Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
The Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho, better known as Estádio do Maracanã (named after a bird living in this region), is the most important soccer stadium in Rio de Janeiro. It was where Germany won the world cup in 2014, but it was also the place for one of the worst events in Brazilian soccer history: Brazil lost against Uruguay in the final of the world cup of 1950. Brazilians refer to this game as the Maracanaço.
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I’m a big fan of the 1000 places to see before you die calendar. Every day I’m turning the page seeing places I’ve been to, places I’m going to in the near future. And sometimes I just memorize beautiful places. This is true for the Praia do Aventureiro and its famous L-shaped palm. I went there and then remembered that I’ve already seen it.
Directly at the Praia do Canto in Vila do Abraão you’ll find the Restaurante Lua & Mar (luna and sea). You can sit directly at the shore, at daytime under a shadow-giving tree and enjoy good Brazilian sea food. I had my best dish in Brazil here: moqueca de camarones – fish stew with shrimps and coconut milk. Absolutely gorgeous.
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Café do Mar – that sounds like summertime, surfing, sun and cocktails. And that’s absolutely what it is. Sometimes they are making barbecues, but this place is by then absolutely overcrowded. Best come here in the afternoon and enjoy a nice coconut milkshake.
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When you arrive on Ilha Grande, in Vila do Abraão (belonging to Angra dos Reis, on the mainland) you first recognize that there are no paved roads and no cars. You walk through the sand and are happy, that there is someone transporting your luggage on a pull-cart. At the east-end of the village you leave the beach and after taking a small and short footpath up the hill you reach the Pousada Naturalia.
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The history of Ilha Grande – an island 150 km west of Rio de Janeiro – is somehow dark and contrasts heavily to its current beauty. First, the island was the Brazilian equivalent to Ellis Island; European emigrants had to stay on the island before coming into the country. Later the island became a sick bay in time of Leprosy and until 20 years ago: A high security prison.
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Well, Angra dos Reis is no beauty. The town 150 km west of Rio de Janeiro is mostly known for being an important port for travellers going to Ilha Grande. When I arrived I had to give back my rental car at the agency Localiza. My GPS system was directing me to a strange place where no rental company was to be suspected.
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The bay of Paraty is absolutely beautiful and can be easily enjoyed during an escuna tour on a traditional sailing boot. As Paraty is an important vacation destination for the cariocas (citizens of Rio de Janeiro) there is a big tourism industry and many ships look like party boats.
I’ve not been to Portugal so far, but I’ve already seen a traditional Portuguese city: Paraty (sometimes written Parati). When the Portuguese wanted to get gold from Minas Gerais they anchored in the bay of Paraty close to the village of a native tribe. They followed an already existing trail into the mountains to find the good they were searching for.
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The Pousada Corsario in Paraty is like a gated community of small houses next to the river and not far away from the historic city center. The houses are simpel but I really enjoyed lying in my hammock in front of the room. At the time I’ve been in Paraty, there where not many guests and it was a quiet and pleasant stay.
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