Blogs from Brazil, South America - page 646

To all our adoring fans, we are still alive, and well too. The reason for the dearth of Travelblog entries over the past few weeks is that we've been busy, very busy in fact. I will begin with the most exciting and interesting article first to keep you interested, and fill in the gaps with the other places we've been to at a later date, for those who insist on 100% coverage. In one line though (current status): We're in New Zealand, with a van. Weather and people nice. Rio de Janeiro I've titled this article "The Marvelous City" because that is the translated name given to Rio de Janeiro by those in the know. I can confirm that the title is a true and accurate description of Rio (I will henceforth call it, simply, 'Rio' ... read more

firstly apologies for the delay in posting... but its hard to find the time to write this up!! we went from rio up to manaus which is a town in the amazon. from there we went to a floating lodge actually in the jungle... and i think i speak for all of us when i say that we had the best time! we stayed there for 2 nights and we slept in hammocks and 3 of the walls of the lodge were open, was very different! we met sooo many nice people from all over the world and when u start talking to them its like u have known them for years! the guides we had were fantastic and could speak english and the food was ok... they prepared veggie food for us especially but always ... read more

ola' todo bem, (hello, how are you) Today celebrates our our first week in brazil and we feel like little sponges soaking up everything possible. Right now we are at a place called the "Sitio" which is a mountian home of our friends that we have been visiting in brazil. It is a beautiful house in the middle of a valley near the city of petroplis. Prior to coming to Sitio we spent 6 glorious days wondering around Rio and discovering its many wonderful places. One of the days we did as so many cariocas (what people from rio known as) do, and spent the day at the beach both of getting a bit to much sun. On another, we walked for about 7 hrs around a giant lagoon and then to the Jardim Botanical which ... read more

After a disappointing "scenic" train journey from Curitiba we hopped on a bus to Paranagua to get a boat to Honey Island or Ilha do Mel. On the way we met up with an Australian guy and an American girl who were staying at the same hostel as us, the Hostel Zorro in Encantadas town. As it was raining on the island when we arrived (it seems to rain more than it does in Ireland in Brazil at this time of the year) we decided to play a drinking game that Becky, the American 21 year-old university student, devised. Two bottles of cachaca (pron. cashasa, Brazillian firewater used in caipirinhas) went down surprisingly quickly and meant the next day was pretty much a write-off. Becky was up and about for breakfast at about 8am, knocking on ... read more

Our home in Salvador is pure luxury - a hotel room overlooking Praca da Se, in the Pelhourino district, Brazillian´s consider as the home of music and culture. The sights are picturesque with cobbled streets, colourful buildings and smiling friendly faces. My office-conditioned body finds the days tough, so we spend the day lazily strolling the streets in anticipation of the precarnaval street party! We head out at about 6pm and we can already hear drums through the streets. There are open air concerts in the plazas, stalls on the street (selling every possible cocktail) and people everywhere. At last, I am able to dance in Brazil! Poor dan was feeling a little under the weather, and a little out of place (people seem to think I am Brazillian, so manage to blend in), but I ... read more