Blogs from Brazil, South America - page 555

“Don’t let go,” she whispers wistfully in my ear. I smile. I’m overtaken with a vision to stay with this girl. Make love to her on the spartan hostel bed. It has been a month since someone has looked at me like this. But. I shake free. Move towards her friend. Take her close with an awkward air between us. Wave to the hostel manager. Grab my bag. My muscled strain as I pull it to my back. Outside it is drizzling. A woman walks a small dog and chats to her friend. I pass the corner bar. Think for a second about ordering one more capirinha. Decide against it. Turn onto Rua Gasteo de Cunha. The sea is far off, shrouded in grey. I can barely see the hills jutting from the ocean. I squint. ... read more

Ahhh!!! I found heaven on earth, and it is called Chapada Diamantina! From a very charming town, Lencois, remaining from the diamond mining era, I took a 3-day hike in to the natural reserve - 3 days filled with stunning views, waterfalls, swimming and diving, rivers, hiking, wild animals and sleeping in caves. It all started last Friday when Team Blonde (named by the only brunette in the group) went on a 3-day hike with Augosto and Serginho (ahhh... another one of those unbelievably gorgeous Brazilian hunks that you can't stop staring at) in Chapada Diamantina. The first day we started out by seeing Cachoeira da Fumaca (Smokey Waterfall) from above, sliding out on a rock, watching the amazing waterfall, the water disappearing in the wind before it travels the 420 m down to the pool ... read more

So as you may have gathered Heather has headed home. Last Saturday she headed back to La pAz and I continued on for a few more weeks. I was very sad to see her go. What Heather didn´t mention was that Bolivian night clubs are an interesting place where they seem to only play late 70s and early 80s disco music (OK yes I was in heaven...). What interested me most was that they don´t know the YMCA dance...we tried in vain to teach many of them...but they didn´t get it. Wierd! Our compact group of hardy travellers - now down to 3 tourists and 2 guides headed for Brazil. We caught a flight (AirSur who gets reject planes from Mexico) to Santa Cruz before catching the so called train of death. As a brief aside ... read more

Leaving behind the modern city of Maceió I planned to catch a bus to Praia da Pipa, a hip beach town boasted as one of the coolest in the country. Again, the bus had other plans. On my Maceió-Natal bus, I had to get off at a small town an hour or so from Natal and grab a taxi to the coast. (Busses have a main route, but stop at many cities in between, or whever you ask them to drop you off on the road.) Unfortunately, we passed my stop quite early in the morning, aaaand, I slept right through it. No worries, I got to Natal and figured I´d the city before backtracking to Pipa. (It was actually cheaper this way anyway.) Natal (meaning ´Christmas´) was supposed to be a fun city with good ... read more

It’s ninety-six degrees today and I’m sweating like a menopausal female. The air is humid, almost like being in a greenhouse. It’s two in the afternoon and the sun has been up for hours. The day is almost over, in four more hours the sun will go down. It’s another day in Brazil. I slice open a papaya in the kitchen and smile to myself. Sweet tropical bliss. Everytime I cut a mango, guava or papaya, I am confronted with a wave of joy. Two women chatter and laugh in the open kitchen across from ours. All of the kitchens here have permanently open windows. It allows for a communal type of living where nothing is truly private. Smells of lunch waft throughout the air from one kitchen to the next. Bright torquise, gold and ... read more