"Beautiful Brazil" Brazil by skullcrusher

I occasionally manage to tear myself away from Rio and visit other places.

Porto Alegre - in southern Brazil, isn´t the most interesting place you might visit in this country. However, it is pleasant enough .... while the center of town boasts enough hectic activity to make it an adventure, the more affluent suburbs are quiet and dull - like every other affluent suburb on this planet. It at least has a cheap and rather helpful metro system, which is a rarity with mid-sized towns in this country.

Niteroí - Rio´s quiet neighbor across the bay. It´s a quick and easy way to get a view of more typical Brazilian city life. The very progressive Museu de Arte Contemporia has a very unique design and has great placement on a cliff overlooking the sea. Plus, taking the ferry across provides you with great views of Rio and the surrounding area for a mere 4 Reais roundtrip.

Barra da Tijuca - A few miles to the west of Rio, is a fashionable city with beautiful homes and atrocious high-rises and shopping malls. Barra beach is the highlight here- in case you didn´t get enough fun and sun in Rio or you just want to scope out a different scene. You can get there from Copa. by catching a #523 onibus on Rua Barata Ribeiro.

Teresopolis - A much smaller town up in the mountains to the north of Rio. This town, though not pretty, is a great base for hiking and climbing. It´s very close to Parque Nacional Serra dos Orgaos (beautiful mountain scenery) and is where the Brazilian Soccer team trains. A very nice and cheap hotel to hang out in is the Varzea Palace which is located right in the heart of town.

Petropolis - On the other side of the mountain range from Teresoplis. It´s a bit smaller and definitely more aesthetic than it´s bigger neighbor. You can actually hike from one town to the other if you want (long and not easy).

Sao Joao del Rei - is a nice small town with a great old town area. Some of the churchs were designed by Aleijadinho, Brazil´s most famous sculptor. This town has excellent restaurants as well and the prices are generally pretty cheap for everything.

Tiradentes - is a beautiful little village with an old-world feel to it. You´ll see horses roaming up and down the street and a horse-drawn carriage from time to time. It´s a quick trip from Sao Joao and is worth a visit.

Foz do Iguazu - It´s a laid back little town whose only real attraction is it´s proximity to the awesome Iguazu Falls, thus making it a good base. The town is OK in it´s own right - not nearly as dangerous as Sao Paulo or Rio, yet considered to be noticeably more dicey than the nearby Puerto Iguazu (Argentina).

Manaus - I had a quick stop up here on a recent trip. I have to admit that I was impressed with the size of the Amazon River. The old town in Manaus makes for a stroll. Rains a lot in that part of Brazil. If you are into nature tours then you will like it, but if you want sand and sun forget about it.

So much more to see in this huge and diverse country. Still need to make my way further north; at least up to Salvador. Yes, I see many more trips to Brazil in my future.