Chapada dos Veadeiros 1 - Cerrado

Chapada dos Veadeiros

1 - Cerrado

An unbelievable - and very little known - place in the heart of Brazil

I decided to make a series of posts about a completely out-of-the-mainstream destination in Brazil. The Chapada dos Veadeiros, in the heart of Brazil, is a fabulous hidden place inside the Cerrado, as we call the brazillian savannah. 

The Cerrado is a form of vegetation which spreads in the brazillian highlands in the center of the country, separating the other main biomes in the country, which are the Amazon rainforest, the Caatinga (the semi-dry area in the northeast), the Atlantic Jungle (or Mata Atlântica, mainly in the south-east region) and the Pantanal (the world´s biggest flooded plains, to the south-west). 

There are basically two seasons, one rainy, from october to march, the other dry, from april to september. Heavy tropical storms may fall during the rainy season while dryness in august-september can be as bad or even worse than a desert. 

Those humidity extremes have produced a very curious form of vegetation, with twisted trunks as a result of the severe lack of water; they have also a similar to cork bark, which protects the plants from fire, as vast areas can literally burn during the dry season. It is said those plants have common ancestrals as those from the Afriacan savannah, since earth was just one continent, the pangea.  

While during august-september trees may seen dead, without leaves and mostly brown, the first rain by the end of september or beggining of october is enough for them to reburn with a lush greenness.

And all year-round there are trees flourishing, even without leaves. And even in semptember, the Yellow Ipê defies dryness flourishing its yellow flowers.

The Cerrado comprises fields with short trees to thickets. Close to water streams, the Buriti palm stands as the king tree of the jungle. 

In the following posts, I´ll write about the National Park of Chapada dos Veadeiros, the most important in the Cerrado area, although there are other Chapadas in Brazil. This name refers to a geological formation which can be described as a plateau with well outlined borders, relatively common in Brazil, where relief was carved over millions of years. 

A good time for Brazil

A good time for (travelling to) Brazil

The devaluation of the Brazillian Real (BRL) is a good oportunity to foreign travellers come to the country. Now the exchange rate is around R$3.8 for each dollar, making prices really low, speacially for north-americans and europeans. 

Brazil air pass

Azul airlines is selling a Brazil Air Pass for foreigners untill november 30. I think this is the first time a local airline does so. 

There are two options: 

a 10-day pass for US$299 and 

a 21-day pass for US$399.

For more details, go to https://www.voeazul.com.br/en/home

For their full policy, go to:

http://www.voeazul.com.br/en/airpass?modo_desktop&utm_source=interna&utm_medium=none&utm_content=posicao1&utm_campaign=airpass&s_icid=divulgacao_interna_none_posicao1_paginainterna_none_none___25ago_airpass

Manaus, gateway to the jungle

Manaus, gateway to the jungle

The Sunset in The Negro River - yes, it is the Negro, almost an Ocean of fresh water

So, considering Manaus is a big city with a big airport (MAO), with direct flights to international destinations such as Panama (by Copa Airlines) and to Miami (by TAM), as well other companies and destinations in the world, it is a convenient place to be seated for a jungle experience.

So,visiting Manaus doesn´t demand people coming from the north hemisphere to go more south, to cities like São Paulo and Rio. But if you´re on a trip inside Brasil, there are daily flights from SP and Rio, and also from Brasilia, as well many other Brazillian cities.  

You can watch the sunset by the Negro in Manaus, or take a ride to Novo Airão, where river dolphins known as the Boto Cor-de-Rosa (the pink river dolphin) will be waiting to swinm with you. 

Nowadays this trip became far more convenient, as a huge bridge over the Negro river was built. 

There are one-day rides departing from Manaus harbor to visit the rainforest by boat, which is advisible if you lack time.

If you have more time, you can look for a jungle hotel, get a boat and sleep some nights inside the rainforest. Those hotels offer an all-inclusive stay, with rides through the igarapés for birdwatching, and to look after some other wild animals, as leopards and caymans. The hotels normally have suites hangging up over tall trees, over the river, to avoid the full of the river. 

Distances in the amazonian states are huge, really huge. And there aren´t paved roads, so the rivers are the main ways to get inside the jungle and other smaller cities inside Amazonas state. Trips by boat can take days, and there are a number of options, since regular lines provided by local carriers, used by local people, tour operators and even cruises on yachts. Local carriers have big and slow boats with hammocks for passengers (if passengers don´t bring themselves their hammocks). Cruises may have all the luxury imaginable. It´s all about what one can afford and the kind of experience one is willing to have....

The fulls and the ebbs of the Negro River in Manaus

The fulls and the ebbs of the Negro River in Manaus

Another very curious thing about the Negro is the amazing difference of 10 metres, in average, of its level, reaching its peak in june, when the Negro is full, and the lower in october, when the ebb is stronger.

For this reason, Manaus harbor floats, as it follows the Negro´s fulls and ebbs. If you go there during the ebb, you can see the marks of each year´s maximum level, at the harbor wall. 

During those ebbs, many beaches are formed in the banks of Negro and its smaller tributaries, called igarapés, where manauaras, the people from Manaus, go to enjoy the day. 

They take speedboats that can cross the Negro very quickly, leaving them in these beaches. 

Swimming in the Negro is quite an experience: the black hot water seems a tea full of organic material. It is all very natural but it is not a clear water. Don´t go wearing white swim clothes! 

Although caymans and big fish are supposed to be there, they fear people and don´t get close, but I woul drecommend not swimming alone or far from groups of people. 

The biggest threat, however, are small fishes called candirus, which can get inside the urethra or other parties of the body. So, one must avoid pissing in the river and locals always advise us to wear tight swimwear, such as the brazillian sungas for man and french maillots for woman, at least under the shorts or bermudas.

If you aren´t in the mood of such adventure, you can just stay in the sands admiring the landscape. Generally there are some small snackbars offering snacks and drinks. 

Manaus, the capital of Amazonas

Manaus, the capital of Amazonas

Beyond the meeting of the waters, many people can´t believe that inside the Amazonian rainforest there´s this industrial two-million people city on the shores of the Rio Negro (Black River).

Manaus is the capital of the Amazonas State, the biggest State in land extension of Brazil and for sure bigger than most countries in the world.  

Manaus is the economic hub of the North Region of Brazil, which comprises other 6 states. It is an industrial city, due to tax incentives implemented during the military dictatorship in Brazil (during the 60s-80s), but kept so far. Though many people inside and outside Brazil criticise this system, others claim that this industrial model with tax incentives kept people inside the city, avoiding the colonization of the countryside and, thus, the deforestation of the Amazonian rainforest in the Amazonas State. From cell phones to motorbikes and plasma TVs, many industries are placed in the city.

For tourists not travelling just for business, the most interesting attraction in the city is its historic centre. It hosts the Amazonas Theater, a huge european-style theatre built during the rubber economic cycle.

By the end of the XIX century and beggining of the XX, demand for rubber skyrocketed in the world, and the Amazonas became its main source. 

So Manaus experienced a time of great prosperity, when suntuous buildings rose in the city. Unfortunately, when the british started to produce rubber in southeast Asia, Manaus lost its wealth for long time. 

But it is amazing to find this impressive theatre in the middle of the jungle, hosting operas, lyric presentations and shows. 

Manaus and the shores of the Negro

Manaus´historic centre

Manaus´historic centre

Manaus and the meeting of the waters

Manaus and the meeting of the waters

One of the most impressive sites in Brazil is the meeting of the waters between the Rio Negro (Black River) and the Rio Solimões (Solimões River), forming the mighty Amazonas. 

In fact, the Solimões is the main course of the Amazonas itself, so the Negro is considered its most important tributary. The Negro, with its black colours due to the decomposition of natural elements  taken from the rainforest and carried for miles, deposits its waters in the Solimões, an ocre-colored river, due to the sediments it carries, which also come from miles since its first small tributaries in the Andes.

But after their encounter, the waters take more than 7km (about 4 miles) to really mix, and they stay separated as a consequency of different water speeds, PH, temperature and density. 

So, if you take a boat and go the middle of the river, you can see them clearly separated from each other. 

Besides, the mass of fresh water one can see in the Amazonas is unmatched, and it is almost unbelievable you are in the middle of a continent, and not close to the ocean. 

Manaus, the capital city of the Amazonas states, hosts this show and tourists willing to see it. Tomorrow, I´ll write a bit about Manaus. 

The fort of Copacabana

The extremes of Copacabana beach are two: the Leme, by the left side of one looking to the sea, and the Fort of Copacabana, by the right. The Fort is also the beginnig of the street that leads to Ipanema, no more than 5 blocks away.

Although the Fort is still a military area, and you must pay a small tax to get inside, it is a historic fort with a military museum. It was built during the Empire times, in order to protect Rio and the Guanabara Bay.

From there, you can get the best view of Copacaba, or just Copa, as cariocas call this famous beach and district. Behind the buildings, you have a superb view of Pão de Açúcar, the sugarloaf, with the constant movement of the cable cars going up and down. 

Inside the Fort, there´s a Café Colombo, from the same owners of the famous Café Colombo located downtown. A brunch or an afternoon café is a delicious experience with an incredible view. 

During hollidays and weekends, it can get a bit crowded, but they have an eletronic system for organizing the line, so you can visit some places of the Forth while you wait.