Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I have funding to go to Brazil this summer and I'll be spending up to two months there. I'll probably be volunteering for one month in a big city (most likely Sao Paulo) but otherwise am free to travel across the country.

I'd love to collect here your recommendations for spending time in Brazil, where to go, what to see, what to do, what to eat, anything! :)

let me know closer to the time and i can give you lots of info. in planning, remember that anyplace south of Rio in the summer [your summer, our winter] will be cold and not tropical- this includes SP though it's super variable there [that's where my inlaws all are and we spend a lot of time there]. i'm in curitiba, and you need your woolies and hot water bottle here for sure.
what kind of volunteering?

I'll hopefully be volunteering with an NGO, although the details are not confirmed yet. The idea is to consolidate language learning whilst doing something which is productive and hopefully helpful for a future career.

I'd like to go to somewhere in the Amazon region for a week or so; what do you think? I was vaguely considering Manaus.

Manaus is famous for being a craphole and dangerous but i would go if i had the chance [haven't had the chance yet] despite that!
if you're going up there take the yellow fever shot and bring mosquito net/repellent.

someone here has done a homestay up north a few years ago, i can't remember who? they emailed me while they were here but i can't find the message.

if you know the NGO, feel free to send it to me if you want me to hunt for legitimacy. Sadly Brazil is a lovely place but there is lots of ripping-off-gringos going on- the WWOOF program is known for this. São Paulo is not quite as bad as Rio in terms of this and crime in general [cf recent news] but it's still, as we say here, not a place for amateurs.

If I can, I will be going with an international NGO I already volunteer with here in the UK but will definitely be in touch if that changes, so thank you for the offer :)

I know nothing about Manaus so was only considering it as one place I had heard of. Do you know of any lovelier places in the Amazon region? Sorting out vaccinations are on my to-do list for next week :)

oh good, glad to hear it!!

i think manaus is totally worth it. the meeting of the waters, the old architecture, etc. other than that there is really no centralized place in the amazon region that you can go to do something besides simply "being in nature". the population is just so sparse and things are so far one from another.

It's nothing like the movie.

Update: I'll definitely be in Rio for at least a week, probably two, towards the end of July. Where should I go/what should I do/where should I eat?

The one place I've never been! [my aunt lives there but i have no interest whatsoever]. I will ask people i know who live there and get back to you.

So, I have a question: what things should I be looking out for in ingredient lists?

I know the basics:

Meat: carne
Birds: ave/frango
Fish: peixe
Shellfish: marisco
Milk: leite
Butter: manteiga
Cheese: queijo
Egg: ovo
Honey: mel

But what about things like whey, casein and so on?

whey is "soro de leite" or just soro. i will put a link in the bottom of this msg with a list of ingredients to look out for. ingredient lists are pretty sketchy compared to EU ones. anything imported is likely to have a mistranslated product label [we buy a lot of japanese stuff and it's like they don't even try when we compare the original and the translation].

this is what my web group came up with (sorry about format, it came from FB)
I was in Rio recently. My tip: be careful with ATM's. Two guys tried to do a card cloning number on me at a Santander in Copa (had to cancel the card). Another buddy from the US had his card blocked after someone (not him) tried to charge $2,000 on it.

Jardim Botanico is well worth a 1/2 day trip....

There are loads of guides online about what to do in Rio, but the first thing I would say is that if she wants to do all the traditional tourist things... the PDA, Cristo, etc, then allow an enormous amount of time. Anyone who assumes you can do several of these sights in a day has not tried doing them when thousands of other tourists are trying to do the same

Head to Paraty for a few days

Galitos Grill in Ipanema ...

The best stores for arts arts and crafts from throughout Brazil are in Santa Teresa. They should go for lunch and stay to shop and visit the local museums. Then walk down the stairs to Lapa for a drink. etc., etc.

If she likes museums, I recommend Palacio do Catete and Museu Historico Nacional. Museu das Belas Artes is an excellent art gallery with traditional works. For more modern exhibits there is Museu de Arte Moderna (MAM) and the new Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR) which includes a rooftop viewing platform.

For a day at the beach, whilst Copacobana, Ipanema & Leblon are justifiably famous, that's where most of the tourists go and prices are higher as a result. Try Praia do Flamengo which has a good view of Pão de Açucar (Sugar Loaf).

I also agree with the earlier recommendation for Jardim Botanico. Also Quinta da Boa Vista which also has the Jardim Zoologico in it's grounds.

Oh, and if you are in Santa Teresa, don't miss Parque das Ruinas.

For free live Samba music, try Praça São Salvador in Larnejeiras from 6 -10pm on a Saturday.

There is so much to see and do in Rio that 2 weeks won't be enough....


First Saturday of each month Feira Lavradio in Lapa, if in Santa Teresa go the Ruinas for a great view of the city, take the elevator to Pavao-Pavaozinho in Ipanema above the General Osorio train station, Friday night at the back alley ways of Praca 15 where you can hear some great music and see the old architecture of the city, Rent an bike through the ITAU racks through the city and go along the Orla of Ipa and Copa. if you are fit, you can go all the way up to Santos Dumont airport. Tons of other stuff. Depends on what they like....

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There are a bunch of results when you google "restaurantes veganos rio de janeiro"
https://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF-8&q ... 9645402230

i will warn you- the veg restaurants i've been to have been cheese and milk fests. these ones[some, anyway] have vegan in the name, so i guess there's hope. Rio is the only place with some raw food places too, so maybe the mentality is a little different. but in brazil more or less vegetarian=organic or green or something so there's a lot of confusion.
some other helpful things:
http://style.greenvana.com/2011/conheca ... es-do-rio/
http://www.vegetarianismo.com.br/sitio/ ... &Itemid=92
list of some products http://gato-negro.org/produtos-alimentos [this is all "organic natural" stuff tho]
list of nonveg ingredients http://gato-negro.org/ingredientes
that site, gato negro, is worth reading, not just for your practice but also to see if there is still a forum- there used to be, but it looks like they've changed format since then.
there seems to be a forum here http://www.guiavegano.com.br/vegan/inde ... mid=100300 and i've linked you to a question for someone going to rio.

frankly when i go out i usually just go to a "per-kilo" place [buffet]. rice will be vegan but the beans may or may not be. i usually go to the cheapie ones where they simply can't afford to throw meat in the beans. but in most you will never know. you can ask and they will say yes because they think you want to hear yes. if you tell them you're veg they'll tell you no because they'll think you want to hear no. neither one may have anything to do with the truth. the only way to know you're eating veg is make your own lunch or check out the vegan places [and hope they're actually vegan].

i probably have more to add but not at 730AM!

also, as far as i know there is no vegan margarine here. there used to be but they changed their formula. god knows i've looked high and low.

Thanks! The links are really helpful for things to look out for.

No vegan margarine?! Sadly I'm pretty sure that they don't let you take that on international flights.