Ponta negra, the best beach of Natal, Brazil.La mejor playa de Natal, Brasil, Punta Negra

PONTA NEGRA

This is certainly the most famous tourist spot in Natal.

The village of Ponta Negra is a few square kilometers large. It used to be home for fishers and other working people; around early 1990's, the tourism businesses began to take ove the area; a few years ago, foreigner investors (notably Italians, Portuguese and other Europeans) started to pour money into the area, and tourism oriented businesses flourished.

Today, there are men at work all around the village. Medium and small hotels and flats are being built everywhere (there is no free space for bigger hotels). Houses are being refurbished and adapted to become restaurants, shops, etc. There are few slots of real estate left (naturally, prices are rising).

However, if the hotels and flats are spread all over, most of the fun happens at the beach strip.

Ponta Negra beach is about 4 km long. In the south end is Morro do Careca, the most famous landmark of Natal. Walking northwards, one first sees about 2km of av. Erivan Franca, crowded with bars, restaurants, hotels, party houses, small shopping galleries, etc; then, the avenue ends, and the next 2km have just a walk way, lined with small hotels and some small snack barrows.

It's not hard to see why this is the hot spot in Natal.

Morro do Careca is a combination of sea, mountain, dunes and green. Climbing the hill is forbidden, but many people don't care; the gay guides repeatedly mention the lateral trails of the hill as a good meeting point. Below, a few pictures of Morro do Careca, taken from several distances.

The avenue sideways is where most fun happens. That stretch is always crowded with tourists, both Brazilian and foreigners. It's not luxurious or posh, but it's cosy and clean. The sun is almost always shining, but it's always accompanied by a refresing wind. It's always busy with people of all walks of life, but everybody respects each other.

A few interesting bits of info about Ponta Negra:

- The village is up the hill. As soon as the beach street ends, you have to walk up a steep hill to go to the village. That means that a hotel "100 meters away from the beach" may end up being not so close as you thought; however, there is the advantage that you can have a good view of the sea even if you are a little far from the shore line.

Natal, the City of the Sun, is a major tourist destination in Brazil. Brazil is a big, peaceful, blessed by Nature country. Read more about Brazil.

Natal and other beaches, like Pipa, are growing more and popular among Brazilian and international tourists. Natal is the safest capital city in Brazil, and one of the Brazilian cities nearest Europe and North America.

Ponta Negra

FACTS ABOUT NATAL PONTA NEGRA

Area: 169 km2

Population: 712,317 , of which 334,355 are male and 377,962 are female

People who are born in Natal are called natalenses; those who are born in the state of Rio Grande do Norte are called potiguares, which in the indian tupi language means "people who eat shrimps".

Statistics on Natal: the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) makes public the results of their periodic census; visit the IBGE website (some sections have an English version).

IBGE also breaks out information by cities (in Portuguese only); check out the IBGE statistics about NATAL.

History: take a look at a brief History of Natal. If you can read Portuguese, take a look at this comprehensive work about the History of Rio Grande do Norte

Natal is becoming a major destination for Brazilian tourists

Natal has always been an island of tranquility in Brazil; the sunny beaches always attracted tourists from all around the country.

However, Natal used to have a problem: poor infra-structure; those who, like me, came here for the first time about 15 years ago, had to cope with the lack of hotels and restaurants, absolute absence of information, the innefective transportation system, etc.

Years of good management and the perception that tourism was its greatest potential have drastically changed Natal: there are many more hotels, restaurants and every kind of tourism related business; transportation and communication systems are much better; more and more natalenses know how important the tourists are for the economy, and this reflects on the way (which was already warm) that they treat visitants.

Surveys start to show that the tourists are already noticing the changes in Natal.

Embratur is the federal Brazilian agency in charge of promoting tourism in Brazil, both domestic and international; the website is http://www.embratur.gov.br.
Among several other studies of several kinds, Embratur periodically conduts surveys among tourists to picture the Brazilian tourism market; the last such survey was in 2,001. Click to access the
Survey on Domestic Tourism, year 2001 (PDF format).
The Table #40, page 83 of the report, shows that Natal is already the 5th tourist destination in Brazil.
Only Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Fortaleza and Salvador receive more people than Natal.
Moreover, the same survey shows that the state of Rio Grande do Norte is seeing the influx of tourists growing faster than other state. See Table #36, which ranks states by number of tourists. Check out column "Destinos" (Destinations); from 1998 to 2001, the participation of RN grew from 2,32 to 3,38%. The states of SP, RJ and MG gained share, while most others lost.
Embratur doesn't explain the reasons, but the economic crisis may have forced people to travel to closer cities.

What other travellers say about Natal Read what Virtual Tourist say about Natal

FACTS ABOUT BRAZIL PONTA NEGRA

Population: 177,860,072 (estimated)

Area: 8,511,965 sq km

CIA World Factbook - Brazil How CIA sees Brazil.

Brazil - Consular Information How the US Department of State sees Brazil.

Brazil by Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is well known for their unbiased travel reports.

Meu Brasil (My Brazil) One of the most informational website about Brazil, maintained by Sergio Koreisha, a professor at University of Oregon.

IBGE Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica - Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. A much respected Brazilian agency which collects and analyses data about Braziliann population and economy.

More info about Brazil:

Despite several problems, Brazil is a country which should be among among the options of the international tourists.

Brazil is a Democratic Republic, free from natural cataclisms, with a huge natural diversity (you can be on the beach this week, next week in the jungle). Besides, Brazil is a peaceful country (most people don't know who Osama bin Laden is) and, neither last nor least, Brazil is very cheap (dollar, euros, pounds are very strong against the Brazilian currency).

Brazil is a country that tourists return to

Embratur is the Brazilian Tourism Authority, whose job is to promote the tourism in the country, both for domestic and international travellers.
For a very good source of information about Brazil in English, visit the website about tourism maintained by the Brazilian Embassy in Washington
Embratur periodically conducts surveys to analyze the Brazilian tourism scenes, both domestic and international.
Let's take a look at the Study on International Tourism, year 2002; the report is on PDF format (big file: 451kB), so the tables and text can't be imported to this (HTML format) page, so I will make references to it.
The survey was conducted among foreigner tourists leaving the country, and followed guidelines set by the World Tourism Organization to guarantee that results were reliable to a 5% error margin. Questionaires were applied in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Recife, Salvador, Manaus, Fortaleza, Porto Alegre, Florianopolis and Foz do Iguacu, in two different occasions (high and low season).

Table at page 8 brings a summary of the study.
Some interesting points:

51,21% of foreigner tourists came for holidays, while 28,28% for business and 15,60% for familiar visits.

The main source of information about Brazil was, in 51,83% of cases, recommendation of friends; in 12,80%, the internet, and in 11,71% folders provided by the travel agencies.

Age brackets: 18-27 y.o: 17,22% 28-45: 47,78% 45-65: 30,90% over 65: 4,10%

69,40% of the visitants had superior education

26,43% of travellers came alone, 43,07% with family, 27,64% with friends and 2,86% came in excursions

The average income was US$ 32,041,52 per year

77,04% of visitants used travel agency services, while 22,86% didn't

65,34% were coming for the first time, while 34,66% were coming the second or more times

Intention to return: 96,12% said they had the intention to return to Brazil, while 3,88% said they didn't intend to return to Brazil

Average stay 14 days, with average daily spent of US$ 86,17

Cities visited by the tourists: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Salvador, Foz, Recife, Porto Alegre, Fortaleza, Florianopolis, Natal(3,76%), Buzios

Major reasons of complaints: safety, cleaness, touristic signalization, communications, urban transportation, taxis, night life

Level of satisfaction with their experiences: 31,00% said that the trip was above their expectations; 55,09% said that their expectations were completely fulfilled; 11,81% said that they partially fulfilled their expectations; 2,10% said that they were disappointed.

As pointed by the report, there were not significant changes (Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Salvador and Foz do Iguacu still leading), but one difference is that Natal didn't appear until 2001 (the tenth was Buzios with 3,9%) and is appearing at #9 in 2002.
The fact that foreigners are going more to Natal goes in line with the results of other Embratur survey, this one on domestic market, showing that Natal is becoming more and more popular among Brazilian tourists.

It would be interesting to compare the result of this study with others conducted in the past. This is the same survey, conducted in 1998: Study on International Tourism, year 1998.

It's worthy mentioning that:

The intention to return was already high: 88,0% said they had the intention to return to the country, 9,8% said maybe they would return, and 2,2% said not to have intention to return. The intention to return increased from 1998 to 2002.

In 1998, Natal was not even amongst the 14 most visited cities (Brasilia was 14th, with 2,5% of visitants); this also confirms that in the recent years Natal has been deserving more and more attention from potential visitors. The Table 7, page 11, shows that something similar happened with Fortaleza (today one of the biggest tourist receptors in Brazil): Fortaleza share of visitors grew from 2,3% in 1994 to 4,6% in 1998.

Natal is a growing destination among Brazilian tourists

HISTORY PONTA NEGRA

Natal was built on the right bank of river Potenji, right where the river meets the Atlantic; the soil is very sandy, with dunes and bays protected by reefs which appear all along the shore line.
In December of 1597, a fleet commanded by Jeronimo de Albuquerque arrived to the river Potenji, with the assignments of founding a new city and building a fortress to protect the Portuguese settlement and keep away the Frenchmen, who were trying to do business with the potiguares, native indians. At the same time, by land, arrived to the region a group chiefed by the governor of Pernambuco, Manuel Mascarenhas Homem. In January 6th 1598, those men began to build the Fortress of Three Wise Kings; in December 25th of the same year, a small village was founded one mile away from the fortress; the village was named Natal (Natal is the Portuguese word for Christmas), after the date it was founded.
The city developed very slowly; differently from Pernambuco, the sandy soil of Natal was not adequated to cultivate sugar cane (which was by then the main source of wealth that the Portuguese explored from their colony). In 1,633, the Dutch took over the city; the fortress was renamed to Keulen, and so it was until 1,654, when the Portuguese reclaimed it. Like the Portuguese, the Dutch didn't see much interest in developing the region; again, the situation was very different in Pernambuco, which the Dutch also dominated but developed, leaving traces visible until today, like in the city of Olinda.
The sugar cane was largely cultivated from Bahia to Paraiba, just crossing the southern border of Rio Grande do Norte; after the sugar cane, Portugal explored the gold which was found in Minas Gerais; when the Portuguese kingdom moved temporarily to Brazil, the king settled in Rio de Janeiro. In 1817, provinces from the Northeast attempted a revolution (Revolucao Pernambucana) to try go gain independence from Portugal (the revolution failed, the independence was proclaimed in 1822).
So, Natal was much less of a colony than the rest of the country; this fact (along with the American presence during WW II, see below) possibly contributed to make Natal one of the most libertarian regions in Brazil; the state was the first to abolish slavery, ten years before the rest of the country; the first Brazilian woman to take office as a mayor was elected in a small city near Natal.
In the beginning of 19th century, Natal was still a small village, divided in two main regions: the lower city (Cidade Baixa), close to the pier, concentrated the commerce; the higher city (today, Cidade Alta), on top of a hill, had the main church and the government office. Only in 1,922, in the government of Pedro Velho, did the city begin to modernize. The ancient atmosphere was maintained until 1,930, when urbanization started.
During World War II, Natal saw rapid changes in its lifestyle, when the airport was used to harbor a military basis which supplied the needs of Allied troops in the north of Africa; thousands of American soldiers spent the years of war in Natal. The Americans changed profoundly the way of life in Natal; besides bringing new products (Natal was the first Brazilian city to see chewing gum), their democratic and libertarian visions have influences to date in the life of Natal.
After the war, much of the wealth derived from the exports through the port; main items were xelita, a tungstenium ore, cotton and carnauba wax. The main industrial sectors were textile and civil building.
In recent decades, tourism became the major industry in Natal. The sun shines all year, the heat is reliefed by the alisium winds, temperature ranges between 20 and 33 C.
The urbanization being recent allowed for a planning of streets and traffic flow; the city didn't grown too fast, as it happened in the bigger cities of the south or even regional metropoles like Recife, and Natal managed to keep the tranquil atmosphere along with the comfort of a modern city.

NATAL PONTA NEGRA

Natal is not big; it's not difficult to get yourself familiarized with it.
First off, click to open a Map of Natal in another window (file is big, 359 kB). The image is 1500x1098 pixels; notice that, if you are using WindowsXP, the image may have been automatically resized to fit in the screen; to bring it back to normal size, place the mouse over the image and click the "Expand" button which appears on the right lower corner.
Now, scroll the page to the bottom and to the right. Look for the airport icon. Either you arriving to Natal by plane of over land, you will first enter the city via highway BR-101 (to get to the beaches and to return, you will take other roads), represented by the two large black strips; a bit ahead of the airport, the Three Wise Kings under a star welcome you.
Go a few more kilometers down BR-101; the first bridge you see is the intersection to Ponta Negra; you will probably drive across this bridge many times.
Take to the right at the intersection and you will be at Avenida Engenheiro Roberto Freire; follow this avenue all the way down to get to Ponta Negra, the most famous of Natal beaches (Ponta Negra is the name of the village and of the beach; there are hotels in both). On the way, you will see supermarkets (Nordestao and Hiper Bom Preco), two mid-sized shopping centers (Shopping Cidade Jardim and Praia Shopping), and, at the very end, the Ponta Negra Beach with famous Morro do Careca. About 10 km separate the intersection from Morro do Careca.
Still in Ponta Negra: notice the Av. Erivan Franca, which starts right off Morro do Careca; that's the stretch of beach where most of fun happens.
Back to the intersection: if you follow BR-101 straight up, you will see it changing names, first to Avenida Senador Salgado Filho then to Avenida Hermes da Fonseca; drive all the way up and you will reach the beaches of Praia dos Artistas, Praia do Meio and Praia do Forte (look at the icon of the Fortress of Wise Kings, where Natal was founded, right on the bank of River Potengi). Following this way, you will see: Natal Shopping Center and Via Direta Shopping (represented in the map by the two red rectangles across the road from each other), the Machadão stadium, and then a long business street until the beaches.
Notice that, paralalell to Salgado Filho, there is a street called Prudente de Moraes, which also leads to the beach; that's another thorougfare of Natal. Towards the end of this avenue, where the map gets denser, you find the oldest part of Natal, where several museums and monuments are located.
Now, notice that, connecting Ponta Negra and Praia do Meio, there is a 10km road called Via Costeira. By one side of Via Costeira, you find the best hotels in Natal; by the other side, you have Parque das Dunas, a large piece of protected Atlantic Forest.

Now that you know how to drive around Natal, let's get off to the beaches outside Natal.
To get to the southern beaches, there are two ways. To go to beaches closer to Natal, like Pirangi, you take Rota do Sol; that's the yellow road starting in Ponta Negra and going off the right side of the map. To go to more distant beaches, like Pipa, you will drive back to BR-101 and then drive south.
To get to the northern beaches, again two ways. To closer beaches, like Redinha and Genipabu, you can either take the boat which gets across the river (the dotted line) and then continue from there. Or, look for avenue Bernardo Vieira, which makes crossing with avenida Salgado Filho, and just keep driving (and reading the signs).

Now, go back to reading Natal Brazil, and enjoy Natal.

HISTORY PONTA NEGRA

PONTA NEGRA

Weather in Natal, Brazil

The graph below shows average temperature (orange line) and pluviosity (blue bars) in Natal along the year.

Source: Brazilian Institute of Aerospace Research - INPE.

Notice that seasons of year are opposite in Hemisphere North and South.
Brazilian seasons are: summer (22 Dec - 21 March); Autumn (21 March - 22 June); Winter (22 June - 22 September); Spring (22 September - December); there may be variation of one day.
Click the next link to read more about the seasons of the year.

The graph shows that:
- even in the colder winter season, average temperature in Natal is about 24o C (75o F);
- the graph shows average temperatures; actual temperatures during the day are higher.
- there is a concentration of rain from March to July;
- even at the peak of the wet season, the pluviosity levels in Natal are at only 200 mm; in Recife, peak levels are 400 mm, and in Fortaleza, 350 mm.

Other interesting info about climate in Natal:
- because Natal is near the Equatorial Line, the sun at midday will be right overhead nearly every day of the year.
- thunders and bolts are rare in Natal. Bolts are electric discharges, caused by the the friction between masses of hot and cold air (this contact causes the hot air to condensate, becoming rain drops). In Natal, the rainy clouds are formed far into the Atlantic, and then move towards the continent.

GOVERNMENT PONTA NEGRA

Natal is the capital city of the state of Rio Grande do Norte.

Brazilian Constitution divides the country in States, and the States are divided in municipalities.
Voters in the States elect a Governor and State Deputies; States also have a Judiciary branch, composed by judges and a Superior Tribunal.
The Governor in office is Mrs. Wilma Maria de Faria, elected in 2002 and in office since Jan. 1st 2003 for a four year term. Mrs. Faria had been mayor of Natal for two consecutive terms. She is affiliated with center-leftist PSB - Partido Socialista Brasileiro (Brazilian Socialist Party).
The official site of State government is: http://www.rn.gov.br
Information about Deputies can be found at the website of the Legislative Chamber of Rio Grande do Norte and about the Judiciary Branch can be found at the site of the Tribunal of Justice

The city of Natal elects a mayor and the members of a municipal council (vereadores); according to Brazilian Constitution, the councils have legislative enpowerments (albeit restricted to local matters); there is no Judiciary branch.
The Mayor in office is Mr. Carlos Eduardo Alves, from the same party (PSB) as the governor. Mr. Alves was elected as vice-mayor in the 2000 campaign, which Mrs. Faria won; after Mrs. Faria resigned to run for the state government, Mr. Alves was sworn in office. Municipal elections are scheduled for 2004. Update: In the municipal elections of 2004, Mr. Carlos Eduardo Alves was re-elected for another four year term; he was favorite from the beginning, but he only won after a second round; as in the absolute majority of the country, elections were fair, the results were announced quickly (a few hours after the ballots were closed) and not disputed.
The official site of municipal government is: http://www.natal.rn.gov.br
Information about the municipal council of Natal are at http://www.cmnat.rn.gov.br

PONTA NEGRA

LANGUAGE

The language spoken in Brazil is Portuguese; there are different accents, but the entire country speaks the same language.
Few people speak a second language. Many keep the tongue of their immigrant ancestors, like the Italians, Germans, Japanese and Arabic; however, there are not such communities in Natal or Northeast.
For decades, English was the dominant second language, as it was taught in elementary and intermediary schools; the educated Brazilians usually have a basic knowledge of English, while probably not good enough to keep a fluent conversation.
With the advent of Mercosul (a trade agreement among Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay), Spanish is gaining more and more relevance. Don't be fooled by the apparent similarities between Portuguese and Spanish; even though the written words look very alike, the spoken language sounds very differently (usually, Brazilians can understand Spanish speakers, but if you speak Spanish, it won't be so easy to understand the spoken Portuguese).
As the tourism business grows, more attention is paid to language matters; most of the bigger hotels and restaurants have bi or tri-lingual staff, and menus and directions have English versions. However, in many smaller businesses, only Portuguese is spoken.

Visit these sites for a quick tutorial on the Brazilian Portuguese language:
Short Portuguese lessons by a guy from Portugal
Marko Huuhilo's webpage maintained by a Finn guy who apparently enjoyed Brazil
Sonia - Portuguese lessons maintained by a professional Brazilian teacher

PONTA NEGRA

ARRIVING IN NATAL

Hotel gelegen in der Vorderkante des Strandes EL Cargador in Alcocebre, ideal, um die Zone sich zu entspannen und zu genießen.

There are two ways to arrive in Natal: by plane and by bus.
Natal has a pier, but only for cargo ships. There are few railroads in Brazil, none in Natal.

Arriving by plane
If flying in, you will arrive at International Airport Augusto Severo.
The airport is far from the Natal. Actually, the airport is located in another city, called Parnamirim, conurbed with Natal. Getting to and from the airport is nor easy nor cheap, so make sure you fix all you have to before leaving the airport; pay special attention if you are going to rent a car: prefer those companies which allow you to pick up the car at the airport and return it at the city, or vice-versa.
If you are entering the country - currently, this only happens with charter flights -, the Federal Police will check out your passport (separate queues for Brazilians and foreigners) and the Customs will check out your luggage; Police and Customs staffs are usually very friendly. If you are coming from other states in Brazil, your papers and luggage won't be checked again.
The airport is new and modern, it was refurbished and reinaugurated in 2001. Before 2001, passengers had to walk across the runway; now, planes stop at fingers.
The airport is clearly oversized for its current level of business (designers say that a big grow in traffic is expected, and this was factored in the size of the airport). There's no accumulation of people or luggage chariots; the place is spacious and well ventilated. There are some basic services (restaurants, coffee shops, news stands), but it's far from being a good place to past time.
There's a tourist office at the airport. Staff speaks English there, get as much info as you can, ask all free material they have.
Unlike other bigger Brazilian airports, there is no free shop in Natal. Brazilian free shops are not very attractive, anyway; last I checked, electronic appliances were obsolete, perfumes were overpriced, tobacco and spirit were not much cheaper to justify facing the extra bureaucracy of buying at the free shops.
Getting from airport to Natal
Depending on where you are staying in Natal, you could have to drive between 15 and 25 km to get to your hotel. If you are in a package tour, make sure there will be a bus to pick you up.
Unlike most other major airports in Brazil, there's not a cheap shuttle service between the airport and the city (this has been asked by passengers since long ago, but it looks like some lobbies convince the government that it's not necessary). Taxis are expensive (for Brazilian standards): to Ponta Negra, a special taxi (which is supposed to have air conditioner and turn it on) goes for about R$40 (try to bargain down this price); a normal taxi, about R$30 (according to the fare meter). Prices depend on whereabouts in the city you go.
If you have little luggage, speak a little Portuguese and want to save some money, take the bus which runs by just in front of the airport; ticket is R$2; make sure that the bus is going to Natal, not the opposite direction. Get off at Natal Shopping Center and take another bus from there; if you are going to Ponta Negra, walk across the street and take bus #66.

Arriving by bus
If you arrive by bus, the final stop is Rodoviaria Cidade do Sol.
The bus station is depart point for buses to several cities in Rio Grande do Norte and several states in Brazil. All kind of travellers are found here, from Brazilian and foreigner tourists going to near capitals (some travel times: Recife: 4 1/2 hours; Joao Pessoa: 3 hours; Fortaleza: 8 hours), to people going to visit their relatives in small cities, to entire families moving (and bringing all their few belongings) to the big cities in the South.
Not many basic services: there are several snack bars, only one restaurant (far from luxury), news stands, a left luggage, a VISA - Banco do Brasil post; there are toilets, but the cleanest; there is a tourist office, the staff tries to be helpful, but their English is far from perfect, and their stock of maps seem to be very short lasting.
Just outside the main gate, there are a queue of taxis and a bus stop; avoid walking much further from the bus stop, specially at night. A taxi to Ponta Negra goes for about R$20, and to Via Costeira about R$35.
Buses: to go to Ponta Negra, take bus #66 and it will take you to very close of the hotels; to go to Praia do Meio and Via Costeira, take bus #40 and get off at Praia do Meio, from which you can either walk to your hotel (if you're staying in Praia dos Artistas or Praia do meio), or take one of the buses which drive along Via Costeira.
Buses to/from Fortaleza are run by this company: Viacao Nordeste There are about seven buses per day; because the trip takes about 8 hours, there is a couch bus (bigger seats, more space) which travels overnight.
For buses to/from Recife (buses every two hours, from about 6am to about 11pm), try this company: Viacao Progresso.
Another site you may want to check is Expresso Guanabara; this company runs buses across many states in NorthEast.

See also: Arriving in Natal

MEDIA in NATAL and BRAZIL

Newspapers
There are two major newspapers in Natal, both with online versions:
Tribuna do Norte
Diario de Natal
None of them is published on Mondays. Both are focused on local news, and are fed by the bigger News Agencies from the south or from abroad.
The most influencial Brazilian newspapers are published in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo; all have online versions, but some restrictions may apply to full access.
O Globo
Jornal do Brasil
Folha de Sao Paulo
O Estado de Sao Paulo
O Globo and Jornal do Brasil are printed in Rio de Janeiro, the other two are from Sao Paulo; O Globo and o Estado are more conservative, while Folha and JB are more "progressists". If you are interested in information about economy in Brazil, visit Gazeta Mercantil

Magazines
This magazine called O Foco (hardcopy available in Newstands) is published in Natal and entirely focused on the state of Rio Grande do Norte.
The biggest Brazilian magazines are:
Veja
Isto É
Época
Long ago, it used to be the case that magazines had a bias (pro or against government); today, all magazines seem to be equally politically independent.
Playboy publishes a Brazilian version.

Television
Most hotels in Natal offer cable television, so you won't have to watch Brazilian television.
However, if you want to, you can watch Brazilian channels; there are about eight chains with national coverage, most of them present in Natal (actual number depends on the antennas used).
The most watched channel is TV Globo (belongs to holding O Globo, one of the biggest media groups in the world); the news Jornal Nacional, around 8pm (7pm during the daylight savings season), has the highest audience in Brazilian television; right after the news, another favorite Brazilian pastime: the novelas (soapbox operas), exported to tens of countries.
The quality of programmes varies much, going from insulting low to award winning high quality; Brazilian marketing agencies very often win important international prizes; there is a channel run by the Government, TV Cultura, with a more cultural programmation. Also worthy a look is TV Senado, which transmits (usually live, when there are sessions) from the Brazilian Senate; IMHO, images pass the impression of a civilized country.

HEALTH

Water and food Tap water is OK for cooking and bathing (Brazilians, and particularly those ones from the NorthEasth, are very fond of baths and showers; three or four a day). Mineral water is so cheap in Brazil, there's no need to drink tap water. Restaurants in the tourist areas are clean, the Sanitary Agency is very active. The law obliges all restaurants to allow customers to visit their instalations to check out the higiene.

Vaccination Natal is an urban city. There's no need for vaccinations, unless you plan to go to wilder regions (Amazon or Pantanal).

Pharmacies and drugstores Most of the biggest world laboratories produce and sell in Brazil (Pfizer, Merck, Bayer, etc). Very few medicines are freely sold (for example, Aspirina, Tylenol, Cebion). Most medicines require a prescription (these are marked with a red label), but even if you don't have one you shouldn't have a problem to buy it over the counter in drugstores (for example, antibiotics, Cataflan, Viagra, Cialis, are sold without prescriptions). Very rarely are specific medicines produced for a person (e.g., 100 mg of a certain principle), and in these cases you will need a prescription. Some medicines are closely controlled (these are marked with a black label), and you will have trouble buying them without a prescription (for example, Prozac and other ansiolitics).
If you have specific needs, bring your own medicines with you.

Hospitals and clinics
Whichever place you choose to travel, there's always a chance you will have to go to a hospital or doctor; common reasons for that are the changes in food, climates, etc.
Natal has public and private hospitals. Don't count on public hospitals (stories of people arriving at 3 a.m. to try to see a doctor, or waiting months for an urgent surgery are not uncommon). Note, however, that in case of very serious injuries (a car accident, for example), you will be probably taken to a public hospital, and that's the best place you could be, because these hospitals are the only ones which can afford to have any specialist at any time of day or night. In such cases, however ugly the hospital could be, if you or yours are being assisted, don't try to find a better looking place.
Private hospitals are better, but expect a service much worse than the one you are used to; even for emergencies, a few hours waiting is not uncommon.

Doctors and dentists
Of course, you should see your doctor before travelling. To see a doctor in Natal, appointments usually are set a few days in advance, whatever your Health Plan is; some more respected doctors (the ones more likely to speak English) can have a few weeks already taken. If you don't have a Health Insurance, expect to pay something between R$50 and R$100; in Brazil, the consultation fee includes the first and a return visit, if needed (for example, the doctor may request some exams, which would be require a return visit to be analyzed).
Dental urgencies are more common than medical. It's easier to have an immediate appointment with a dentist. There are a few 24h dental clinics. Prices can vary very much. A particular good clinic is OdontoFace.

MONEY

WHAT'S THE EXCHANGE RATE?
Click the next link to see the course of dollar against the real over the past three months.

Brazilian Currency
Brazilian currency is the real (R$), divided in 100 centavos.
There are bills of R$1, R$2, R$5, R$10, R$20, R$50 and R$100; avoid the R$100 and R$50, as they are hard to get change for. Coins come in 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 cents and 1 real. Take a look at the Brazilian bills and coins.
Unlike other countries, the dollar is not used in daily transactions. All shops and restaurants will take only cash in Reais, cheques in Reais or credit cards (which are debited on your own currency).

Dollar X Euros X Other Currencies
You can easily cash dollar and euro bills at the Money Changers. Traveller checks are also accepted (read below), but at a lower rate (you will get less reais for your checks than you would for cash). Some places accept personal checks, but that depends much on personal trusting. Britsh pounds and Swiss francs are also easy to change, but the rate is terribly unfavourable. All other currencies are not so easy to change, and the rate will be certainly bad; Banco do Brasil accepts any currency, but only at certain branches, and at a bad rate.

Cash X Checks X Credit Cards
The best way to get cash in Brazil is by using a credit card which allows cash withdrawals.
Cash has a better rate than traveller checks, but checks are obviously safer. Dollar cash is easily changeable, so it would be a good idea to have some US$100 in US$20 bills with you. If you must use traveller checks, ask the issuer if, in case of need, you can use Banco do Brasil to get your replacement checks; there are Banco do Brasil anywhere in the country, and they seem to be the quickest in turning checks to you.
If you have a VISA card, there are several Banco do Brasil ATM machines where you can get cash. The rate is usually better than at Money Exchangers. You can get cash as you need it, but there is a limit (imposed by Banco do Brasil) of R$ 1,000 per day. Also, notice that not every ATM accepts VISA; only those ATMs with VISA logos accept the cards, and the majority of them do not accept (pay attention to not waste time on the wrong queues or even the wrong branches). Some places to get cash: Shopping Natal, Banco do Brasil branch, has two ATMs; Ponta Negra BB branch (it's at Av. Eng. Roberto Freire, distant from the beach) has also two ATMs; the bus station has one ATM.

NATAL: A SAFE CITY

Update April 2005. A recent official survey concluded that Natal is the safest capital city in Brazil.

Other parts of Brazil are often in the headlines because of violence, but Natal is a very safe city.

In the bigger cities of south, notably Rio de Janeiro, there is an organized crime which controls the drug and/or gun market, and employs violence to keep their dominance (the movies City of God portrayed this scenario very well); it's common to hear that an important criminal which was arrested or killed was promptly replaced by someone else (usually younger and even more violent). In contrast, crime in Natal is still commited by individuals (several passional crimes) or, occasionaly, two people; crimes in Rio are scheduled, crimes in Natal just happen.

Of course, poverty plays an important role in the levels of criminality. There are poor people all around the country, but some diffences are noticeable: for the poor, cost of living is much lower in northeast than in south (in extreme conditions, someone in Natal could survive eating coconuts and cuscuz, which are very cheap; because of scarce space, house rents are expensive in Sao Paulo, a cold city in winter, whereas one could live for free in the beaches of Natal); poor people in Natal have, even if little, support from their families, where as they are all by themselves in Sao Paulo (many people regret their migrating to the south, but can't even afford a ticked to go back home); the poor youngsters in south have more materialistic ambitions: they see their friends joining the criminals and making money to buy them clothes, cars, whatever; the simpler way of life of Natal helps keeping the youngsters, even if poor, away from criminality.

Police in Natal are more ostensive. You see the police everywhere in Natal, before crimes happen (in Rio, because crime is already established, police spends most of time chasing criminals); there are several fixed police posts (usually a trailer with an improvised office); random blitzen are very common: drivers are stopped and papers and cars are thoroughly checked; policemen in motorcycles are always going about the streets of Natal, bringing mobility and agility which are not possible in the chaotic traffic of bigger cities.

LAWS TOURISTS SHOULD KNOW PONTA NEGRA

Sex and prostitution
Age of consent is 16.
Prostitution is not ilegal in Brazil; persons over 18 may exercize prostitution. However, profiting from prostitution, or inducing someone into prostitution, are crimes. Night clubs are also legal (as long as the prostitutes freely choose to be there).
Prostitution involving persons under 18 is a serious crime, and the authorities of Natal and Rio Grande do Norte fiercely enforce the law.
Natal and Rio Grande do Norte ARE NOT places for sexual tourism. The government campaigns are aimed at family tourists. Most people in the tourism business (hotel attendants, taxi drivers, waiters) are conscious that this such kind of tourism is not good for the city.

Drugs: legal and ilegal
Tobacco and alcohol can be purchased and consumed by people older than 18. Marijuana, cocaine and heavier drugs are illegal; carrying for personal use is a minor demeanor, one can pay a bail and walk out; carrying drugs for distribution (however small the amount, however the price) qualifies you as a trafficant, there's no bail out in this case, you go straight to prison.
There's no 'free zones' in Natal. Police has higher priorities other than go after quiet pot smokers, but they won't let you go if they catch you (for example, if your car is stopped by one of the several blitzen that happen all around).
Very rarely do Brazilians go to jail for carrying a few joints of pot; however, if you don't speak the language and don't know the country very well, you will save a lot of headache by staying away from drugs.

Environment protecting laws
Brazil has very strict laws protecting environment and wild life.
People can neither keep nor trade wild animals withouth authorization; do not buy turtles, monkeys or birds that natives try to sell you.
If you want to buy protected wild life, there are legal means to do so. Check out IBAMA, the federal agency in charge of environmental issues in Brazil.

Different policies for different situations
Brazil has several polices, the functions of each are defined by the laws.
The Federal Police, besides investigating federal crimes, is also the border police. They check out Visas at borders, grant Visa extensions, investigate foreigners in illegal activities. Because Brazil is very peaceful, blitzen agains foreigners are unheard of.
The Civil Police investigates common crimes (thefts, agressions, etc). If you are robbed and need some official paper to register it, you will have to go to a Police Department (Delegacia de Policia).
The Military Police (the cops in uniforms you see everywhere), grossly speaking, is responsible for keeping law and order; they will be the first ones to show when you call (Emergency Phone: 190) or cry for help. Military and Civil polices often work together, the militaries will help you but eventually will lead you to the Civil to register the ocurrence.
Some situations when you will need the police Ideally, the only occasion when you will see any police is when arriving and leaving the country (the federals will check out your passport). However, in some occasions you may need to talk to the police. It will be very unlikely you will find any officer who speaks English; so, if possible, have the phone number of someone who speaks Portuguese and may help you.
If you are robbed or assaulted and need an official statement about that (some credit card and traveller checks companies require that), go to the nearest Delegacia; you can go at any time, but the sooner the better; someone will ask for details of the occurrence, and at the end will give you a copy of a document (called 'boletim de ocorrencia') which testifies that you declared you were robbed, and will be used to support the policial investigations (don't count on any fast results, though).
If you are driving a rented car, if you paid for insurance, and if you get envolved in an accident (be it your fault or not), then the insurance company will ask also for a written police record to pay you the coverage (if the other driver is to blame for the accident, then either he or his insurance will be responsible for the bills, but you will need a police statement anyway).

WORKING IN BRAZIL PONTA NEGRA

Foreigners need an specific visa to work in Brazil, even if in temporary jobs. In Natal, however, the Federal Police and the Labour Ministry (which are both understaffed and overbusy) have never been seen chasing illegal workers.
If you think about finding paid work, be aware that salaries are low and opportunities are few. Some foreigners can find temporary jobs as language teachers (better to offer private lessons than to try the schools), tourist guides (Swedish tourists would probably like a Swedish speaking guide) or teaching specific skills (diving, tattooing, etc).

Voluntary Work

If you are considering to volunteer in Natal and Brazil, visit the sites below:

Natal Voluntarios In Portuguese only. Volunteer work in Natal

Voluntarios.com.br In Portuguese only. Volunteering opportunities are sorted by City (first field of the form), by District (second field) and by Area (third field). Over 4000 entities looking for volunteers.

Iko Poran English version. Based on Rio de Janeiro, this Non Government Organization helps foreigners find volunteering jobs in Brazil. Excellent information source on the matter.

A cidade do Sol

Histórico
Natal tem início com a construção do Forte dos Reis Magos.
Na margem direita do rio Potengi, existia a Aldeia Velha onde viviam os Potiguares. Atualmente Aldeia Velha é um dos bairros de Natal. O nome desse bairro é Igapó, ligado ao centro da cidade por uma moderna ponte.
Natal cresceu muito lentamente, vindo a se desenvolver a partir de 1922, sendo os seus primeiros bairros a Ribeira e a Cidade Alta.
Natal foi fundada em 25 de dezembro de 1599 por Manuel de Mascarenhas Homem, capitão-mor de Pernambuco, onde ali chegou, em 1597, com o objetivo de construir um forte e uma cidade, a fim de assegurar a posse de Portugal, afastando os franceses que comerciavam com os indignas (os índios potiguares).
Natal, durante a II Guerra Mundial, serviu de base aeronaval, com a missão de controlar as comunicações com o continente africano.
Em 1965, foi construída a Barreira do Inferno, a principal base do programa espacial do Brasil.

Área e população
Natal tem uma área de 172 Km² e população estimada em 800 mil habitantes. A expansão urbana vem ocorrendo em direção aos municípios de Parnamirim e São Gonçalo do Amarante, formando a Grande Natal.
Clima e Altitude
Dada a proximidade com a Linha do Equador e a sua configuração geográfica, Natal tem temperatura média de 28°C, apresentando dias com até 15 horas de sol. Sua precipitação pluviométrica é regular e o seu clima, tropical. A altitude média é de 31 metros.

Turismo PONTA NEGRA
Natal é famosa pelas suas lindas praias, pontos turísticos, lagoas, dunas, ótimo clima e ar puro. As praias mais famosas são Genipabu, onde você pode desfrutar de inesquecíveis passeios de bugues pelas suas lindas dunas, Pirangi onde se encontra o grande cajueiro, Pipa entre outras.
Mas Natal não tem só praias e conta com uma ótima culinária Nordestina, artistas populares e uma hospitalidade única no mundo.

Para receber a visita de turistas do mundo inteiro, Natal vem juntamente com os empresários, governo do estado e do município, oferencendo incentivos para a formação da infra-estrutura turística, gerando o aparecimento de hotéis de boa qualidade, pousadas, restaurantes e vendendo potencial turístico de Natal nas grandes capitais brasileiras e no exterior. A sua rede hoteleira oferece ao visitante as opções de desfrutarem de diversas localizações de hotéis, sendo no entanto, mais valorizados aqueles que estão à beira mar, pois unem o turista, a uma paisagem belíssima que, certamente, só será encontrada nesta região.
Recentemente, Natal recebeu o título de Ar Mais Puro das Américas.
(Segundo a NASA)
Natal conta todos os anos no mês de dezembro com o carnatal, o maior canaval fora de época do mundo, segundo o Guinness. Com bandas como Chiclete com Banana, Asa de Águia, Cheiro de Amor, Banda Mel, etc, reúne milhares de turistas, artistas e muita gente famosa em quatro dias de pura folia.

Fotos
Clique aqui e viage em algumas fotos de Natal, suas praias e atrações turísticas abaixo.

Atrações Turísticas
Barreira do Inferno (Litoral Sul) A cidade do Natal também é conhecida como "Capital Espacial do Brasil" por abrigar a primeira base de lançamentos de foguetes instalada na América do Sul. Hoje, realiza pesquisas espaciais e recebe visitantes com horário marcado.

Centro de Turismo Antiga Casa de Dentenção de Natal, abriga a Galeria de Arte Antiga e Contemporânea, lojas de artesanato e é palco de apresentações folclóricas. Situado a rua Aderbal de Figueiredo, no bairro de Petrópolis.

Capitania das Artes Restaurada pela SECTUR, seu prédio reúne a beleza da arquitetura neoclássica, de seu frontão; e amplos vãos livres de arquitetura moderna, de seu interior. Já foi Capitania dos Portos e sede do Governo.

Forte dos Reis Magos Construído sobre os recifes e banhado pelo rio Potengi e pelo Oceano Atlâtico, é o marco inicial da história da cidade do Natal. É tombado pelo Patrimônio Histórico Nacional. Praia do Forte.

Teatro Alberto Maranháo Teve a sua construção iniciada em 1818 e concluida em 1904. Sua arquitetura neoclássica encontra-se totalmente restaurada. Localizado na praça Augusto Severo, no bairro Ribeira.

Praia da Barra de Tabatinga (Litoral Sul) Vale a pena esticar mais um pouco o passeio pelo litoral sul, passar pela praia de Búzios e chegar a Tabatinga para conhecer o Mirante e a lagoa da Arituba. As altas barreiras de pedras fazem a singularidade do lugar.

Praia de Genipabu (Litoral Norte) Os passeios de jangada com parada para um mergulho a 3 Km da costa, as emoções dos passeios de bugre nas dunas e a visita a sua lagoa fazem de Genipabu um passeio inesquecível. Acesso pela Estrada da Redinha.

Praia de Muriú (Litoral Norte) Uma das praias mais procuradas pelos veranistas de Natal, Muriú, destaca-se pelo seu vasto coqueiral e pela maciez de suas ondas. No seu cardápio, camarões e lagostas tipo exportação. Acesso pela Estrada de Extremoz.

Praia de Pirangi (Litoral Sul) Assim como Ponta Negra, Pirangi conta com ótima infra-estrutura turística. Destacam-se a beleza de seus coqueirais, o rio Pirangi e o passeio de barco no baía de Cotovelo. Acesso pela Rota do Sol - Sul.

Praia de Ponta Negra (Litoral Sul) Um dos mais conhecidos cartões postais da cidade, Ponta Negra é um capricho da natureza. Nas suas barraquinhas de praia podemos apreciar petiscos como: peixe frito, caranguejo e ostras. O Morro do Careca é sua principal atraçáo natural.

Praia da Redinha (Litoral Norte) A praia da Redinha abriga a beleza do encontro das águas do rio Potengi com o mar. Fonte de inspiração de poetas e escritores, de sua margem avista-se o Forte dos Reis Magos e os bairros de Santos Reis e Petrópolis. Acesso pela ponte de Igapó

Via Costeira Ao lado esquerdo da Via, fica o Centro de Convenções e 9 km de dunas preservadas em plena cidade. Ao lado direito, concentram-se, a beira-mar, hotéis com arquiteturas arrojadas. Acessos pela praia de Areia Preta ou pela Estrada de Ponta Negra.

En esta web encontrara informacion sobre:

Reservas y alquileres de alojamientos turísticos de vacaciones en la playa. Ventas turísticas. , Vacaciones en primera línea del mar. Reserva en hoteles, apart-hoteles y conjuntos de apartamentos. Reservas agencias de viajes. Viajes a Terra Mítica, Port Aventura, Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias. Inversiones turísticas. Información turística. venta y comprar hoteles. Inversiones inmobiliarias,viajes de turismo, viajes Corte Inglés, balnearios tercera edad, viajes programados, guías de playa, vacaciones en las costas de España: costa brava, costa daurada-costa dorada, costa blanca, costa azahar, costa del sol, costa de la luz, costa cálida, mar mediterráneo. Alojamientos en el Camino de Santiago, fallas, corridas de toros. Reserva vuelos, reserva coches, reserva aviones. Venda o alquile su apartamento. Alquiler de apartamentos, alquiler de pisos, alquiler de villas, alquileres de casas rurales, alquileres de casas de pueblo,

Alquileres alojamientos vacaciones COSTA AZAHAR. Alquiler apartamentos COSTA AZAHAR, pisos alquiler COSTA AZAHAR, casas rurales, villas, chalets. Alquilar y venta de su apartamento, piso, villa, chalet y casa rural

PONTA NEGRA

Links Recomendados:

Alcoceber es una ploblación de la provincia de castellón, un lugar que ha evitado las edificaciones masivas del estilo de benidorm o marina dor CIUDAD de vacaciones, Linda por el norte con el expléndido parque natural de la siera de irta, la única zona de la costa levantina que ha quedado libre de construcciónes y edificaciones.

La Sierra de Irta esta situada al norte de Castellon, dentro de los terminos municipales de Alcala de Xivert, Sta. Magdalena de Polpis y Peñiscola. Considerada como uno de los Parques Naturales mas fascinantes de la peninsula, esta joya natural y paisajística es la única zona costera que queda libre de edificaciones desde Francia hasta Andalucía. Castillos templarios, ermitas cristianas, restos de un poblado morisco ya desaparecido, increíbles acantilados que se abren frente al mar, playas de arena, campos de dunas... Es el Parque Natural de la Sierra de Irta.

Hotel del golf, Situado en el grao de castellon lindando con benicasim y a unos 100 m de la playa, este hotel goza de una gran tradición hotelera que ponemos al servicio de nuestros clientes.

http://www.hoteldelgolf.info

Hotel Jeremias, Situado aprimera línea de la playa de cargador en alcossebre, este hotel ofrece al huesped un lugar intimo y acogedor en el que difrutar de la tranquilidad y poder relajarse en familia.

http://www.hoteljeremias.com

Fantasia hoteles.

Cadena Hotelera que opera en la costa azahar y sabiñánigo, dispone del mejor servicio y excelentes instalaciones en:

gran hotel peñíscola situado en peñíscola provincia de castellon en la costa azahar

gran hotel las fuentes, situado en alcocebre, provincia de castellon en la costa azahar

hotel del golf, situado en el grao de castellón, provincia de castellon en la costa azahar

hotel la pardina, situado en sabiñanigo, provincia de huesca

www.fantasia-hoteles.com

Alquiler de Quads en Alcocebre y Peñíscola, Excursiones guiadas por la sierra de irta. costa azahar.

www.casaquad.com

Información sobre la costa azahar, alquiler de apartementos, derportes, cultura, gasteronomia, servicios etc..

www.costa-azahar.info

Alquiler y venta de apartamentos

www.casa-azahar.com

En Brasil:

Descubra natal, una ciudad brasileña con las mejores playas del país

www.natalbrasil.info

Touros es una de las mejores regiones de brasil, lugar paradisíaco, donde el turismo masivo no ha hecho su aparicion y goza de extensas playas virgenes de arena blanca y cocoteros.