Fourth Visit to Brazil (2019)

Written in 2019:

Okay so I am now 31 years old, and I don’t like getting older, but on the other hand, my travel project is moving forward and 2019 has been fantastic in terms of travel so far. Recently, I have been to Portugal, where I started off exploring the two UNESCO World Heritage Sites towns of Elvas and Evora. Both are highly recommended and possible to explore by foot. In Evora, I walked from the centre on some dark roads in the evening to reach Convento do Espinheiro, Historic Hotel & Spa – Évora, where I had a great experience. It’s an exceptional hotel and one of the best I have stayed in Europe.

I then went on a cheap Ryanair flight to Terceira in the Azores where I saw a lot after the tourist board helped me out with a rental car. The World Heritage Site-town of Angra, the volcanic phenomenon of Algar do Carvão, and fantastic viewpoints like Monte Brasil and Serra do CumeIn Porto to name a few recommendations. Azoris Royal Garden and Hotel Praia Marina, Praia da Vitória were the two properties I stayed at during my stay on Terceira and both are highly recommended as comfortable hotels with great value.

Portugal is one of the best countries in the world in my opinion and it’s certainly a plus that you get a great value on many services. After Terceira, I had two nights at Infante Sagres, a beautiful hotel with an excellent location, in the second biggest city, Portugal, that I have visited a few times before. I finished Portugal with a visit to Douro Valley, Guimarães, Braga and a night at a nice country hotel called Carmo’s Boutique Hotel, where I stayed in a heated tent. A quite unique experience for me. I then travelled near the border and walked across a bridge into Spain.

I visited Vigo, Santiago de Compostela and A Coruña before I decided to get back to Denmark to see my family. Of the Spanish cities on this trip, I liked Santiago de Compostela the most. The old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where I stayed at Parador de Santiago/Hostal Reis Catolicos, which Wikipedia says “is widely considered the oldest continuously operating hotel in the world”.

In the next trip, I visited Toulouse for the first time, as getting to Brazil was really cheap if flying from Toulouse to Lisbon to Fortaleza instead of starting in Copenhagen. Not the most environmentally friendly to travel, sorry, but as I could visit a new region in France, I decided to do it. Fortaleza is the fifth biggest city in Brazil and a city where I really felt the language barrier, but glad Uber is in many locations of Brazil so I could get around and experience the city.

I had a night at the comfortable budget hotel, Ibis Fortaleza Centro De Eventos before flying to Recife the following day. Recife is in the state of Pernambuco where I spent more than two weeks, visiting several places, two private homes, and several sights, and had a wonderful time. I did day trips to two other Brazilian states and saw Maragogi and João Pessoa. João Pessoa impressed me a lot in my short visit. In Recife, I stayed at two Accor hotels for a total of eight nights. Four at the comfortable Hotel Ibis Recife Boa Viagem, and four at Mercure Recife Navegantes Hotel. The last one impressed me a lot with modern design and stunning views.

After Pernambuco, I visited Belo Horizonte, Divinópolis, Brasilia, Goiás, Sao Paulo state, Vitoria, Rio de Janeiro state and finally finishing with a return to Rio de Janeiro after a wonderful visit in 2011. Azul Brazilian Airlines helped me a lot as they sponsored three domestic flights. A big thanks to them for helping with my big travel hobby project. It’s similar to Jetblue, and a really comfortable experience. I now plan a break from travelling and hope to do a lot of lectures. If you are interested in hearing about great travel adventures in greater detail, please don’t hesitate to contact me.