Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
luxurious or offbeat hotel. In the Amazon
and the Pantanal pousadas tend to be
purpose-built fazenda lodges geared
towards upscale ecotourism.
Hotels proper run the gamut from
cheap dives to ultra-luxe. The Brazilian
star system (one to five) depends on
bureaucratic requirements more than on
standards - many perfectly good hotels
don't have stars. A quarto is a room
without a bathroom; an apartamento or
suite is en suite (with private shower); an
apartamento de luxo is an apartamento
with a fridge/mini-bar. A casal is a double
room, a solteiro a single. Apartamentos
normally come with telephone, air
conditioning ( ar condicionado ), TV and
fan ( ventilador ). Room rates vary
tremendously by region and season.
Generally, for R$80-140 a night you
can stay in a reasonable hotel or pousada
with private bathroom and fan or air
conditioning. In many cases (especially
smaller towns) the price of a double or
twin room may be little more than two
hostel beds - and the breakfast could well
be much better. During the off-season
hotels in tourist areas offer hefty
discounts of around 25 to 35 percent
- and even in high season at hotels and
pousadas at all times it's worth asking
tem desconto? ” (“is there a discount?”).
Brazilian campsites are usually found
on the coast near larger beaches. These
have basic facilities - running water and
toilets, a simple restaurant - and in the
south are popular with both Argentines
and Brazilians. Elsewhere camping is
prohibited in most national parks, and is
usually only undertaken on organized
jungle treks or with local guides to
ensure safety.
RESSACA HUNG OVER ?
TRY ENGOV
Caipirinhas go down easily and don't
strike at once, which makes getting
bêbado (drunk) very easy. If you think
you're going to overdo it, do what
the locals do; stop into a local farmácia
and buy some gold packets of Engov
tablets , a cheap, over-the-counter
hangover preventative and “cure” whose
ingredients, aluminium hydroxide,
caffeine, acetylsalicylic acid and
pyrilamine maleate, can be found in
antacids, aspirin and antihistamines.
You're meant to take one before your
first drink and another after the last; but
trust us, it helps the next day too.
3
salted meat and regional fruits, beans
and tubers; and comida gaúcha from
Rio Grande do Sul, the world's most
carnivorous diet, revolves around
churrasco - charcoal-grilling every meat
imaginable. Feijoada is the closest Brazil
comes to a national dish: a stew of pork,
sausage and smoked meat cooked with
black beans and garlic, garnished with
slices of orange. Eating it is a national
ritual at weekends, when restaurants serve
feijoada all day.
Alongside regional restaurants, there are
standard meals available everywhere for
about R$9-15: prato comercial and prato
feito (literally, pre-made dish) are two
very budget-friendly phrases you'll see
on (usually lunchtime) menus, consisting
of arroz e feijão (rice and beans), a choice
of steak ( bife ), chicken ( frango ) or fish
( peixe ), and often served with salad,
fries and farinha , dried manioc (cassava)
flour that you sprinkle over everything.
Farofa is toasted farinha , and usually
comes with onions and bits of bacon
mixed in. The prato do dia (plate of the
day) or set-menu prato executivo are
similarly cheap and usually very filling
(R$12-25). Also economical are
lanchonetes , ubiquitous Brazilian snack
bars where you eat at the counter. hese
serve a range of salgados (savoury snacks)
like pão de queijo (cheese profiteroles),
pastel (fried pastry with meat or cheese
filling) and coxinha (shredded chicken in
FOOD AND DRINK
Brazil has four main regional cuisines :
comida mineira , from Minas Gerais, is
based mainly on pork with imaginative
use of vegetables and thick bean sauces;
comida baiana (see box, p.282), from
Bahia, has a rich seafood base and an
abundance of West African ingredients;
comida do sertão , from the interior of the
Northeast, relies on rehydrated, dried or
 
Search WWH ::




Custom Search