I heard someone say he wanted to make oifficial-looking stickers to place on the wall of an elevator saying, "7 Button Does Not Work. Please Press 3 + 4."
Carnaval is only half of that. They have uncontrollable crowds of extremely friendly people.
OK, I'll grant you that. Carnaval is NOT relaxing... :^)
To experience true relaxation, Brazilian style, check out my album on Boipeba Island. This is a place where there are no cars, no roads and no locks on the doors and windows of the "Bed and Breakfast" (Brazilians call it a Poussada). You hop out of the boat when it pulls up to the beach and the driver hands your luggage over to the taxi driver. The "taxi" is a wheel barrow. They cart your stuff down the beach and you follow on foot. It's not a problem since the walk is only 5-10 minutes and the beach is beautiful. The Poussada sits is not visible from the beach -- just a set of stairs leading up into the mata (jungle). Once under the forest canopy, your eyes are greeted by a scene out of Robinson Caruso, except the part of Friday is played by a bevy of beautiful Brasileiras offering to bring you a beverage as you relax in a hammock between towering palms while other helpers scurry back and forth carting your gear to your room.
Evening meals consist of fish that was caught within the hour, fruit and salad plucked from the forest just long enough ago to cut and chill over a bed of ice and unbelievable salads and deserts. Breakfast is a veritable feast of eggs, sliced meats, fresh fruits of every imaginable variety, home made breads and little cakes, and fried creations made from manioc, tapioca and so on. Lunch was served at a floating bar/disco/restaurant a few miles out from the Poussada (the place looked pretty shabby but the food was excellent and the drinks were ice cold).
BTW, a couple of years ago I teased you by posting a link to a picture of a run-down fishing boat that I jokingly dubbed the "SS Jiminex" (apologies for the rudeness). That boat was one of a group plying the bay that leads from Boipeba to the nearest mainland town. The tourist boats are mostly schooners, a few small power boats and a number of pontoon boats. They come over from Morro de Sao Paulo (a famous and very busy beach resort on the nearby island of Tinhare) and from the capital city of Salvador across the huge Bahia de Todos os Santos (Bay of All Saints) where I have a condo.
We took the whole family to Boipeba for a long weekend several years ago to celebrate my birthday. I hope to have time for a second visit next time I go down. That will be my fifteenth (and possibly final) trip to my beloved second country. We'll see how all that works out.
Friends have also asked me to go island hopping to the Bahamas via private plane (several are pilots). IIRC, you've got a degree of experience there. Any recommendations?