Amazon, Rio de Janeiro & São Paulo BRAZIL – General Information CLIMATE: Brazil is marked by highly varied climates. It goes from the humidity of the Amazon Region, the dry heat of the Northeastern region and the permanently pleasant warm weather of most of the coastal area, to cool evening temperatures in many parts of the plateau and a temperate climate in the South. The seasons in Brazil, are the opposite from Europe and United States. The medium annual temperature is 28° C on the North area and 20° C on the South Area. VISAS & PASSPORTS: An entry visa is not required for holders of passports from European or South American countries. As a matter of reciprocity, a visa is required for those from North America. For further information about the necessary documentation and where visas can be obtained, please consult the local Brazilian embassy. Tourist visas can be renewed for a period of 180 days per year. Passports must be valid for at least six months after the planned date of arrival in Brazil. CURRENCY: The currency in Brazil is the Real (abbreviated to R$). Dollars and traveler’s checks can easily be changed in hotels, authorized banks and travel agencies. International credit cards are accepted in most hotels, shops and restaurants. The exchange rate is floating. LANGUAGE: The national language is the Portuguese. TIME ZONES: Brazil covers three time zones. The time in Brasilia is the official time in Brazil, usually 3 hours behind GMT (London). This changes with the start of Summer Time (the clocks go forward an hour). SHOPPING: Brazil offers a great variety for shopping: from boutiques to hippie markets; from precious and semi- precious stones, to creative handcrafts. Shopping centers are open from 10am to 10pm. HEALTHY: It is recommended to have the vaccination against yellow fever, for tourists that intend to visit the following Brazilian states: Acre, Amazonas, Amapá, Federal District, Goiás, Maranhão, Mato Grosso do Sul, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima and Tocantins. It is obligatory the vaccination against yellow fever for those passengers coming from endemic zones. For further information please consult the Brazilian Embassy of your country. WALPAX BRAZIL TRAVEL PARTNERS [email protected] TIPS: The service charge is included in the bills in most restaurants and bars. Therefore, tips are optional and are usually between 10% and 15% of the bill. For porterage service, it is recommended the equivalent to USD 1.00. CUISINE: The Brazilian cuisine is very rich and varied with Portuguese and African influences. The most typical Brazilian dish is the “feijoada”: served in big casseroles of black beans with a tick juice cooked together with salty pork meat. It is garnished with manioc flour, rice and slices of fresh orange. There is also the famous Brazilian barbecue, usually served in restaurant in a “rodízio” system, where several kinds of grilled meats are brought to the tables and cut directly on the plates of the costumers. The food from Bahia has stronger condiments. There is the famous “Vatapá”: made with shrimps, fish oil, coconut milk, bread and oil. The national drink is the famous “Caipirinha”: made with an alcohol called cachaça, mixed with lemon, sugar and ice. AIRPORT TAXES: International and domestic airport taxes are charged. Most of the times, these taxes are already included in the air ticket. However please check it out before departure. CLOTHING: Light clothes and comfortable shoes are recommended. Passengers should take sun glasses, sun block of strong protection and swimming clothes. A jacket is recommended as most of the places have strong air conditioning. ELETRICITY: The electric current in Brazil can be either 110 V or 220 V, depending on the city. Most of the hotels have adaptors. TELEPHONES: Public telephones accept phone cards that cost around R$ 20,00 and can be bought at local newspapers stands. Mobile phones: The main providers of GSM 1800 technologies are: TIM Brasil, OI and Claro. The Brazilian code for international calls is 00 + 55. The regional codes for the main cities are:Rio de Janeiro: 21 SAO PAULO With a population of around 10 million and an area of 1500 square km (3 times the size of Paris) it is the largest city in South America and the largest industrial center on the continent. This vast city of gleaming skyscrapers elevated freeways and enormous complexes has all come together fairly recently. Though founded in 1554, it was still a sleepy little town of 30,000 people as late as 1870. Coffee provided the first impetus for its meteoric growth and by 1960 its population had exceeded that of Rio. The increase in population was to a large extent, the result of well over one million Italian, half a million Portuguese, 400,000 Spanish and nearly 200,000 Japanese WALPAX BRAZIL TRAVEL PARTNERS [email protected] immigrants by the end of the 1930s. Many more from all over the world have arrived since the city is nothing if not cosmopolitan. AMAZON The term rainforest describes forests that grow in constant humid conditions. They can occur wherever the annual rainfall is above 2,000 millimeters (80 inches), even if it is spread throughout the year. The rather high temperatures favor plant development – i.e., above 20 degrees Celsius. The main characteristic of this humid, dense forest is the fact that the plants congregate in groups, which are organized in a distinctive manner within the ecosystem. Contrary to popular belief, tropical trees are not over-sized. Average total height in the Amazon Rainforest ranges 30 to 40 meters (100 to 133 feet). The Amazon Rainforest is the largest tropical forest in the world, covering 6 million km2 in 9 different countries (in Brazil, circa of 60%). At a first look, the Amazon forest seems to be rather uniform in physiognomy but in fact there are many typological variations and ample species diversity. The forest canopy is frequently discontinuous, giving space for special ecological niches. At the heart of this region lies the huge Amazon River, the second longest watercourse of the world. The Amazon holds more than 20% of the planet’s fresh water, has at least 1,000 tributaries. The Rio Negro is its largest tributary. The Amazon Rainforest actually includes four major vegetation types: Terra Firma Forest (upland forest) – located on higher grounds with no direct influence from rivers Várzea Forest (marshland forest) – seasonally flooded lowland forest. Igapó Forest – permanently flooded lowland forest. Catinga Forest – along Rio Negro, called Campirana as well. The extraordinary wealth of plant and animal life in the Amazon basin has attracted explorers and scientists since the dawn of the 16th century. At least 30,000 out of 100,000 species of plants in Latin America are found in the Brazilian Amazon. The wildlife is equally diverse: there are thousands of creatures, amazingly different but each ideally suited for this particular way of life in the jungle. Clearly, this is a world of enormous fascination to everyone interested in nature. The Amazon with is legends and myths are still an enigma for humanity. WALPAX BRAZIL TRAVEL PARTNERS [email protected] RIO DE JANEIRO Time: Official time of the country Average Annual Temperature: 23ºC Climate: Tropical Rainfall: November to April Airports: International Airport of Tom Jobim (Know as Galeão) - 20 Km from downtown Santos Dumont - 1 Km from downtown Rio de Janeiro is located in the Southeastern zone, in the Atlantic Ocean coast. The city is privileged with a great geographical position with wide beaches and impressive mountains. Known as “Cidade Maravilhosa” – the marvelous city – Rio is a perfect combination of warm weather, beautiful sceneries, friendly people, music and happiness. A beauty that comes from its natural tropical environment where mountains, forests, beaches, lagoons, and vegetation form a dramatic back-drop. The wonders of Rio can be admired from the top of the Sugar Loaf: impressive in its own height, it guards the entrance of the Guanabara Bay; and also by the feet of the Corcovado Statue that blesses the entire city with his open arms and dominates most of the Carioca skyline. There are other equally inspiring mountains such as “Dois Irmãos” and the “Pedra da Gávea” to appreciate. There is also the Tijuca Forest, the largest urban forest in the world. Rio’s other natural attractions include the beaches; the Botanical Garden; the Bay of Guanabara and Paquetá island; and the city’s many parks and gardens. Man has also produced his own attractions which include the city’s many museums and galleries that cover a wide range of topics and styles. For all its natural beauty, Rio de Janeiro – with a population of around 6 million – is still one of the world’s biggest and most populated cities. Therefore, Rio offers its visitors the infrastructure its status merits. It offers a wide selection of hotels, restaurants, bars; it has numerous exhibition and conference centers; the cultural and sporting scene is justifiably famous; the shops and stores are world class; the city has well developed telecommunications, banking, financial and medical services and an extensive transport system which allows visitors and residents to move around the city easily be it by car, taxi, bus, bicycle or on foot. The city’s 90 kilometers of beaches are an integral part of the Rio lifestyle. Rio has beaches that run through its very heart and they are a center of entertainment and relaxation for the residents and visiting population. Participant sports abound on the beaches. Soccer, volleyball, gymnastics, and more traditional Brazilian sports like “peteca” and “futevolei”, are played out on the sands of Rio while out to sea, it is the surfers and windsurfers who rule the waves.