Travel tips!

A few Brazilians speak English so make sure to learn simple phrases as “Quanto custa?” which means “How much?”  and how to count in Portuguese that’s always useful when you want to buy something. But be aware that people might try to trick you. 3 três, 6 seis and 10 dez  is pronounced like “trays”, “says” and “days” so the sound is very similar. The salesmen on the beach may tell you that the price is seis and you hand him dez because you don’t have any change, but he just walks calmly away instead of giving you the change back. When you tell him that the price was seis, he just shakes his head and tells you dez! This happened to me, but I stood up for myself so I got my money back! NOBODY trick me!

Travel Tips!

Don't dress down!

Tourists intend to dress down to protect themselves from robbers. But you won't look like you come from the ghetto just by dressing down!

Even though a third of all the Brazilians are very poor and live in the favelas (ghettos), the most of them dress well. When I met my fiancé and he told me that he lives in the favela, I just looked at him from top to toe and then I just shook my head and said NO WAY! He always dress very well!

But there is one way to reveal them, their nails! My Colombian friend told me that he was threaten by a gun to give away his bag (which he had a computer and money for a ticket to Finland) when he passed by a bad area in Colombia. He was dressed in a suit, so he told the robber that he's truly a very poor man and just dressed like a business man because he was looking for a job that particular day. The robber didn't believe him, but he insisted that he was telling the truth. The robber didn't know what to believe so he asked to see his nails and that was what saved my friend! My friend's nails were not done by a manicurist for a while...

In South America it's so cheap to fix your nails, so everyone do that even the men! Just the really poor people won't do that!

Travel Tips!

Don’t wear nice big earrings in the blocos or in crowded areas during the carnival. There are girls there that just pull them right out from your ear if they like what they see, which leave you with TWO earlobes on each side of your head instead of ONE! During the carnival I always use earrings that snap of very easily if someone try to pull them out of my ear.

Don't miss!

When you are in Brazil don’t miss out to try the super fruit açai! It is a little fruit that looks like blueberry that grows on açai palm in Amazonas. Açai is very healthy and very popular in diet products nowadays. The berry has more than 1000 times the antioxidant levels of red grapes besides having a lot of omega-3, 6 and 9 oils and it is caffeine free!

It’s really hard and expensive to get it outside of Brazil and it is almost impossible get it fresh if you don’t live in Amazonas. After harvesting the berry you should consume it or freeze it down before 24 hours because it starts to lose its important nutrients otherwise.

Best way to eat açai is by making pure, jucie or smoothie from it. It’s delicious to eat it like pure, tastes like ice-cream. I’m enjoying my açai at a local café close to where I live almost every day before going to the beach. It’s really good for breakfast as it keeps you full during the day.

Travel tips!

If a random guy passes you on the street and shouts out “Gostosa” you should act like you got offended. Gostosa means Sexy or Delicious in Portuguese, but it’s much stronger! The only one that is allowed to call you that is your boyfriend, nobody else!

Travel Tips!

Don’t walk around with a big map in your hands if you aren’t in a typical tourist area. In some areas should walk with confidence like you know exactly where you are even if you have no idea!

If you need help go inside a store or a restaurant to ask instead of trying figure where you are on the map!

Travel tips!

If the guy you met yesterday calls you “Linda”, don’t slap him! That doesn’t mean that he forgot your name. Linda is Portuguese for saying beautiful!

Travel Tips!

Guys don’t use black socks in your sandals! That gives you a stamp on your forehead which says “TOURIST”! European guys, no offence, but very often German guys do this. Brazil is not dangerous if you don’t walk around the wrong area or wear a very expensive watch, but for God’s sake why you wanna show everyone that you are a tourist?

Typical tourist!

Travel Tips!

Don’t get scared when the taxi driver don’t stop when it’s a red light, at least not if you are in Salvador after 11 pm or on Saturday or Sunday! In some counties is it legal to drive even though it is red light, due to the risk of getting robbed when you stop the car.

Janine, Jair's sister

Couldn't find a suiting picture but at least there is a taxi in this picture! And Jair's sister is nice to look at :)