São Vicente

São Vicente is known as "the first city in Brazil." It was established by the Portuguese in 1532. The city right next to it, Santos (where I was born), has the biggest seaport in Latin America. This whole area, known as the Baixada Santista, has very fine beaches. It is a popular vacation spot for the people who live in the city of São Paulo, since it's so close.

My grandmother owns a condo by the beach there. She doesn't live there anymore, but she still has the condo, so Ruben, Hannah, and I took the bus to the coast and spent a few days there. The condo is on the 19th floor of one of the many beachside buildings that stretch along the shore. Here is a view from the window.

View from the apartment

We ate at some great restaurants for a very good price. There were hundreds of hot dog and burger stands, and beachside cabanas where they serve you great drinks like caipirinhas and all sorts of food.

At night we walked down along the beach and found more things to eat and drink. At one point we stopped at this restaurant that served 2-liter towers of beer. It looks bigger in the pictures because the inside is actually a hollow cylinder filled with ice.

Party bus

There is also the party bus that takes the drunk tourists through the city. I don't think Ruben and Hannah were drunk enough to ride it, and I wasn't drunk enough to ride it by myself.

Ilha Porchat

From the observation deck on Ilha Porchat (Porchat Island), you can get a good view of the crescent-shaped bay, with São Vicente to the left, and Santos to the right.

View from Ilha Porchat

The beach Ahh... and finally: the beach. Brazil is famous for its thong and booty. In Brazil, they don't have the North American obsession with big boobs--it's all about the booty.

Walking by the beach

See all the pics of São Vicente »