Wow, Brazil's Green Coast, the "Costa Verde" is amazingly beautiful.......when the sun shines! We had a great few days in Paraty, soaking up the sun, chilling on a boat, but then our luck with the weather changed! Paraty is a wonderful place with a lovely historic centre. The cobbled streets are nice to look at but hellish on flip-flop-clad feet! At times of exceptionally high tides around full moons the streets even flood as the sea comes in. The postcards show incredible pictures of this phenomenon but we were a couple of weeks out of sync to see it. Paraty's beaches are okay but nothing special. Still, when all you want is an hour or two of sun, it's fine. Apparently nearby Trindade is much better but on the day we planned to go there we ... read more

We ended up staying almost a week in Sao Paulo. Our central location made it easy to get around and to get out of the city. To us it seemed like a spacious and more modern version of Buenos Aires, but without the tango and steak! At the heart of the city is the Edificio Altino Arantes, Sao Paulo’s answer to the Empire State Building. It is known locally as the Santander Tower and previously as the Banespa Tower after its current and former owners, both banks. It took us three attempts to go up to the viewing platform. The first two frustrated efforts were impossible because of large groups of schoolchildren! On our third try the weather was glorious and we were happy to have waited. Two lifts (you change on the 26th floor) take ... read more

Easter is taken quite seriously in Ouro Preto. In fact, they produce a whole programme of events for Semana Santa. It was a privilege being there and watching what goes on. Good Friday In the evening we got wind of a procession taking place. We followed the crowds out to the other side of town to one of the many churches dotted around. There we saw the church illuminated in somewhat garish yellow and green. Outside a huge stage had been erected for a recreation of the crucifixion, complete with Roman centurions and a large group of wingèd angels. It was like being at a pop concert or a political rally, but the sight of the candy floss sellers brought you back to Earth with a bump! The mass went on a long, long time and ... read more

We are staying in Ouro Preto, but that’s the next blog! From there you can take a wonderful steam train ride out to nearby Mariana on the Trem da Vale. It only operates on Friday, Saturday and Sunday so time your visit well! The trip begins at Ouro Preto train station which has been nicely restored and also houses a small museum. As well as various artefacts, there are interactive displays (also in English!) and a model railway for the real enthusiast. It’s only to see though, not to play with! You can, however, play with a variety of musical instruments in the “environmental-acoustic car”. The steam train, Smoky Mary, was built in the Czech Republic by Skoda but we didn’t quite catch how it ended up in Brazil. There wasn’t too much English commentary or ... read more

We took a touristy transfer service from Morros to Itacare. It was possible to do it by public transport but with no real saving in price and a lot more hassle, we bit the bullet and travelled Gringo class in a minibus! On arrival we were met by a team of touts all wanting us to stay with them. When offered a house near the sea for the princely sum of R$30 each (about £9) we were curious enough to take a look. A 4 bedroom house all to ourselves. It was nice, but in the middle of an area with lots of trees and therefore more than the odd mosquito. Still, it was less than 5 minutes to walk to the beach so who were we to complain?! The beach we were close to was ... read more