Drugs
You should be very, very careful about drugs . Marijuana - maconha - is common, but you are in serious trouble if the police find any on you. You'll probably be able to bribe your way out of it, but it will be an expensive business. Foreigners sometimes get targeted for a shakedown and have drugs planted on them - the area around the Bolivian border has a bad reputation for this. The idea isn't to lock you up but to get a bribe out of you, so play it by ear. If the bite isn't too outrageous it might be worth paying to save the hassle, but the best way to put a stop to it would be to deny everything, refuse to pay and insist on seeing a superior officer and telephoning the nearest consulate - this approach is only for the patient. Cocaine is not as common as you might think as most of it passes through Brazil from Bolivia or Colombia for export. Nevertheless, the home market has grown in recent years, most worryingly for crack cocaine, which is generally controlled by young and viscious gang leaders from the favelas of the major cities. Be careful about taking anything illegal on buses: they are sometimes stopped and searched at state lines. The most stupid thing you could do would be to take anything illegal anywhere near Bolivia as buses heading to or from that direction get taken apart by the federais. Much the same can be said of smuggling along the rivers into Peru and Colombia: don't even think about it!
Fun Tipsmary says "Bring your inhaler if you have asma." tips for BrazilRobyn says "Dont go it so boring,so dont go " travellingayanda says "can anyone tell me about cheap accomodation in brazil?" Tour Brazil and Argentina On Line (Video + Stills)David Mundstock says "My recent movie, “Tango and Samba Falls”, presents highlights of Argentina and Brazil, starring Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, and Iguazu Falls.
Tango in Buenos Aires, meet Evita, enjoy Gaucho dancing from the Pampas; and then north to the Argentina side of massive Iguazu Falls, featuring “The Devil’s Throat”.
Across the border to Brazil, for a close-up of the falls from below. In Rio, gaze at the views from famous mountain tops, and look for the Girl from Ipanema at Rio’s beaches. Take in a Samba show, featuring costumes that range from almost nothing to extremely elaborate and colorful. With digital effects.
“Tango and Samba Falls” can be seen on the web, if you have a high speed internet connection. This is a free, non-commercial, streaming video on the Windows Media Player. No ads and no strings attached. I sell absolutely nothing.
With any modem you can view a gallery of Argentina/Brazil still pictures.
There are over 30 of my other amateur travel videos on-line including trips to China, Russia, Antarctica, Italy, Britain, Hawaii, Australia, Bali, American National Parks, Africa, Greece, and Turkey; see lions, whales, elephants, or penguins.
The planet is yours, including my Home Page giant galaxy of still pictures from every continent.
To watch videos or look at the stills, please ask a search engine for: Intrepid Berkeley Explorer" hellomeiden bantugan says "cn u v my chatmate"
Your Tip for Brazil
Help other backpackers! Write your own guides and backpacking tips to Brazil - they will appear instantly on this page - Please only write a tip/guide to Brazil - visit the main Brazil forum to ask a question!
Please do not post links to your site here (they won't work) - please use the Brazil webguide section below! Thanks.
|