The Brazil Guide Blog: 2015

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Campos do Jordão (3) - Capivari

Campos do Jordão (3)

Capivari neighborhood

The centre of Capivari district - the Baden Baden bar of artisanal beer

Another hotel at Capivari district, in Campos do Jordão

The main touristic neighbourhood in Campos do Jordão is Capivari, where buildings were built in a swiss-like form. Restaurants, bars and stores are located here, and it is the most charming place in the city. For those who like crowds, street life, shopping and eating well, this is the place to be. Of course, this is also the most expensive place to stay, to eat and to shop.

Nightlife is also here, as shops, bars and restaurants, specially in the high season (june/july) remain openned untill late at night. Eventually, some promoters bring parties and discos to the city and, if they are not held in Capivari, ticket selling is most likely to be done here.

People of all ages goes to Capivari, so fun is granted for all.

Monday, October 19, 2015

Campos do Jordão 2 - the winter festival

Campos do Jordão (2)

the winter music festival

The Claudio Santoro Auditorium, which helds the main presentations at the Winter Music Festival of Campos do Jordão

Campos do Jordão hosts the Winter Music Festival (Festival de Inverno de Campos do Jordão), when the symphonic orchestra of São Paulo State (Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo - OSESP) makes a series of presentations in the city.

The Claudio Santoro Auditorium, which helds the main presentations at the Winter Music Festival of Campos do Jordão

The winter festival is held in July, when winter is stronger at brazillian southernmost states, and specially here, where the peaks, located 2000m (1,24miles) above sea level produce temperatures under zero degrees celsium.

Musicians plays all around the city, speacially in the squares. The city gets crowded and its hotels full of tourists. Main presentations of the symphonic orchestra are held at the Claudio Santoro Auditorium, located in a hill in the city outskirts.

In front of the Auditorium, there is a garden full of sculptures and Araucaria trees, the pictoresque pine from the south of Brazil.

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Campos do Jordão 1 - a winter escapade

Campos do Jordão, a winter escapade (1)

A hotel at Campos do Jordão, by night, at Capivari neighborhood.

195km (126 miles) away from São Paulo there´s the swiss style city of Campos do Jorão. Located in the highest peaks of Mantiqueira Sierra, which divides the northeast of São Paulo state and the south of Minas Gerais state, it is also halfway by car from the city of São Paulo to the city of Rio de Janeiro.

The Mantiqueira Mountain Range, a view close to Campos do Jordão

The altitude makes this city the coldest in São Paulo state, and people flock here during winter to feel the cold in a country mostly used to high temperatures.

Roads linking São Paulo to Campos are very good. You can eighter take the Presidente Dutra road, which links São Paulo to Rio, and follow the signs to Campos and then take the road that climbs up the Mantiqueira by the km 139 at Dutra.

Another option is to take the Ayrton Senna/Governador Carvalho Pinto roads (named before as Trabalhadores), which is an extension of Marginal Tietê, the avenue which is at Tietê´s river margin at São Paulo. This path demands only going straight ahead from São Paulo´s east zone, taking tourists directly to the road over the Mantiqueira Sierra.

I recommend Ayrton Senna/Carvalho Pinto, because this road is more modern, speed limits are a bit higher and they have less trucks and buses when compared to Dutra, as this road links the biggest brazillian city (São Paulo) to its second (Rio de Janeiro).

Using a GPS can make this trip very easy, although signs are very clear at the roads. Both ways have tolls, both automatic and with people at the cabins, just mind of having cash. Remember only BRL, brazillian reais, are accepted. The tolls demand about 15 to 20 reais (about 5 US dollars) each way São Paulo-Campos do Jordão.

The city is also reachable from Rio, as it is almost halfway through Presidente Dutra road.

The Araucárias, a typical pine tree in the mountains of south Brazil.

If you land in Brazil by the São Paulo International Airport - Guarulhos - GRU, it is even easier to rent a car and get straight away to Campos do Jordão, because both roads are linked with the airport road. Besides, by doing so, you could avoid about 30km of traffic jams inside São Paulo.

The closest airport, however, is São José dos Campos (SJK), a city 89 km away from São Paulo, also crossed by Presidente Dutra and Ayrton Senna roads. This airport operates only (and few) domestic flights, so timetable may not be convenient, depending where from Brazil you could be comming. In the other hand, GRU is the most important airport in Brazil, whith the greatest number of both international and domestic flights in Brazil.

Thursday, October 15, 2015

A peculiar restaurant in Boipeba

Guido´s Restaurant at Boipeba island: shrimp and farofa, a mix made of manioc flour and other ingredients.

A very famous restaurant amongst brazillian tourists is Guido´s restaurant or kiosk, at one of the beaches at Boipeba Island.

Lobster, fish and shrimp, done in the bahianian way, are very good. The farofa, a mix of manioc flour (or wheat or rice flour), combined with bacon or sausage, is almost always present at the northeastern dishes in Brazil.

Palmtrees at Boipeba Island, close to Guido´s restaurant

The simplicity of the place, surrounded by gorgeous palmtrees at one side, and by the sea, at the other, makes the shack where Guido makes his cousine a very pleasant place.

Palmtrees at Boipeba Island, close to Guido´s restaurant

Just the peace of this magic place makes company to food lovers, who flock after a morning bath or ride to Guido´s restaurant looking for a good food.

Palmtrees at Boipeba Island, close to Guido´s restaurant

Guido´s Restaurant at Boipeba island

Guido´s Restaurant at Boipeba island, is recognized by the 4 roads magazine