Cerrado Protected Areas: Chapada dos Veadeiros and Emas National Parks

This site includes the Chapada dos Veadeiros and Emas National Parks

Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park

This postcard was sent by Rodrigo

Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park (Portuguese: Parque Nacional da Chapada dos Veadeiros) is a national park of Brazil located in the state of Goiás, on the top of an ancient plateau with an estimated age of 1.8 billion years. The park was created on January 11, 1961, by President Juscelino Kubitschek, and listed as a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 2001.

The main river in the park is the Rio Preto, a tributary of the Tocantins River. There are many waterfalls along its course such as the Rio Preto Falls (120 meters high, 80 meters at the base) and the Cariocas Falls. The park is noted for its scenic canyons, with walls of up to 40 metres (130 ft) high and valleys of up to 300 square metres (3,200 sq ft) deep. - in: wikipedia

Sítio Roberto Burle Marx

Roberto Burle Marx was a Brazilian landscape architect  whose designs of parks and gardens made him world-famous.

Sítio Roberto Burle Marx

This postcard was sent by Mey

Sítio Roberto Burle Marx, located in the west zone of the City of Rio de Janeiro, comprises extensive landscape gardens and buildings set between mangroves and native Atlantic forest in a mountainous area of the district of Barra de Guaratiba. The property was a ‘landscape laboratory’ for landscape architect and artist Roberto Burle Marx (1909-1994). Over a period of more than forty years, he experimented with fusing artistic Modernist ideas and native tropical plants to create garden designs as living works of art. - in: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1620/

Valongo Wharf Archaeological Site

 This was the site of landing and trading of enslaved Africans for more than 20 years

Cais do Valongo

This postcard was sent by Silvia

Valongo Wharf Archaeological Site is located in central Rio de Janeiro and encompasses the entirety of Jornal do Comércio Square. It is in the former harbour area of Rio de Janeiro in which the old stone wharf was built for the landing of enslaved Africans reaching the South American continent from 1811 onwards. An estimated 900,000 Africans arrived in South America via Valongo. The site is composed of several archaeological layers, the lowest of which consists of floor pavings in pé de moleque style, attributed to the original Valongo Wharf. It is the most important physical trace of the arrival of African slaves on the American continent. - in: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1548/

Paraty and Ilha Grande – Culture and Biodiversity

The historic center of Paraty was also inscribed this year along with some natural areas

Paraty from the Bay

This postcard was sent by Paulo

Paraty is a preserved Portuguese colonial (1500–1822) and Brazilian Imperial (1822–1889) municipality with a population of about 36,000. It is located on the Costa Verde(Green Coast), a lush green corridor that runs along the coastline of the state of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil. Paraty has become a tourist destination, known for its historic town center and the coast and mountains in the region.

Paraty Historic Center

This postcard was sent by Luzia

Paraty is known for the cobblestone-paved streets throughout the Historic Center District. No cars or trucks are allowed in this part of town, only foot traffic or bicycles. Motor vehicles are only allowed in the Historic District on Wednesdays for deliveries. Horses and carts are a very common sight in Paraty and are frequently used all around the city.

Paraty has been able to maintain many of its historic buildings. Much of the architecture of the city has not changed for 250 years or more. - in: wikipedia

The inscribed properties (in red what I have):

• Serra da Bocaina National Park
• Ilha Grande State Park
• Praia do Sul Biological Reserve
• Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu
• Paraty Historic Center
• Morro da Vila Velha

Historic Centre of Salvador de Bahia

It's sad that such a colorful city has such a strong connection with slavery... It is the kind of thing that mankind must be ashamed of but should never forget

Colonial Houses of Pelourinho

This postcard was sent by Livia

The Historic Center of Salvador de Bahia in Brazil, also known as the Pelourinho (Portuguese for "Pillory") or Pelo, is a historic neighborhood in western Salvador, Bahia. It was the city's center during the Portuguese colonial period and was named for the whipping post in its central plaza where African slaves received punishment for various infractions, as well as for disciplinary purposes. The Historic Center is extremely rich in historical monuments dating from the 17th through the 19th centuries. Salvador was the first colonial capital of Brazil and the city is one of the oldest in the New World (founded in 1549 by Portuguese settlers). 

Typical Baiana at Pelourinho

This postcard was sent by Luzia

It was also the first slave market on the continent, with slaves arriving to work on the sugar plantations. This area is in the older part of the upper city (Cidade Alta) of Salvador. It ecompasses several blocks around the triangular Largo, and it is the location for music, dining and nightlife. In the 1990s, a major restoration effort resulted in making the area a highly desirable tourist attraction. It has a place on the national historic register and was named a world cultural center by UNESCO in 1985. Easily walkable, Pelo has something to see along every street, including churches, cafes, restaurants, shops and the pastel-hued buildings. - in: wikipedia

Historic Town of Ouro Preto

Ouro Preto is probably the place of Brazil that I would most love to visit, much because of the concentration of baroque churches in this city.

Panoramic view of Ouro Preto

This postcard was sent by Gisely

 Founded at the end of the 17th century, Ouro Preto (Black Gold) was the focal point of the gold rush and Brazil’s golden age in the 18th century. With the exhaustion of the gold mines in the 19th century, the city’s influence declined but many churches, bridges and fountains remain as a testimony to its past prosperity and the exceptional talent of the Baroque sculptor Aleijadinho. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/124

Houses

This postcard was sent by Paulo

Ouro Preto, in the state of Minas Gerais, is one of Brazil's best-preserved colonial towns and a UNESCO world heritage site. Among other historical and colonial cities of Minas Gerais (Tiradentes, São João del Rei, Mariana and Diamantina), Ouro Preto is one of the most popular travelling destinations in Brazil. - in: http://wikitravel.org/en/Ouro_Preto

Churches of Nossa Sra. da Conceição, São Francisco de Assis and Nossa Sra. do Rosário

This postcard arrived from Russia sent by Yulia

Church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição (Immaculate Conception): This 1727 church is famous for its 8 lavishly decorated altars. The cemetery here has the grave of Aleijadinho, and the sacristy houses a museum dedicated to him.

Church of São Francisco de Assis (Saint Francis of Assisi): This unique rococo-style church, built in 1776, is arguably Aleijadinho's greatest work.

Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário: Built in 1785 with slave labor. Slaves were forbidden to worship at any other church. The church has a unique shape, with a contour formed by three convergent ovals. - in: http://wikitravel.org/en/Ouro_Preto

Church of Saint Francis of Assisi

This postcard was sent by Luzia

The Church of Saint Francis of Assisi is a Rococo Catholic church in Ouro Preto, Brazil.

Its erection began in 1766 after a design by the Brazilian architect and sculptor Antônio Francisco Lisboa, otherwise known as Aleijadinho. Lisboa designed both the structure of the church and the carved decorations on the interior, which were only finished towards the end of the 19th century. The circular bell towers and the oculus closed by a relief were original features in religious architecture of that time in Brazil. The façade has a single entrance door under a soapstone frontispiece under a relief depicting Saint Francis receiving the stigmata. The interior is richly decorated with golden woodwork, statues and paintings, and the wooden ceiling displays a painting by Manuel da Costa Ataíde. - in: wikipedia

Central Amazon Conservation Complex

I only had a black and white postcard of this site, but such a colorful place as the Amazon deserved a colorful postcard in my collection, so I was very happy to join the pink dolphins to the black and white card. I was waiting for a third postcard but I think it got lost...

Anavilhanas National Park

This postcard was sent by Martinha

Anavilhanas National Park (Portuguese: Parque Nacional de Anavilhanas) is a national park that encompasses a huge river archipelago in the Rio Negro in the state of Amazonas, Brazil.

The fluvial part of the park, 60% of the total, has more than 400 islands.

The park was originally created on 6 February 1981 as an integral protection unit covering 350,018 hectares (864,910 acres).

The park protects the environment of the Anavilhanas river archipelago in the Rio Negro, one of the largest in the world, and its forest formations. Protected species include margay (Leopardus wiedii), jaguar (Panthera onca), giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus), giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis), Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis) and Amazon river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis). - in: wikipedia

Pink River Dolphins

This postcard was sent by Paulo

The Amazon river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis), also known as the boto, bufeo or pink river dolphin, is a species of toothed whale classified in the family Iniidae.

The Amazon river dolphin is the largest species of river dolphin, with adult males reaching 185 kilograms (408 lb) in weight, and 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) in length. Adults acquire a pink color, more prominent in males, giving it its nickname "pink river dolphin". - in: wikipedia

Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis: San Ignacio Mini, Santa Ana, Nuestra Señora de Loreto and Santa Maria Mayor (Argentina), Ruins of Sao Miguel das Missoes (Brazil)

The postcard I have from Argentina, besides this site, also shows the Iguazu, a World Heritage site as well. But since I have another postcard from there I post this one here because it's the only one I have so far showing a Mission in Argentina. 

São Miguel das Missões

This postcard was sent by Livia

The Ruins of São Miguel das Missões is a Unesco World Heritage site located in the municipality of São Miguel das Missões, in the northwestern region of Rio Grande do Sul state, in southern Brazil.

The São Miguel das Missões mission was built between 1735 to around 1745 as Mission San Miguel Arcángel. São Miguel das Missões was one of the many Spanish Colonial Jesuit Reductions in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia. - in: wikipedia

San Ignacio Mini (left bottom corner)

This postcard was sent by Luzia

San Ignacio Miní was one of the many missions founded in 1632, in Argentina, by the Jesuits in what the colonial Spaniards called the Province of Paraguay of the Americas during the Spanish colonial period. It is located near present-day San Ignacio valley, some 60 km north of Posadas, Misiones Province, Argentina.

The ruins are one of the best preserved among the several built in the territory of the Province of Paraguay, which today is divided among Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. Due to its accessibility, it is one of the most visited. - in: wikipedia

The Missions (in red what I have):

• São Miguel das Missões
• San Ignacio Mini
• Nuestra Señora de Santa Ana
• Nuestra Señora de Loreto
• Santa María la Mayor

Rio de Janeiro: Carioca Landscapes between the Mountain and the Sea

I'm sure that my wife would love to go to Rio. She loves the sun, the sea, the beaches and caipirinha. I prefer the shadows. Maybe Rio de Janeiro would please us both: I could go to the mountain, she could go to the sea and we would always meet somewhere in the middle :)

Christ The Redeemer and Guanabara Bay

This postcard was sent by Fernando

The site consists of an exceptional urban setting encompassing the key natural elements that have shaped and inspired the development of the city: from the highest points of the Tijuca National Park’s mountains down to the sea. They also include the Botanical Gardens, established in 1808, Corcovado Mountain with its celebrated statue of Christ, and the hills around Guanabara Bay, including the extensive designed landscapes along Copacabana Bay which have contributed to the outdoor living culture of this spectacular city. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1100

Christ the Redeemer

This postcard was sent by Adam

Christ the Redeemer (Portuguese: Cristo Redentor) is an Art Deco statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, created by French sculptor Paul Landowski and built by the Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa, in collaboration with the French engineer Albert Caquot. The face was created by the Romanian artist Gheorghe Leonida. The statue is 30 metres (98 ft) tall, not including its 8-metre (26 ft) pedestal, and its arms stretch 28 metres (92 ft) wide.

Christ the Redeemer

This postcard was sent by Luzia

The statue weighs 635 metric tons (625 long, 700 short tons), and is located at the peak of the 700-metre (2,300 ft) Corcovadomountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro. A symbol of Christianity across the world, the statue has also become a cultural icon of both Rio de Janeiro and Brazil, and is listed as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. It is made of reinforced concrete and soapstone. - in: wikipedia

Christ The Redeemer and Guanabara Bay

This postcard was sent by Nathan

Guanabara Bay (Portuguese: Baía de Guanabara) is an oceanic bay located in Southeast Brazil in the state ofRio de Janeiro. On its western shore lies the city of Rio de Janeiro and Duque de Caxias, and on its eastern shore the cities of Niterói and São Gonçalo. Four other municipalities surround the bay's shores. - in: wikipedia

Cable cars from Sugarloaf Mountain

This postcard was given to me by my cousin Andreia

The Sugarloaf Cable Car; Portuguese: Bondinho do Pão de Açúcar) is a cableway in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Moving between Praia Vermelha and the Sugarloaf Mountain, it stops at Morro da Urca (at 722 feet (220 m)) on its way up and down, and reaches the summit of the 1,299-foot (396 m) mountain. - in: wikipedia

Guanabara Bay and Sugarloaf Montain

This postcard was sent by Luzia

Sugarloaf Mountain (Portuguese: Pão de Açúcar) is a peak situated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the mouth of Guanabara Bayon a peninsula that sticks out into the Atlantic Ocean. Rising 396 meters (1,299 ft) above the harbor, its name is said to refer to its resemblance to the traditional shape of concentrated refined loaf sugar. It is known worldwide for its cableway and panoramic views of the city. - in wikipedia

Historic Centre of the Town of Goiás

Goiás was one of the Brazilian cities that grew from the gold rush 

Town of Goiás

This postcard was sent by Paulo

The Historic Centre of the Town of Goiás is built between two series of hills, along a small river, the Rio Vermelho. The areas on the right bank are tight up against the north-western hills, and have a popular character, indicated by the church of Rosario, which was traditionally reserved for slaves. The areas on the left bank, limited by the hills to the south-east, are reserved for the more representative groups of buildings, including the parish church (today the cathedral) of Santana, the Governor’s Palace, the barracks, the Casa de Fundição (foundry), extending to the Praça do Chafariz and climbing towards the hill of Chapeu do Padre. Here are also to be found the historic residential quarter and a characteristic market place.The urban layout is an example of the organic development of a mining town, adapted to the conditions of the site. Although modest, both public and private architecture form a harmonious whole, due to the coherent use of local materials and vernacular techniques. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/993