As you may notice the chronological order of our blogs are tough to follow and that is because while in brazil, rio was our safe haven to take week long road trips from. Again, the Geyer family took great care of us at their home on the very mountain corcovado stands. Surrounded by lush jungle on the hillside, we were spoiled with a wonderful breakfast every morning complete with the strong brazilian coffee i came to love...well, it was more of an addiction. We birdwatched and fed monkeys off the balcony with the help of our favorite super dog..miguelito!!..a brief [View Full Entry]

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okay...and we are back!! thanks for joining us for another installment of "Where have i seen that outfit before??"... yes, yes..a backpacker rarely stresses over what to wear each day....lack of options remedy this...and luckily beach settings don~t warrant much clothing. so, enjoy the pictures of florianopolis which is a southern island of brazil that is actually home to a pretty good size city but more importantly...miles of surrounding beaches. yes, there is a theme to our brazil destinations. outside florianopolis city lies little beach towns that cater to the seasonal tourists but outside of the summer months...only the locals [View Full Entry]

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ahhhh...brazil. for all of you that have never been to this unique country i suggest you rent the SIMPSONS IN BRAZIL episode or check it out here: (http://s25.quicksharing.com/v/8503513/The_Simpsons_Go_to_Brazil.mpg.html) thanks to Alberto...it gives you a glimpse of the stereotypical qualities that make this place so different from anywhere else in the world. After enjoying a short week in rio...which we will post soon...we headed north to the small beach lined peninsula of buzios. this weekend and summer hot-spot for the brazilians and argentines has changed greatly since i (shane) was here last in '03. the one street of vendors and restaurants [View Full Entry]

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With the southern most reaches of the world being so inaccessible and desolate at it is....we decided to jump aboard the Norwegian Crown on a two week voyage around the tip of S. America. We have aided you all in the geographical aspect of the cruise with an attached map and fun pictures and when you hear the cruise horn blow...turn the page... so read along kids!!! bawoooooo!!! all aboard!!..okay, okay...i'll stop. We started in Valparaiso, Chile and headed south down the coast to some smaller towns thriving from the forestry, fishing, and salmon farm industries. The towns of Puerto [View Full Entry]

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Recovering from the vineyards of Mendoza, we passed back over the andes and welcomed the relaxed beach town feel of Valparaiso and its neighboring town, Vina del Mar. atop the steep hillsides perched colorful houses and the winding sidewalks were fun to stroll around... we found ourselves laughing at the local traffic jams made up of horseback riders weaving their way through the cars and dogs (of which there are roughly 7000 strays in the city). valparaiso and it's neighboring coastal towns have a long and winding coastline that reminds one of cruising along the pacific coast highway in california....the [View Full Entry]

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Apologies - currently unable to restore. If you have a backup please edit this entry and save/publish. There is a small possibility that this entry will be restored - only small. [View Full Entry]

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we have found that one of the most difficult things to accomplish and decide on is where exactly will be the next destination of our travels...i know, cry me a river. it´s true though, we find ourselves sitting in cafes pleading our cases to eachother why one attraction or city will be better than the next. this was however not the case with peru and machu picchu ..we knew we had to visit this country. we arrived in lima and found our way to the beach side of the city where tourism was in full swing... also, it gave us our [View Full Entry]

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Although we were warned about the dangers of caracas, we were happy to find it free of tourists which allowed us to really soak up this politically charged country. for months, we had seen the defiant el presidente chavez shake his fists in the face of democracy and we were eager to see life from inside.....how locals had been "touched" by his social reforms. one thing was clear...his campaign and propoganda budget had no limits. it was impossible to turn your head in any direction without seeing his face plastered on either a wall, tree, bridge, car, bus,..you get the picture. [View Full Entry]

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The advice to visit Santa Marta was much appreciated! A small tourist town with nice beaches and friendly locals. We were happy to meet Jose, our waiter, our first night when we ate at Ricky´s where we got the local scoop on places to go and things to see. Our days at Santa Marta were busy exploring the beaches, restaurants and local festivies. Although we had to adjust to the sight of soldiers on every corner with machine guns day and night, we learned to appreciate the safety and serenity of a town that protected its tourists at all times. After [View Full Entry]

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After hearing from more than a few folks that it wasn´t a good idea to cross the border into Colombia via bus or anything else touching the ground..we decided to fly into Cartagena....a short little flight all of an hour...and trust me, when they price the tickets..they know you have few option..ouch!! We managed to arrive in Old Town Cartagena, surrounded by huge cement walls, complete with mounted cannons...this city is magnificent. The architecture and homes inside were amazing and we had former drug czar Pablo Escabar´s vacation home and Julio Englesis summer home near by. All the architecure was [View Full Entry]

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