http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Dan-and-Gina/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Dan and Gina en-us Thu, 24 Dec 2009 10:23:46 +0000 Thu, 24 Dec 2009 10:23:46 +0000 Next stop Palmas capital of the newly formed Tocantins state and a city created only 20 years ago. The city is set in a beautiful location next to a river with mountains as a backdrop. Only one thing there doesnt actually seem to be that many people living there. We walked around the centre during the day hardly any people no cars on the road it was completely bizarre like a ghost http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Tocantins/Palmas/blog-14957.html So from Belem we got on a riverboat and headed three hours up the Amazon to the Ilha de Maraj. The island is slightly larger than Switzerland and famous for two things buffalo which thrive in the swamp conditions and the scarlet guara birds we encountered in Cabure. Grassy streets where the buffalo roam beaches miles and miles of green make this a truly beautiful island and we had a fanta http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Par-/Ilha-de-Maraj-/blog-14953.html From So Luis a thirteen hour bus took us to Belem. It really does have the feel of the oldest Amazon port. We had a cool time in Belem we visited the beautiful botanical gardens where they have a large amount of animals some live in cages which we didnt like most didnt which is much better . It was also where we saw the peixeboi Amazonian manatee a weird river animal and very rarely http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Par-/Bel-m/blog-14950.html From the tranquility and beauty of the small towns on the coast we made our way 4 hours north to our next stop So Luis. We were looking forward to the city because of the historic centre where a number of buildings have been restored. Well its true that some have indeed been restored but its also true that most havent. The Lonely Planet describes So Luis as one of Brazils architectural gems http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Maranh%E3o/S%E3o-Luis/blog-14855.html From Paulinho Neves we went about an hour up the beach to Cabure. Normally this wouldnt be a major event however we hired a local guy to take us in his buggy he was cheaper than the rest on the journey we discovered why he basically couldnt drive on sand which is kind of a key criteria for driving along the beach at reasonable high speeds After nearly throwing us out of the buggy twice http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Maranh%E3o/Barreirinhas/Cabur-/blog-14853.html From Tatajuba we travelled up the coast passing through Camocim eyesore Parnaiba nothing there and Tutoia really grim and eventually ended up in a small town called Paulinho Neves. We werent really sure what to expect we knew it was a small fishing town on the banks of a river but it was much much better than just that Paulinho Neves is the entrance to the small Lencois sand dune http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Maranh%E3o/Paulino-Neves/blog-13326.html So having had enough of city living we decided that it was time to leave Fortaleza and head out to Jericoacoara 4 hours up the coast by a mixture of minibus and 4x4. Our guide describes Jeri as a small tranquil beach villiage and it is really beautiful with the most amazing stars at night the only problem being that it did seem to be a bit of a tourist trap with expensive boutiques lini http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Cear-/Jericoacoara/blog-12236.html So from the beauty and tranquility of Lencois we headed off to the city of Fortaleza. I suppose you could call it the Benidorm of Brazil huge skyscraper hotels right on the waterfront. Even though it wasnt what you would call picturesque it did have a really pleasent atmosphere with lots of markets along the seafront. We didnt do a great deal there though we did go out on a schooner for a co http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Cear-/Fortaleza/blog-12232.html Ok after a month travelling its about time that we added a new journal We flew very posh and not at all traveller like we know to Salvador and after spending a day or two mooching round the Pelorinho headed for some tranquility at Lenois.Lenois is the gateway to the Chapada Diamantina National Park which is a vast expanse of waterfalls rock formations canyons and tabletop mountain http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Bahia/Len-is/blog-11373.html After the wedding our English friends and family stayed in Brazil for a further couple of weeks. We had a great time doing not a great deal eating drinking swimming and getting excessively bitten by the local mosquitos. One day we headed out to Eco Point in Ilha Bela and did a rather taxing assault course me the wife Eve and Steve came back to the pool where Mum and Dad were relaxing http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/blog-8671.html Ok so this is not going to be your typical travellers blog. On the 9th April 2005 me and Gina got married on the Ilha Bela. As a lot of our friends and family couldnt make the journey to Brazil we thought that we would add this diary so that we could tell you about the most perfect of days. Where to start all the planning preparing and worrying paid off in style. The day went perfectly. We b http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Sao-Paulo/Ilhabela/blog-8620.html From Foz we ventured up the coast to the small riverside town of Paranagua. From there we headed out to Ilha de Superagui which has only around 350 inhabitants all of them fishermen. Action packed days arent really what the island caters for which made it perfect for us. Hardly any backpackers long sandy beaches and nothing to do all day but swim chat play cards and enjoy the beauty o http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/blog-8434.html We know there are hundreds of blogs on here from Foz de Iguazu so one more wont make any difference Its actually been a while since we were there there have been a few developments since then but all the details will follow in other blogs. So onto Foz well imagine Jurassic Park but without the dinosaurs imagine rainforests and the most beautiful waterfalls in the world and you are http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Paran-/Foz-do-Igua-u/blog-8432.html As we are now about to leave Sao Paulo for the Bolivian rainforest we thought we should try and get this online journal up and running Sao Paulo has been a wonderful place to see before coming here We had read reports of a ugly sprawling metropolis smeared with graffiti and crime. However this only represents one part of this vast city. We have found it to be alive with noise and colour t http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/blog-2385.html As well as spending most of our time in Sao Paulo we have also visited Ilha Bela. It really is a wonderful island and we enjoyed 3 weekends at the Conde de Mar pousada just chilling swimming eating and drinking. The island has sandy beaches atlantic rainforest and impressive mountains. It was great place to relax and take it real easy I think the finishing touch was having birthday bbq for http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/blog-2388.html So having left Bolivia we returned to Brazil and booked ourselves on a 6 day trip to the Pantanal. For those of you that dont know the Pantanal is a huge wetland in the centre of South America spread across Brazil Bolivia and Paraguay its half the size of France and the largest inland wetland on Earth. It is an amazing place for seeing animals We booked to stay at a Fazenda farm right http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/blog-3905.html Hi all As we havent updated our journals for ages we thought we better get it done We spent xmas in Copacabana on the shores of Lake Titicaca which although pleasent was somewhat hampered by Ginas severe altitude sickness and Dans more than mild altitude sickness Not fun You can hardly walk for more than 5 mins without feeling dizzy and out of breath Lake Titicaca was good if Im http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/La-Paz-Department/Copacabana/blog-3904.html Hello all Well it has been a while since our last entry so we thought it high time that we updated you on our current whereabouts Well we arrived in Santa Cruz after a 12 hour train journey from Quijjaro just over the border Bolivian trains are an experience but all in all it wasnt too bad Having spent a day coming to grips with the severe culture shock we had great fun primarily as http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/blog-2630.html