Brazil: immense and rich ENGLISH puis en FRANCAIS + ***Nous Sommes TOUS Charlie***

Gigantic and uninhabited. Slightly larger than the contiguous US (8.5Mkm2 vs 8.1Mkm2) but with 1/3 fewer people (202M vs 307M), Brazil is a giant. Loaded with raw materials (oil, semi precious stones, biodiversity, ...) it is quite literally a land "blessed by God" and Brazilians largely hold this belief as true, no matter how desperate their situation. Unlike the Spanish conquistadores who pillaged and exterminated the people living throughout the greater part of South America (Brazil was given to the Portuguese by the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494), the Portuguese colonizers rapidly mingled with the local population, which is partly responsible for the racial mix of the Brazilian people.

Flying over the Amazon forest and the central states of Brazil is remarkable. Of course, there are the immense stretches of forest or lands without any sign of a road or habitation, but that is not unlike the Western half of the US. However, what is remarkable is that as one flies over areas of crops, the fields look more like the mosaic of Europe than they do like the immense swaths of agricultural land in the US. Also, while there are no tremendous mountains to compare with the Rockies (or the Alps), one sees numerous chains of 2000-3000ft high ridges, extending for dozens of miles. In fact, Brazil is well known to all free-flight pilots, be they flying hangliders or paragliders, and many records have been set (fyi, records are in the 100s of miles on either type of aircraft).

The original purpose of my trip is a mixture of seeing old friends as well as seeking alternative healing therapies for my cancer. So it is unlikely that I will write you much about the diverse areas of the country. However, I will send abundant news and photos from Rio! Stay tuned.

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Je Suis Charlie. Silencing the press, whether in Paris through a couple of extremists or elsewhere cannot be tolerated. Stand up for the freedom of the pen (not necessarily Le Pen).

The photos illustrate (I think and in attempted order): the State of Amazonas or that of Para (dark river) and possibly the river Xingu, a dam and 4 landscapes probably in the states of Goias and Minas Gerais. You can actually find better views on Google Earth ;-)

Un poil plus grand que les Etats Unis continentaux mais avec 35% d'habitants en moins, le Bresil est veritablement une immense terre toujours relativement vierge. Dotee de minerais, de pierres semi-precieuses, et d'une richesse ecologique sans pareille, les bresiliens se considerent benis, ce qui leur donne leur nonchalance naturelle. De plus, contrairement au reste de l'Amerique du Sud dont les peuples furent decimes par les Conquistadores espagnols, le Bresil fut plutot colonise. On dit d'ailleurs que des leur arrivee, les marins portugais se melangerent rapidement et sans conflit avec les tribus ethniques, ce qui explique peut etre en partie l'immense diversite raciale du pays.

A survoler la foret amazonienne, puis les etats du centre du pays, on se rend compte d'une aussi grande diversite de paysages. Mais il est tout aussi interessant de noter que, malgre la presence d'immenses proprietes privees, les exploitations agricoles ressemblent plus a des parcelles de dimensions europeennes qu'elles ne le font aux immenses champs que l'on voit en survolant les US. Et s'il n'y a evidemment pas de chaines montagneuses comparables aux Alpes ou aux Rocheuses, on distingue neanmoins de longues chaines d'un millier de metres d'altitude, mais s'etendant sur des centaines de kilometres. D'ailleurs, tout bon pilote de vol libre sait combien de records ont ete battu au Bresil.

Comme je ne suis pas venu seulement pour retrouver des amis et me ballader, mais aussi pour m'occuper de mon cancer, je ne compte pas voyager dans le pays. En revanche, je vous promets de belles images et comptes d'aventures (sans vous innonder!) depuis la ville magique de Rio.

Bises a tous - et Nous Sommes Charlie, ici et partout sur Terre!

Je crois que les photos en bas de page sont: ci-dessus la foret amazonienne et le fleuve Xingu (2000km de long!), un barrage et plusieurs vues des etats que je pense etre Goias et Minas Gerais - mais vous trouverez mieux sur Google Earth...