Brazil is named after a tree. Pau-brasil, brazilwood, grew along the Atlantic coast when the Portuguese arrived in 1500, and its heartwood yields a deep red dye that was worth a fortune in Europe, so the early traders called the land after it. Within a few generations they had cut most of the coastal trees, and the species nearly vanished. Pau Brasil National Park, near Porto Seguro in southern Bahia, protects a patch of lowland Atlantic Forest where some of those trees still stand, with dense, humid woods, vines, palms and the bird calls of the tropics. The park is part of the Costa do Descobrimento Atlantic Forest Reserves, listed by UNESCO in 1999.
This is also the coast where Pedro Álvares Cabral's fleet made landfall in April 1500, and the Pataxó people, who lived here long before, still live in villages nearby and share their crafts and stories. The ride list pairs the park with the national park at Descobrimento and Veracruz Station, so the whole area makes a day of forest and history.
Porto Seguro, with more than a hundred and twenty thousand people, is a big resort city with fuel, hotels and a noisy nightlife, and Santa Cruz Cabrália, a smaller town of nearly twenty thousand, is quieter and has a pretty waterfront. The roads here are mostly flat, with long straight runs through plantations of eucalyptus, papaya and coconut, and the coastal highways, the BR-101 and the BA-001, are paved and busy with trucks, buses and holiday traffic. Watch for speed bumps, potholes and wandering dogs, and keep your speed sensible at night.
The climate is hot and humid all year, with showers at any time and a rainy peak from March to July. The drier months, from September to February, are the best for the forest and the beach, though the heat can be heavy at midday. Try moqueca, a fish stew in coconut milk, with tapioca crepes at breakfast, and cool off with fresh coconut water. A morning walk in the forest, before the heat, is the best way to see the trees.