Country Article / Postcards

Exploring Brazilian Beaches

Date: 09/26/2006

International Living Postcards-- your daily escape

Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2006
Fortaleza, Brazil

Beautiful wide sandy beaches, warm South Atlantic waters, sizzling nightlife, fantastic weather, and the continent’s liveliest sex trade. If you can’t find something to like about Fortaleza, you’re in the minority.

Fortaleza was a good place to start our exploration of Brazil, given its location in the center of the country’s beautiful north coast. This is a modern city of more than 3 million people. Founded in 1610, Fortaleza serves as the capital of the state of Ceará (pronounced “seh ah RAH”).

The city breaks down into three distinct locations, representing a combination of lifestyle choices that’s pretty hard to beat: The old, original historic center and non-tourist downtown areas; a gleaming in-town stretch of beach with sizzling nightlife, great waterfront restaurants, and highrises; and quieter sections of beautiful, palm-lined, white-sand beaches reminiscent of the Caribbean.

It’s warm and dry here most of the year, with temperatures perfect for lounging on the beach or swimming in the warm ocean waters. Evenings are cool and comfortable, with a pleasant ocean breeze blowing just about every day. The four-month wet season rarely produces an entire day of rain, with showers in the morning and sunny afternoons. The difference between summer and winter highs is only about two degrees Fahrenheit.

My first love here is the food. If you’re a meat lover, you’re in for a treat. One restaurant we went to had a staggering selection of 34 different meats fresh from the rotisserie, along with countless other mouthwatering items, including some that I’d never heard of before. Otherwise, seafood is king here; we enjoyed beachfront grilled lobster dinners from $7.50 per person.

To be honest, I didn’t care for the beaches in the hotel district of Fortaleza, pretty as they were. Like many tourist centers, both Praia Meireles and Praia Iracema hosted what I call “aggressive” tourism, where each time you pause, there’s someone in your face trying to sell you something. I found it impossible to enjoy a drink in a seaside outdoor café, due to the constant stream of vendors, some of whom will take a seat right at your table and refuse to leave. (But the evening artisan market at Praia Meireles is well worth a visit.)

Our favorite beach was Praia do Futuro, pictured above. The beach is wide, with fine white sand and a smattering of seaside cafés and restaurants, as well as fresh water showers. They even have a lifeguard on duty, keeping an eye on the safety of the bathers and kite-surfers. Praia do Futuro is a few minutes by cab from the beachfront hotel district in town.

My preferred real estate contact in Fortaleza is Fabricio Santos, of Brazil Real Estate Beaches. Fabricio speaks excellent English, and has some interesting properties for sale, including beachfront properties north of town for $19,900 and ocean view properties just behind them from $9,700. Write to brazilrealestatebeaches@hotmail.com, or visit his website at http://www.brazilrealestatebeaches.com.

Lee Harrison
Roving Latin America Editor, International Living

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P.S. For those of you who read closely thus far to get more details on my opening remark about the sex trade, I’ve been told by local expats that Fortaleza is the “Bangkok of South America” and a popular sex destination for Northern and Central Europeans. But truthfully, I had a hard time telling the prostitutes from the other beachgoers, and I found the whole sex scene to be unobtrusive. In other words, if you’re not looking for it, you probably won’t notice it. But if you are, well, it’s a lot closer than Bangkok…