SOUTHEAST BRAZIL - Brazil - page 112

Terceira Ponte Bridge connecting Vila Velha to Vitória

Guarapari 9
Espírito Santo.

Vitória 0
Espírito Santo.

bridge, Terceira Ponte .
Although few colonial
buildings remain, it is home
to the architectural symbol
of the city, Convento da
Nossa Senhora da Penha .
Sitting high on a lush palm-
covered hill overlooking
Vitória Bay, its thick fortified
walls beautifully reflect both
the sunrise and sunset. The
monastery was founded in
1558 and preserves fine 16th-
century wood carvings and
one of Brazil's first paintings,
Nossa Senhora das Alegrias ,
by an unknown early 16th-
century Iberian artist. At the
base of the hill is the simple
Igreja Nossa Senhora do
Rosário, the oldest church in
the state, dating from 1551.
South of Vilha Velha,
Praia de Costa is not as busy
a beach as Camburí, but is a
good place to go bodysurfing.
Manguezal de Vitória ,
situated northeast of Vitória,
is the largest stretch of urban
mangroves in South America.
The mangroves are an impor-
tant nursery for marine life
and can be visited by boat
alongside a number of the
bay's wilder islands.

* 2,000. @ from * 292,000. ~ @

Vitória. Rua Paulo de Aguiar 68,

Centro, [phone].

n from Rio. Sepetur, Rua Fortunato

Ramos 30, Santa Lucia, (027) 3315
5540.

n

_ Carnaval (Dec).

Espírito Santo's busiest beach
resort is fringed by dozens of
long, white beaches. People
from Minas Gerais rush down
on weekends to bask on the
sandy beaches of Guarapari,
said to have mildy radioactive
healing properties. The best
beach, Praia do Morro , lies to
the north of the city and has a
nature reserve. Praia do Meio ,
also to the north, has rock
pools filled with clear water,
and is good for snorkeling.
Guarapari offers light
adventure activities, such
as rappeling, rafting, and
some of the best diving in
the Southeast. The town also
has a lively nightlife scene.

The capital city of Espírito
Santo is dominated by an
expansive bay with sheltered
crescent coves, and sur-
rounded by a bottle-green
open ocean. Vitória was
originally made up of 36
distinct islands, but landfills
have now reduced these to
just a handful, connected by
five grand bridges. Praia do
Camburí , the main beach
south of the city is a busy
4-mile (6-km) stretch, dotted
with restaurants and hotels.
Across the river, Vila Velha
(Old Town), the most
interesting part of the city,
is reached by the majestic

R

Convento da Nossa
Senhora da Penha
Rua Vasco Coutinho, Prainha, Vila
Velha, Vitória. Tel [phone].
# 5:30am-4:45pm Mon-Fri,
4:30am-4:45pm Sun.
}

Manguezal de Vitória
Santuário de Santo Antônio.
8 Av Dario Lourenço de Souza,

[phone].

Sunbathers on Praia do Morro in Guarapari

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp370-72 and pp396-7