"Do you know what this is?" asked my new friend Lydia. I looked at it closely. It seemed like hundreds of seeds or nuts that had been strug together in a large bracelet. I guesed from the range of other musical instruments that it sat amongst it had somethinkg to do with music. I shook it and it made a jangling sound like a bag full of bottle tops. "They are made from the nails of cows and it is called a Marraca". Lydia has recently retired from the role of Director of Argentinian music at the Sydney Opera House. She [View Full Entry]

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The bus was dirty and old. I sweltered in the heat. My legs sticking to the vinyl seats. Every window was open but the hot breeze only served to loosen the dirt on the dust enrusted windows and lodge it up your nose or in your mouth. I consoled myself that the journey was only a couple of hours but after the comparitive luxury of the yacht we had just stepped off it seemed like a cumbersome trip. While the sweat dripped from my brow and my tongue was parched I sipped daintaly on my water. A quick transition betwen boat [View Full Entry]

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I reclined on the stern of the boat, beer in hand, shoes off and gazed out to sea at the beautfiul tropical islands. Next to me hugging my teddy sat Cainha, the young daughter of Pedro, a Portugese guy who ran a bar on the island of Illha Grande. We had come to meet Pedro and his lovely daughter on the bus from Rio. He was out of water and needed some. We had water but nowhere to stay on the island so we cut a deal. He led us to a fabulous 40 foot schooner that his friend owned and [View Full Entry]

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A gringo's guide to joining in Carnival Taking part in the parade..... 1. Order the craziest costume you can find on the internet and have it delivered to your hotel along with the words to the samba song (in portugese) and instructions that you must learn it 2. Spend an hour getting dressed from head to toe in outlandish feathers, sequins and exploding orange colour 3. Adorn a massive and heavy headress, enourmous shoulder lapels and a hoop skirt and then try and fit two of you in an elevator 4. Fall out of the elevator much to the delight of [View Full Entry]

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We watched the crowd from the balcony of a steamy club on the first night of carnaval. The mass of people swayed and heaved and stretched as far as you could see. The humid temperature making it too hot to be inside, the party spilled from bars and clubs onto the street. Music thumped from every direction. Across the street, the Arches of Lapa are lit up and the massive plaza is full of young people standing around chatting and dancing. Vendors sell alcohol at ridiculously cheap prices. You can drink anywhere and anything. Welcome to Merry Making in Lapa a [View Full Entry]

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Peering out the window of our 12th floor apartment on Copacabana beach we can see a stretch of coastline that usually adorns the computer screen saver of office workers. Mountains that sink into the sea, wide boulevards lined with palm trees, white sandy beaches dotted with coloured umbrellas and people splashing in the cool atlantic ocean. There is a massive market selling futbol shirts, buffalo hand bags, an assortment of handicrafts, fairy floss, bikins, masks and of course Havianas. Along the beach, touts sell sliced watermelon, cold beers, prawns!, sunglasses sarongs, blow up paddle [View Full Entry]

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