Brazil Fortaleza, a Great Holiday!!

Greetings to all the friends who will have the patience to read our travel tale, we are a group of "veterans of the Brazil campaign" who this year tackled for the first time the mission Brazil Fortaleza Holiday. Let's start by saying that our well-deserved holiday lasted 14 days. We arrived with flight TAP 165 on the evening of 22/05/10 and after a long queue for passport control, we finally came out where our correspondent was waiting for us. After 15 minutes we arrived at the Blue Ocean flat, an excellent apart-hotel that we booked through an Italian guy Ivan Sala who manages apartments in Fortaleza with the do-it-yourself system that you do for three, or rather for four in our case.

So after our regular check-in and a quick shower, we plunged into the night of Fortaleza, through the very useful advice of our by now likeable and easy-going Italian friend who always remained available without being intrusive, throughout our entire stay. The first evening was all rather surreal, since although in Italy we were in full spring (more precisely in May) we came from the cold and grey days/nights of Milan. So the 20º nights of Fortaleza, surrounded by Brazilian music, the colours and the smiles of the beautiful young ladies, led me to think that all this was not real and that at any moment the alarm would ring and I would have to get up to brush my teeth, drink my coffee and then head to work shivering with cold.

In fact, on my awakening the day after our arrival, still dazed by the time zone and perhaps by a few too many caipirinhas, for an instant in the darkness of the room of my apartment I had the terrible feeling that the alarm had not rung and that I would arrive late at work. Fortunately I was mistaken and from that moment on I forced myself to forget work and relax, lulled by the sweet idleness more pleasant than anything that has ever happened to me. Now let's come to what may interest the reader, so I will set aside the incredible emotions that fortunately this unforgettable holiday provided me with and try to give you some tips in order to be useful to you. Where we were hosted, at the Blue Ocean, it is made up of real apartments with one or two bedrooms.

The lodgings are of excellent quality, comfort and location at prices that in my view are sustainable for the ratio of quality, price, safety and location. It is important to know that, in respect for decency and good taste, there is a certain freedom to receive visitors without incurring extra costs. The Beira Mar, which would be the central beach, was 100 metres from our lodging, but it is better to go there in the evening between 19.00 and 21.00 to have an aperitif and watch the people who walk its length running or strolling among the alleys of the craft fair.

To spend wonderful days at the beach and get tanned like little lizards without leaving the city, I recommend taking a taxi or the bus and going to Praia do Futuro where in some beach clubs such as Boa Vida, Coco Beach and Croco Beach you can spend whole days in these very well-organised lidos with restaurant, massages, pool, ocean, security. The umbrella and the chairs are free, you just need to consume something, while the sun loungers cost about 02 Euros a day. Many people told me that staying in the Praia do Futuro area is a big mistake because it is a very dangerous area, but inside the beach clubs mentioned above you are very comfortable and the private security prevents the action of ill-intentioned people. When I went there I would set off in the morning at 10.00 and return around 17.00/17.30, a time when it begins to get dark.

The night is fantastic in the area known as Praia de Iracema where there are Brazilian restaurants with excellent churrasco meats, pizzerias, Italian restaurants (I recommend Bella Italia), bars, and night clubs for all tastes. I want to break a lance in favour of Fortaleza, which is labelled solely as a destination for sex tourism and paedophilia. It would be inaccurate to say that prostitution does not exist, but it is equally inaccurate to claim that there are only red-light venues, since in reality these venues are almost all concentrated within a radius of 50 metres.

Besides these there are many alternatives, venues frequented by Brazilian tourists, foreigners or local people who study or work, where you can go and have fun both as a single person and as a couple, you just need to know where and when to go, since they divide the week into evenings and therefore anyone who does not know the "weekly calendar" risks going to the venues on the wrong evening and finding them empty or closed. As if that were not enough, for those who want to make excursions outside the city to see the real Brazil I can point out, in order of distance, Combuco, Lagoinha and Morro Branco, where during the journey and on the beaches themselves I was able to see things never seen before and that are difficult to describe. In all three places we set off in the morning more or less early depending on the distance and then returned in the evening at 17.30.

Fortunately on our return to Italy we found the real spring again, but honestly I think that tomorrow morning when I get up to brush my teeth, drink my coffee and then head to work I will feel a pang in my heart. Could it be SAUDADE??? You decide!! Greetings and happy travels to all, Stefano. N.B. our great friend who welcomed us and arranged everything at best is called Ivan Sala E-mail sala69it@yahoo.it you can contact him too.