Vamos nos orientar pela bússola e explorar a natureza.

Here vamos + infinitive means let’s ....

So vamos nos orientar means let’s get oriented / let’s find our bearings.

A few notes:

• vamos is the 1st person plural form of ir (to go)
• In Brazilian Portuguese, vamos + infinitive is a very common way to make a suggestion involving we
• The subject nós is usually omitted because the verb form already shows it

So the sentence is structured like:

• Vamos = let’s
• nos orientar = orient ourselves / find our bearings
• e explorar = and explore

Because orientar-se can be a reflexive verb: to orient oneself / to get oriented.

Here, nos means ourselves.

• me orientar = orient myself
• te orientar = orient yourself
• se orientar = orient oneself / himself / herself
• nos orientar = orient ourselves

So vamos nos orientar is literally something like let’s orient ourselves.

In natural English, that often becomes:

• let’s get our bearings
• let’s find our way
• let’s orient ourselves

Because orientar-se has the specific idea of figuring out direction, getting your bearings, or knowing where you are in relation to something.

That fits very well with bússola (compass).

Compare:

• orientar-se = to get oriented / find one’s bearings
• guiar = to guide / lead
• dirigir-se = to head toward / go toward
• navegar = to navigate

So orientar-se pela bússola means something like:

• to orient oneself using the compass
• to get one’s bearings by the compass

It sounds very natural in a context about nature, hiking, or navigation.

Pela is the contraction of:

• por + a = pela

So:

• pela bússola = by the compass, using the compass, or guided by the compass

In this sentence, por expresses the means or reference used to orient yourself.

Very similar patterns:

• guiar-se pelo mapa = guide oneself by the map
• orientar-se pelas estrelas = orient oneself by the stars
• julgar por aparências = judge by appearances

So pela bússola is not about physical movement through something. It means using the compass as your guide/reference.

Yes, com a bússola would be understandable, and it means with the compass.

But there is a nuance:

• com a bússola focuses on the instrument/tool
• pela bússola sounds more like using the compass as your point of guidance/reference

In Portuguese, orientar-se por or orientar-se pela is a very natural collocation.

So:

• Vamos nos orientar pela bússola = more idiomatic for let’s use the compass to get our bearings
• Vamos nos orientar com a bússola = understandable, but slightly less idiomatic in this exact structure

Because after vamos in this let’s construction, Portuguese uses the infinitive.

Pattern:

• vamos + infinitive

Examples:

• Vamos sair. = Let’s go out.
• Vamos comer. = Let’s eat.
• Vamos explorar. = Let’s explore.
• Vamos nos orientar. = Let’s orient ourselves.

So both verbs in the sentence stay in the infinitive:

• orientar
• explorar

This is completely normal.

In Brazilian Portuguese, vamos nos orientar is the more natural and common word order in everyday speech.

Both are grammatically possible, but they differ in style:

• vamos nos orientar = normal, modern Brazilian usage
• vamos orientar-nos = more formal, more typical of written or European-style placement

Brazilian Portuguese usually prefers the unstressed object pronoun before the infinitive in this kind of sentence.

So if you are learning Brazilian Portuguese, vamos nos orientar is the version you should focus on.

Because explorar is not reflexive here.

The sentence has two coordinated actions:

• nos orientar
• explorar a natureza

Only the first action needs the reflexive pronoun because orientar-se is reflexive in this meaning.

The second verb, explorar, simply takes a direct object:

• explorar a natureza = explore nature

So the structure is:

• Vamos nos orientar = Let’s orient ourselves
• e explorar a natureza = and explore nature

Because Portuguese uses definite articles more often than English.

So where English often says:

• explore nature

Portuguese commonly says:

• explorar a natureza

This is very normal in Portuguese, especially with broad or general nouns.

Other examples:

• Eu adoro o verão. = I love summer.
• Ela estuda a história do Brasil. = She studies the history of Brazil.
• Precisamos proteger a natureza. = We need to protect nature.

So the article does not necessarily mean a specific nature. It is just the natural Portuguese way to express the idea.

Yes, bússola is a feminine noun:

• a bússola
• pela bússola

The accent mark in bússola shows the stressed syllable:

• BÚS-so-la

Without getting too technical, Portuguese spelling uses accent marks to show stress when it does not follow the most predictable pattern.

So the accent helps indicate the correct pronunciation.

A careful pronunciation would be roughly:

VAH-mus nohs or-ee-en-TAR PEH-la BOOS-so-la ee eks-ploh-RAR a nah-too-REH-zah

A few useful pronunciation notes:

• Vamos: the a is open, and the final -os is lighter than in English
• nos: sounds like nohs
• orientar: the stress is on the last syllable, -tar
• pela: PEH-la
• bússola: stress on BÚS
• explorar: in Brazil, x here sounds like s in many pronunciations, so roughly esplorar
• natureza: stress on -re-, so na-tu-RE-za

If you want to sound natural, focus especially on the stress:

• va-MOS
• orien-TAR
• PE-la
• BÚS-so-la
• explo-RAR
• natu-RE-za

It sounds natural, clear, and slightly polished, but still perfectly normal.

It would fit well in contexts like:

• hiking
• camping
• outdoor activities
• educational material
• travel or nature-related conversation

A Brazilian speaker might also say more casual variations depending on context, for example:

• Vamos usar a bússola pra nos orientar e explorar a natureza.
• Vamos nos guiar pela bússola e explorar a natureza.

But your original sentence is absolutely good Brazilian Portuguese.