http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Rio-Grande-do-Norte/Natal/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from South America , Brazil , Rio Grande do Norte , Natal en-us Fri, 05 Dec 2008 04:02:39 UTC Fri, 05 Dec 2008 04:02:39 UTC Von Olinda aus geht unsere Reise weiter in den Norden Brasiliens. Waehrend unserer Busfahrt nach Natal der Stadt mit den 300 Sonnentagen im Jahr sehen wir zur Abwechslung auch etwas vom gruenen Hinterland.Nach unzaehligen Naechten in mehr oder weniger chaotischen Hostels goennen wir uns nun ein bisschen Luxux schliesslich sind wir ja im Urlaub und leisten uns fuer das Wochenende ein schoe http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Brazil/Rio-Grande-do-Norte/Natal/blog-324025.html Natal the city of sunThe sun shines here for 360 days a year and guess what days we arrived in. Exactly we had a beautiful beach day on the first day and also on our last day. We were also the first foreign people to ever experience such torrential rain in Natal lol. This was serious rain it caused the city centre to flood and basically everywhere closed down. It rained solidly for 24 hours http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Brazil/Rio-Grande-do-Norte/Natal/blog-295355.html In addition to sightseeing another unfortunate yet inevitable circumstance of traveling is falling ill. While wellequipped with antibiotics my insight into Natal capital of Rio Grande do Norte has been limited to transiting between the bus station and my accommodation and from the front balcony of my guesthouse to the toilet. I have had one uneventful night out. In my two days I confess http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Brazil/Rio-Grande-do-Norte/Natal/blog-274194.html And relaxThat's exactly what we've been doing. It's hot hot hot and the beaches of Natal are wonderful. We found a fantastic loft apartment for just 60 reais per night at Pousada Coco Verde and by the time we leave we will have spent almost a week making the most of the sun sand and sea well the ocean reallyWe have been out and about too. One of the things you can't fail to do is a beach http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Brazil/Rio-Grande-do-Norte/Natal/blog-249743.html So after three flights and more than 30 hours of travelling I finally arrived in Natal where my trip would begin. It was just a very short visit 2 12 days after I managed to get in contact with my friend Marcos whose family is from there right at the last minute. Although Marcos told me that we would be staying at his family holiday place I did now expect to be greeted by 16 people He http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Brazil/Rio-Grande-do-Norte/Natal/blog-234653.html Hurtling down giant sand dunes with a crazy driver who brakes at the last second slides the buggy down them sideways and stops just short of rolling the thing over is one way to spend a day............. http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Brazil/Rio-Grande-do-Norte/Natal/blog-233161.html natal is a cracking spot. north again from recife about 8 hours by bus.our hostel resembles a small fort but thats neither here nor there...the city has about 5km or beautiful beaches and sand dunes also. dune buggies surfing and all outdoor activites are the order of the day here.we went off snorkling one day about 3 km out into the atlantic to find a reef. visibility was great. got food after http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Brazil/Rio-Grande-do-Norte/Natal/blog-220434.html A histria de colonizaao da Capitania do Rio Grande do Norte comeou em 1535 com a chegada da frota de Aires da Cunha a servio de Joo de Barros o dono e do rei de Portugal. Tentativa falida pela forte resistncia dos ndios potiguares e de piratas franceses traficantes de Paubrasil. A segunda tentativa 62 anos depois 25121597 teve mais sucesso com a esquadra de Antnio da Costa Vale http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Brazil/Rio-Grande-do-Norte/Natal/blog-218215.html Tues 2nd OctI like these early morning swims ... refreshing could get used to this life Unfortunately time to move on so packed and checked out. Booked accommodation in Forteleza for tomorrow night and a taxi to take me to the coach station tonight. Left luggage at the pousada and had a long walk along the beach .. about 10Km. Spent afternoon watching life go by ....... lots of surfers e http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Brazil/Rio-Grande-do-Norte/Natal/blog-207749.html Mon 1st OctAn early morning swim before breakfast its amazing how many there are out surfing at 700 am an ideal spot for surfing as the waves are 23metres and roll a long way. However I found them very strong and after 20 mins was exhausted and ready for breakfast.Decided to explore Natal today and use the local omnibus to get there. Although only 15 Km away it took over an hour to get th http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Brazil/Rio-Grande-do-Norte/Natal/blog-207359.html Fri 28th Sept cont.It gets dark 2 hours earlier here than in Brasilia much further east Browsed around the seafront and main town centre. Found a good fish restaurant and had a meal cabaret included live band acrobatics dance magic and fire eating. Dodgy beach scene was approached twice on way back to pausada made hasty retreat for early night.Sat 29th Sept Happy birthday RobertU http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Brazil/Rio-Grande-do-Norte/Natal/blog-206765.html Fri 28th SeptLast minute packing and taxi to airport. Plenty of time to spare for a change Flight was interesting as we flew over a plateau region I noticed that there were large tracts of land divided into circles and each of these circles had crops in them or they were segmented with different crops or trees. I could not find the reason for this type of agriculture It was hard to guage th http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Brazil/Rio-Grande-do-Norte/Natal/blog-206499.html Here is repost of an email I wrote when the blog thing was brokenSo much has happened since I last wrote that I fear there is no way i will ever catch up. This is the first trip where I have spent sooo much time hanging out with local people that I literally dont ahve time to write. .. I have also spent a lot of time speaking English which is really difficu http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Brazil/Rio-Grande-do-Norte/Natal/blog-189987.html This is going to be a short message Karolina and I got robbed yesterday in Natal.We are OK but the experience wasnt. Karolina lost her purse with money wisely giving it away but my handbag was snatched with my camera and some local cash in it and of course lots of other little things but thank God we kept our passports and cards in money belts at that timeApparently we are in 1 of 20000 http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Brazil/Rio-Grande-do-Norte/Natal/blog-175247.html Natal 24th April We wake up very tired as our flight landed late in Natal at 2am. We had finally got to bed at 3am and needed to be up early as we are going to explore the sand dunes today. We are picked up by George in his open top beach buggy at 9am. There are already a couple in the buggy so its a big squeeze on the back seat to fit 3 people in This couple are very sweet and are on their http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Brazil/Rio-Grande-do-Norte/Natal/blog-156415.html With 1 week left in Brasil and indeed South America it was definetely time to get into holiday mode relax and unwind. We found a lovely place to stay in Natal with all you can eat breakfasts a swimming pool and the beach just a few steps. The beach was very nice lots of people selling everything from CD's jewellery drinks and of course barbecued food clothes and one guy had a stall with man http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Brazil/Rio-Grande-do-Norte/Natal/blog-147558.html As I woke up on the morning of the 21st March I had no idea I wasnt going to bed again for another 40 hours as I have my most interesting night in Brazil yet. I had a lot of fun and yet not so much fun a completly random night which ends in myself and 3 other Australians being forced to leave Brazil within 3 days. So sit tight and read on as I tell you about the night I got arrested in Brazil. http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Brazil/Rio-Grande-do-Norte/Natal/blog-141305.html Day 31 Day 46 Natal Natal the capital of Rio Grande de Norte is a modern and clean city in the north of Brazil famous for its sanddunes with the main attraction being beaches rather than museums It is a 22 hour bus ride north of Salvador and the people and culture differ greatly.We stayed in Ponta Negra the tourist area of Natal where most people stay when they visit 10 km from the cent http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Brazil/Rio-Grande-do-Norte/Natal/blog-135430.html It has been six days some may say way too long but with the craziness of carnaval and booking hostels and my rapid travelling through brazil it has been a welcomed change of pace.I tried to stay in Macieo but it failed dismally when i couldnt find a place to stay... so since salvador it has been a 8 hour bus ride to Macieo which was extended by four hours as the bus broke down then 12 hours walki http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Brazil/Rio-Grande-do-Norte/Natal/blog-131398.html