Brazil, in Portuguese formally Republica Federative do Brasil, is to both the surface and the population the largest country in South America and to the surface, the fifth largest country in the world.
To see and do
When you are free from your volunteer work there is a lot of exciting sights and activities to engage you in. Here are a few examples:
Nature/National park
Brazil almost covers half of South America and stretches over three time zones. Its surface is almost as big as Europe from Atlantic to the Ural Mountains and is the world’s fifth largest country. Brazil’s size and location does that it borders to all South American countries except Chile and Ecuador.
The Amazon has tropical climate with heat and high humidity. It often rains and does it year around.
The high plateaus also get heated, but the climate there are dryer and the area also sometimes get exposed to difficult dry periods.
The long coastline (about 7500 km) has mostly tropical climate, but even here it is dryer than in the Amazon.
One of many national parks is a national park near Rid de Janeiro is Tijuca Forrest. Tijuca is the home for hundreds species of plants and animals, many of the animals are endangered. The forest is the world’s largest forest planted by hand and was in the beginning of the 1800-century used to protect Rios water supply. The park’s main attraction is the gigantic sculpture of Jesus on the Corcovado Mountain.
Amazon, world’s biggest rainforest, is a part of the northwest area of Brazil. Amazon consists of 6 million square meter jungle and river systems. 12 billion liter fresh water pours down the river every minute. There are 80 000 km of passable rivers in the Amazon. To be able to see the nature in the best possible way you have to get into the tributaries with a canoe or on foot. You will meet many exotic animals such as caimans, anacondas, monkeys, freshwater dolphins and toucans.
Sun & sea
The beaches are very important for almost every Brazilian and they spend most of their free time here.
In addition to sun and bath there is a lot of sport and movement in and around the cities, everything from walking to beach volleyball and of course football.
The most famous beaches are without a doubt Copacabana and Ipanema in Rio de Janeiro.
However with more than 8000 km of Atlantic coast there are a lot of other beaches to discover!
Culture
The carnival in Rio de Janeiro is the most famous one in Brazil and the whole world. Most people associate it to be a grand party with samba, feathers and tinsel. The carnival starts 47 days before Easter and the date decides by the moon, but it is normally in February and sometimes in March.