Belém: some background

Belém lies on Baía do Guajará, which is basically the Amazon River. As the Amazon enters the Atlantic Ocean, it courses around hundreds of islands, one as large as Switzerland. The Portuguese founded the city in 1616 as a fort to prevent the Dutch, French, and British from sailing up the Amazon. The climate here is hot and humid. Most days are in the low 90’s and it should be raining every day but isn’t.

Belém is the capital of the state of Pará and has a current population of about 1.38 million, making it the second most populous city in the northern region after Manaus. The northern region is composed of the states of Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, and Tocantins. Almost half of the region’s 12.9 million inhabitants live in Pará.

While the city still serves as a port for the region, the importance of shipping the Amazon’s riches to the rest of the world has declined in recent decades due to better ports built elsewhere on the river. The economy is based on fishing, shipping, government, and services.

The Mercado de Ferro building at the Mercado de Ver-o-Peso in dowtown Belém

The Brazlian navy at port

Baía do Guajará, downton Belém, and Forte do Presépio

View from my apartment in the São Bras neighborhood

Brasília

After passing through São Paulo, I spent two nights in Brasília visiting friends. The original part of the federal district, the Plano Piloto, is totally planned and each activity (living, working, playing) has its place. Designed for cars, the city can be difficult to navigate as a pedestrian or someone who relies on public transportation. There are lots of good restaurants and the city’s well-educated and well-paid federal work force comes from all over Brazil.

View of the Eixo Monumental from the TV Tower

What I call the Giant Close-pin, holding the Praça dos Três Poderes, and perhaps the Brazilian government, together. The site lies between the executive office buildings, the Congress, and the Supreme Court.

Ubatuba

Ubatuba is an easy 4 hour bus ride south of São Paulo on Brazil’s Costa Verde, which extends up to Rio de Janeiro. I’ve only been in the low season, and I’ve enjoyed both visits.

This is what I did on my first full day back in Brazil:

A friend had the same idea:

Life is difficult.

First post

So this is my first post. I don't know what I'm doing yet, but it seems simple enough. I should be working on job applications so I'll write more later.