Yvanka

It's been such a long awaited trip, postponed so many times, that now I am finding it really difficult to convince myself that in less than a week I'm actually going to be there! It's difficult to explain what I feel, because it is such a strange mix of excitement and trepidation. One thing I am sure of: I'm going to love meeting Cuba's people! Even before my trip, thanks to Couchsurfing, I have already been in touch with the locals and their hospitality can be be felt from across the ocean... So really and truly I can summarise my expectations as being 2 mainly: 1) to enjoy the company of Cuban people and 2) to dance as much as I can! I have no doubt regarding the first and come on, how can the birthplace ... read more

We were supposed to take a night bus from Salvador to Recife, our next destination, but thanks to the help of the tourist agency in our hotel in Salvador (Hotel Pelourinho, really friendly staff!) we ended up buying a cheap flight ticket with Webjet. You can imagine our relief at being able to exchange a 16 hour bus ride for an hour's flight! Why Fernando do Noronha? Lonely Planet totally recommends the place, and it also made the UNESCO World Heritage list, but coincidentally, before travelling to Brazil I had read a very convincing article in a travel magazine. So as soon as we walked out of Recife's arrivals, we walked right back into a travel agency to check out availability, keeping in mind that our trip to Noronha was not included in our plans, meaning ... read more

After spending a relaxing weekend in São Paulo, soaking in the sun in Pareque Ibirapuera, getting to know Karene´s lovely family at their ´sitio´in the countryside and just spending some time with Karene, MOnday morning Samantha and I took the plane to Foz do Iguaçu - yet another UNESCO world heritage site. According to the Lonely Planet, ´A total of 275 individual falls occup an area more than 3 km wide and 80m high, which make them wider than Victoria, and higher than Niagra. Thousands of years before they were ´discovered´ by Europeans, the falls were a holy burial place for the Tupi-Guarani and Paraguas tribes.´ In fact, Iguaçu is the Tupi-Gurani name for ´Great Waters´. ´The falls are unequally divided between Brazil and Argentina, with Argentina taking the lion´s share.´ Our plan was to visit ... read more

For the first time in many years, I didn´t need to plan this year´s New Year´s Eve. Being Karene´s guest, I told her I´d be more than happy to just tag along with her and her friends. This meant spending a long weekend in Ubatuba, at her friend´s summer house. Ubatuba is a coastal city between São Paulo and Rio. We left São Paulo Friday afternoon and first made a brief stop in Guarulhos, Karene´s hometown, at her mum´s house. Her aunt was there to welcome us and cooked a delicious lunch and I also got to taste the most exquisite cake ever - bolo de mandioca! Then we picked up Karene´s boyfriend, and after a 4-hour car ride we finally arrived in Ubtauba, Lázaro´s beach to be more precise - as you will see from ... read more

Here I am again, 2 weeks before an incredible trip of 6 weeks... :) Last year it was Peru, this year it's Brazil... Oh how much I love South America, hehe... My friend, Samantha, and I had decided to visit Brazil last February after getting to know Karene, a Brazilian we met here in Malta studying English... quite a while ago.... and yet it feels like yesterday. The year has gone by so quickly and so much has been going on that the anticipation was so much less this time... which is great becase now I feel like it's all a dream... I don't quite feel as prepared as when I planned my trip to Peru... but I'm not worried.... I get to be more spontaneous this time and I have my friends to share the ... read more