One of the joys of taking trips to Brasil with Americans in tow is to watch them discover some of the cultural joys of the country. This trip was no exception.

What did this group discover?

Guaraná
You can’t go to Brasil without experiencing the champagne of sodas. Guaraná Antarctica is the most popular guaraná-flavored soft drink in Brasil, created in 1921 by the Companhia Antarctica Paulista. It is the national soft drink and the official sponsor of the Brazilian national football team. One of its 2006 commercials featured Argentine football player Diego Maradona finding himself wearing the yellow jersey of the Brasilian team and singing the Brasilian national anthem before waking up and proclaiming it was a nightmare. This caused considerable controversy in Argentina.

Antarctica Guarana has a caffeine content equivalent to, or more than, most energy drinks. The guarana berry has two to three times as much caffeine stored in it than the coffee bean (percentage wise).

The drink has made inroads in the U.S. as a result of the energy drink craze. You can find 6-packs being sold in most major cities, though it can be difficult to find. The taste is mild, slightly apple-like, with a distinct berry after-flavor. Several websites sell Antarctica products to the U.S. Antarctica brand guarana is by far the most popular form of the drink.

Of course you can find it at Wellness Therapies and Euphoria Smoothies.

Here is the Maradona commercial (subtitled):

Maracuja juice
This gave Guarana a real run for it’s money as to which was better. Maracuja or, as it is known here in the U.S., passion fruit is round to oval, yellow or dark purple at maturity, with a mushy interior filled with numerous seeds. The fruit can be grown to eat or for its juice, which is often added to other fruit juices to enhance aroma. When made into a juice, it is heavenly. Our team made a serious dent in the national maracuja harvest, consuming gallons of the delicious liquid.

Hammocks
You’ve not lived until you have to sleep in a hammock for several days in a row! The secret is all in how you lay in it — the angle is the key. If you don’t lie sideways you’ll never be able to get comfortable, much less sleep all night long. Once you “master” the process, they are amazingly comfortable.

Our crew did a fabulous job and turned their hammocks into true beds that hugged them like a bug in a rug. I heard no one complaining!

Churrasco
Churrasco is Portuguese for a barbeque. A “churrascaria” is a restaurant where the served meat is prepared in open grills. Most of these restaurants are all-you-can-eat serving of meat; the waiters will go around the restaurant with the skewers, slicing the meat on the client’s plate. This serving style is called “rodizio” and, to an American, is an unbelievable slice of heaven, especially after a week in Ubaúna!

I heard no complaints of being forced to endure a rodizio in Fortaleza on our last night in the country.