Travel Tips

Repeat after me -
There is no place like Porto Segro!

There is no place like Porto Segro!

There is no place like Porto Segro!

There is no place like Porto Segro!

There is no place like Porto Segro!

There is no place like Porto Segro!

This place is sooooo easy to get to. Especially from São Paulo, as they have about 10 flights per day from SP. The upper class high schools and universities have their spring break parties there, if that tells you something. This town really rocks.

The main street in the town is called the Passarela do Alcool, if you get my drift. There are plenty of nearby beaches that have live music during the day. Axé Moí was my favorite, as the music never stops, and they have dance shows with pagode and Axé music, that really gets the locals up and shakin'.

At night, there is a different story here, as there are many venues for music and dance, but the local businessmen (club owners) have made an arrangement with each other that each club would be open only one night a week, and that on each night, the club of choice would be jammed-packed, and jumping, but mostly (98%) with Brazilians, and mostly from São Paulo.

The clubs are especially interesting, as they are theme clubs, with one of them being named Transylvania, where the building is designed with a Dracula Haunted House theme, and the employees dress in scare-you outfits, and another club is called Alcatráz, being located in a building that looks like a prison, complete with barbed wire, and bars on the doors, cell block numbers, etc.

Porto Seguro's most popular drink is called the "Capeta", which translates as "devil", and these drinks are sold everywhere on the street, where the vendors in their stands compete to have the most beautiful array of cut fruit, and these things are really spectacular, but the Capetas are deadly, as they are chock-full of alcohol and fruit, and they can sneak up on you. You definitely do not want to overdo these, as you will have trouble getting to the party in the evening.

Special tips for Porto Seguro - Rent a bugre (VW dune buggy) for US$20 per day and you will be travelling in style. For the nature part of the quest, drive your bugre south over the ferry to Arrial da Ajuda and Trancoso, where you will find some of the most pristeen and well preserved beaches in the country.

Also, drive north to Praia Vermelha and Cabralia, supposedly the points of discovery of Brazil. Praia Vermelha has an indigenous persons reservation, which is well worth the visit, and a great place to buy inexpensive and well made lembranças.

I recommend that as soon as you get to an airport in Brazil that you buy the Quatro Rodas Guia das Praias, which is an excellent source (in Portuguêse) for all of the beaches in the country. It has aerial photographs of the entire coastline of Brazil, and tons of useful information about Pousadas, Hoteis, Restaurants.

By the way, the picture shown is not a picture of the great Minelaw Sete, but rather of the shop of Minelaw in Porto Seguro. Minelaw can be found in Salvador in the heart of Pelourinho.

Try this website for more Porto Seguro Information:

http://www.portonet.com.br/guia/

Better yet, go to the part of the site that has the photos of the activity in Porto Seguro:
http://www.portonet.com.br/guia/agenda_fotos.asp