The sunset at Barra Grande beach in Bahia, Brazil

The sunset at Barra Grande beach in Bahia, Brazil

Doubtlessly, the best thing to do at Barra Grande beach is to appreciate the sunset. As the Maraú is a big peninsula, we can see the sun seting behind the sea, a rare scene is Brazil, as the coastline in Brazil faces mostly the east, but never the west. 

The amazing game of colours at Barra Grande beach, Peninsula do Maraú, Bahia, Brazil

The colours produced by the waters in combination with the clouds are breathtaking. The calm of the fishermen´s boats just add a bit of poetry to the scenes. 

The marvelous sunset at The Barra Grande beach, Peninsula do Maraú, Bahia, Brazil

The marvelous sunset at The Barra Grande beach, Peninsula do Maraú, Bahia, Brazil

The marvelous sunset at The Barra Grande beach, Peninsula do Maraú, Bahia, Brazil

The marvelous sunset at The Barra Grande beach, Peninsula do Maraú, Bahia, Brazil

The marvelous sunset at The Barra Grande beach, Peninsula do Maraú, Bahia, Brazil

The marvelous sunset at The Barra Grande beach, Peninsula do Maraú, Bahia, Brazil

The Barra Grande Beach at Maraú Peninsula (Bahia, Brazil)

The Barra Grande Beach at Maraú Peninsula (Bahia, Brazil)

The Barra Grande beach, Peninsula do Maraú, Bahia, Brazil

The Maraú Peninsula, as all peninsulas, forms two kinds of beaches: the ones in front of the open sea, and the others in front to the loch. The Barra Grande beach is one of those in front of the loch, and hosts the touristic village inside the peninsula. Its where most of the inns, hostels, bars and restaurantes are located.  

Sculpture in one of the restaurantes in front of Barra Grande beach, Peninsula do Maraú, Bahia, Brazil

The Barra Grande village is, thus, where most people are, and if you want a bit of social life, it is the place to be in the peninsula. Night bars provide nice parties with brazillian and international music, some of then in front of the beach. 

The Barra Grande beach, Peninsula do Maraú, Bahia, Brazil

As this beach is in front of the loch, waters here are very calm, almost without waves, forming a huge, natural, salty swimming pool. 

Walking "over" tthe waters at the Barra Grande beach, Peninsula do Maraú, Bahia, Brazil

At some points, the depth is so low that you can walk over the waters, at some points forming an incredible wet-sand mirror reflecting the clouds. 

The natural, wet-sand mirrors at The Barra Grande beach, Peninsula do Maraú, Bahia, Brazil

The natural, wet- sand mirrors at The Barra Grande beach, Peninsula do Maraú, Bahia, Brazil

The natural, wet-sand mirrors at The Barra Grande beach, Peninsula do Maraú, Bahia, Brazil

Young people chilling at The Barra Grande beach, Peninsula do Maraú, Bahia, Brazil

Young people chill out in the Barra Grande beach, practicing sports, dancing and drinking. 

The marvelous sunset at The Barra Grande beach, Peninsula do Maraú, Bahia, Brazil

If your are far away from the boats and from people´s noise, you can have the chance of seeing a sea turtle or swimming with then. They love the calm waters of the loch. 

The marvelous sunset at The Barra Grande beach, Peninsula do Maraú, Bahia, Brazil

The marvelous sunset at The Barra Grande beach, Peninsula do Maraú, Bahia, Brazil

The marvelous sunset at The Barra Grande beach, Peninsula do Maraú, Bahia, Brazil

Península do Maraú

Península do Maraú

View of Barra Grande beach, inside the Península do Maraú, Bahia, Brazil 

The Maraú Peninsula, located in the south coastline of Bahia State, is one of the most beautiful places in this state at the northeast of Brazil.

View of Barra Grande beach, inside the Península do Maraú, Bahia, Brazil 

A still hidden spot from massive tourism, it is best known by locals and some foreigners who decided to open some business there. 

View of Barra Grande beach, inside the Península do Maraú, Bahia, Brazil 

A funny thing about northeast coastline in Brazil is the large presence of europeans owning hotels, b&b´s, inns and restaurants. They all seem to have given up a stressful life in big economic centres of Europe in exchange of endless beaches, palmtrees, sun and heat. The Península do Maraú isn´t different. 

View of Barra Grande beach, inside the Península do Maraú, Bahia, Brazil 

Even Brazillians don´t know the place, a kind of paradise for the wealthy people in Bahia. Maybe due to the the difficulties to access it, and the distance from the nearest airport, it is still a place out of the mainstream.

Nevertheless, there are options of accommodation for every pocket. 

View of Barra Grande beach, inside the Península do Maraú, Bahia, Brazil 

In fact, the nearest airport is the Airport of Ilhéus (Jorge Amado Airport, IATA - IOS), 129 km south, distance made in 2h13 minutes, according to googlemaps. But inside the peninsula there are about 30 km in a dirty road untill the Ponta do Mutá (the extreme point of the peninsula), with lots of sand, what makes this part of this trip harder. So, the best would be to get an off-road transportation, or a higher SUV, in order to do well at this track. 

View of Barra Grande beach, inside the Península do Maraú, Bahia, Brazil 

Salvador isn´t the best option for reaching the Peninsula do Maraú, unless you have lots of time and you enjoy driving or staying in a shuttle watching the landscape. Googlemaps informs it would take more than 5 hours to reach the Peninsula, by taking the ferryboat at Salvador to cross the Bahia de Todos os Santos ("All Saints" Bay). And, more than 6 hours if you get  the highways to turn around the bay. But this estimated time works only in regular days, because during holidays traffic jams and lots of people trying to cross the bay at the same time can make this trip a true hell. 

View of Barra Grande beach, inside the Península do Maraú, Bahia, Brazil 

Of course, if money is not a problem, going by helicopter is also an option. Some inns have heliports.

The only problem of coming through Ilhéus is that this airport has fewer flights than Salvador, and most of them, if not all, are domestic flights. But flights to Ilheus are avilable from the main cities of Brazil.  

View of Barra Grande beach, inside the Península do Maraú, Bahia, Brazil 

But all effort is valid to get there, as the next posts will show. 

View of Barra Grande beach, inside the Península do Maraú, Bahia, Brazil 

Morro de São Paulo

Morro de São Paulo

In Bahia State shores, a hill located at an island south from Salvador (the capital city of Bahia State), became one of the most famous destinations of domestic tourism in Brazil: Morro de São Paulo (hill of Saint Paul).

The fortress at Morro de São Paulo, Bahia, northeast Brazil

The easiest way to get there is to take one of the catamarans, big speedy boats departing from Salvador harbor, at Cidade Baixa, directly to Morro de São Paulo. 

The boats at Morro de São Paulo, Bahia, northeast Brazil

The catamarans dock at the historic fortress harbor in Morro, where guys can take tourists´bags to their hotels or inns.

The docking place at Morro de São Paulo

The docking place at Morro de São Paulo

The church at the historic village at Morro de São Paulo, Bahia, northeast Brazil

A big tree welcomes visitors at Morro de São Paulo, Bahia, northeast Brazil

Other options of transportation would take very long time. It is possible to go by car from Salvador to Valença, the nearest city from Morro. In this case, it is required to do the turn around the Bahía de Todos os Santos (All Saints Bay), a task that will demand lots of time. From Valença, small boats can eventually take tourists to Morro, but it won´t be a professional tourism company, so I would recommend this option only for adventurers careless about comfort or spending more time. 

Atop the hill, the historic city hosts restaurants, snack bars, small stores, banks and souvenir shops, as well as some hotels. 

The church at Morro de São Paulo, Bahia, northeast Brazil

The village at Morro de São Paulo, Bahia, northeast Brazil

Beyond the historical village and the fortress, the place consists of five beautiful beaches, one after the other, reachable either by boat or by walking.  The further beach you stay, the calmer it will  be, as you can get more isolated from the crowds at the village center; however, the most distant beach you stay, the harder it gets to arrive at your hotel. 

As a compensation, you can feel more integrated with nature.  

The first beach and its village at Morro de São Paulo, view from the sea. This is the most urbanized among the beaches.

A guy taking some tourist stuff somewhere in Morro de São Paulo

It is common people gets seasick during this trip, speacially if the sea is rough. But the journey takes about one hour, and it is recommended to look out the horizon in order to avoid getting seasick.

Nevertheless, the photos can prove the place is worth visiting while in Bahia, the land of all saints. 

The view of the Atlantic from Morro de São Paulo, Bahia, northeast Brazil

A hotel at the historic village at Morro de São Paulo, Bahia, northeast Brazil

A hotel at the historic village at Morro de São Paulo, Bahia, northeast Brazil

Lollapalooza Brazil 2016 will be held in São Paulo

Lollapalooza Brazil 2016 will be held in São Paulo 

In March 12 and 13, 2016, Lollapalooza Brazil will be held at São Paulo´s racetrack José Carlos Pace, or simply the Interlagos Racetrack, famous for the Formule 1 championship and some historical victories of Ayrton Senna, Brazil´s most famous F1 driver. 

The site is only in portuguese: http://www.lollapaloozabr.com/ lollapalloza Brazil, as well the site for buying tickets: http://premier.ticketsforfun.com.br/shows/show.aspx?sh=ESIN0000012LP.

They inform tickets will be sold daily at Citibank Hall, located at Nações Unidas Avenue, 17955, Santo Amaro, São Paulo - SP.

This is the only way of not paying a delivery fee.

Be cautions if you buy half entrance: meia-entrada", or simply "meia".

Only if you can proove you´re a student or have other legal allowances (proof of poverty, be over the age of 60 etc), you can enter the festival with a half entrance.

To get to the racetrack, it´s better to take the CPTM train at the line 9 Emerald (linha 9 Esmeralda) in the direction of Grajaú, and get down at Autódromo station, the antepenult station. It is required a certain walk, but a taxi from the central neighbourhoods is expensive and parking there would be too messy and also expensive, if it happens you have a car. 

This train line connects twice with metro (subway) lines: at Santo Amaro station, with the 5 lilac line (linha 5 lilás) and at Pinheiros with line 4 yellow (linha 4  amarela). This yellow line can take you to the Jardins and Paulista areas, as well to downtown.
 

Brasília hosts perfume marketing

Brasília hosts perfume marketing

Though even among Brazillians there´s a certain controversy about our capital´s beauty, Kenzo had no doubts on choosing the city for this marketing video:

The buildings choosen as background where the National Congress and the Republic Museum. Both are relatively close, in the civic area, at the Ministries´Esplanade. 

The modernist conception of Brasilia took advantage of its location, where almost-always-blue skies and a relatively plain terrain in the Brazillian highlands allowed big green areas separating the buildings, connected by large streets, making a unique city. 

This combination of strong sunlight and poetical architecture indeed provided a perfect scenery. Oscar Niemayer probably never thought that the ramps of his buildings would be used as a catwalk. 

Salvador (6): Farol da Barra (Barra´s Lighthouse)

Salvador (6): Farol da Barra (Barra´s Lighthouse) and the Carnival

One of the most remarkable constructions of Salvador is the Farol da Barra (Barra´s Lighthouse), in the extreme point of the city embracing the bay. 

Farol da Barra - Barra´s Lighthouse - Salvador - BA- Brazil

The point gives name to the neighbourhood, which during carnival hosts one of the circuits to the trios elétricos (electric trios), i.e., the big trucks with giant speakers carrying famous singers or music groups and their bands of bahianan music.  

Carnival here is quite different from Rio, as the music here is mainly the axé, a kind of pop, rapid sound, different from samba. There´s not an organised parade, but people following the trucks with their most loved singers. To get close to the trucks, one must buy an abadá, a kind of big T-shirt with the name of the band. With the abadá, you can stay inside the cordon. Most famous ones are quite expensive. They aren´t costumes as in Rio, it is just an allowance if you want to parade alongside the truck of a certain band or group.  

Carnival in Salvador gets very crowded, and I would recommend more for young people. You can also stay in camarotes, private areas specially built for the carnival period, with much more comfort than joining the crowds in the streets. The options depends on the kind of fun and confort you want to have, and how much you´re willing to pay. 

Salvador (5): the church of Nosso Senhor do Bonfim and the afro-brazillian religions. 

A panoramic view of the city of Salvador da Bahia, from the harbor, with both the high and low cities (Cidade Alta e cidade Baixa).

The most famous church of Salvador is the Igreja do Nosso Senhor do Bomfim, located in the Cidade Alta. Actually, it is one of the most famous churches of Brazil.

Salvador is home to a unique mix of the african culture, brought by the africans, and the european, catholic rituals. The Candomblé is the main religion of african inspiration, but their orixás have a sort of equivalence to Catholic saints in brazillian culture. Along the centuries both european catholicism and african religions lived together at Bahia, providing a very curious cultural miscelanny, marked by the religious syncretism. 

The baianas of candomblé use large white dresses with blue colars, while they sell to tourists the multi-coloured ribbons of Nosso Senhor do Bomfim. According to the local tale, you must put the ribbon around your wrist, tie it with a strong knot and ask for a wish. You can never untie the ribbon, you must use it untill it falls unnoticed: by them, your wish will come true. That´s one of Bahia´s mysteries.       

Salvador (4): Cidade Baixa and the Mercado Modelo, the harbor and the Elevador Lacerda (Lacerda´s Lift)

In the bay, the old, round, made of stone, fortress welcomes the visitors. 

The Cidade Baixa, or "low" city is the city under the cliff, by the sea, hosting Salvador´s harbor and the Mercado Modelo - "standard market". It is a big spice and seafood market, with restaurants and some textiles and souvenirs stores too. 

To get there from the Cidade Alta (see yesterday´s post), one must take the Elevador Lacerda - Lacerda´s Lift - down. It is a huge lift built to carry peasants from both parts of the city. From its top, a beautiful view of the bay and the Cidade Baixa.  

In the bay, the old, round, made of stone, fortress welcomes the visitors. In the nearby harbor, they can take boats to Itaparica, Morro de São Paulo and other spots both in the Bay or in Bahia´s coastline.

Salvador (3): Churches, the Pelourinho, and the Cidade Alta

The two cities in the city of Salvador: Cidade Alta (high city) and Cidade Baixa (low city). View from Salvador´s harbor: in the middle, the Elevador Lacerda (Lacerda´s Lift, connecting the low and the high city)

Historic Salvador has two cities in one: the high and the under city (Cidade Alta e Cidade Baixa). Close to the sea, the Cidade Baixa is some meters under the Cidade Alta, separeted by a cliff. 

As old capital, Salvador hosts many of the oldest churches and public buildings in Brazil, and remarkable historic sites, as the Pelourinho. The Pelourinho was the central square in portuguese colonial cities, and eventually where slaves accused of wrongdoing were mercilessly punished by their masters. Today, the Pelourinho at Salvador hosts many coloured houses, with souvenir boutiques.

Pelourinho got world famous as a location for Michael Jackson´s clip All I wanna say is that they don´t take any care about us, along with Dona Marta favela in Rio. The drums were played by Olodum, a famous percussion group from Bahia, which has an important social project for young poor people. 

See the video clip at youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNJL6nfu__Q