Each month we highlight a place of interest around the globe that we consider as unique as Borgo di Vagli. The tips are selected as they either show respect for the environment, nature, and architectural beauty or are deeply indigenous to their individual origin. This month Fulvio shares tips with us from his recent trip to Brazil.
Fulvio went back, few weeks ago, to his adoptive country for a short business/holiday trip. It was for him, mainly, a good occasion to meet up with good friends and “refresh” his memory of some exceptional places he had experienced many, many years ago. In his words: ”…one of the good things in Brazil is that they have developed, along the years, a great respect for their most representative Nature spots, doing their best to protect them from massive invasion of tourists. Most of these places are “self-guarded” by the fact they are extremely far away, secluded and hard to be reached by the “normal” public; but even those which are more at hand, have been protected by the scarceness of easy road network (a little bit as for our entrance road to Vagli) and/or by the absence of normal flights”.
Probably, the most renown place of this second category is Buzios: “only” a little bit more than 200 km north of Rio, is still as stunningly beautiful and, in a way, wild as I discovered it in 1977, few years later the famous French actress Brigit Bardot created there her hidden refuge in Brazil.
Buzios is a unique gem! It’s an indented peninsula breaking off the thousands of miles of uninterrupted sandy beaches smashed by the huge waves of the Ocean.
Buzios is one of the few places in Brazil where you can actually swim in calm waters and, when on the beach, listen to the on going, relaxing sound of the waves lapping at the shore.
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It’s a place where you go mainly to slow down: no particular, adventurous activities there, apart from exceptionally good scuba diving even for beginners and a more fun oriented tour of the beaches from the sea with one of their pirate like vessels called escuna.
The day goes by between a lazy discovery of new “more hidden” beaches, where you often “risk” to be by yourself, and “frugal” snacks on the same beaches, more or less served by small restaurants on the sands or little boats filled in with all sort of fruits and drinks and bites. Caipirinha is of course a must but, if you think that you’d better leave that for the evening, you may opt for fantastic fruit juices (manga, abacaxi, maracujà, bananas…), accompanying pasteis de queijo or camaroes (sort of cheese/shrimp pies), lulas or iscas fritas (fried squid or baits), or even fresh oysters.
There are dozens of beaches in Buzios, all very different from one another: you can easily find the one that suits you and may chose from the very tiny and calm
Aceda and Acedinha
to the wild Brava (means angry)
… or even to the more fashionable and busy S. Fernando and S.
In the late afternoon and evening, you’re kind of forced to stroll up and down Rua das pedras (Road of the stones – careful ladies with you high heels! –) for a good aperitivo (it might be the time for a Caipirinha de maracujà) ideally on the sun set, or some compulsive shopping in some of the many Brazilian fashion shops or stretching your walk till the famous Tres Pescadores (three fishermen).
or the even more famous Brigitte Bardot sculpture (here with me on her knees…)
The good restaurants are endless; obviously fish is the must. Some tips for you not to miss out:
Quadrucci (my favourite this time)
or Sollar
And later in the evening, in many bars or even in the streets small bands or singers playing the most authentic Sambas and Bossanovas.
Where to stay? Well, not being as lucky as me to have friends who hosted me in their most beautiful house facing the Ocean…
you may always be very happy going to Insolito, a very quaint, quiet and relaxed small hotel overlooking one of the most dramatic bays in Buzios: the Ferradura (horseshoe).
Passport at hand…?
Additional important tips:
• ideal season: after Carnival till mid July and again October till Christmas
• how to go there: rent a car; you will also need it to go around Buzios seeking for beaches and to go to the town centre
• avoid driving there on a Friday afternoon/Saturday and returning on a Sunday afternoon
And now for something a little different…
Established in 1983 by Anna Maria Babington and Isabel Cargill in the legendary Piazza di Spagna, Babington's is the most exclusive meeting place for those in search of a great cup of tea and a "slice" of English style and eccentricity. Still run by the same family, the quality of all food and teas is the result of Babbington's staff’s dedication to excellence and tradition …and we are delighted to announce that we now have a selection of Babingtons teas available at Vagli…
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