Brazil, it’s a must-see!

I wrote here a little bit about my country, Brazil, in case you decide to visit there some day. First of all, Brazilians don’t speak Spanish different from what a lot of people think. Brazil is the only country in Latin America that speaks Portuguese given that it was colonized by Portugal in the sixteen century. The population is completely mixed and was hugely influenced by Europeans (mainly Portuguese and Italians), Black Africans and native indigenous. We also can find Brazilians descendent from Jewish, Chinese, Koreans, Lebanese, and so on... With all this multicultural origin, it wouldn’t be a surprise to find Brazil a very diverse country. Each area has its own cuisine, music, dressing style, accent, etc. Even Samba, the most famous Brazilian rhythm, varies according to the area.

Brazil is one of the biggest countries in the world and due its size it hosts several types of vegetation, topography and climate. This is the main reason for the country having so many natural attractions. Although the tourism in Brazil is still being developed (represents less than 4% of the GDP), the country offers a wide range of holiday’s options. This includes ecotourism (for those who fancy being close to the nature), leisure and recreation (if you prefer relaxing in one of the sunny beaches), adventure travels (for people that like explore the wild world) and cultural and historic tourism (if you want to know a little bit more of the country’s history). The most popular destinations are: the beaches in Rio de Janeiro and Northeast coast, Amazon Rainforest, historic villages in Minas Gerais, Iguaçu Falls (second-greatest average annual flow of any waterfall in the world after Niagara Falls), Pantanal (one of the world's largest wetlands) and São Paulo city (for business trips and gastronomy).

Fernando de Noronha - Pernambuco

Iguaçu Falls - Paraná

Before going to Brazil, if you can’t speak any Portuguese, I do recommend you to check if the places that you are visiting are able to communicate with you in any language that you speak.

Brazilian people in general are very friendly and like to help, mainly if you are a foreigner (or gringo, as Brazilians informally call its foreigners). If you come from some country where people are more introverted, you might find quite different the way that Brazilians are tactile and talkative. Nevertheless, despite all this warm welcome, be wary that not everyone has good intentions. Crimes against tourist happen mainly because some tourist doesn’t follow basic rules such as: watch your own belongings when in public areas and do not go to places that you have no information about its safety (some tourists, full of the spirit of curiosity, try to visit areas where only the police would go). Apart the drawbacks, Brazil it’s a must! Definitely it's some place to visit!