Espirito Santo

Introduction

Espírito Santo is one of the states of southeastern Brazil, often referred to by the abbreviation "ES". The name of the state means literally "holy spirit" after the Holy Ghost of Christianity.

Geography

With 46,180 square kilometres, it is about the size of Estonia, or half the size of Portugal, and has a variety of habitats including coastal planes, lakes, mountainous forests, mangroves and many others. The islands of Trindade and Martim Vaz, 715 kilometres east of Vitória in the southern Atlantic Ocean, also belong to Espírito Santo state. The state can be divided into two areas: the low lying coastline and the highland area known as Serra (including the 2,890-metre high Pico da Bandeira mountain), which is part of the larger Serra do Caparaó, the Caparaó Highlands.

Cities

• Vila Velha - the largest city
• Vitoria (Brazil) - the capital

Weather

Espírito Santo's climate is tropical along the coast, with dry winters and rainy summers. North of Doce River is generally drier and also hot. In the mountainous regions in the south and southwest of the state, the tropical climate is strongly influenced by altitude, and the average temperatures are colder.

Getting There

By Plane

Eurico de Aguiar Salles Airport (VIX) offers flights to/from [[Belo Horizonte, Campinas, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador da Bahia, Brasilia, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Campos dos Goytacazes, Cuiabá, Goiânia, Gov. Valadares, Ilhéus, Ipatinga and Macaé.

Eat

• Caranguejada - a local stuffed crab dish.
• Moqueca Capixaba - a delicious seafood stew cooked in a traditional clay pot. This version in milder than the Bahiana version because it does not contain dende oil.
• Torta Capixaba

External Links

• Official Governmental Website