line / Phone ++5512-3892-1072) or Rio de Janeiro(via Util bus line phone ++5521-2263-9424) you can catch a bus to São Sebastião and from there a water transport will take you to the Ilhabela island. A new transport departs every 30 minutes from 6 AM to 11 PM daily.

See Ilhabela on the interactive Google maps by clicking here.

Below you’ll find some photos of pro Traveler.com.br athlete Alexandre Manzan during the Ilhabela Nissan XTerra competition on August 25 2007.

The Pan Am games are less than 48 hours from beginning and some problems have already surfaced. Specially on the ticket sales systems. According to most of the Brazilian midia today, tickets purchased through the official web sites still have not been delivered and hundreds of customers have filed complaint with the Games’ administration.

On the popular Orkut.com social site, some groups are crowded with buyers complaining about the non-delivery of their much desired tickets to the aperture ceremony this friday afternoon. Some buyers acquired more than 50 tickets for themselves and friends, although the black market is surely stocking up to sell at the entrances with a nice bonus added.

The main sales offices, run by Ticketronics, are telling customers to contact the Customer Service office from 9am to 6 pm but give no additional information.  According to them some tickets were not delivered due to Correios(Brazilian Post Office) problems. Also according to Ticketronics, the Visanet system(official sponsors, therefore you can only buy through Visa cards) presented problems and caused some purchases to be automatically cancelled.

Some readers report getting no replies from the Official Committee of the Pan Am Games and getting no replies.

Another big complaint is that some customers bought tickets for the opening basquetball and volleyball games and the Organization changed their scheduled times and now they’ll happen simultaneously, which caused the spectators to choose one event to attend and either sell or lose the other ticket.

To this complaint all Ticketronics had to say was that the fine print does say the events times can change without prior notice.

The 2007 Rio Pan-American Games start on the 13th and end on the 29th of July. Here are some tips for the tourist arriving specifically for the Games or coincidentally landing here during the Games. We hope you find them useful.

1) During the Pan-games there’ll be an army on the streets. Police, military, undercover agents and the biggest security apparatus since the Eco 1992 Conference. That’s both good and bad. First, the bad : it looks awful. Armed men everywhere…. Second, the good: you’re safe if you’re not into terrorism. That said, these will be very exciting days to visit Rio.

2) Special transit areas will be created everywhere, streets will be painted with appropriate colors where they lead to the sports arenas. Use the signs.

3) English, German, and even Greek-speaking military units dressed like those on the picture to the right, will be placed in strategic places, you’ll easily identify them – they’re the Rio City GAT (Grupo de Apoio ao Turista).

4) U$ 195 million dollars is how much was spent in security for the Rio games.

5) If you MUST buy tickets for any of the sports events from 2nd hand dealers, do try to find a native who will do the dealing for you. A friend maybe, someone you trust. Why? They’ll cost twice if they suspect you have a pocket full of Euros. If you must do it yourself then you’ll probably be ok too, the events will be worth it after all.

6) The official Rio 2007 web site is www.rio2007.org.br

7) There will be 6 official ticket sales offices in Rio. Take note: Estádio do Maracanã, Estádio de Remo da Lagoa, Riocentro, Praia de Copacabana e Estádio João Havelange. You don’t need to know where each is, but if you keep these handy and ask around you’ll get there. Maracanã and Copacabana are the easiest ones to find.

8 ) Tickets can be paid for in Cash or VISA credit and debit cards only. (I think because VISA is an official sponsor, no other cards accepted.)

9) Like in the Olympics, the Pan games workers are volunteers – they work for a t-shirt I guess. Pay them a smile, be nice and show your appreciation!

10) For the digital camera owners(all of us?) : Bring some blank CD-R’s on your pouch. There’ll be internet cafe’s everywhere, but the blank CD’s might cost 10 times more. Insist that you can record them yourself too, I’ve found places charging 5 bucks just for the job of pushing the tray closed and clicking Start Burning. Some places won’t allow a pen-drive either…

11) Ah the Rio padarias!!! Padarias = pastries(of sorts). It’s my favorite part of traveling to Rio – having breakfast at the padarias. Standing by an old counter watching massive street traffic and peacefully having my breakfast, I just love the mix of modern and old tradition in Rio. Trust me – just ask for a pingado and misto quente(pingado = coffee+milk, misto quente = freshly baked bread sandwich of hot ham and melted cheese). It’ll be the cheapest most nutritive breakfast you can have. Plus you’ll look like a native Carioca(that’s what you call those born in Rio).

12) Cariocas pronounce the S differently from most brazilians. Their S sounds like ssshhh. So the local currency, Reais(reh-ighs) will sound sorta like “reh-highshhh” in Rio.

13) Speaking of which, the current exchange rate is 1 to 1.9 Dollars to Reais. Put simply : double your money.

14) You don’t want to be going around in tennis shoes. Buy yourself a pair of Havaianasshhhh

15) The Christ Redeemer has been elected one of the new 7 Wonders of the World. Pay Him a visit while you’re in Rio! In the sports mood? Try jogging up the gigantic stairwell!(Don’t! Unless you’ve got a heart like Lance Armstrong). The Christ is on top of the Corcovado hill(710 meters high).

16) Rio’s affectionately called “Cidade Maravilhosa”(Marvelous City) by brazilians. The title was coined by a locally well known brazilian writer and intellectual in 1908.

17) Rio was Brazil’s Capital up until 1960 when the new Capital Brasilia was inaugurated by President Juscelino Kubitschek.

18) Rio de Janeiro and San Antonio(Texas) were the two finalists in the race to host the 2007 Pan Games.

19) The best night clubs are in the Leblon neighborhood. Leblon is attached to Ipanema on the south, you actaully can’t tell that you just walked out of Ipanema into Leblon. But there are great spots all over town. You probably want to be in Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon or Barra da Tijuca most of your time when not concentrating on the Pan Games events.

20) The Pan Am Games’ opening ceremony will take place at the Maracanã – one of Rio’s landmarks and the world’s largest Soccer stadium.

21) Relax, discover, enjoy! I really am suspect to say I love Rio – that’d be totally biased. But ask anyone from Mick Jagger to Kiefer Sutherland – they’d probably tell you the same I would. Rio is lovely.

Welcome and have a great time!

- Medium sized city with the feel of small town. Approximately 1 million population.

- Northeast of Brazil feel, very warm reception from most people.

- Main beach is Ponta Negra marked by the Morro do Careca (“Bald Man’s Hill”) which is a green mountain with a strip of sand dividing it.

- Buggy tours are worth every penny, buy one for the day, approximately 100 dollars for a full day of fun for 4 people.

- It rains less than 20 days throughout the year. The rain is warm. It is windy all day but the wind is extremely pleasant. It is safe to say it is summer here all year long.

- The new Serhs resort is one of the most fantastic resorts in Brazil(if not the most), and is located at the Via Costeira of Natal. Owes nothing to the most luxurious spots you may have seen elsewhere in Europe or the USA. 5 stars with a value of 7.

-  Take no advice or offer any work to unidentified self-entitled travel guides. Believe me you’ll save yourself some trouble.

-  Drive 27 miles north through BR 101 road and find Maracajau, splendid corals diving adventure.

- If you are on a budget you can walk just 2 blocks away from the beach and find hotels for 1/3 the price in Ponta Negra.

Arriving in Morro de São Paulo, Bahia’s island paradise just 2 hours from Salvador, you will be greeted by tens of “street tourism guides” who will offer all kinds of services in exchange for pocket money. Keep some spare change handy unless you want to carry your luggage up the nearly 200 meters climb just entering the island.

If you get seasick easily, get yourself an air-taxi ticket instead of boat ride. The ride takes 2 hours, there is no exiting ship if you get sick and, believe me, many people did feel bad. The air taxi is 4 times the price of the boat but the current 2 to 1 exchange rate makes 100 dollars cheap compared to the embarrassing situations you may face at sea.

Don’t miss the 9 AM and 2 PM boats exiting Salvador! You’ll need to sleep over if you do, that’ll cost you your reservation at Morro and will add to your unplanned expenses in Salvador as well. Try to catch the 9 AM boat, you’ll arrive in Morro just in time to drop your things at a your hotel and go for some great food at lunch!

The island is completely taken by argentinians, israelis, germans, dutch and americans. You’ll find plenty of friendly english-speaking people in Morro de São Paulo.

There is no relation between the city of São Paulo and Morro. The first is Brazil’s largest city, the 2nd is a small island 2 hours from Salvador. Both refer to St. Paul from Christian faith.

In Morro you can enjoy typical brazilian fish served as a “Muqueca”. Don’t leave Morro withot trying it at least once! You will love it.

Have a nice time! Morro is plain simply paradise on earth, you’ll have a great time there.