Sao Luis

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Sao Luis is the only city founded and built by the French in Brazil during colonial times. The historic center with its many beautiful, exfoliated colored buildings has been preserved and is now on the UNESCO World Heritage list and is a feast for the eyes. The city has more to offer though; culture, beaches and especially many festivals. In 1612 three French ships were moored off the coast and connected with the then Tupinamba Indians who wished to get rid of their Portuguese occupiers.

It was no later than two years later that the Portuguese deployed the attack and drove the French away again. Between 1641 and 1644 the Dutch tried it once again and traded a lot of sugar and cotton, but they too were defeated by the Portuguese and the city fell into poverty. Only in the last few years heavy money has been pumped into the economy; a modern port, an aluminum factory, a rocket base and oil has been found in the seabed.

Sao Luis - Fortaleza: the ride between these two big cities takes around 12 hours and busses usually leaves late at night (around 20:00) so that you arrive at your destination in the morning. Costs about 90 to 100 R $.