| Brazil
Travel News March/April 2001
Dear
Fellow Brazil Travelers!
Happy Easter! Hope the
snow level is decreasing where you are ;-)
This time we include the following topics:
1) Pantanal now protected by UNESCO
2) New brochures and new tours
3) Go to school and earn money for it...a deal for poor Brazilian
families!
4) Our current specials!
1)
Pantanal now protected by UNESCO
The
Pantanal, the biggest floodable plain on the planet covering
parts of Brazil and two other states, has been declared a
World Biospheric Reserve by the UNESCO. This ecosystem,
the size of Texas, is flooded every year and is therefore
nearly uninhabitable for humans. Agriculture is naturally
limited to rather simple cattle farming.
The
area has suffered in the past however from mercury used in
illegal goldmining and from fertlilizers, both of which are
brought by the rivers that pass through the Pantanal. Illegal
deforestation has also occurred.
The
Brazilian government and government agencies have taken measures
to preserve this huge but sparsely populated land in the past,
with mixed results. Only few have understood that the only
way to keep the ecosystem intact is by making the world aware
of its beauty, and the best way to accomplish that is through
ecotourism.
The
declaration by the UNESCO is therefore vitally important:
immediately upon being declared a UNESCO site, Brazil
was granted loans from international banks, like the Interamerican
Development Bank to invest in protection of the Pantanal.
This
nature lover's & birdwatcher's paradise can now be seen
through different eyes. 4starBrazil
now offers different degrees of exposure to nature - from
airconditioned jeep to a horseback alternative. Staying in
modest pousadas or in a deluxe lodge. The Brazilian
Exuberance tour <http://4starBrazil.com/tours/BRE.html>
can now be customized to anyone's tastes.
Excursions
into the Pantanal now start from the North, where additional
excursions to the Chapada dos Guimarães can also easily
be customized.
2)
New brochures & new tours
Overwhelming
demand has dried up our stock of brochures more quickly than
anticipated - thank you all for your requests! Our latest
catalog will be available by the end of April and include
our newest tour Rio
& the Amazon <http://4starBrazil.com/tours/RAA.html>
.
For
our travelers with lots of time, we are preparing a tour from
Chile to Buenos Aires. As most of our tours run from Sunday
to Sunday, it is possible to take a tour from Santiago de
Chile through and over the Andes to Buenos Aires, continue
to Iguassu Falls and the Serra do Mar mountains, see Rio and
the Pantanal, explore Salvador and the Diamond highlands and
finish with a few days in the Amazon...four and a half marvelous
weeks!
If
you, too, would like a copy of our new brochure...just let
us know or ask your travel agent - they might already
have some!
If
you are looking for a travel agent near you dealing with 4starBrazil's
travel programs, have a look on our site at under: http://4starBrazil.com/findanagent.html
For
travel
agents seeing Brazil as a new opportunity, we also
offer familiarization programs.
3)
Go to school and earn money for it...a deal for poor Brazilian
families!
10,700,000
(this number has to written out to be appreciated, not just
as 10.7 million!) students will take advantage of a new, innovative
state-sponsored program.
The
poorest families will receive up to R$ 45, or US$22 per month
when their children attend school. This may sound low, but
is approximately the equivalent that the child would earn
per month working in -illegal- sweat shops or in the fields.
Only
the mother is entitled to pick up this money - not the kids
nor the fathers.
The
program had been tested successfully in several states and
communities before becoming a federal program.
4)
Our current specials
And
of course never forget to check out our latest specials!
Or our new tours for Jungle
lovers. The Rio's urban Jungle + the Amazon - utilizing
the only non-stop flight from the US to the heart of the Amazon
rainforest in Manaus. And always in style, always our 4 star
Quality.
There
must be something attractive about tropical heat...
--
Juergen Keller
4starBrazil
by Universal Understanding
jk@UniversalUnderstanding.com
http://4starBrazil.com
http://UniversalUnderstanding.com
tel.
1-866-Go-4star (1-866-464-7827)
fax 1-425-977-7192
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