The bikinis, if used, are usually up to winds. When I was on the beach Florianopolis (south of Sao Paulo), it was 2 to 1 for bikinis, and rest with none. This was for an engineering conference and I had to give a presentation, but at least I got a day on a friends beach home.
Brazil certainly has a Portugese influence on the language, but the number of Europeans use Spanish, wich is close and understood.
Dick
Engineer and international traveler interested in construction techniques, problems and proper design.