Founded in 1585, the coastal city of
Joao
Pessoa is the capital of Paraiba. It lies 120 km
north of Recife, 688 km south of Fortaleza, and
185 km south of Natal. While the city center
lacks flavor, Tambau beach, seven km east, is a
pleasant place to hang out for a few days.
The city is named after Joao Pessoa, the
governor of Paraiba who formed an alliance with
Getulio Vargas to run for the presidency of
Brazil in 1929. In response to advances from
other political parties attempting to gain his
support, Joao Pessoa uttered a pithy `nego'(I
refuse), which is now given prominence in all
Brazilian history books, and is emblazoned in
bold letters on the state flag of Paraiba.
Joao Pessoa's aspirations to the vice
presidency were short-lived: in July 1930 he was
assassinated by Joao Dantas, an event which
sparked a revolutionary backlash that eventually
swept Getulio Vargas to power (with considerable
help from the military) in October 1930.
Orientation
The rodoviaria is on the western edge
of the city. The main
hotel and shopping
district, known as Praça, is further east; and
close by is Parque Solon de Lucena, a large lake
circled by trees, which locals simply call Lagoa.
There are numerous bus stops here which are
convenient for local transport for example, to
travel to the beach district of
Tambau or
further up the coast to Cabo Branco.
Dangers & Annoyances
Joao Pessoa has an odd variety of `noisemobiles,'
vehicles converted to carry as many loudspeakers
as possible. They cruise the streets deafening
everyone with advertisements for underwear at
amazing prices or airing political grievances.
Igreja Sao Francisco
The principal tourist attraction is the Igreja Sao Francisco, considered to be one of
Brazil's finest churches. Construction was
interrupted by successive battles with the Dutch
and French, resulting in a beautiful but
architecturally confused complex built over
three centuries. The façade, church towers and
monastery (of Santo Antonio) display a
hotchpotch of styles. Portuguese tiled walls
lead up to the church's carved jacaranda wood
doors. The church is open Tuesday to Saturday
from 8 to 11 am and 2 to 5 pm and on Sunday from
2 to 5 pm.
Museu Fotografico Walfredo Rodrigues
The Walfredo Rodrigues Photography Museum in
the old Casa da Polvora (Powder House), on
Ladeira de Sao Francisco, has an interesting
collection of pictures of the old city. It's
open daily from 7 am to noon and 1 to 5.30 pm.
Beaches
Aside from the rusty remains of battles
against the French and Dutch, the beaches are
clean. Praia de Tambau, seven km directly
east of the center, is rather built up, but
nice. There are bars, restaurants, coconut palms
and fig trees along Avenida Joao Mauricio
(north) and Avenida Almirante Tamandare (south).
South of Tambau is Praia Cabo Branco.
From here it's a glorious 15-km walk along
Praia da Penha—a beautiful stretch of sand,
surf, palm groves and creeks—to Ponta de
Seixas, the easternmost tip of South
America. Clear water and coral make it a good
spot for diving.
Immediately north of Tambau, there are good
urban beaches: Manaira, Praia do Bessa I,
Praia do Bessa II, Praia do Macaco (a surf
beach) and Praia do Poço.
Twenty km north of Tambau are the Forte
Santa Catarina, Costinha and Camboinha
beaches.
In the past, Costinha was a center for whale
hunting, but this bloody practice should have
ceased by now.
Praia Cabedelo has a couple of
pousadas, restaurants and bars. Boats
to
Ilha de Areia Vermelha, an
island of red sand, which emerges from the
Atlantic at low tide, also leave from here. In
summer, dozens of boats park around the island
and the party lasts until the tide comes in.
Boat Trips
CLIOTUR (83-3247-4460) operates excursions on
a motor schooner to Areia Vermelha and Praia de
Santa Catarina, and various sunset-moonlight
cruises. The trips last between three and four
hours.
Entertainment
Nightlife in Tambau centers around the
beachfront along Rua Joao Mauricio and Avenida
Olinda, which runs off the beachfront near the
Hotel Tambaú.
Bahamas, on Rua Joao Maurício next to the
pier, is a popular meeting place and has live
music on the weekend. For forro and
lambada dancing in Tambau, there's Porto das
Francesinhas, Incognito are hip bars; there's
usually some live music on weekends. On the
corner of Avenida Almirante and Avenida Olinda,
there's a small outdoor bar which caters for
Joao Pessoa's alternative crowd—grunge types,
surf rats, metal heads and punks all thrown
together in the one place!
Things to Buy
Avenida Rui Carneiro, on Praia de Tambau, has
ceramic, wicker, straw and leather goods for
sale. On weekends, craft stalls set up in front
of Tropical Hotel Tambau. In the city center,
Casa do Artesao Paraibano, at Rua Maciel
Pinheiro 670, also has craftwork for sale.
Getting There & Away
Air
Aeroporto Presidente Castro Pinto is 11
km from the city center. Flights operate to Rio,
Sao Paulo and the major cities of the Northeast
and the North.
Bus
The rodoviaria is on Avenida
Francisco Londres. There are frequent buses to
Recife (two hours), Natal (2 1/2 hours) and
Fortaleza (10 hours). There are five daily
departures running direct to Souza (seven
hours).
Getting Around
Bus
Local buses can be boarded at the
rodoviaria; at the bus stop next to the main
post office; and at the bus stops next to the
Lagoa. Bus No 510 runs frequently to Tambaú (25
minutes). Bus No 507 runs to Cabo Branco.
Taxi
Taxistas on short hauls may try to
charge tariff 2 (generally applicable at nights
and on Sunday) instead of tariff 1, which
applies during the daytime. Take a careful look
at the price table, and work out your position
on the map and point out obvious `detours'.
A taxi to the airport costs around $18 from
the rodoviaria to the center costs around
$2. To telephone a taxi call Disktaxi (0800 83
1310).
SOUTH OF JOAO PESSOA
Jacuma & Praia do Sol
20 km south of Joao Pessoa, Praia Jacuma is a
long, thin strip of beach featuring colored sand
bars, natural pools, mineral water springs and
barracas.
Halfway between Jacumã and Joao Pessoa is
Praia do Sol, which is similar to Jacuma and an
equally good place to relax—swaying in a hammock
and sipping coconut milk in the shade.
Getting There & Away
There are direct buses to Jacumã from the
rodoviaria in Joao Pessoa. Travelling north
from Pernambuco state on BR-101, ask to be
dropped off at the Conde/Jacuma turn-off, and
take a local bus from there to Jacuma.
Tambaba
About 10 km south of Jacuma is
Praia de Tambaba, the only official nudist beach in the
Northeast. The beach, rated by Brazilians as
among the top 10 in Brazil, is divided into two
parts: one section is reserved exclusively for
nudists, and the other is open to clothed
bathers. To prevent problems, the nude section
has public relations officers who explain the
rules to bathers. There are two barracas
along the beach. When the beach is crowded, men
are not allowed in the nude section unless
accompanied by a woman.
The Associaçao dos Amigos da Praia de Tambaba
(Association of Friends of Tambaba) can
provide more information.
Pitimbu
Praia Pitimbu, 75 km south of Joao Pessoa,
has a long, broad beach, a coconut grove, some
thatched-roof houses, and a couple of bars
frequented by sugar-cane farmers, fisherfolk and
jangada sailmakers. There are no hotels,
but if you look friendly and bring a hammock,
someone will put you up for a nominal fee.
Travelling north on BR-101 from Pernambuco
state into Paraíba state, there's a turn-off
just after the border, which leads 35 km down a
rough road to Praia Pitimbu.
BAIA DA TRAIÇAO
Despite its peaceful, reef-sheltered waters,
Coconut palms and gentle breezes, Baia da
Traiçao has a bloody past. Here in 1501, the
first Portuguese exploratory expedition was
slaughtered by the Tabajara Indians. In 1625 the
Portuguese had it out with the Dutch, claimed
victory and left some rusty cannons and the
ruins of a fortress in their wake.
This fishing village, 85 km north of Joao
Pessoa, has no regular lodging, but the beach is
better than the one at Barra do Cunhau, which is
further north along the coast, in the state of
Rio Grande do Norte.
Getting There & Away
There's a partially paved turn-off to the
beach on BR-101 at Mamanguape. The Rio Tinto bus
company operates buses twice daily, at 5.30 am
and 3 pm, from Joao Pessoa's rodoviaria (
two hours).
SOUSA
Sousa, 420 km west of Joao Pessoa, is known
for an offbeat tourist attraction: dinosaur
tracks. The tracks were discovered in 1920 by a
geologist who was researching drought—a major
preoccupation in the sertao. Later
discoveries of tracks at over 13 different sites
along the Rio do Peixe showed that the whole
region had once been a Vale dos Dinossauros
(Valley of Dinosaurs). There are at least three
sites in the proximity of Sousa. The best is
four km from town, at Passagem das Pedras da
Fazenda Ilha, on the banks of the Rio do Peixe,
where at least 50 prints have been left by
dinosaurs which, judging by the depth and size
of the imprints, weighed between three and four
tons.
Travelers interested in handicrafts should
make a side trip to the town of Aparecida, 14 km
east of Sousa, which is famed as a center for
the production of superb hammocks, textiles, and
goods made from leather and straw.
It comes to know Joao Pessoa, capital of the
Paraiba, Northeast of Brazil. Next the Beach to
the Pipa and the Beach of Porto de Galinhas.
Located between Natal and Recife. Hotel in Joao
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