Brazil

 

My deep affection for Brazil was born of my lust for the Portuguese language, which did and still does evoke a sense of exoticism, of nostalgia and yearning within me. Excitedly I have conversed my way up and down this magnificent county but the affair is far from over and there will always be more to see... Brazil is a big, bold and beautiful conglomerant of indigenous and mixed race peoples, of African and European religions, a melting pot of languages, accents and dialects, a seemingly unending expanse of draught ridden desert backlands, palm fringed sand dunes against the murky Atlantic, black water rivers and waterfalls cutting through deep gorges, vast networks of rivers carving their way through thick Amazonian jungle and bustling, colourful cities rising out of nature. The grandeur is such that each state within Brazil is like a country in its own right. Yet the Brazilian people share a sense of identity that is stronger and more united than most of its fellow

South American countries. In this way, and in many others, Brazil and its people are truly powerful.