Brasilia

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After Carnavale in Salvador we evacuated to nearby Praia Do Forte with Helen and Jay for some rest and relaxation by the beach.

Praia Do Forte is 2 hours north of Salvador and reminded us of Port Douglas in Far North Queensland, which to say the least is vastly different from downtown Barra in Salvador. We didn't do too much in Praia Do Forte... other than lie on the beach, visit a wonderful little turtle sanctuatury, stay in an overpriced dump and get a severe case of food poisoning.

We then took yet another 26 hour bus to Brasilia, the capital of Brazil (not Rio de Janeiro) where we spent 2 days walking around a truly amazing looking city.

Firstly, a history lesson from Wikipedia... Way back in the 19th century an Italian bishop named Dom Bosco had a dream in which he saw a great new civilization rising up between the 15th and 20th parallels. The dream became widely known in Brazil, and soon there was talk of moving the Brazilian capital to somewhere in the interior.

Then, in answer to a random crowd member´s question at a rally, presidential candidate Juscelino Kubitschek promised to create a new capital in this area as a method to develop Brasil's economy away the coast and as a symbol of what Brazil would become in the future. After winning the election in 1957, JK began work on the capital immediately and construction was completed in just 3 years (no doubt thanks to the 60,000 people who slaved away to finish it - eat your heart out Beijing!).

Basically Brasilia is the artwork of three men: Oscar Neimeyer (famous architect), Lúcio Costa (famous city planner), and Burle Max (famous landscape architect). The city is set out in the shape of an enormous airplane or bird with the "aeroplane's wings" being large residential districts and the "aeroplane's fuselage" being the location for most of the government and public buildings.

Brasilia was designed to accommodate large numbers of vehicles and as such is definately not designed for foot pedestrians. So, we jumped on a day tour of the city and were amazed by the random design of nearly all the buildings throughout the city. If nothing else, the country's capital is definately worth a visit for the novelty factor and to see a city filled with such interesting architecture. I guess the photos speak for themselves...

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Photos

Sanitarium of Dom Bosco
A beautiful church filled with blue stained glass

Lynsey with a statue of the Pilgrims
Dedicated to the 60,000 people who constructed the capiital in only 3 years

Lynsey posing with impressive granite artwork
We later discovered they were the rear of the elevator shafts... shows what we know about art!

Buses lined up at Central Rodoviaria
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder...?