Canela
This is a small town up in the Serra (mountains) about 110 kilometres from Sao Leopoldo.

Because of the beauty of the surrounding countryside, it is very much a tourist attraction. There is just one main street running through it and I have never seen so many gift shops and woollen sweater shops. Canela is cold during the winter! It was very cold while we were there - especially at night. There was a frost one night. This must be a common occurrence, but our hotel was too cold for comfort. Although its quite often cold in the south of Brazil, it seems that people put up with it rather than try and install effective heating. A bit like the way people in England fail to cope when - on rare occasions - it is just too hot.

The people in Canela are very proud of their cathedral which is right at the end of the main street. It is huge and seems too big for such a small place. In addition it is extremely gothic - not really to my taste - but the inside was much nicer than the outside and it was well worth seeing.

So although I found Canela interesting, I wouldn't rush to visit the town again, but the surrounding countryside I would. It was spectacular.