V Winner Post #16- Southern Region of Brazil

South Region

· Area: 577.214 km² (6,2%)
· Population: 25.800.000 hab (43,46 hab/km², 12,5%)
· GDP: ~91,5bi US$ (16,5%)
· HDI: ~0,875
· Climate: Temperate in almost all the entire region, warm in the summer and cold in the winter (sometimes there is snow in the southern regions of the region). The northeast part of the region has a Tropical climate, being hot in the summer and warm/cool during the winter, with some cold days.
· States: Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina
· Largest Cities: Curitiba (1.586.848); Porto Alegre (1.360.033); Londrina (446.822); Joinville (429.004); Caxias do Sul (360.223); Florianópolis (341.781); Pelotas (323.034); Canoas (305.711); Maringá (288.465); Ponta Grossa (281.000); Blumenau (277.500); Cascavel (273.000); Foz do Iguaçu (269.585); Santa Maria (243.396), Rio Grande (238.000)
· Economy: Machinery and automobile industry, textiles, tourism, energy production, computer programming, soil, orange, apple, grapefruit.
· Transport: Highways and railways are heavily present throughout the region, although the latter is mainly used for freight. Rivers are used when possible.
· Vegetation: Rainforests along the coast (Mata Atlântica), tropical semiciduous in the north and west (Araucárias) and prairie-like vegetation in the south (Pampas). Little native vegetation still actually remains
· Remarkable characteristics: The South region is characterized by its high standard of living, with the best social indicators of the country - The best city to live in and the best capitals to live in are all here:Florianópolis, HDI of 0.875; Porto Alegre, HDI of 0.885; Curitiba, HDI of 0.860 (information of 1996). The region, along with the state of São Paulo, is characterized also for the strong immigrant presence (Italians, Germans, Portuguese, Spanish, Poles, Japanese, Arabs, Ukrainians and Lithuanians), that gave the region their typical aspects (architecture, culinary, agriculture of subsistence, etc).

Paraná
Located in the South of the country, bordering Paraguay and Argentina. Cut by the Tropic of Capricorn, Paraná has what is left of the araucarias forest, one of the most important subtropical forests of the world. At the border with Argentina is the National Park of Iguaçú, considered by UNESCO as Patrimony of the Humanity and the spectacle of the Cataratas do Iguaçú attracts about 700 thousand tourists per year. At only 40 km (24 miles) from there, at the border with Paraguay, the largest dam of the world was built, the Hidroelétrica de Itaipú.

The State Park of Vila Velha near he city of Ponta Grossa, is another attraction, with great rocky formations sculptured by the erosion of rain and wind. Curitiba, the capital, is famous for its excellent quality of life, and the Ilha do Mel, next to the historical Paranaguá, is another destination for eco-tourists.
Paraná was first settled by gold prospectors from São Paulo and formed part of the captaincy and province of São Paulo.
The first missions of the Jesuits on the Paraná were situated just above the Guaíra Falls in this state and had reached a highly prosperous condition when the Indian slave hunters of São Paulo (called Bandeirantes) compelled them to leave their settlements and emigrate in mass to what is now the Argentine territory of Misiones. Their principal mission was known as Ciudad Real.
The territory was set apart from São Paulo in 1853. Pedro II of Brazil did so as a punishment for São Paulo support of the insurrection of 1842.
Waves of European immigrants started arriving after 1850, mainly Germans, Italians, Poles and Ukrainians. The development of the state is closely linked to the arrival of the immigrants.
By the early 20th century, the state had two railway systems: the Paranagua to Curitiba (69 miles) with an extension to Ponta Grossa (118 miles) and branches to Rio Negro (55 miles), Porto Amazonas (6 miles) and Antonina (10 miles); and the São Paulo and Rio Grande, which crosses the state from northeast to south-west from União da Vitória, on the Iguaçu, to a junction with the Sorocabana line of São Paulo at Itararé.

The junction of the two systems was at Ponta Grossa, north-west of Curitiba.
The last PNAD (National Research for Sample of Domiciles) census revealed the following numbers: 7,620,120 million White people (73.2%), 2,394,300 million Pardo people (23.0%), 270 thousand Black people (2.6%), 124 thousand Asian or Amerindian people (1.2%).
People of Polish descent predominate in the central and southern regions, mainly around Curitiba. Italians predominate in the capital, Curitiba and in the coast. People of Ukrainian descent predominate in a few cities, such as Prudentópolis; many Ukrainians are found in the entire state. Germans predominate in a few cities, such as Rolândia. The Portuguese and their descendants are present in large numbers in almost all towns.
People of multiracial ancestry predominate in a few towns in the north. There is a sizeabe Muslim Lebanese and Syrian community around Foz do Iguassu. In the north, Japanese people are very numerous.
The main cities of the state are:
Curitiba (Capital and largest, east)
Londrina (2nd largest, north)
Maringá (3rd largest, north)
Foz do Iguaçu (4th largest, west)
Ponta Grossa (5th largest, center-east)
Cascavel (6th largest, center-west)
Guarapuava (9th largest, center)
Paranaguá (10th largest, east-coast)

Economy of Parana
The service sector is the largest component of GDP at 41.6%, followed by the industrial sector at 40%. Agriculture represents 18.4% of GDP (2004). Paraná exports: soybean 34.2%, vehicles 21.4%, wood 10%, frozen meat 8.2%, others agriculture products 8.8% (2002).
Participation in the Brazilian economy: 6.2% (2004).
Paraná has one of the highest standards of living in Brazil (though it is the least developed state of the South-Southeast regions, which comprise the richest Brazilian states) with relatively low crime levels, a special attention given to education and health and a Human Development Index of ~0.787, the 5th highest in Brazil.
In October 2003 Paraná banned both the cultivation and transportation of genetically modified crops. This is stricter than the national standard, which prohibits commercial cultivation of such crops, but allows experimental cultivation and permits transport. Paraná, Brazil's largest grain producing state, is now also Brazil's largest exporter of organically-grown crops.

Santa Catarina
Is a state in southern Brazil with one of the highest standards of living in the country. Its capital is Florianópolis, which mostly lies on the Santa Catarina Island. Neighboring states are Rio Grande do Sul to the south and Paraná to the north. It is bounded on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, and to the west it borders the province of Misiones, Argentina.
Most of its inhabitants are descendants of Portuguese, German and Italian immigrants. The beaches along the coast of 561 kilometers (348 miles) are a great attraction for tourists visiting the smallest State of the South Region. Florianópolis, the capital, is on an island and is one of the Brazilian cities that receive more foreign tourists. To the south, Garopaba is the preferred destination of surfers looking for good waves. In the mountain region, São Joaquin is the attraction during winter because of its low temperatures. Blumenau, in the interior of Santa Catarina, is the stage for one of the biggest events of the country: the Oktoberfest, a traditional beer party originated from Germany, that happens in October. The inheritance of the Italian, German and Portuguese immigrants can be perceived in the architecture and the customs of the State.
Santa Catarina is in a very strategic position in Mercosur, the South American Common Market. Its position in the map is situated between the parallel 25º57'41" and 29º23'55" of the Southern latitude and between the meridians 48º19'37" and 53º50'00" of Western longitude.
Florianópolis, its capital, is 1.673 km (1039 miles) from Brasilia, 705 km (438 miles) from São Paulo, 1.144 km (710 miles) from Rio de Janeiro and 1.850 km (1149 miles) from Buenos Aires.
The Serra Geral, a southern extension of the Serra do Mar, runs north and south through the state parallel to the Atlantic coast, dividing the state between a narrow coastal plain and a larger plateau region to the west.
The Atlantic coast of Santa Catarina has many beaches, islands, bays, inlets, and lagoons. The humid tropical Serra do Mar coastal forests cover the narrow coastal zone, which is crossed by numerous short streams from the wooded slopes of the serras.
The central part of the state is home to the Araucaria moist forests, dominated by emergent Brazilian pines (Araucaria angustifolia). The drainage of the plateau is westward to the Paraná River, the rivers being tributaries of the Iguaçu, which forms its northern boundary, and of the Uruguay, which forms its southern boundary. The semi-deciduous Paraná-Paraíba interior forests occupy the westernmost valleys of the Iguaçu and Uruguay rivers.European settlement began with the Spanish settlement of Santa Catarina island in 1542. The Portuguese took control in 1675. The captaincy of Santa Catarina was established in 1738.
Large numbers of European immigrants, especially from Germany, began arriving in the early 19th century. Immigrants from Italy, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Japan and other parts of Europe later arrived, with one result being an abundance of small, family held farms in the state's interior.
In late March 2004, the state was hit by the first ever hurricane recorded in the South Atlantic. Because there is no naming system for such an event in Brazil, Brazilian meteorologists called it Catarina, after the state.
According to the IBGE of 2007, there were 5,974,000 people residing in the state.
The population density was 62,5 inh./km². The last PNAD (National Research for Sample of Domiciles) census revealed the following numbers: 5,215,302 million White people (87.1%), 585 thousand Pardo people (9.8%), 161 thousand Black people (2.7%), 11 thousand Asian or Amerindian people (0.4%).
People of Portuguese ancestry, mostly Azoreans, predominate in the coast. People of German descent predominate in the northeast region (Itajaí Valley) and in the north (Joinville region). There are many German communities in the west. People of Italian descent predominate in the south, as well in many areas in the west. People of African, Amerindian or Japanese origins are small communities in a few towns.


European settlement
Santa Catarina is one of the Brazilian states that exhibits the most signs of 19th century European immigration. The vast majority of the population are descendants of European settlers.
Portuguese
The Portuguese started arriving in the 1750s, mainly from the Azores islands, and colonized the coast. In the late 18th century, half of Santa Catarina's population was Portuguese-born. These Portuguese established many important towns of the State, such as Florianópolis, the capital.
Germans
Germans started arriving in 1828. They were peasants that were attracted to Brazil to get their own lands, since Germany was overpopulated and many people had no lands to work. German immigration was very low, until the 1850s, when waves of Germans started arriving in Southern Brazil. To stimulate the development of the German colonization in Southern Brazil, the Brazilian government created many German colonies. These colonies were ethnically Germanic areas, where people from many parts of Germany settled. Initially, these colonies were rural lands, where the immigrants were able to cultivate their own lands. Many of these German colonies had a great development and became big towns, such as Blumenau and Joinville, the largest city in Santa Catarina. Germans had been isolated in rural communities for decades. They did not have much contact with other people of Brazil, and for generations they were able to speak German and keep their German traditions in Brazil.
This situation changed in the 1930s, when Brazil declared war against Germany in 1942, and the German immigrants were required to learn Portuguese and to follow a Brazilian way of life. Nowadays, the German influence in the State of Santa Catarina is still very strong and visible. Many towns, especially the small ones, still retain many aspects of the German culture, such as Pomerode, a small town where 90% of the population are of German-Brazilian heritage and most of the inhabitants speak German fluently or the Oktoberfest of Blumenau and many other towns in the region. The architecture also shows German influence, which is also evident in people's customs and food.

Italians
Italian settlers started arriving in Santa Catarina in 1875 and immigrated in large numbers until the 1910s. They were peasants from Northern Italy and established themselves in ethnically Italian colonies close to the coast. In the beginning, the Italian settlement had failed, because many Italians died of tropical diseases or left the colonies to find better conditions. However, in Vale do Tubarão region (southern Santa Catarina), Italian immigrants found cooler weather and better lands, and the colonies prospered. Many Italians worked in the coal industry and, unlike the German immigrants, they did not dedicate themselves very much to agriculture. As they were not isolated in rural colonies, Italian immigrants were quickly integrated into the Brazilians of Portuguese descent, that were living there since the 18th century. Nowadays, a great deal of italian descendents in the state have a double citizenship, mainly in the southern region, around Criciúma.

Economy of Santa Catarina

The industrial sector is the largest component of GDP at 52.5%, followed by the service sector at 33.9%. Agriculture represents 13.6% of GDP (2004). Santa Catarina exports: aviculture 26.1%, logging 15.4%, compressors 8.5%, cotton 6.8%, vehicles 5.8%, woods 5.1% (2002).
Participation in the Brazilian economy: 4% (2004).
Santa Catarina has one of the highest standards of living in Brazil- comparable to the Iberian Peninsula countries, and is a major industrial and agricultural center.
In the northeast of the state, electric-mechanical, textile and furniture industries are stronger; in the west, cattle and poultry breeding, and in the south, ceramics and shellfishes.
The corridor between Joinville, Jaragua do Sul and Blumenau is heavily industrialized - more than 50% of the state's industrial output is concentrated in this small, but very developed area.
Santa Catarina has some of the most beautiful beaches in Brazil - Summer months (Dec-Mar) make the state one of the most sought-after travel destinations in Brazil and South America. Tens of thousands of Argentines and Paraguayans flock to the state's beaches from mid December to late January.
The major cities and their respective fields are:
1. Joinville, metal-mechanic; tourism/events; software; commerce.
2. Florianópolis, tourism; government; technology; education.
3. Blumenau, software, textile and beer.
4. São José.
5. Criciúma, ceramics.
6. Chapecó, cattle and poultry breeding.
7. Lages.
8. Itajai, seaport.
9. Jaraguá do Sul, electric motors and textile.
10. Palhoça
11. Balneário Camboriú major beach resort.
12. Tubarão.
13. Brusque, textile.
14. São Bento do Sul, furniture.
Tourism
Santa Catarina is not just a summer destination. The State which was initially known for its beautiful coastline with more than 500 beaches grew to acknowledge that its geographic and cultural diversity was also a big tourist attraction and as a result, tourists can today enjoy contrasting sceneries and climates which are very close to each other – only two hours by car separate paradisiacal beaches from some 2000 meters-high mountains.
Santa Catarina offers a number of products and specialized segments throughout the year: rural tourism, thermal mineral resorts, ecological tourism and adventure sports, historic monuments and sights, religious tourism, Beto Carrero World and Unipraias parks) and the unforgettable beach resort of Balneário Camboriú.
Some of the products can only be sold in the off-season, like the snow spectacle on the Catarinense Mountain Range - the only place in Brazil where it snows every year. This region is the birthplace of rural tourism, has farm hotels with trout fishing in the ice-cold rivers, horse riding, trekking and outdoor sports activities.
Between July and November, the Right whales visit the state's coast – and the number of tourists wishing to see this spectacle has increased year after year.
The big festivities are in October. The main Oktoberfest in Blumenau is Brazil's largest and the world's second largest (after Germany's Munich).
Joinville is the host city of the July "Joinville Dance Festival", the annual "Festival of Flowers" in November which showcases orchids produced in the region, and several business events in its Convention Center.
Florianópolis the city/island State Capital attracts a large numbers of tourists during the summer months lured by its 42 beaches.
Santa Catarina has one of the most beautiful coastlines in Brazil, with one very busy beach resort: Balneário Camboriú.
There are also many smaller resort towns, including Itapema, Piçarras, Barra Velha and Penha, home to the famous amusement park "Beto Carrero World".

Rio Grande do Sul
"Great River of the South" is the southernmost State of Brazil, and the State with the fourth highest Human Development Index (HDI). In the largest and most populous state of the region is the most southern city of the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. The mountain region, where the winter can be rigorous, has cities with European characteristics, such as Gramado and Canela. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine producing center of Brazil, the attraction is the Italian gastronomy. Besides the European influence, the gaucho cultivates the traditions of the Pampas - region of the border with Uruguay and Argentina -, such as the chimarrão, the typical barbecue churrasco and wears the bombacha, boots and large hats.
Despite being mainly rural for much of its early history, Rio Grande do Sul's prairies have been the scene of bloody wars: the dispute between Portugal and Spain for the Sacramento Colony, and the Guarani Missions War. It also was a focal point for internal rebellion in the 19th century.
In 1835 a separatist movement broke out in the province and lasted ten years. The War of Tatters was eventually ended more through the use of money and favors than by force of arms; but the province suffered greatly in the struggle and did not recover for many years. It is of interest that Giuseppe Garibaldi joined the separatists for a while before he returned to Europe and eventually became a hero in his native Italy.
In 1865 a Paraguayan army invaded the state and on 5 August occupied the town of Uruguaiana.
In the following year in September, however, the Paraguayan General Estigarribia surrendered without a fight - an unusual occurrence in the War of the Triple Alliance.
Political agitation was frequent in Rio Grande do Sul, but no important revolution occurred after the Ponche Verde Treaty in 1845 until the presidency at Rio de Janeiro of General Floriano Peixoto, whose ill-considered interference with state governments led to the revolt of 1892-94, under Gumersindo Saraiva.
In this struggle the revolutionaries occupied Santa Catarina and Paraná, capturing Curitiba, but were eventually overthrown through their inability to obtain munitions of war. An incident in this struggle was the death of Admiral Saldanha da Gama, one of the most brilliant officers of the Brazilian navy and one of the chiefs of the naval revolt of 1893-94, who was killed in a skirmish on the Uruguayan border towards the end of the conflict.
In 1738 the territory (which included the present state of Santa Catarina) became the Capitania d'el Rei and was made a dependency of Rio de Janeiro. Territorial disputes between Spain and Portugal led to the occupation by the Spanish of the town of Rio Grande (then the capital of the capitania) and neighboring districts from 1763 to 1776, when they reverted to the Portuguese.
The capture of Rio Grande in 1763 caused the removal of the seat of government to Viamão at the head of Lagoa dos Patos; in 1773 Porto dos Cazaes, renamed Porto Alegre, became the capital.
In 1801 news of war between Spain and Portugal led the inhabitants of Rio Grande to attack and capture the seven missions and some frontier posts held by the Spaniards since 1763; since 1801 the boundary lines established by treaty in 1777 have remained unchanged.
The districts of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande had been separated in 1760 for military convenience, and in 1807 the latter was elevated to the category of a capitania-geral, with the designation of "Sao Pedro do Rio Grande," independent of Rio de Janeiro, and with Santa Catarina as a dependency.
In 1812 Rio Grande and Santa Catarina were organized into two distinct comarcas, the latter becoming an independent province in 1822 when the Empire of Brazil was organized.
In the far western area of the state are the remnants of Brazil's 17th century Jesuit missions or reductions (aldeias) to the Guaraní Indians. Important to the region, it should be noted that Jesuit Father Roque Gonzales, also known as Roque Gonzales de Santa Cruz, who arrived from Paraguay on the 3rd of May of 1626 to establish the Saint Nicolas mission (today known as São Nicolau), was the first white person to enter in what is today know as the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Of all the ruins left behind by the vanished Guarani Missions, the most significant one is São Miguel or São Miguel Arcanjo, located nearby the present city of Santo Ângelo.
There is an ongoing Light and Sound (or Som e Luz in Portuguese) show presented at the ruins of the São Miguel church.
Originally part of Uruguayan territory, it was lost in the Uruguayan struggle for independence. Uruguay could have lost all of the Rio Grande do Sul area if not for the help of Argentina, which wanted to defeat Brazil.
Getulio Vargas, who led Brazil as dictator from 1930 and later was elected president in 1950, was a native of Rio Grande do Sul.
In the 1980's the Pampa Independence Movement was created with the goal of restoring the independence of the former Riograndense Republic.The last PNAD (National Research for Sample of Domiciles) census revealed the following numbers: 8,973,928 White (81.7%), 1,405,952 Pardo people (12.8%), 560 thousand Black (5.1%), 43 thousand Asian or Amerindian people (0.4%).
People of Portuguese ancestry predominate in the coast and southern parts of the state, mainly of Gaucho and Azorean background. People of German descent predominate in the Sinos Valley (Novo Hamburgo, São Leopoldo, etc) and in parts of the centre and western regions. People of Italian descent predominate in the mountains (Serra Gaúcha, Caxias do Sul, Bento Gonçalves, etc) and in parts of the centre and western regions. There are sizeable communities of Poles and Ukrainians across the state.
People of African ancestry concentrate in the capital city. The southern part of the state has a sizeable population of Amerindian features.
The region what is now Rio Grande do Sul was originally settled by Amerindian peoples, mostly Guarani and Kaingangs.
European settlement started in 1627 with Spanish Jesuits. Portuguese Jesuits established Indian Reductions in 1687 and dominated the region. Most of the Indians of the region became Catholics and went to live among the Jesuits. These reductions were destroyed by the Bandeirantes from São Paulo in the 18th century, who wanted to enslave the Indians.
The Portuguese settlement in Rio Grande do Sul was largely increased between 1748 and 1756, with the arrival of two thousand immigrants from the Azores Islands, Portugal. They settled many parts of the state, including the nowadays capital, Porto Alegre. Blacks were 50% of Rio Grande do Sul's population in 1822. This number decreased to 25% in 1858 and to only 5.2% in 2005. Most of them came from Angola to work as slaves in the cattle farms. Nowadays, the Black community is mostly concentrated in the Porto Alegre region.
German immigrants first arrived to Southern Brazil in 1824. They were attracted to Brazil to protect the country from invasions of the neighboring countries and to populate the empty interior of the Southern region. The first city to be settled by them was São Leopoldo. In the next five decades, around 28 thousand Germans were brought to the region to work as small farmers in the countryside.
Italian immigrants started arriving in Rio Grande do Sul in 1875. They were mostly poor peasants from Veneto, Northern Italy, who were attracted to Southern Brazil to get their own farms.
Italian immigration to the region lasted until 1914, with a total of 100 thousand Italians settling there in this period. Most of the immigrants worked as small farmers, mainly cultivating grapes in the Serra Gaúcha part of the state.
Other European immigrants also migrated to Rio Grande do Sul, mostly coming from Eastern Europe (Poland, Ukraine and Russia).

Economy of Rio Grande do Sul

The industrial sector is the largest component of GDP at 42.6%, followed by the service sector at 41.1%. Agriculture represents 16.3% of GDP (2004). Rio Grande do Sul exports: footwear’s 18.1%, soybean 14.2%, tobacco 13.6%, vehicles 8.1%, frozen meat 7.2%, chemicals 6.8%, leather 5.3% (2002).
Participation in the Brazilian economy: 8.1% (2004).
One of the most prosperous Brazilian states, Rio Grande do Sul is known especially for grain production, viticulture, ranching, and for its considerable industrial output. Constituting less than 6% of the total Brazilian population. The main products exported by Rio Grande do Sul are shoes, tobacco, automobiles, grains, beef, leather, and chemicals.
Natives of the state are known as Gaúchos, named after the cattle herders and ranchers who settled the state's pampa regions.

Culture
The state of Rio Grande do Sul is renowned as one of the most culturally rich states of Brazil.
Rio Grande's music is a blend of many styles (Prata's Rhythms in the main), including the Chamamé, Milonga, Polca and Chacarera. The inhabitants of the state are famous in the country for drinking chimarrão, a local version of the mate drunk in neighbouring Uruguay and Argentina. The barbecue locally known as "churrasco" is one of the most important elements of everyday life. Rio Grande do Sul's culture is far from a typical Brazilian one. Fashion plays a prominent role in Rio Grande do Sul, by far the largest provider of top models and beauty queens in Brazil - 5 of the last 10 winners of Miss Brazil were Miss Rio Grande do Sul. Alessandra Ambrosio, Gisele Bündchen, Ana Hickmann, Letícia Birkheuer are some of the international super models from Rio Grande do Sul. The Riograndenses are assiduous readers. The state has the highest number of books read per capita in Brazil, with Latin America's largest outdoor book fair, the Porto Alegre Book Fair, taking place in Porto Alegre every year.
In commemoration of the War of Tatters, Farroupilha Week takes place between the 13th and the 20th of September every year, with music and dance shows from the Pampas region, typical foods, and a traditional parade.
In common with other states in Brazil, a Carnival also takes place in the run-up to Lent.

Tourism
The Rio Grande do Sul has a great potential for tourism paleontological, with many paleontological sites and museums in the geopark of paleorrota.
Ecotourism is very popular in the Germanesque cities of Gramado and Canela; their cold weather is among their attractions for internal tourism. Tourism is also high in the wine regions of the state, principally Caxias do Sul and Bento Gonçalves. The pampas of the native Brazilian gaúcho are both a national and international curiosity to tourists and their customs are alive in the capital city of Porto Alegre as well as in the cities of the "interior" or western Rio Grande do Sul such as Santa Maria and Passo Fundo. The state is also home to the historic São Miguel das Missões, the ruins of an 18th century Jesuit Mission. In the city of Nova Prata, in way the native bush, you find a park thematic, with sources that gush out thermal waters in a temperature of 41°C, which possess excellent medicinal properties and therapeutically. The state of Rio Grande do Sul and its cities have developed series scenic routes to appeal to tourists. The Rota Romântica is a popular scenic drive that exhibits the diverse Germanic culture of the mountainous regions of the state referred to as the Serra Gaúcha. One can visit the state's Italian settlements through Caminhos da Colônia, tour the wine country through the Rota da Uva e do Vinho and visit a subsection of the Rota Romântica called the Região das Hortênsias, the region filled with beautiful blue hydrangea flowers each spring.

- A. Jonathan Buhalis