Sorry about that, the next week was longer than I thought. Apart from laziness and lethargy after flu the reason was that I had two articles planned in my mind – Salvador and Corrruption; both were going to have some quite rude things to say and I chickened out.

The other reason to write again is to welcome Fred who I met recently. He is American and commutes to work in the USA but has a Brazilian wife and step-daughter in Vitória. He is going to write some articles for the blog. They should be an interesting contrast – seeing things from an American rather than European point of view.

If you look up you will see there is a new “about this blog” tag at the top of the page, take a look, especially if you do not know what a RSS feed is.

Salvador
It is a fascinating city with a strong African culture and tradition. The Pelourinho area is the old slave quarter and traditional centre of the city. Apart from the beaches we did not find much else of tourist interest. The name comes from the whipping post where the slaves were punished.

The sounds of drums are everywhere, the day we arrived there was a concert in the main square of the Pelourinho with Olodum playing.
It was to celebrate the the 20016 World Cup being held in Brazil. I think they find something to celebrate every weekend. About 100 drummers, maybe 75 girl dancers and a crowd packed in like sardines in a tin.

Olodum is part a drumming group, part a social welfare organisation, part political and part a youth club. It seems to be at the heart of everything that goes on in the Pelourhino. You cannot move without seeing their logo, a lopsided colourful version of the CND “ban the bomb” symbol. Impromptu groups of half a dozen eight year olds practice in the middle of the road. there are teen bands, youth bands female bands and probably pensioner ones too.

Closely related to drumming is the Candomblé religion with its variety of gods, especially Oxala. There are plenty of opportunities to watch their ceremonies but we did not on the grounds that it would be either a tourist rip-off or an intrusion into a serious spiritual affair.

It really is quite spectacular and quite different to anything else I have seen anywhere in the world. The Pelhourinho has the advantage of 100 years of neglect. This means that it has missed most of the ravages of modern civilisation and gives the modern world an insight into the way things were. The only place I have seen a similar thing is Tallinn in Estonia where time stood still during the years as a Russian satellite and is now reborn as a prosperous tourist city.

This brings me to the complaints. It is dirty, the facilities are poor and it is very dangerous.

When we arrived in Salvador we went to a small branch of a bank. Instead of the usual two or three armed guards with their hands on their holstered pistols there were eight guards all holding short barreled shotguns and looking very alert. I have no idea how well trained they are but would not like to be anywhere near when they start shooting. In our hotel one person was telling how her tourist bus from the airport was hijacked and everyone had to hand over all valuables. A few minutes later a rather breathless young man burst through the front door having escaped from an attempt to rob him. There are a lot of beggars and some are very persistent. If the authorities are going to succeed in their plan for mass tourism they are going to have to take security much more seriously.

We try to stay at the cheaper end of the hotel market. We must have looked at ten Pousadas (like a Spanish Hostal). They were very cheap (too cheap at R$50/60), smelly, damp mouldy bathrooms, dirty, in serious need of a coat of paint and poor electric wiring. We are not fussy people but were shocked. We tried to find better places but could only find rather classy four and five star hotels at R$400/600. Eventually we found a very nice youth hostal at R$110 for a double room Laranjeiras Hostel this was well run, clean and reasonably comfortable.

The third complaint is the tourist product. It has been a World Heritage site since 1985 but needs a lot of investment. Bahia is famous for its cuisine but we could not find any restaurants offering it. There are stalls selling acarajé a sort of bun made of ground black-eyed beans deep fried and then stuffed with a spicy mixture of prawns, tomato, palm oil and cashews. We did find one restaurant advertising Bahian food on Saturdays. We arrived at 2.30 and were told that it had finished for the day. There is a lot of poor quality tourist stuff for sale but if they are to improve the industry they will have to offer better quality arts and crafts. A large part of the charm is the architecture but so much of it is falling to pieces. There are some restoration projects but my feeling is too little, too late.
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The danger, of course, is that if they sanitise the area they will destroy the atmosphere. It is because the Pelhourinho is a residential area for some of the poorest people in the city with a unique culture that it is so interesting. If they are moved out to the suburbs and bused in to provide entertainment in a clean shiny new tourist ghetto the attraction will go. The tourist authorities will have a difficult job to find the right balance.

The Pelourinho is on my list of “must visit places” for a visitor to Brazil. One or two nights there is probably enough and a couple of days on the beach in one of the nearby islands. But be careful, especially after dark and in quiet places.

Our next trip is to Fortaleza.
It is 2300 km north of here on the most eastern tip of Brazil. It is the State capital of Ceará. The metropolitan area is 3.4 million and it has a reputation as a party city. It is the nearest point to Europe (7,000 km to London) and has a thriving international tourist business. We go for ten days on 3rd September and ten days after we return i go back to Europe.

One of the things I have noticed is that a process to do something in Brazil seems to vary locally. There may be laws or rules that set out certain conditions that must be fulfilled at a high level (read national or state), but at a local level there is variation. I mention this as a preface, so that what I have experienced to date in purchasing property in Brazil is not taken as gospel, but as one individual’s experience which may smooth any future real estate purchases made by readers of this blog.

A little background to begin. I and the family were residing in the U.S. My wife is Brazilian, and our intention was always to return to Brazil when I considered retirement (that kind of hints at my age, doesn’t it? Although I understand Steve managed it quite a bit earlier once upon a time, but that is for him to relate if he so chooses.) My wife was fortunate in being able to take leave without pay from her employment and an extended sabbatical from her studies. We set a return to Brazil date of Christmas, 2007. We decided to ship most of the household goods to Brazil, but we realized that the apartment the wife owned here in Vitória was not of sufficient size to contain everything, so, that precipitated the decision to purchase a larger apartment. Note that an apartment here is bought, like a condominium in the U.S. They can also be rented.

In early 2007 we started looking on the internet at various apartment properties. We looked at both used and under construction and soon to be built properties. Most locations were in Vitória, but we also looked at surrounding areas for comparisons in various factors, such as overall size, price, distance to commute, floor plan, number of bedrooms and suites, etc. One thing that struck me about the floor plans was that to me the traditional Brazilian apartment has a relatively small sala (living room), often just large enough to have a sofa and a TV. This was different for me, having come from a 4 bedroom colonial style house in the U.S. that was over 2500 square feet (232 square meters) and had both a living room and family room. Thus, in our search, I was always focusing (perhaps obsessing?) on the size of the sala more so than any other aspect. This isn’t to say other aspects did not factor into the decision, as they did, just that any floor plan with a substantial sala already had a leg up in my book.

We looked at a lot of properties online, and in the course of some visits to Vitória, we even went and looked at some models. Finally we came across one that had a large sala in proportion to the rest of the apartment. This was achieved in one of the floor plan variations by converting a 4^th bedroom into part of the sala. The remaining part of the 4^th bedroom became a walk in closet for the master bedroom, another feature we liked. There were other positives, such as the location being closer to the wife’s work place, having 3 suites, so we would have an extra suite for family and friends that visit, and other things. We “pulled the trigger” and decide to buy an apartment in this complex.

Room with a view

Here is where things get interesting and how the process differs from what I was used to in the U.S. When we made the decision to buy, the complex was not even under construction. Generally, at least here in Vitória, the firms that construct the high-rise apartment buildings pre-sell most of the units before actually beginning construction. The announced date for this initial sale for our apartment complex of choice was in June of 2007, before we were scheduled to return to Brazil. Thus we ended up obtaining a power of attorney to enable my wife’s sister to act in our behalf to make the purchase which she successfully completed.

Now, Brazil only recently made changes to some of its banking and financial laws to allow mortgages to be obtained that are somewhat similar to those in the U.S., but not exactly. The traditional way of making a purchase is to finance through the builder. This is why the builder likes to pre-sell most of the units before beginning construction. We went with the traditional method of financing and agreed upon a payment plan whose precise details I won’t bore you with. This payment schedule was fine, and while a substantial amount is paid up front prior to getting the key to the apartment (May 2010 by the way) the entire amount would be paid off in a much shorter time frame that a typical U.S. mortgage, even a 15 year one. The surprise came a bit later.

In the U.S. the regular conventional mortgage is set for the life of the mortgage based on the amortization schedule for the principle and interest. The monthly payment only varies if an adjustment needs to be made in the escrow funds that cover taxes and insurance. When making the purchase here in Brazil, I did not know, and did not realize until later, that the payment schedule set up would be pegged to a construction index. Thus, what I thought were going to be more or less stable payments have slowly crept upwards over time. And that construction index never goes down (inflation don’t you know). I’m still unsure at this point what happens once we receive the key. I believe the construction index will no longer be a factor, but I have yet to verify that. So, anyone who purchases property in the manner I have described, and you aren’t paying cash up front, be aware of the construction index factor.

You may ask, “Why purchase something before it has been built?” Some people will invest in new construction with the express intent of selling the unit once it is completed. This is because the builder discounts the cost of the units pre-construction. We have been told by sales people that the price of units in the complex have already escalated by 40 percent, and are likely to be even higher by the completion date. By purchasing at the initial sale date, we were better able to choose a location within the complex that we preferred.

There are essentially two different types of high-rise construction companies. They can be referred to as the “Big Boys” and the “Little Guys”. When buying property that is being built by the little guy, the possibility of making changes here and there, such as relocating a wall or moving a doorway, are more likely to be accommodated. With the larger outfits, you pretty much get what they build; any changes you want to make would have to be done later at additional and likely higher cost. Our new apartment is being built by the big boys. Offsetting an unwillingness to make changes is the fact that quite a few amenities are provided, which often are lacking, or of a lesser amount, in construction done by the smaller firms. The smaller firms generally limit the height of the building to 7 or 8 floors while the larger firms can go upwards of 30 floors.

Another item needed to purchase property in Brazil is a CPF Number. It is the Brazilian tax payer card. One does not have to be a resident of Brazil to obtain a CPF Number. I had this number long before even starting the process to become a permanent resident (another tale). But be aware of any tax requirements. If you have a CPF Number, and you purchase property in Brazil, but are not a resident, you still must declare that you made the purchase, even though there is no tax applied. At least that is my understanding. When I went to the Receita Federal to actually get the card in place of the the temporary paper with the CPF number, they were aware of the fact that I had not made the declaration as required. Got that straightened out and now have the CPF card.

Looking forward to May 2010.

Fred

Hello,

I haven’t done much in the way of blogging previously, but Steve was kind enough to allow me to post some thoughts, musings, or whatever on his blog.

As to how this came about, I ran across Steve’s web site in some manner that I don’t recall. But I posted a comment on it and informed him that I also lived in Espirito Santo, in Vitoria itself. Steve responded and we exchanged several emails and agreed to a face-to-face meeting.

The meeting happened the morning of the day after I suffered my 4^th kidney stone, the previous one being about 20 years ago when in Spain. I had enough pain killer medication and anti inflammation medication that I actually felt up to going to the meeting that Friday morning.

Well, won’t bore you all with details of the meeting, just wanted to let you know that I am around and will personally bug Steve to update his blog!!! LOL When time permits, I may comment on subjects Steve writes (or has written) about and either reinforce his comments or provide an alternative viewpoint.

Até logo,

Fred

The journey to Salvador was an uneventful 90 minutes with Azul, one of the new low cost airlines that keep appearing everywhere. We took a bus about 35km to where the city was founded, ate lunch, found a hotel and started to explore.

Salvador was founded in the early 16th century, is the oldest city in South America, the third largest in Brazil and it used to be the capital city. We discovered how big it was coming from the airport and taking a 30 minute bus ride to the area where the city started and later a similar journey to the old city centre. It is quite different to anywhere I have ever been before. There are not many people who are pure white or pure black. There is every shade of brown that you have ever seen anywhere. It is not surprising that it is a popular holiday destination for middle class blacks from the USA

The next blog report will talk about Salvador itself as in the morning we left for Morro do Sao Paulo which is on a beautiful little island about 30km away. You can fly there by air taxi from Salvador airport or take a taxi to the docks and an expensive fast ferry. Feeling mean and adventurous we took two buses and two ferries at maybe 25% of the cost and an extra three hours. If you only have a couple of days and a generous budget take the plane. Only take our route if you are confident, know the itinerary and speak at least basic Portuguese.

Morro do Sao Paulo has no paved roads and the only powered vehicles are boats and tractors. The ferry is met by a couple of dozen young men with wheelbarrows ready to carry your cases and take you to one of the hundred or so Pousadas (small hotels)spread along the five beaches. We found a reasonably priced place, clean but basic, with the bed right under large window and the beach 10 metres below us. It faced east and we were treated to such a beautiful sunrise that we were inspired to take a long walk at 5.30 am. Those who know me well will find that very hard to believe!

We soon recovered from this strange malady and became progressively lazier, going to bed earlier and rising later. The most energetic thing we did was watching the locals on the beach: soccer, surfing. volleyball, a form of beach tennis, running, gymnastics, stretching and practicing Capoeira a spectacular martial art. They have to be fit as every brick, can of beer. bottle of water or gas has to be carried through the water, across the beach, up steps and onto the sandy road and to the final destination. This makes everything a bit more expensive but is excellent value.

My only complaints were about the hotel which would not share wifi with us (the only guests) and about a couple of dozen dogs always on the beach having a fine time. They were a nuisance when we were eating and could get boisterous. Flavia does not like dogs and was troubled by them, especially when one barged into her and twisted her ankle. A cook at the hotel gave her a hot compress and a massage but insisted on closing all the doors and windows before she started and for an hour afterwards. It is, she explained, very dangerous to be exposed to any wind after a hot compress.

Having extended out stay by a day and preferring to be in the city during a forecast rainy spell we decided to leave. Two minutes before we were due to start the 15 minute walk to the ferry a tropical storm started, the rain was impressive. We were soaked in seconds and missed the ferry and lost an hour. Several hours and several more storms we were back in the first hotel and we still could not connect to the internet.

In a week I will add a chapter about the city and add some photos to this page.

There is a pretty good choice of TV stations here. There are a number of national channels which have local news and magazine content and countless cable and satellite options. Flavia has cable supplied by a local company who provide various packages depending on your interests and how much you want to spend.

A lot of the entertainment is almost the same as in Europe but in Portuguese. We have shopping channels, premium movies, cartoons, MTV, Discovery Channel lots of old movie channels, religion, three sports, and endless regurgitated old serials, CNN (in English as well as Portuguese), Fox News, Bloomberg etc. The similarity is probably because it is the same multinational companies controlling the media. Rupert Murdoch is here with Sky TV, various US corporations and Globo which is the Brazilian equivalent of Murdoch’s News International Corp.

There are some interesting differences.  There are three channels showing live debates in the legislative chambers of the State Government, The Senate and The Chamber of Deputies. There are also two channels which seem to show cattle and horse auctions 24 hours a day. There is no general news and entertainment  station dealing with Just Vila Velha or Greater Vitoria.

One interesting feature is the University Channel. The three local universities have a joint channel where all content is created by them. Each university creates its own content and has several one hour slots each day. The programs are anything from infomercials touting for new students, concerts and recitals, experimental projects by students, university news and productions as part of academic courses in journalism, TV production, music etc.

The other unusual item is the  legal channel which is the house journal for lawyers. It all looks pretty serius stuff with endless discussions of current legal affairs. It does not show trials.

Foreigners are reasonably well provided for. We receive the overseas or news versions of the main TV channel of the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, and Portugal plus CNN and Fox News in English.. TV programs are all dubbed but movies are mostly shown in their original languages and sub-titles.

The Brazilian TV and movie industry is big and they produce a wide variety of programs. A lot of familiar formats with a Portuguese accent are here. Local versions of Big Brother, X Factor, The Apprentice and many others are popular. Soaps are just as important as anywhere else and the current big hit is about an extended family based in both Brazil and India. Churrasco and saris make an exotic combination.  Of course soccer is an obsession here and I  could (but don’t) watch the big matches of the week from a dozen different countries.

So, as with many things, Brazil is much like any other country.