Ah, the Food!

Humble as they may be, Espírito Santo has its attractions,
like the fishing villages and beaches on the southern coast.
To the north, Conceição da Barra and the nearby sand dunes
at Itaúnas are worth a visit. Excellent seafood is available in the state.

If Brazil were to conduct a contest for the least appealing state, Sergipe would be a contender but Espírito Santo would win the prize. Perhaps Espírito Santo suffers from the glory of neighboring Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and Bahia states. In any case, it's a small state without much to interest the traveler. Colonized in the 16th century, Espírito Santo became an armed region to prevent gold from being smuggled out of Minas. In the 1800s, Germans and Italians settled in the hills of the interior. Until the 1960s, coffee plantations were the prime source of income, but coffee has been superseded by heavy industry.

The coastline away from Vitória is clean but not particularly pretty. The turbulent surf kicks up sand, giving the water a muddy-brown hue rather than the aquamarine found in Bahia or Rio.

In all fairness, Espírito Santo does have some attractions, humble as they may be. Some of the fishing villages and beaches on the southern coast are attractive, however, they have no provisions for tourists. To the north, Conceição da Barra and the nearby sand dunes at Itaúnas are worth a visit. Excellent seafood is available in Espírito Santo; especially noteworthy is the moqueca capixaba, which is made without dendê oil.

VITÓRIA

Vitória, capital of the state of Espírito Santo, is 521 km from Rio de Janeiro and 602 km from Porto Seguro, making it a convenient place to break the journey between Rio and the state of Bahia. Founded in 1551, Vitória has remarkably little to show of its colonial past. It's a port city, connected by rail with Minas Gerais. Large amounts of export coffee and timber pass through here, and the port at nearby Tubarão is the outlet for millions of tons of iron ore.

Orientation

The rodoviária is a km from the center of town. There are two strips of beach: Praia do Camburi, a 10-minute bus ride northeast of the city, and Praia da Costa, 12 km south of town, at Vila Velha.

Information

Tourist Office

Cetur (223-9090), the state tourism authority, has the tough job of promoting tourism in Espírito Santo. Their main office is in the center, at Avenida Princesa Isabel 629 (on the 1st floor of the Vitória Center building), open on weekdays from 9 am to 6 pm. They also maintain a booth at the rodoviária; it's supposed to be open daily from 8 am to 7 pm, but don't bet on this. They have lots of colored brochures of the various points of interest in the state, but no decent maps of the city.

The Cetur advisers also have hotel information (but not prices) for the mid and top-end range. The best map of the city and its surrounds can be found in the middle pages of the local telephone directory (unless you happen to look in the copy we used).

Money

The quickest and easiest way to change cash is to go to the Escal souvenir shop just off Avenida Marechal Mascarenhas and round the corner from the Banco do Brasil, in Avenida Governador Bley. You'll have to go there or to the nearby BEMGE (State Bank of Minas Gerais) to change travelers' cheques.

Post & Telephone

The main post office is in the city center, on Avenida Jerônimo Monteiro, and there's a branch at the rodoviária. There are three postos telefônicos: at the rodoviária, at the airport and on Rua do Rosário, in the center. They all open at 6.30 am and close between 10.30 and 11 pm.

Praia do Camburi

This five-km stretch of beach is where you'll find lots of restaurants, nightspots and midrange hotels. It's not good for swimming, as its proximity to the port at Tubarão means there's usually some oil or chemicals in the water.

Vila Velha

This was the first place in Espírito Santo to be colonized. The most interesting thing to do in Vila Velha is climb up to the Convento da Penha, set atop a 154-meter granite outcrop. In the week after Easter, thousands of devotees come to this major pilgrimage center to pay homage to the image of Nossa Senhora da Penha, some even making the climb on their knees. Even if you don't usually visit convents, the panoramic view of Vitória makes the climb worth it.

Praia da Costa, the main Vila Velha beach, is close to the convent. It has fewer hotels and restaurants than Camburi, but is better for swimming.

Other Attractions

The pink Anchieta Palace, on Praça João Clímaco, is a 16th-century former Jesuit college and church. It's now the seat of state government, and the only part you can enter is the tomb of Padre Anchieta, co-founder of São Paulo. Close by is the Catedral Metropolitana, with its neogothic exterior and interesting stained-glass windows.

Teatro Carlos Gomes, on Praça Costa Pereira, is a replica of La Scala in Milan. The Parque Moscoso is where Capixabas (as natives of the state are called) go for a break.

For Places to Stay and to Eat, please read the book.

Getting There & Away

It's all too easy to get to Vitória—the trick is to get away. The bus station on Ilha do Príncipe has connections to all major cities. There are nine buses a day to Belo Horizonte ($12, eight hours). To Ouro Preto, there's a direct bus at 10.45 pm. To Porto Seguro, there's one daily bus, at 9 am. The 11-hour trip costs $16. Eleven buses a day make the eight-hour journey to Rio de Janeiro ($ 11).

Getting Around

To/From the Airport

The airport is 10 km from the city center; take the local bus marked `Aeroporto' from the bus station ($0.50).

Bus

All local buses run from the various stops outside the main rodoviária. As in Rio de Janeiro, the route is written on the side of the bus. To get to the center, catch any bus that goes along Avenida Vitória. When you pass the pink palace on the left-hand side, get out at the next stop. It's only a three-minute ride.

For Praia do Camburi, catch any bus that goes along Avenida Dante Michelini. To Vila Velha, catch an all-yellow or all-blue bus. To get to Praia da Costa, you'll have to catch a bus from the Vila Velha terminal.

Ferry

An alternative, more scenic way to get to Vila Velha from the center is to catch a ferry from the Terminal Aquaviário, on Avenida Beira Mar. They run on weekdays, every hour from 6 am to 7 pm.

GUARAPARI

Guarapari is Espírito Santo's most prominent resort town. It's too big a city to be a proper beach town, but there are 23 beaches in the municipality, each with a lovely mountain backdrop. The best beach is Praia do Morro; unlike the others, it doesn't have too many stones, and it does have the healing monazitic radioactive sands touted in Espírito's brochures.

Guarapari was an excellent base for a family holiday We enjoyed being off the beaten tourist track in a genuine Brazilian holiday resort—albeit out of season. From Praia do Morro there is an excellent walk around the headland through brushland where birds abound, to lovely unspoiled coves. There superb views back towards Guarapari and Muquicaba with the backdrop of the dramatic coastal range of mountains. To the south of Guarapari, at the tiny resort of Meaipe, there is a magnificent beach. At lunchtime, stroll of the sand into the cantina de Curuca for excellent lobster and prawns.

M K Barritt (UK)

For Places to Stay and Places to Eat, read the book.

Getting There & Away

Buses run from Vitória to Guarapari every hour from 6 am to 9 pm ($2, 1¼ hours). To Vitória, buses run hourly from 6 am to 9.30 pm. Frequent buses make the 28-km trip to Anchieta.

ANCHIETA

Anchieta is 88 km south of Vitória. Its attractions are the 16th-century church of Nossa Senhora da Assunção and, alongside, the Museu Padre Anchieta. The church walls are original; they were built by Padre Anchieta and the local Indians. The museum is no big deal, although it contains the chair of Padre Anchieta, and other relics. It's closed on Monday.

For Places to Stay and Places to Eat, read the book.

Getting There & Away

To Guarapari, buses run every 20 to 30 minutes from 6 am to 6.50 pm. To Piúma, 12 km away, they run every 30 to 40 minutes from 6 am to 7.20 pm.

PIÚMA

Known as the City of Shells, Piúma is a small village 100 km South of Vitória. The rarest shell in the world, Oliva Zelindea, is occasionally found here. There are some nice beaches around Piúma, and some nearby offshore islands which are worth a look.

The coastline is dominated by the 300-meter-high, cone-shaped Monte Aghá, which is a good place for hang-gliding and climbing.

Islands

Ilha do Gambá is connected to the mainland by a thin isthmus, and is home to lots of seabirds. Ilha dos Cabritos, 15 minutes away by boat, has a good seafood restaurant. Ilha do Meio preserves wild orchids and native trees, and a large variety of lobsters, sea horses and starfish are found in the surrounding waters. To get a boat to the islands, ask the locals with boats on the beach.

Beaches

Praia Boca da Barra and Praia Maria Nenen are surf beaches, while Praia Acaiaca has calm water.

For Places to Stay and Places to Eat, please read the book.

Getting There & Away

There are frequent buses that go to Anchieta and Marataízes. Only four buses a day go to Vitória.

MARATAÍZES

The town of Marataízes caters to the working-class Mineiro holiday crowd during high summer season, and lives off its small fishing industry the rest of the year. Every morning the town beach throbs with fisherfolk, who pull lines in teams, haul in and sort their catch, fix nets and push tiny boats into the foamy sea. It is possible to hire a boat from Marataízes or Itapaiva beach to the islands of Francês, Ovos or Itaputera.

For Places to Stay and Places to Eat, please read the book.

Getting There & Away

Three buses a day go to Vitória, at 6 and 6.15 am and 3. 10 pm. There's also a bus to Rio de Janeiro, which leaves at 10.30 pm.

AROUND MARATAÍZES

Praia Marape is a lovely beach adjacent to a poor little fishing village about 30 km south of Marataízes. There is no formal accommodation here, but hardy travelers can make do. Praia das Neves, Praia Moroba and Praia Lagoa Boa Vista are reasonable beaches further to the north.

DOMINGOS MARTINS

Domingos Martins, also known as Campinho, is a small village settled by Germans in 1847. The pride of the town is the musical water clock decorated with figures of the 12 apostles; it's in the Restaurante Vista Linda, seven km before the town proper. In town, Recanto dos Colibris, at the far end of Avenida Presidente Vargas, is a pretty gathering spot.

The town is a good base for exploring the streams and forests of the mountains. Fifty km further into the mountains, at Aracê, are some fancier resort hotels with horses for hire.

For Places to Stay & Eat, please read the book.

Getting There & Away

Nine buses a day make the 41-km trip from Vitória to Domingos Martins ($2, one hour).

SANTA TERESA

Santa Teresa is a small town settled by Italian immigrants. It has a pretty, flowered plaza, and a cool, mountain climate suitable for vineyards. Nearby trips include the valley of Canaã and the Reserva Biológica Nova Lombardia.

Museu Biológico do Professor Melo Leitão

The town's main attraction, this museum represents the life's work of Augusto Ruschi, a staunch environmentalist and world-renowned hummingbird expert, who died in 1986 after being poisoned by a frog. The museum also has a small zoo, a butterfly garden, a snake farm, and a large number of orchids and other flora. It's open only on weekends, from noon to 5 pm. Time your visit to Santa Teresa accordingly, as the museum is very interesting.

For Places to Stay & Eat, please read the book.

Getting There & Away

Santa Teresa is 76 km from Vitória, and seven buses a day make the journey ($3, two hours).

CONCEIÇÃO DA BARRA

Situated in the north of the state, 254 km from Vitória, the small town of Conceição da Barra lies between the mouths of the Itaúnas and Cricaré rivers.

There are some quiet beaches in the area, such as Praia da Barra, Bugia and Guaxindiba, but the main attractions are the Dunas do Itaúnas: 20 to 30-meter-high dunes of fine sand that engulfed the small village of Vila de Itaúnas. Only the church tower is still visible. From the top of the dunes, it's possible to see the sea, the Rio Itaúnas and the surrounding Atlantic rainforest. The dunes are 23 km from Conceição da Barra.

For Places to Stay & Eat, please read the book.

Getting There & Away

There is only one daily direct bus from Vitória, leaving at 10 am and arriving in Conceição at 2 pm ($ 10). You could catch a bus to São Mateus, and then one of the frequent buses that make the 35-km trip from there to Conceição da Barra. Alternatively, take any bus going to Bahia along BR-101, get off at the turn-off to Conceição, and hitch or walk the 15 km to town.

Excerpts from Brazil - A Travel Survival Kit, 3rd edition, by Andrew Draffen, Chris McAsey, Leonardo Pinheiro,  and Robyn Jones. For more information call Lonely Planet: (800) 275-8555. Copyright 1996 Lonely Planet Publications. Used by permission.

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