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.
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
No comments:
Post a Comment