Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
still a major crop). Thanks in part to a minor offshore oil boom, a degree of a
uence has
been brought to parts of the coast, though travel inland through the tropical scrub forest
(
caatinga
), and the potholed roads, rickety buses and ramshackle villages are still in
evidence. This despite Alagoas in particular wielding an inordinate amount of influence
on the national stage over the years: ex-presidents
Floriano Peixoto
(1839-95) and
Deodoro da Fonseca
(1827-92) both hailed from the state, while
Fernando Collor de Mello
(b. 1949), the ex-president impeached for corruption in the 1990s, remains leader of a
powerful political dynasty based in Maceió (he's currently the federal senator for Alagoas).
Aracaju
Some 350km north from Salvador,
ARACAJU
, the capital of
Sergipe
, comes as a
surprise. Gone is the dominant Afro-Brazilian culture of Bahia (though still a major
influence in festivals), replaced with a more typical multi-racial Brazilian mix, while the
city itself is the kind of a
uent, ordered place more associated with the southeast, with
a thicket of condos expanding the city ever outwards. Much of its wealth comes from
the exploitation of the Sergipe Basin oilfields since the 1960s (just offshore), though
the city is relatively new in any case, founded in 1855 as one of the nation's first
purpose-built state capitals. Today, like most Brazilian cities, Aracaju has multiple
centres: the
centro histórico
on the Rio Sergipe is its traditional heart and still retains
much of its commerce and civic buildings, though the best nightlife, restaurants and
recreation have moved south to the
beaches
, especially
Atalaia
. Other than a couple of
good museums, there are no real major sights in the city itself, but base yourself here to
visit the two colonial gems of
São Cristóvão
and
Laranjeiras
.
THE NORTHEAST
Turiaçu
Cururupu
PARQUE NACIONAL
DOS LENÇOIS
N
Alcantara
Barreirinhas
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
Camocim
Luis
Correia
São Luís
Jericoacoara
Parnaiba
Icaraí
Santa
Inês
PARQUE NACIONAL
DAS SETE CIDADES
Tianguá
Sobral
Fortaleza
PARQUE
NACIONAL
DE UBAJARA
Canoa Quebrada
Piripiri
MARANHÃO
Aracati
Caxias
Imperatriz
Teresina
São Miguel
do Gostoso
Touros
Mossoró
Galinhos
CEARÁ
Genipabu
RIO GRANDE
DO NORTE
Natal
Praia da Pipa
Carolina
Juazeiro
do Norte
Crato
Picos
Sousa
Campina
Grande
Lajedo de
Pai Mateus
Cabedelo
João
Pessoa
PARQUE
NACIONAL
DA SERRA DA
CAPIVARA
PARAIBA
Ingá
Serra Talhada
Itamaracá
Olinda
Cabo de
Agostinho
HIGHLIGHTS
Capela Dourada, Recife
Olinda
Porto de Galinhas
The Sertão
Fernando de Noronha
Jericoacoara
São Luís
PERNAMBUCO
PIAUÍ
Recife
Caruaru
Arcoverda
São Raimundo
Nonato
Petrolina
Porto de Galinhas
Paulo
Afonso
Maragoji
Juazeiro
Tamandaré
Japaratinga
ALAGOAS
Canudos
Marechal Deodoro
Sobradinho
Dam
Maceió
SERGIPE
Praia do Francês
Penedo
Jacobina
Laranjeiras
Aracaju
0
200
BAHIA
São Cristóvão
kilometres
Belo Horizonte
Rio de Janeiro
