The Why Part

In 2001/02 and 2003 I travelled to Brazil and had a great time. The climate, beaches, countryside and love of cold beer reminded me of Australia but the language, society and culture were completely different.

Whilst familiar in one sense Brazil was a difficult country to travel through due to the language barrier and less developed tourism infrastructure relative to that of Australia which I was accustomed to.

On Lonely Planet's Thorntree message board I was continually answering the same questions that travellers have about Brazil. I still do (in the Author Search box type gavinoz). The answers to many questions people asked were either hard to find on the web, burried under ads for tour packages, in Portuguese, or not on the web at all.

Intially I thought the name Backpacking Brazil would be good for a backpacking hostel the upfront costs of a hostel were a little beyond me (still are). I liked travel but not dirty bathrooms that needed cleaning, daily sheet washing and all work and no play in the holiday season? I ended up settling for a website instead.

The domain backpackingbrazil.com was bought in 2004 but I had were no concrete plans of what it was going to be used for. I just liked the name and the thought of travelling around Brazil again. It sat dormant for almost 2 years. In July/August 2005 I came across Poorbuthappy.com and the proverbial light went on inside my head. Perhaps I could do something similar for Brazil.

Knowing then what I know now I probably would not have started the project. 3-4 months has expanded to over a year and this only covers the basics. 'Do it for the love, not the money' was the starting advice given and how true it is for initial enthusiasm for a task dies quickly. So many spare hours of my life have been spent on this site that some times you have to question yourself. Anyway I've started now.

The end result is, I hope, a website which contains useful information for anyone wanting to travel to Brazil. I want backpackingbrazil.com to make it easier for people to travel throughout Brazil and enjoy their trip as much as I did.

The Disclaimer

This website is a largely voluntary effort. It is a labour of love. I do my best to keep the information accurate. Read widely, listen to different opinions, weigh the facts and then draw your own conclusions. At best my website can be of assistance, it is not an authorative text. It is merely here to try to help you.

The Future

There isn't a fixed plan or map of where this website will be in 5 years time. I'll just keep adding relevant content and updating the pages as time permits.

Brazil as a country and society has some tremendous social problems to overcome but to address all these ills is not the goal of this website. However, I would hate for this site to develop in ignorance of them and somehow in some small way it would be nice if backpackingbrazil.com could contribute to a better, more equitable future for all Brazilians. I have a few ideas but for now Unicef and Amnesty International are probably the best places to start.

Technology

This site is run on Drupal. A very elegant content management system which makes administering all this content alot less painful than it probably should be. 6 months ago I had never heard of content management systems. I couldn't live without it now.

Advertising

Google Adwords provide a small income which helps pay the costs of this site. It certainly doesn't pay for labour. I use affiliate programs for accommodation and travel insurance. You are free to use these or ignore them. If you use these I receive a commission on the sale price.