# Brazil in December..



## MaartenSFS (Jul 22, 2009)

Hello all,

     I am planning a two week solo trip (possibly two and a half) to South-East and possibly South Brazil, arriving in Rio de Janeiro. My great loves in life (besides my wife) are nature, culture, and language and keeping off the beaten track. I intend to photograph as much as possible.

I have heard that Rio is a dangerous city and too big for my tastes so I plan to see the sights and go somewhere quieter for most of the duration and really want to see some pristine Atlantic rainforest. I plan to spend a week and a half in such a location and really dig deep and I hope to stay in cheap accomodation and stay in contact with my family using internet cafes if possible. Any suggestions?

Also, is Brazil an expensive country for a shoestring type such as myself? I appreciate any information that you can provide. Thank you!


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## hooale (Jul 23, 2009)

>Also, is Brazil an expensive country for a shoestring type such as myself? I >appreciate any information that you can provide. Thank you![/QUOTE]

My experience was that Brazil is perfect for backpackers. Accomodation is cheap, food is cheap and public transport is good. 

I spend 4 weeks in Bahia, we never spend more then 15 Euro for a double bed with toilet and shower. Quality of the posada's was good except in Salvador when we were not able to find good accomodation. If you are willing to use dorms it will be cheaper. 

Enjoy the trip, Brazil has a lot to offer, feed is amazing, the people are nice just be carefull in big cities. I traveled quite a lot in South and Middle America but only in Salvador i felt quite unsafe. I am not sure how Rio is.

Cheers
alex


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## MaartenSFS (Jul 23, 2009)

That sounds great and from some research I have found that I may not even need to leave Rio (at least not very far) to find the wildlife. However, it seems that I have two other choices now: Panama and Trinidad and Tobago.

     The situation is that I had to cancel a ticket to somewhere else and it must be a certain price or higher but I don't want higher so these are in my price range. Secondly I don't want to spend more than 500$ (Most 600$) during the stay including hotels/food/park fees. I don't do nightlife and want to get straight to the nature and away from tourists to see the real people/places.

If I can spot a jaguar, crocodile, monkey, sloth, pecary,  or other large animals and some interesting inverts/herps I will have a field day. My only other goal is to photograph the culture, landscape, and nature and make some films to return home with.

     Thanks to anyone that can help me realise this goal. If I went to Panama I am thinking Darien Province.


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## hooale (Jul 24, 2009)

I loved Panama, although i did not go to Darian. Darian is suppose to be nice although when i was in Panama (5 yrs ago) it was not recommended to go to Darian due to high activity of Colombian rebels. 

If you go to Panama do not forget to visit Kuna Yala.


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## MaartenSFS (Jul 24, 2009)

I heard that about Darien too, but I'm not too worried about it because I have seen enough things in my life to prevent myself from getting kidnapped by Colombians. I won't be going to the dangerous areas. Is Kuna Yala a town or a city or a park? The other place that I am considering is Volcan Baru.

It's possible that I can only stay ten days in either Rio or Panama so I wouldn't be able to go to both Volcan Baru and Darien in one trip. I've heard Darien is more pristine and the slight (almost non-existant) threat of danger interests me or at least sounds more like an adventure as I am going solo. Which one (Rio or Panama) do you think is nicer for ten days and with nature in mind?

Panama should be cheaper than Rio, right? That's a big advantage to me, also Panama is six hours closer to where I live, which means more time there. Is English widely-spoken in either? I really want to go somewhere exotic and off the beaten track or at least chaotic. I don't want to see any commercialised tourist places with McDonalds and English, just culture and nature.

     Sorry for the many questions, I'm very excited and it's a difficult decision. I'll return the favour by providing many photos and videos.

     Trouwens, ben jij en Nederlander?


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## DrAce (Jul 27, 2009)

I adore Brazil.  Personally, I've found it to be as safe as anywhere else - your chances of getting robbed, stabbed, murdered, or kidnapped are few and far-between.

In short - keep your wits about you, but really don't worry.  I wouldn't be wearing a LOT of expensive jewels etc, but I also wouldn't be that worried.

As for cost.  It's cheep.  REAL cheep (pun intended)!


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## MaartenSFS (Jul 27, 2009)

Haha, REAL cheap. Niiice.. ;P I wasn't too worried about it but if there's street crime everywhere I don't need to take the unnecessary risk. I never wear jewelry and always have a spare wallet with just a little change in it to throw away although I've never had to use it because apparently I look intimidating (I'm a martial arts teacher). I'm no match for firearms, though.

     Were you in Rio? Would you say that there is enough wildlife to explore there? At the moment I'm deciding between 1) Guatemala 2) Rio de Janeiro or3) Panama. Rio is the furthest and well into South America (which I like) but I'm afraid that it's too big of a place to really get to explore the wildlife. Guatemala and Panama are more compact and possibly chearper. What are your thoughts?


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## DrAce (Jul 27, 2009)

I've been in Rio.  It's a neat place.  I really didn't do any spider hunting (not that I'd know how anyway), and I doubt it's a place for that.

It's a VERY cool city, though, and I'd urge you to visit.  It has the whole "if we left, the jungle would take over tomorrow" feel to it.


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## MaartenSFS (Jul 27, 2009)

I'd like to live somewhere like that.. Too many places, too little time.. (and $$$)


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