St. Louis (MA) e Belém (PA) - Beauty, Culture and Cuisine

Factsheet 4×1

Date: 05/07/2012 to 11/07/2012

Saímos of: Barreirinhas-MA

Destination: Belém-PA, passing by St. Louis-MA

Distance: 1.074 km (277 km to St. Louis and 797 km até Belém)

Travel time: We did the stretch-Barreirinhas St. Louis in about 6 hours with stops. The passage in St. Louis-Bethlehem consumed about 13 hours.

Path: We left Barreirinhas the MA-MA-402 until you reach the BR-135 that leads to St. Louis. The road is paved and has good. Then continue peeling BR-135, from Sao Luis, MA, and Miranda, MA North should take the BR-222, that Ligaria to BR-316, which goes straight to Bethlehem, PA. No entanto, Our inattention, Miranda spent North and walk-MA 64 km até a BR-316, at least a point ahead of the other. From, follow straight to Belém-PA. The BR-316 has some holes in the stretch Maranhão and Pará improved stretch, but shows few signs, difficult driving into the night.

Where to sleep: Belém Soft Hotel, The sodium. Braz de Aguiar, well situated in the center of Belém. Interesting option affordable to those who will spend some days in Bethlehem. We also spent two nights in Classic Praia Hotel in Sao Luis do Maranhao, in front of the Pebble Beach.

What eat different: Duck in Tucupi and other regional delicacies in Here at Home, the most respected restaurant specializes in cuisine from Pará. One of the highlights of our passage was in Bethlehem, no doubt about it, differentiated the local cuisine.

Tire cheio: Late afternoon at Station Docks: great food, gorgeous look and a cozy atmosphere absurdly. It was no accident that we spend much of our time in this place in Bethlehem. Typical delicacies, Amazon Cairu ice cream and beer. All in one place surreal, the hot breeze of the Rio Pará.

Tire murcho: Horns and more horns. The traffic in Bethlehem sometimes reminded us of a beautiful weekday traffic in Sao Paulo.

St. Louis (MA) – Bethlehem (PA) - Beauty, Culture and Cuisine

The Route of Emotions was one of the most intense experiences of the trip here. Good while it lasted, but the expedition continues its journey. We left Barreirinhas-MA, Maranhenses in after lunch and headed toward St. Louis, MA, which would make a brief stop before heading to Bethlehem, PA, Brown City.

Were 6 hours on the road until we reach the capital of Maranhão, when the night had begun to fall. Like any metropolis, No. face could stop traffic at the entrance of the city, significantly enhanced by the fact that we are cruising the capital in full rush hour. We crossed the Avenue of the Dutch until we find the edge of Pebble Beach, where we seek a place to spend the night. We were very well received by Classic Praia Hotel, strategically located on the beachfront.

St. Louis would be the place where we were the first revision of our dear Tanajura. How to practice, our companion should go through this ritual to get to 10.000 km the idade. We left St. Paul with your odometer at approximately 2.750 miles and reached the 10.000 km reach in the city. After a little conversation with the Nissan dealership warehouse, managed to fit the Tanajura at a time on the same day. We spent almost the entire morning and afternoon following the review and taking some questions with the staff of the concessionaire, that was very helpful with our incessant questions.

Tanajura reviewed and bathed, followed for a ride in the historic city center. We walked quietly through the streets, while we admired the architectural beauty of the place. The tiles and the details that adorned the facade of the houses gave a special charm to that beautiful city. We took some good photos of the Palace of the Lions (seat of state government), do Palácio de La Ravardière (City Hall), the St. Louis Cathedral and many other interesting building that made up the historic center. Along the promenade, it was not uncommon to hear or see posters of reggae shows. No wonder that the city receives the nickname "Brazilian Jamaica".

At noite, No. prestigiar could stop the traditional feast of Bumba-my-ox, still happening in the city. Mounted in an open space beside the pond Jansen, the party gave dance performances typical, as well as several regional food stalls. We appreciate the flavor of the show a nice crab cake, together with rice cuxá (seasoned rice with shrimp), vatapá and farofa.

With our tight schedule, decided to follow the next day trip to Belém. The state capital is very much in the Candle of Nazareth, it takes millions of pilgrims every second Sunday of October for the largest Catholic religious manifestation of Brazil and the world's largest religious event. But Bethlehem has much to offer. The dark city offers a wide range of cultural and tourist attractions, supreenderam us the beauty and conservation.

In the early days in the city have learned an important point of the local. In Bethlehem, It rains up all day in winter (Jun-Nov) and all day in the summer (Dez-May). It is truly amazing, the rule does not fail. Not escape a day without taking a drizzle that is.

We were welcomed by staff Belém Soft Hotel, who kindly offered us shelter and good conversations with entreteteu. With the hotel centrally located on Avenida Braz de Aguiar, had easy access to the attractions of the city.

We had the pleasure of being accompanied during our tours owner Rosalia, tia do Bruno. Native city, she had at his fingertips the details of points of interest that we should visit and accompanied us with great sympathy. In diso, offered us a lunch at home with delicious regional dishes, a delight! It was there that first proved the real acai, the original of Pará! Completely different from the question we used, until the beginning estranhamos. We need enough sugar to soften the bitter taste which brought to the mouth. Pretty Mesmo! Still we mix a tapioca flour to complement the delicacy.

We started the script for one of the main sights of the city - the market Ver-o-Peso. A multitude of stalls selling all kinds of products. In addition to the fruits of the region (taperebá, murici, buriti, acai, etc.) very famous and Brazil nuts, What caught our attention was the very compounds based on medicinal herbs of the Amazon. For any problem, a product that had resolved. Anti-cancer, anti-pedra no rim, remaining anti-cabelo, anti-tudo. Local knowledge of the usefulness of Amazon plants is a secret passed down from generation to generation, and is often guarded. Although it is difficult to believe in the efficacy of some products, surely there are many that are effective, given the constant probing of large laboratories in the region.

How could it be, buy nuts and fruits before we ride into the complex Feliz Lusitania. Happy Lusitania is the name used by Portuguese colonists to the initial core of the city and today is a tourist complex situated in the oldest area of ​​the city of Belém do Pará, the neighborhood of Old Town.

Inside the Palace of Eleven Windows, acomodamo us in a restaurant rather sophisticated, with a beautiful view of the Rio Pará, where he proved a delicious shrimp broth with Jambu and eat shrimp dumplings with cheese. There is a good place to spend the afternoon and shoot the breeze, that was exactly what we did. Saindo of the, visited the Fort of the crib, where they pay a nominal fee for entry. The place has a beautiful view of the city, on top of the wall surrounded by cannons guarding the coast against invaders Para Dutch and French in the seventeenth century.

Beside the strong, Square D is the charming. Frei Caetano, central point of complex Merry Luistânia. Around her, one can visit the Se Cathedral, from where the wanderings of the Candle and also the Museum of Sacred Art. Inside the Museum, we could observe the richness of detail of the altar wooden church of St. Alexander, a masterpiece.

After a day in pleasant historic center, Dona Rosalia has led us to the Pole Jeweller. The building, that até 2001 was a prison, now houses a cultural center which includes the State Museum of Gems and the Craftsman house. We can observe the jewelers working on live parts. The colored gems from the Amazon give a special touch to jewelry produced there.

In our opinion, there is no better place in Bethlehem to spend time Station Docks. Inaugurated in 13 May 2000, the place is a tourist and cultural built along the edge of the old river port of Belém. Charming and great restaurants, is extremely cozy. We spend much of our time here in Bethlehem, goofing off in the breeze from the river and experiencing the best of local cuisine. The best memory we keep of Bethlehem was enjoying a live music (a band that played on a mobile platform, traveling by station, as a mover of cargo in the former warehouse of the port), watching the sunset by the river, Cairu with a delicious ice cream in hand. Moreover, one can not try it in Bethlehem. We ate one or two per day and not even close to nauseate. The options are endless and very different, especially with the flavors of local fruits. Plum tree has become our favorite escapes.

Also in Station Docks, had the privilege of experiencing a variety of dishes in Pará Here at Home, one of the most traditional restaurants in the region's best known and most cooking in terms of Para. The suggestion of the house was the menu Para, a sequence of flavors with the best theme to offer the Para. To get, is a fruit juice served as regional, for example, taperebá. Then, cone is breaded crab and paw, a piece of fried and a arapaima farofinha, and bean salad Manteiguinha Santarém. A gourd, is served sauce coconut milk to water entries. Main dishes include duck in tradicionalíssimos tucupi and maniçoba. Accompanied by white rice and cassava flour, the two cliques are served in clay. Parallel, still had room for one more dish, Following a delicious local fish. To close the tasting, sherbet or regional as cupuaçu bacuri, tapioca and also accompanied by a delicious guava with mozzarella. Give just like to remember! Ventured to say that this was the best meal of our trip here.

We took a day in town to make a script that can be done on foot, near the region where our hotel was located. We begin with a visit to the beautiful Theatro da Paz, one of the most luxurious in the country, built at the height of the rubber cycle. After, follow the Goeldi Museum, the oldest research institution in the Amazon region, where you can observe various amines Amazonian fauna. Ounces, turtles, toucans and many animals are on display in the park. Here we first saw the alligator, largest species of crocodile in the world, exclusive of the Amazon region. The animal can reach 6 meters long, é giant! We wondered if we could find passages in one boat we wanted to do for the Amazon. The city tour followed by the beautiful Basilica of Nazareth and Park Homes, recommended location for a nice walk.

Another hotspot in town is the Mangal Garças. The ecological park is a summary of the Amazonian environment in the heart of the state capital. Animals and plants typical of the region adorn the place, which has a beautiful view of the city.

Consume much of our time researching in Bethlehem sending the Tanajura to Manaus. We went through countless river transport companies to quote prices and meet the conditions in which our friend travel the Rio Tapajós. It was a rush somewhat stressful, but necessary. We ended up staying longer than we anticipated in the city to await the ship that would take Tanajura to Manaus. This whole story is a separate chapter we leave to another post.

Bethlehem very surprised us by the volume of cultural attractions the city has to offer the tourist, beyond the differentiated local cooking. We spent several days in the state capital and yet he was wanting more. We took our last Cairu with taste and we traveled to Manaus. We had no idea what to expect from a trip 6 days of ship by Amazon. Let's find out.

Want to see more pictures of Bethlehem? Access them by clicking on our Flicker here ! For photos of San Luis, click here !