Get dizzy and go Brazilian
WITHIN 24 hours of landing in Brazil, I found myself on the dance floor at a wedding, in the clutches of a woman attempting to teach me to shake off my British reserve.
My friends and I had been spontaneously invited to the celebrations after stumbling across them.
We had just been taken by boat from our resort, Costa Do Sauipe, to the tiny village of Mangue Seco.
After a hair-raising morning of driving down sand dunes in an open-topped jeep we had gone to the village’s only restaurant to find there was a wedding on.
Glorius ... Rio de Janeiro
But rather than shoo us away, our hosts cleared a table for us and soon I was being passed from Brazilian man to Brazilian man trying to teach me to samba before a local woman came to my rescue.
Traditionally, Brazil was a favourite with backpackers and hedonists but it has emerged as an all-inclusive destination for holiday-makers who want the sun and comfort of a Caribbean-type trip at an affordable price.
Several hotel chains have set up shop in Costa Do Sauipe, creating a vast hotel “village” with tourist shops, a pharmacy and security monitoring traffic coming in.
Our hotel had kids’ clubs, circus workshops, a nightclub, gym and a games room. It was 300 yards from a beach with one of the hotel’s many bars.
There was a choice of six restaurants and evening entertainment was laid on, creating the perfect environment to relax without having to venture out.
Brazil has mile upon mile of tree-lined deserted beaches, some of the most famous landmarks in the world and some of the most diverse nature.
We opted to see as much as we could and headed out of the resort.
First stop was Salvador, a two-hour drive from the hotel and the capital of the state of Bahia.
The breathtaking colonial architecture of Pelourinho, a Unesco world heritage site, tells some of the country’s fascinating history, while shops dedicated to footballer Ronaldinho offer a modern touch.
Golden ... Brazil's beaches
After lunch it was a trip in the Lacerda Elevator, giving us a stunning view of the bay.
Our second trip was to Rio de Janeiro, a two-hour flight from Salvador, and we stayed near the Copacabana beach.
Carnival
Rio is beautiful but dangerous. We were told not to take cameras or valuables to the beach and to avoid going out alone.
But our guide looked after us, driving us in a minibus to and from the sites. First stop were the iconic Sugar Loaf Mountain and Corcovado, host to the famous Christ The Redeemer statue, which can be reached by a furnicular.
As we were not in Rio in time for its world famous carnival, that evening we took in the next-best thing instead – the Platforma show of carnival costumes.
Dancer after dancer came on stage wearing outfits that probably equalled their own body weight.
Monument ... Corcovado
Male dancers performed a traditional routine, back-flipping and kicking at breakneck speed. Best of all, we were invited on stage to join in at the end of the routine for a carnival of our own.
From there we took a three-hour flight to the amazing Iguassu falls on the Argentine border, where millions of gallons of water thunder over every day.
We stood and watched in awe as spray covered us then donned life jackets for a hair-raising speedboat ride beneath the falls.
The following day we crossed to the Argentinian side, taking in a nature reserve and another amazing view of the falls and countless rainbows.
Then it was back to the comfort of our all-inclusive base and the evening’s entertainment of dancing.
Brazil is a country of contrasts, extreme poverty and extreme affluence, sandy beaches and sprawling rainforest.
There is so much to see it would take years to do it all.
