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 Brazil
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Dear fellow South American traveler,
Welcome
to our February newsletter. With the hype and chaos
of Carnival over, let's look again at the fundamentals of
this fascinating destination:
1.
Brazil is doing fine, thank you! Projections for 2002 improve
2.
The Colonial European South of Brazil (finally!) promotes
itself as destination
 3.
NEW: Senior Traveler Coupon
4.
African Heritage tours
5.
Join one of our newly designed new scheduled
Agricultural tours
6.
4starBrazil's specials
7.
Other South American destinations:
Country links
1.
Brazil is doing fine, thank you! Projections for 2002 improve.
In
November 2001, Horacio Lafer, head of the S“o Paulo Industry
Foundation exclaimed, "The Four Knights of the Apocalypse
are coming to Brazil!":
1)
Brazil was running the risk of blackouts, and energy conservation
plans threatened to restrict industrial production.
2)
Argentina, Brazil's neighbor, was in crisis.
3)
September 11th had left its mark on Brazil's export markets.
4)
Presidential Elections in Fall 2002 threatened to bring an
ultra-leftist President to power.
On
the 28th of February, 2002, "O Globo" the respected Rio newspaper,
published a report by IPEA (Institute for Applied Economic
Research) which states that projections for Brazil in 2002
as a whole have improved dramatically from last November.
Brazil
is now expected to grow by 2.5% in 2002 and by 3.5% in 2003,
inflation should stay under control at around 4.7%, forecast
for foreign direct investment in Brazil has been raised from
the previous projection of 15.5 to 16.7, and most significantly,
public debt as percentage of GDP has fallen from 58.9% to
53.4%.
What
has happened?
1)
Brazilians have saved a lot of energy through conservation,
and it has come more through a concerted iniciative than through
imposing higher tariffs to encourage savings - and normal
rain patterns have finally returned. Brazil's electricity
is mainly hydroelectric, and several private investors have
stepped in to build more power generating facilities rather
quickly.
2)
Argentina, as trading partner, is important for Brazil, but
the international investment community now realizes that Brazil
is different from Argentina, and thus South America has by
and large been spared from a "Tango effect" that could have
been much worse.
3)
As Europe and the US manage to pull themselves out of recession
rather quickly, the demand for Brazilian products - from airplanes
to soybeans - is stabilizing.
4)
Luis In·cio Lula da Silva, the perennial candidate of the
Left in Brazil, has now received the approval of even ArmÌnio
Fraga, the head of the Brazilian Central Bank. While still
pushing for polemic items like a land reform, strongly disliked
by the old latifundista elite, he has learned his lesson
regarding free markets and globalization, moving closer to
ideas more typical for Social Democratic parties than communist
parties.
On
the 27th of February, Moody's, a private international ratings
company, improved Brazil's bond ranking, which in turn weakened
the US$ against the Brazilian Real by 1.58%, and drove up
the country's most important stock exchange (Bovespa) by 1.77%,
consolidating its gains in February to a whopping 11.72 %
for the month.
2.
The Colonial European South of Brazil (finally!) promotes
itself as destination
The
4starBrazil OKTOBERFEST tour shows you a new facet
of Brazil: The European South!
Heard
of the SECOND BIGGEST Oktoberfest in the world? German
settlements of Blumenau and Novo Hamburgo? Ga™chos? FlorianÛpolis?
In Brazil's South you'll find:
European-looking
blondes, tall and skinny; cities so well organized that US
and European delegations travel there to learn how to best
organize public transport and waste collection...
And
all this with subtropical mountains of the Atlantic Rainforest
as a backdrop!
Brazil
has much more to offer than Carnival in Rio, the Amazon and
Salvador ...Just to repeat ourselves; it should not be forgotten!
By
visiting Brazil's 2nd biggest attraction (after Rio), the
majestic Iguassu Falls, you are already there, in the heart
of Southern Brazil. Many travelers simply fly in and out of
Iguassu, and wind up missing a lot.
Here
in the South, the Brazilian mentality has been a bit tamed
by the Northern German influence; the Italians immigrants
are still responsible for the best restaurants; the Swiss
make the best cheese; the Austrians bake the best pastries;
and the Japanese immigrants organize it all (the former mayor
of Curitiba, the "best organized city in Latin America", was
Japanese-Brazilian.)
This
melting pot of cultures has finally come to the conclusion
that they have been overlooked, always having been too busy
building up their states to show off: Rio Grande do Sul, Santa
Catarina and Paran·. Practically uninhabited in 1850, they
have absorbed immigrants from Europe and Japan over the last
150 years in much the same way as the US did during the same
period.
Unlike
the Northeast of Brazil, no slave trading took place here;
families were settled on farms just large enough to support
one family. No "contributions" had to made to mighty landlords.
These
immigrants, highly skilled and educated, were drawn by the
riches of this corner of the world, and made the best of it
- maintaining their ancestral traditions! Even today, many
inhabitants still are bilingual, learning Brazilian Portuguese
only in school and speaking the language of their forefathers
at home.
In
a special newsletter later this month, we shall inform you
about the details and exact dates of the Oktoberfest, Samba
and Waterfalls tour. Preliminarily, the tour is scheduled
to leave the US on October 12th, arriving back in the US on
the 23rd of October, and will include Iguassu Falls, Oktoberfest
in Blumenau, the Atlantic Rainforest, S“o Paulo and, of course,
Rio!
Please
let us know about your interest soon, particularly for larger
groups. Hotel capacity for this kind of big event is rather
limited.
3.
NEW: Senior Traveler
Coupon
After
having introduced the "refer a friend" coupon, we add the
senior discount
coupon. The value being another US$100 for
our scheduled tours. The coupons are even combinable outside
the main seasons, which vary from destination to destination.
Please inquire upon booking or contact
us now.
This
is also valid for our offer below:
Great
prices for a great destination: Brazil's state of Bahia!
20 % group discount, plus
bring 8, get one free*
It?s:
Great landscape, African heritage, UNESCO
cultural sites, baroque colonial architecture, unforgettable
beaches and unparalleled value for money.
Click on Brazil:
Rhythm & Diamonds
- additions to
Rio de Janeiro and / or the Amazon easily customized.
Target audience: Active people, also active mature
travelers with interest in culture and beautiful landscapes.
Very interesting for those interested in African heritage
in the Americas.
Minimum requirement for special: 8 passengers, tour
must be booked as stated on website, customized additions
are quoted net, travel between now and 03 FEB, 01MAR and 30JUN,
01AUG and 15DEC2002, high season prices vary, available upon
request.
*land portion only, bring 15 and get flight from Miami also
free.
Similar
conditions are available for other tours - upon request!
4.
African Heritage tours
The
above tour Brazil:
Rhythm and Diamonds also is the perfect
African heritage tour. Brazil's state of Bahia has had the
longest history of slavery on the American continent: 1500
to 1888, and today, nowhere in the
Americas is the African culture as alive as here,
with many traditions from Angola that still exist in Bahia,
but (due to protracted civil war) no longer exist in Africa.
Or
new traditions have been formed: A dance that in effect comes
from the training of self defense techniques: Capoeira, a
form of Catholicism that incorporates the African Gods, Virgin
Mary and Yemanj·... as an example.
But
even if you cannot bring a mini group of 8, just by joining
our regular tour, the riches of African culture never
escape your eye!
5.
Join one of our newly designed scheduled Agricultural tours.
Soybeans,
Beef, and Brazilian High Tech:
No
dates have been set as of yet, but should center around the
second week of February 2003:
A
visit of Coopavel in Cascavel, Paran· state as on http://www.coopaval.com.br,
combined with a visit to their trade show as on http://www.showrural.com.br
and a visit to the Ferropar railway. Departing the
US Saturday afternoon, this tour shall start with a visit
of Iguassu Falls, on Monday, leave for Cascavel on Tuesday
and then follow the railway to the port of Paranagu· through
the Atlantic rainforest, with stops along the route with agricultural
interest, arriving in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday. A stay in
Rio of two nights shall be included, after which you can extend
your stay or continue to Salvador, the Amazon or on a customized
add-on.
OR
bring you own group and have your itinerary partly or completely
customized in order to see exactly what your group wants:
Enjoy
an Escorted Agricultural Group Tour
to Brazil including highlights such as Soybeans,
Coffee, Orange plantations, Sugar cane, Poultry, irrigation
projects, sustainable agriculture under tropical conditions.
There
are two ways to customize an agricultural trip for your group:
One is to add in or to our standard tours a few days to meet
your groups requirements:
For
example: on the Rio
and Amazon tour; add three nights in Brasilia
in the heart of the soybean farming area. During the
pre-Tour
Iguassu Falls & the Atlantic Rainforest or
the Tango
Samba Waterfalls tour we can add ranches
and poultry farms and pass through the worlds biggest soybean
fields in the Brazilian state of Paran·.
Or
we can completely customize a tour for your group: you tell
us what your group needs to see and we arrange it for you,
in that case please call us toll free at 1 (800) 747-4540 (US)
or 1 (800) 747-4540 our specialists are in for you between 6am
and 3pm EST.
6.
So, forgotten about our Specials?
Check
our latest Discounts,
Coupons & SPECIALS!
7.
Country links: 4starBrazil is evolving to 4starSouthAmerica
...Learn
the ABC's now!
Argentina:
http://4starArgentina.com
Brazil:
http://www.SouthAmerica.travel/Brazil-Tours
Chile:
http://www.chile-tours.travel
coming soon!
Peru:
coming soon! See our Peru extension now at
http://www.SouthAmerica.travel/Brazil-Tours/peru/
Now,
from all of us at 4starSouthAmerica,
we
wish you all the best and hope to see soon!
Kindest
regards,
Juergen
Keller, President
--
Juergen Keller
http://www.SouthAmerica.travel/Brazil-Tours
http://UniversalUnderstanding.com
tel.
1 (800) 747-4540 (1 (800) 747-4540) US
Canada toll-free 1 (800) 747-4540
fax 1-425-977-7192
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