Blogs from Brazil, South America - page 4

Friday 3rd Feb - Thursday 9th Feb 2023 With amazingly timed flights, we were sat a mere 10minutes at the arrivals side of Rio’s big airport before our friend, Charlotte, caught us up. All a little tired and sweaty but happy and excited, the time instantly flew by, as we chatted away whilst catching an Uber, finding our AirBnB apartment, working out we should not touch the shower head if we don’t want a shock, and enjoying a cup of tea. All this talking and planning for her to meet us at the end of our travels and here we all were together, in the huge city of Rio, Brazil. Amazing stuff. With 6 nights here we wanted to do as much as we could but at an enjoyable pace, which meant not leaving too early ... read more

Most of you folks are aware Sheila suffered a stroke at the Falcon's game on 20 November. Yes, this has not been a pleasant experience, but this stout Bird continues to make progress through her hard work. She now walks with the aid of Bella (her name for the purple cane) in secure places or with a rollator (and, of course, Bird demands we supply the rollators name, which is Rosie) in locations with many people. About a year ago we made plans for a trip down south. After the stroke we anticipated cancellation would be required. However, every neurologist (four of them) indicate she is perfectly capable of taking the trip and, in fact, should go. Yes, of course, we are making significant modifications. We will not independently access the various sights. Rather, we are ... read more

Prima o poi doveva accadere. Mai però avrei pensato che sarebbe successo proprio ora, dopo lunghi anni di onorata carriera "sulla strada". Cosa? Sono scappato! Sono scappato a gambe levate da una città perchè rischiavo letteralmente di farmela sotto. No, non sto parlando di uno di quei terribili attacchi di inferno intestinale che mi hanno puntualmente accompagnato durante i miei viaggi, ma di pura e semplice paura! Tutto è accaduto a San Paolo... Per pigrizia (sveglia tarda) e sfortuna (maxi ingorgo autostradale), arriviamo in città che è ormai sera e decidiamo quindi saggiamente di utilizzare un taxi per spostarci dalla stazione degli autobus di Tiete, situata in periferia, al nostro hotel che, trattandosi probabilmente di uno dei più economici di tutto il continente, è situato poco lontano dalla stazione ferroviaria Luz, in pieno centro. Bene, tutti ... read more

This blog and more photos are available on my website https://heatherjasper.com/brazil/salvador This coastal city of almost 3 million people is full of beaches, history, music, and delicious food. I loved everything about it: the food, the music, the beaches, and even the museums. Salvador is a giant sprawl of different neighborhoods, each with its own name and feel. Most neighborhoods are either very rich or very poor, with a few falling somewhere in the middle. Still, most of the city is economically and racially divided. I stayed in Barra, within walking distance of the beach. It’s a residential part of town with a few good restaurants. North up the coast from Barra is Rio Vermelho, which has tons of great restaurants, bars, and nightlife. The most touristy part of town is Pelourinho, which you can read ... read more

This blog and more photos are available on my website. https://heatherjasper.com/brazil/lencois Lençóis is one of the most adorable little towns I’ve ever seen. It’s very much a tourist town, where streets are empty during the day when most visitors are out on tours of the waterfalls and caves. There are dozens of quaint restaurants and even more boutique hotels and quaint bed & breakfasts. It has a half dozen corner shops but no real grocery stores. Souvenir shops tend towards handmade crafts and art. Lençóis is also the best town from which to base your explorations of Chapada Diamantina. There are over a dozen local tour agencies in Lençóis, as well as an association of guides which offers much lower prices than the tour agencies. I did all my tours with ZenTur, a fantastic ... read more