Blogs from Alagoas, Brazil, South America

VENTURING BEYOND MACEIO: Piaçabuçú e Foz do Sao Francisco During my trips to Maceio, I usually visit the same places, where our loved ones are. This time I was determined to start exploring a little beyond my usual surroundings. I had seen a picture of the dunes by where the San Francisco river and the Atlantic ocean meet and was determined to go take a peek during this trip to Maceio. We packed the car and left for the more than 3 hours drive by the coast. Along the way, we see green coconut groves, small fisherman homes. I was very glad to see, that although poverty is still seen, misery is not. Arriving to the town of Piaçabuçú was refreshing: the colorfully painted homes, cobble stone streets, kids playing around, the church towering high. The ... read more

Please click on the entry to see the full text and all photos. So it was on this day a year ago, June 14th2011 that I left Vegas and the States to start my South American odyssey. A whole year has passed and I can’t believe it. I know it sounds cliché, but it doesn’t seem like I have been away that long. I feel as if I could go on for a while longer. As a matter of fact, there are only 2 things keeping me from extending my odyssey. One is money. Hey the funds are running low (now if you want to donate to the Keep Dave Oliver Traveling Fund I do accept Visa and American Express). The second reason is I do have a job to go back to. If I did ... read more

Po wyczerpujacej przeprawie Amazonka dotarlismy do Belem gdzie zlapalismy autobus (12 godzin) do Teresina (podobno nagoretsze miejsce w Brazylii), nastepnie caly dzien wloczenia sie aby zlapac kolejny nocny autobus (kolejne 21 godzin) do miejscowosci - Natal, polozonej na upragnionym wybrzezu. Plaza, woda i palmy to cos co marzylo sie nam od kilku tygodni. Podczas 5 dniowej przeprawy Amazonka, zgralismy sie z kilkoma ososbami i okazalo sie dwoch kolesi: Brian i Alex zmierzali w tym samym kierunku wiec postanowilismy polaczys sily - razem zawsze razniej i weselej - takze stworzylismy mala grupke 4 gringos. Dojechalismy do Natal gdzie bylo juz ciemno a przed nami bylo szukanie noclegu. Alex zostal z bagazami z jednym z barow i reszta rozdzielila sie w poszukiwaniu czegos przyzwoitego. Kiedy z radoscia rozladowalismy toboly w uroczej ´posadzie´postanowilismy oblac meczaca przeprawe co zako... read more

The north east coast of brazil is soooo much fun! Beautiful!! -and brazilian culture is out of this world- people are so nice!!! So I arrived in maceio brazil to meet the most amazing women, my couchsurfing host, Vitoria, 65 retired vivacious professor of French. She picked me up from the bus station, made me a baked chicken dinner, made me a fantastic breakfast (all for free) and drove me to the beach to enjoy the next day. A truly terrific women, she was full of zest, life, and love. She had just fallen in love and been proposed to by her french boyfriend that had come from, and returned to, France. She inspired me when she told me about her life, and her long marriage that she left 12 years ago. Since then she’s had ... read more

After a long day of travel we headed to the closest town, Pão de Açucar, to spend the night. Carlos took us to a little pousada in the center of town - apparently the only one reliably operating. Pão de Açucar used to be a tourist destination for its colonial architecture and its location on the São Francisco River. In recent years, however, lack of maintenance of historical buildings and of economic opportunity have caused the town to crumble, literally and figuratively. Very few restaurants are open in the evenings, many pousadas have closed, and the once-festive beach-front area is shuttered by nightfall. It is worth mentioning that Pão de Açucar’s big tourist attraction is its Corcovado. That’s right - a big Jesus. Just like in Rio de Janeiro! According to Carlos’ friend Milton, who ... read more