15 Days, Atlantic Explorer: Brazil, Cape Verde & The Canaries

Recife, (rè-sê´fe) chief city (1990 est. pop. 1,375,000) of NE Brazil,a port on the Atlantic Ocean; also known as Pernambuco. Cut by many waterways, it lies partly on the mainland and partly on an island and is often called the Brazilian Venice. It is an important transportation center; its economy is based on the processing and export of cotton,
sugar, and coffee. Industrial products include glass, ceramics, pharmaceuticals, and synthetic rubber. Founded (1548) by the Portuguese, Recife was briefly held by the British (1595) and the Dutch (1630-54).

Rio de Janeiro, (rê´o dâ zhe-nâr´o) city (1990 est. pop. 6,042,000), SE Brazil, capital of Rio de Janeiro state, former capital of Brazil, on Guanabara Bay of the Atlantic Ocean. Brazil’s second largest city and principal port, Rio (as it is popularly called) has diverse manufactures and handles much of the nation’s foreign trade. It is predominantly a modern city, with a new airport and subway system. A cosmopolitan city, long the cultural center of Brazil, it is also its greatest tourist
attraction. Rio is celebrated for its pre-Lenten carnival and for its beautiful natural setting within an amphitheater of low mountains. Noted landmarks are Sugar Loaf Mt., which dominates the harbor, and Corcovado peak, with its colossal statue of Jesus. Founded by French Huguenots in 1555, the city was taken by Portugal in the 1560s. It replaced Bahia (now Salvador) as Brazil’s capital in 1763 and was supplanted by Brasília in 1960.

Salvador (sàl´ve-dôr´) or Bahia, city (1990 est. pop.2,050,000), capital of Bahia state, E Brazil. An Atlantic port, it processes and ships cacao, tobacco, sugar, and other products of a fertile crescent, the Recôncavo. The city was found in 1549, flourished with the rise of sugar plantations, and was the leading center of colonial Brazil and the capital of Portugal’s possessions in America until 1763. An influx of plantation slaves was the source of its African heritage. It is now a tourist center noted for its 16th-century cathedral.

The largest of the Canary Islands, Tenerife boasts a rich variety of scenery and attractions, from lively resorts and volcanic beachs in the south to the lush interior of the Orotava Valley and the stunning lunar landscapes of El Teide National Park, dominated by 12,000 ft. snow-capped Mount Teide, Spain’s highest mountain. The historic capital, Santa Cruz, is in the north.