We were very excited about going to Bahia. I heard such amazing things about the beaches, music, culture, historic buildings etc. We arrived first in Salvador and were a little shell shocked at the size of the city and the poverty since we had been in small fishing villages for most of our traveling. We decided to check out Pelourinho which is the historic district that the city has tried really hard to clean up and restore. The buildings were beautiful but the poverty and begging was overwhelming especially if you are a blonde. We were harrassed constantly which definitely [View Full Entry]

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We were lucky to get some insider information about going to the Valley of Capao and hiking to the Valley of Pati. We didn't know much except it was supposed to be beautiful, cheap and include lots of hiking. Off we went on a seven hour bus ride and then a hitchiking adventure where I lost 5 years of my life. The bruises are still healing from the off roading adventure. The tiny mountain town was well worth the effort to get to. The best part though was the comida caseira from Dona Beli who's living room doubled as the [View Full Entry]

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Fernando De Noronha is beautiful no doubt but a few words of advice before going. Bring lots of money and rent a buggy. The island is not easy to walk around since it is extremely hot and very hilly. We learned after the first two days though that if we looked particularly desparate or Cristiano threw me out onto the highway we usually could pick up a ride to our next destination. Our first day we were able to break all sorts of island rules without even knowing it(or wanting to know it). The island is monitored by an environmental [View Full Entry]

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Beautiful Beaches South America » Brazil » Rio Grande do Norte » Pipa By Liz and Cristiano March 8th 2007 Liz Reid-Baumel Next Stop Natal and the surrounding beaches. Dunes, Red Sand, tropical beaches, and aqua wa [View Full Entry]

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We embarked on a month long journey around Brazil-Amazon, Northeast, Fernando De Noronha and Bahia. Our first stop was the Amazon. We arrived at our lodge(Amazonat) to the quick understanding that Cristiano was one of the only Brazilians that has been to the Amazon on vacation. I do have to admit that we weren't roughing it in the Amazon. There was an option to spend a night in a hammock in the middle of the jungle but we both opted to continue to sleep in our comfy cabin. This was the only part of the trip that we had planned [View Full Entry]

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Carnaval was an amazing experience. the lights, the costumes and the energy were contagious. We then headed to the South of Brazil for 10 days. We were blown away with the natural beauty, the warmth of the people and the overall vibe. We liked it soo much that we spent quite a bit of time looking at property. Sandra and Enrique were great hosts and we really enjoyed spending time with them and their friends in Praia Brava. We then headed to Floripa for two nights. Cristiano was able to track down and old friend from San Francisco and enjoyed spending [View Full Entry]

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A view into our tough life in Rio. We are off to the Sambadromo tonight for the Carnaval festivities. We will blog on soon!! Liz and Cristiano [View Full Entry]

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Minais Gerais-Ouro Preto, Conginhas, Belo Horizonte and Tiradentes Highlights: Charming towns and people rainforest and waterfalls beautiful architecture Local cuisine Things to work on: signs on the roads. Who knew there is an ouro branco and preto. pot holes. One tire lost and several near misses Their Beans. Delicious but very offensive to anyone around you. We are headed down South tomorrow morning for ten days. Feliz Carnaval to everyone! Liz and Cristiano [View Full Entry]

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4 days of hiking and several blisters later we traversed a good portion of ilha grande. The island is 60 sq miles. It is one of the remaining places you can see mata atlantica which is the true vegetation of the atlantic coast. We loved it here. The combination of rainforest with beautiful beaches and crystal clear water was amazing. The island was laid out with hiking paths that take you between all the different beaches, waterfalls, sights. There is nothing like hiking for several hours and being very hot and hungry to stumble upon a deserted beach and then have [View Full Entry]

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We made it safe and sound to Brazil after 18 hours of traveling and 18 hours of frustration with United. We arrived at the airport to find out that United had cancelled my ticket out of the system for no reason. Luckily they found seats for me but we had to switch around on each flight to sit near each other. Cristiano's mom had cooked us a great lunch when we arrived and I got familiarized with their condo complex that has a gym, yoga, pools, tennis etc. today we are at Cristiano's uncle and aunt's house for lunch. We are [View Full Entry]

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