Fun-Travels.com

Discover Brazilian Beaches Where the Sun Shines

Posted by Viola Woolcott

This is a brilliant video of a Student project promoting tourism in Brazil. It has been developed by international students (from Brazil!) which are enrolled in US classroom.

What a BEAUTIFUL country. You just got to watch it! It’s AWESOME!

Brazil by Leo and Arthur

Peru, Land Of The Inca

By Ina Woolcott

Peru, a multicultural nation. This country has everything the planet has to offer, all the micro climates and all the regions - Stunning coastlines, Highlands, Jungle, Rainforest, Lakes, Green as well as Snow Covered Mountains, Canyons, Palm trees, Waterfalls, Swamps, Deserts, the Andes - Pacific beaches up to the snow line.

A diverse range of animals are to be found in Peru from Monkeys, Seals, Cheetahs and other big cats, butterflies, frogs, llamas, Exotic Birds, Butterflies and Frogs, Flamingos. A diverse food and drink menu is available traditional style. Partake in extreme sports, hiking, bike tours, skiing, white water rafting, horse riding. Steeped in rich history, tradition and customs. Visit Historical ruins shrouded in mystery and magic, witness tribal ceremonial dances to customary dances such as the Alcatraz. Vibrant city life with Casinos and a busy night life to more humble indigenous dwellings - In Peru you can find just about everything that takes your interest and that inspires you.

In fact, just watch the video to be inspired!

Related link:
Machu Picchu, Lost City of the Incas, Peru

Machu Picchu, Lost City of the Incas, Peru

By Ina Woolcott

Location, Awe Inspiring Beautiful Architecture and Surrounding Countryside

The ruins of Machu Picchu, sometimes referred to as the ‘Lost City of the Incas’, are one of the most beautiful, awe inspiring and enigmatic ancient sites in the world.

The city is 5 square miles big and is extraordinary, mysterious and inspiring to behold. Machu Picchu is located 2,430m (7,970 ft) above the rumbling Urubamba river in the Urubamba Valley on a mountain ridge, about 70 km (44 miles) northwest of Cusco. From below the city is not visible. The city is completely self contained, watered by natural springs and encircled by agricultural terraces adequate to supply food for the entire populace residing within.

The ruins found in the city are cloaked in clouds and mystery. There are temples, palaces, baths, storage rooms and around 150 houses to be found, all in an extraordinary form of preservation. The structures are carved from the gray granite of the mountain top. A lot of the building blocks weigh 50 tons plus, are sculpted and fit together without mortar and such precision a knife blade cant even be inserted in the joints. This is a true wonder for architects and visitors of Machu Picchu alike.

The roads of the Inca are some of the most interesting constructed by pre-Columbian cultures in South America. This network of roads intersected at Cusco, which is the capital of the Inca Empire, one of them leading to the city of Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu is probably the most renowned symbol of the Inca Empire. The site has been designated a United Nations Educational World Heritage Site since 1983. It has also been the subject of concern regarding potential damage caused by tourism. In 2003 alone around 400,000 people visited Machu Picchu. Peruvian authorities insist that there is no problem.

In 1981, an area of 325.92 square kilometres surrounding Machu Picchu was made an ‘Historical Sanctuary’ of Peru. This area, not just limited to the ruins themselves, includes the regional landscape with its flora and fauna, emphasising the abundance of orchids found there.

History and Legends

The Inca are believed to have used the city of Machu Picchu for secret ceremonies from the 1400’s onwards. However, there are myths and legends that suggest the site was regarded, with awe, as a sacred place since a much earlier time.

It is believed the site was picked for its unique location and geological features. The silhouette of the mountain range behind Machu Picchu is meant to represent the face of the Inca looking skywards, and the largest peak, Huayna Picchu (meaning Young Peak), represents his nose.

One of Machu Picchu’s foremost uses was definitely astronomical observation. This is indicated by the Intihuatana stone (also known as the Saywa or Sukhanka stone), which means ‘Hitching Post of the Sun’ and has proved itself to be a precise indicator of the date of the two equinoxes and other prominent celestial periods. At midday on March 21st and September 21st, the sun, being almost directly above the pillar creates no shadow whatsoever. This is when the sun is momentarily ‘tied’ to the rock and is also a time when the Inca held sacred ceremonies.

Shamanic legends claims when a sensitive persons touches his or her forehead to the Intihuatana stone, it opens one’s vision to the spirit world.

The Inca believed that when the Intihuatana stone was broken at an Inca shrine the deities of the place departed or died.

Fortunately, the Spaniards who searched out the Incas sacred Intihuatana stones and destroyed them never discovered Machu Picchu and therefore the site was left intact, and so the Intihuatana stone and its resident spirits remain in their original position. The mountain top sanctuary was inhabited until the Spanish conquered Cusco in 1532. Supply lines that linked the Inca social centres were disrupted bringing the great empire to an end.

Travel

All visits at some point originate in Cusco. Cusco can be reached by a domestic flight from Lima, or international flight from La Paz, in Bolivia. The tourist train from Cusco, takes 3 and a half hours to get to Machu Picchu. Thence follow several options.

The most common option is - take the train to Machu Picchu in the morning, explore the ruins for a few hours returning to Cusco in the afternoon. The train stops at Puente Ruinas station, where buses take tourists up the mountain to Machu Picchu.

Today, annually thousands of tourists walk the Inca roads - in particular The Inca Trail getting used to the environment in Cusco before embarking on a two or four day journey, both of which are controlled by the government. This requires travellers to be reasonably fit. The trip involves sleeping in tents.

Another option is - stay overnight near the ruins of Machu Picchu, rather than returning on the same day. Many hotels are located at nearby Aguas Calientes. There is just one hotel at Machu Picchu itself. From Aguas Calientes buses commute to the ruins regularly during the day, an 8km ride up the mountain (roughly one and a half hours if walking).

There is also a helicopter service available that runs from Cusco to Aguas Calientes, although in the 1970’s helicopter flights directly into Machu Picchu stopped in due to concern about their damage to the ruins.

Related link:
Peru, Land Of The Inca
Machu Picchu

Iguazu Falls, Holidays in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina

By Ina Woolcott

Iguazu Falls | The Most Spectacular Waterfalls in the World

Iguazu Falls are not only the most beautiful waterfalls of the world, they are also the widest and you will find them at the border of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. The falls are undoubtedly a top destination for visitors from all countries.

The Falls are also spelled IGUASSÚ, OR IGUAZÚ, Spanish CATARATAS DEL IGUAZÚ, Portuguese CATARATAS DO IGUAÇU, cataract on the Iguaçu River, 14 miles (23 km) above its confluence with the Paraná, at the Argentina-Brazil border.

The horseshoe-shaped Falls are 2.5 miles (4 km) wide, which is four times the width of Niagara Falls in North America and to a certain extend greater than the width of Victoria Falls in Africa.

There are numerous rocky and wooded islands on the edge of the escarpment over which the Iguaçu River plunges and divides the Falls into some 275 separate waterfalls or cataracts, varying between 200 and 269 feet (60 and 82 m) in height.

During the rainy season from November to March the rate of flow of the falls may rise to a maximum of 450,000 cubic feet (12,750 cubic m) per second.

Music by COLDPLAY, “Trouble”, from the Album “Parachutes”, see link below

Beaches of Pontal, Nova Brasilia, Morro de Pernambuco | Ilheus, Bahia, Brazil

By Ina Woolcott

The Pontal region doesn’t really have any beaches, just a few areas of dark mud when the tide is low. The only ‘beach’ here is actually situated next door to Pontal, in Nova Brasilia. The locals call it “Prainha” - meaning ‘little beach’ due to its small size. The Praia do Sul also begins in Nova Brasilia. Morro de Pernambuco features small beaches, astonishingly beautiful. At low tide, Praia da Concha is a small portion of paradise.

* Prainha - Pontal / Nova Brasilia, 2km - located next to the Morro de Pernambuco with an attractive view of Ilhéus on the other side of the Rio Cachoeira river. The location of Prainha is very pretty. Featuring a few small bars, a restaurant and a hamburger cabana nearby makes one wonder why this little beach is not as popular with locals as it should be, although this is probably due to the lack of clean water and space on the beach.

* Praia da Concha - Morro de Pernambuco, 2km - a little piece of paradise tucked away from view behind the rocky hills of the Morro de Pernambuco. by far the smallest beach at about 100metres in length. A well known beauty spot by the local but less known to tourists, It is surrounded by native vegetation and coconut trees. From here visitors have good views of the Pontal and Avenida Beaches. A good spot for swimming.The Morro may not appear attractive at first , but don’t let that fool you. The side of the mountain that is out of view definitely deserves your attention. Walk up the hill to the lighthouse and enjoy the view!

* Urubu - Start of Praia do Sul, 2 km - here are only reefs and small stretches of sand from here to the Opaba Hotel a little further to the south. This beach is hardly ever visited by the locals. It is only used as an entrance to the Praia da Concha. Along the beach there is a small shanty town which makes this area of the Praia do Sul rather unattractive, although the inhabitants are friendly people.

More beautiful beaches of Ilheus:
The Beaches of Ilhéus, Bahia in Brazil

More about Ilheus:
Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil | Sightseeing, Attractions and Leisure Activities

The Beaches of Ilhéus, Bahia in Brazil

By Ina Woolcott

There are extremely stunning beaches and tranquil coastlines where you can go for long, leisurely walks, sunbathe and even go for a dip. If walking direction Itacaré, you will sometimes not encounter another person for hours, apart from now and again, the odd local fisher man. With many beautiful beaches to pick from it is best to experience as many as possible! The most popular being the sandy Praia do Norte (North Beach) and also the longest, 31 miles long. This beach is very wild and beautiful in some places and is fringed with tropical rainforests and coconut trees. The sea is green and ideal for surfing and fishing for flounder, mullet, snook and majorra.

Please read further to find out about beaches close by, and a little further distance away from Ilhéus. The distance in km after the beach indicates how far away the beaches are from Ilhéus itself.

Beaches central to Ilhéus

The beaches located in the centre of Ilhéus such as the Praia da Avenida, Praia do Cristo and, on the north side of town, Praia do Malhado and Praia do Marciano are not as attractive as they used to be due to the effects of the construction of the new harbour.

Praia de Avenida - this is central to Ilhéus - featuring a waterfront park with ball courts, cycling circuit and an open air theatre. It is advised not to swim on the right hand side of the Sao Sebastiao Cathedral. The water used to be far closer to the “boulevard”. Nowadays one must walk through some small sand dunes, grassy land or football fields before getting to the slightly polluted water.

Cristo Beach - this beach is central to Ilhéus, located at the foot of the Christ Statue near the old harbour at the mouth of the Rio Cachoeira River and close to the Santana River also. Where the sea and Pontal Bay meet is the perfect spot for sailing, jet skiing, canoeing, and hobby-cat as well as other water sports.

Praia do Malhado, 3km - located at the north side of the city in front of an oil refinery, swimming here is not advised. the beach has some barracas at the beach where you can drink, eat snacks and listen to music.

Praia do Marciano, 4km - a popular hangout for the locals and here you can go swimming, but there are reefs and at the most extreme rocks, so beware! There are a few barracas that play loud music, which doesn’t seem to bother the visitors who are generally fairly young.

Interesting reading:
Fighting on the Beaches, A Year of Capoeira in Brazil
Bahia Blues

Atlas OF The Amazon:

Related links:
Beaches of Pontal, Nova Brasilia, Morro de Pernambuco | Ilheus, Bahia, Brazil
Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil | Sightseeing, Attractions and Leisure Activities