Blogs from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, South America - page 4

Post2: PASSAGENS AÉREAS: Para compra de passagens aéreas existem diversos sites que fazem comparativo de preços/horários/destinos. Procuramos logicamente por companhias "low cost" que fizessem vôos em aeroportos secundários. Para nossa surpresa, existem companhias "low cost" que fazem vôos para aeroportos centrais (melhores localizados e com mais opções de transporte) com preços realmente em conta. O melhor site acessado por mim (até por ser mais amigável) foi o MOMONDO (www.momondo.com). Outros úteis e também acessados: www.lastminute.com www.ryanair.com www.easyjet.com www.germanwings.com www.sas.com www.norwegian.com HOTÉIS: Disparado, o melhor site acessado foi o BOOKING (www.booking.com). Totalmente em português, o site classifica os hotéis por número de estrelas, distância do centro da cidade e possui ainda um ranking de pontuação dos hóspedes que usaram... read more

After our three week beach nirvana in Morro , we returned to Salvador for one night, to our not quite finished hostel, which was, not surprisingly, still being worked on. We were evicted from our room for a few hours while they installed a ceiling fan. I am convinced the entire country of Brazil is in some state of construction or rehab. They finally installed a mirror over the bathroom sink! We returned to Eric’s favorite luncheonette where they had a buffet of food sold by the kilo. We learned during our last visit that it was cheaper to order the plato freito - food from the buffet, but they chose what we ate, for only $4. It came with fried chicken, rice and beans, a salad, and spaghetti, all on one plate. I received my ... read more

We arrived in Porto Alegre at 11am and checked into the Marechal Hotel, only thing it had going for it was the all you can eat buffet next door! Boucs and I walked around the shops, then got a bus to the Total Shopping Centre where we also walked around for a bit, saw lots of cool little funky boutique stores and had some coffee and a slice of cheese cake - nice! Walked back into town via the soho area, then explored the little markets and fruit stalls. Visited the Museu de Arte do Rio Grande do Sul, which was a pretty cool art gallery. Visited the Parque Farroupila which was a nice little park which also had a zoo, but was closed by the time Boucs and I got there. We then grabbed a ... read more

We left Punta del Diablo having had a different but satisfying Christmas. Ahead of us lay our final month. Our last country, Brazil, the crazy one right at the end. We don't know anyone from Brazil, or even anyone who has been to Brazil, as far as we remember, so our knowledge of the country and its people comes from media and travel guides. Images of hotted headed South Americans, passion, danger, football, samba and so on filled our mind. After travelling for so long, we had developed a slight cockiness, we had managed to survive so far and have few problems, so despite its reputation, Brazil would be a breeze, or so we thought. It didn't start too well, the debarcle at Chuy gave us a slightly negative vibe, and a sense of uselessness and ... read more

Lads, I apologize for the belated blog post, the webmasters of the blog site even sent me an email asking if I’m still traveling, but this experience has been too rich to steal an hour or two for writing each day. I scratch notes if I’m lucky. In Brazil, I’ve caught myself on the verge of tears just thinking of what awesome friends I’m lucky enough to have (DC/NC/Br you know who I’m talking about (Ed in case you’re wondering you’re out)), what beauty there is to behold in life, and the human struggle that links us all no matter what country, language, religion, culture, or color. I’ve discovered a deep thirst for all things Brazilian. My father instilled a taste for traveling adventures when he took younger versions of my sisters and I on road ... read more