Brazil - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 229

beach, though the hard-court game is
also popular and sand is imported inland
for beach volleyball championships
elsewhere. In Rio especially, beach
foot-volleyball ( futevolei ) has gained
massive popularity in the last decade.
A full range of outdoor activities is
available across the country, with regional
highlights including hang-gliding in Rio,
hiking and waterfall hunting in the
coastal forests of the Serra do Mar or
Bahia's marvellous Chapada Diamantina,
river-based pursuits in the Amazon
and Pantanal, and exploration of the
lunar-like dune systems of Maranhão's
Lençois Maranhenses.

BRAZIL ON THE NET
W brasil.gov.br Government site

with information on Brazilian culture,
environment and current affairs in
English.
W visitbrasil.com O cial site of the
Brazilian Ministério do Turismo.
W brazilmax.com Self-proclaimed
Hip Guide to Brazil covering travel, arts
and politics across the country.
W folha.uol.com.br/internacional
São Paulo newspaper with a helpful
English-language version.
W gringoes.com Brazilian culture, arts,
sports and travel in English.
W

3

riotimesonline.com Focused on news
and entertainment in Rio, but with
information for travellers across Brazil.

COMMUNICATIONS
here are internet cafés (here called
LAN houses ) everywhere in Brazil -
even obscure jungle towns have
air-conditioned places with web
connections - and wi-fi is now
standard in hotels and cafés in major
cities. Prices vary from R$3 to R$7
per hour. Most have headphones and
Skype available.
You may wish to buy a SIM card to
insert in your mobile phone - most
telephone company offices and Lojas
Americanas stores sell these (R$10-20),
though some have laborious
bureaucratic requirements; TIM is
often the least problematic. Bear in
mind that rates will apply only to calls
within the same state - calling to and
“roaming” within other states is charged
at a hefty premium.
Public phones are operated by
phonecards ( cartão telefônico ), available
at newspaper stands, and are often
cheaper for local landline calls than
mobile phones. Different phone
companies compete within different areas
of Brazil, and pay phones display which
company code should be used. This
doesn't affect local calls - just dial the
seven- or eight-digit number - but for
long-distance or international calls
(charged at around R$7 per minute),
you must first select a phone company
(Embratel, code 021, is reliable; from a
TIM phone use 041). Dial this code first,

then the area or country code. To call Rio
from anywhere else in Brazil, for example,
dial 021+21 (phone company code + city
code) followed by the eight-digit number.
For international calls, add an extra zero
before the company code. International
calls can also be made from booths in
a posto telefônico - you're billed at the
end. A reverse-charge call is a chamada
a cobrar .
Post o ces - correios - are identified
by their bright yellow postbox signs.
International stamps cost R$1.80 for up
to ten grams. Airmail letters to Europe
and North America take around two
weeks, and though generally reliable,
it's better not to send valuables.

CRIME AND SAFETY
Brazil's reputation as a rather dangerous
place is not entirely undeserved, but it
is often overblown, and many visitors
arrive with an exaggerated idea of the
perils lying in wait. Street crime can be
a problem, especially in the evenings and
late at night (the targeting of tourists is
worst in Rio, Salvador and Recife),
but the key is to be sensible and not let
fear grip you. Criminals are also getting
more sophisticated - there has been
a reported increase in the cloning of
ATM cards , so you should check your
online account often.