Towns in Brazil - Itacare, Gastao Vidigal, Pedras Grandes, Guarani, Minas Gerais, Abuna, Corumba, Brazil, Areias, Mato Grosso Do Sul, Angustura (Paperback)

Chapters: Itacare, Gastao Vidigal, Pedras Grandes, Guarani, Minas Gerais, Abuna, Corumba, Brazil, Areias, Mato Grosso Do Sul, Angustura, Fazenda Tagy, Cano Brava Do Norte, Uaupes. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 29. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Itacare is a town in the cocoa zone of the state of Bahia in Brazil, south of Salvador. It is located 70 km north of Ilheus where the Rio de Contas, which comes from the Chapada Diamantina, meets the Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of approximately 8,000. Itacare was founded as a Portuguese colonial settlement, originally called Sao Jorge dos Ilheus, in 1532. The town was a notorious hangout for Dutch and Portuguese pirates during the early colonial period and later became a hub for the cocoa planting and a port for whalers. It was officially given city status in 1881. After a massive blight of Vassoura de Bruxa (Witch's broom) devastated the region's cocoa crops in the 1980s, Itacare has depended mostly upon tourism. It is a popular destination for surfers, hikers and ecotourists. The town has a series of beautiful small cove type beaches and other picturesque beaches further along the coast. Itacare is on the edge of a national park, one of the last large expanses of Atlantic rain forest left in Brazil. The change from sleepy agrarian town to tourist hotspot has not been an easy one, however. Locals recently won a hard-fought campaign to stop land owners who wanted to charge for access to the beaches. Access to one of the most pristine beaches has been blocked by a hotel/condominium development called Sao Jose Eco Resort. The beach is now only accessible by sea. Despite development in the area, it remains a hub of Bahian culture. Many tourists visit Itacare to take part in the local Capoeira circles and eat traditional Brazilian ...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=222500