Table of Contents

List of Maps vii 1 THE BEST OF BRAZIL 1 2 BRAZIL IN DEPTH 12 3 SUGGESTED BRAZIL ITINERARIES 32 4 RIO DE JANEIRO 42 5 SIDE TRIPS FROM RIO DE JANEIRO 131 6 MINAS GERAIS: BELO HORIZONTE & THE HISTORICAL CITIES 157 7 SAO PAULO 180 8 SALVADOR & THE BEST OF BAHIA 223 9 RECIFE, OLINDA & FERNANDO DE NORONHA 281 10 NATAL 314 11 FORTALEZA 331 12 SAO LUIS & THE LENCOIS MARANHENSES 346 13 THE AMAZON: MANAUS & BELEM 362 14 BRASILIA 404 15 THE SOUTH OF BRAZIL 418 16 THE PANTANAL 457 17 PLANNING YOUR TRIP TO BRAZIL 475 Index 489

About the Author

A native of California, Shawn Blore has lived and worked in a half dozen countries and traveled in at least 60 more (but who's counting). Long a resident of Vancouver, Shawn has in recent years made his home in Rio de Janeiro. He is an award-winning journalist and author of Vancouver: Secrets of the City. Alexandra de Vries is a freelance writer and translator. Born in Amsterdam to a Dutch father and Brazilian mother, Alexandra made her first trip to Brazil at the ripe old age of 1 month. Throughout the years, Alexandra has returned many more times to travel, explore, and live in this amazing country. Alexandra wrote the Frommer's Rio de Janeiro Day by Day guide and has translated books and articles on Brazilian icons such as Oscar Niemeyer, Burle Marx, Vinicius de Moraes, and Chico Buarque.