Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Argentina!
After a few tears and our wallets telling us it was time to move on (as Brazil is the most expensive place to be in South America) we finally made our way out of Brazil and in to Argentina.
Ipanema, Rio
We travelled back to Rio just for one day, as a stop over before heading to Argentina. Was lovely to be back, although instead of staying in Copacabana we stayed in Ipanema, which is a little bit more up market. The streets were filled with fancy cafes and posh shops. If only we could have been rich for the day!!!
Saquerema
After kim falling to the floor like a sack of potatoes with her ruck sack on her back we finally made it to our Hostel in Saquerema. It was right on the beach, you could see and hear the waves from our room. We had the sweetest woman at our hostel who looked after us, told us all about her life and family and even drove us to the bus station when we left.
The beach seemed to stretch for miles and only ever had a few people on it. We spent many hours on it just chilling and watching people surf... they were brilliant. But the water there was freezing and some of the waves were massive, think we are going to wait until we get to Oz before we master the art of surfing.
The beach seemed to stretch for miles and only ever had a few people on it. We spent many hours on it just chilling and watching people surf... they were brilliant. But the water there was freezing and some of the waves were massive, think we are going to wait until we get to Oz before we master the art of surfing.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Buzios
Famously known as the St. Tropez of Brazil. Questionable? We only ended up spending two nights and one day here as the weather was terrible and it was not going to improve. Looking past the torrential rain we could see the potential of this pretty town. It is very wealthy, with plenty of posh shops and restaurants, which we were sure to make the most of. We both treated ourselves to a couple of fancy meals, consisting of steaks, seafood and even indulged in a couple of desserts. All of this still only costing less than ten pounds each... fantastic!
Morro de Sao Paulo
Probably the most fantastic, gorgeous and spectacular island ever with the most amazing people, beaches, and way of life. Can you tell we enjoyed ourselves here?
After salvador we followed recommendations and took a boat to Morro de Sao Paulo. What we thought was just going to be a pleasant day on a little beach, turned out to be a few surreal days of paradise. From our hostel we walked through the streets, which were covered in soft golden sand and headed towards the beaches. We strolled along the first beach which was beautiful, letting the clear warm water splash over our feet. As we ventured further we discovered the other four beaches, which stretched for miles!!!!!! Our favourite spot was on the fourth beach, the biggest out of the five, the water was shallow and calm, with only the odd local selling coconuts to disturb you. Horse and carriage rides trotted by, while others rode their horses along the beach front. After our constant bad luck with the weather we were more than pleased to start bronzing ourselves.
In the evenings we made ourselves at home at Toca; the sunset bar. It was far up in the hills, where you would spend a few hours after the beach watching the sunset and listening to the DJ playing chillout music.
The locals here were fascinating to talk to, their way of life is incredible. They really appreciate their natural surroundings, using wheelbarrows to transport things across the island, and telling the time by the sun only, we fell in love with the simplicity of their life. We were told to throw our watches away as time was irrelevant, you eat when your hungry, sleep when your tired, and dance when you want to party!
We were almost in tears when we had to leave, but on our journey back down to the south of Brazil we came up with a plan! We WILL return and set up our own cocktail bar, living the dreamful life of Morro de Sao Paulo.
After salvador we followed recommendations and took a boat to Morro de Sao Paulo. What we thought was just going to be a pleasant day on a little beach, turned out to be a few surreal days of paradise. From our hostel we walked through the streets, which were covered in soft golden sand and headed towards the beaches. We strolled along the first beach which was beautiful, letting the clear warm water splash over our feet. As we ventured further we discovered the other four beaches, which stretched for miles!!!!!! Our favourite spot was on the fourth beach, the biggest out of the five, the water was shallow and calm, with only the odd local selling coconuts to disturb you. Horse and carriage rides trotted by, while others rode their horses along the beach front. After our constant bad luck with the weather we were more than pleased to start bronzing ourselves.
In the evenings we made ourselves at home at Toca; the sunset bar. It was far up in the hills, where you would spend a few hours after the beach watching the sunset and listening to the DJ playing chillout music.
The locals here were fascinating to talk to, their way of life is incredible. They really appreciate their natural surroundings, using wheelbarrows to transport things across the island, and telling the time by the sun only, we fell in love with the simplicity of their life. We were told to throw our watches away as time was irrelevant, you eat when your hungry, sleep when your tired, and dance when you want to party!
We were almost in tears when we had to leave, but on our journey back down to the south of Brazil we came up with a plan! We WILL return and set up our own cocktail bar, living the dreamful life of Morro de Sao Paulo.
Salvador
The music capital of Brazil with an afro-caribbean culture!
We arrrived on the tuesday night which happened to be the party night of salvador, after only a couple of hours we found ourselves in the centre of the action. Every street we walked down there were drums banging, guitars playing and men dancing. There were crowds everywhere with locals meeting up and choreographing their own routines, what would start off with two or three people dancing would end up with ten or more. The atmosphere was incredible. We sampled a few of their cocktails made from fruits of the amazon, after which we found our hips wiggling and our shoulders swaying to the beats of the drums! After a few nights we were able to follow their routines and feel like a true local.
By day you can appreciate the citys beautiful architecture, whilst the atmosphere in the streets remained with the bustling markets, live music and the famous capoeira (a local marshal art) being performed.
All in all definately worth the painful 36 hour journey from the pantanal. We feel like we have experienced the true Brazil, and loved every second.
We arrrived on the tuesday night which happened to be the party night of salvador, after only a couple of hours we found ourselves in the centre of the action. Every street we walked down there were drums banging, guitars playing and men dancing. There were crowds everywhere with locals meeting up and choreographing their own routines, what would start off with two or three people dancing would end up with ten or more. The atmosphere was incredible. We sampled a few of their cocktails made from fruits of the amazon, after which we found our hips wiggling and our shoulders swaying to the beats of the drums! After a few nights we were able to follow their routines and feel like a true local.
By day you can appreciate the citys beautiful architecture, whilst the atmosphere in the streets remained with the bustling markets, live music and the famous capoeira (a local marshal art) being performed.
All in all definately worth the painful 36 hour journey from the pantanal. We feel like we have experienced the true Brazil, and loved every second.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Link to photos of Iguaçu falls and the pantanal
http://leedsac.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2223914&l=5c73b&id=197810485
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
The Pantanal
Day 1: The Arrival
What a disaster of a night!!!!! When we first arrived the place looked beautiful with wooden lodges located on the river bed, wild horses roaming and the sun setting. But as the night set in the flys, mosquitos, beatles & cockroaches came out in force! We were led to our room only to find out we were staying in the concrete shack at the end only accessible by a creeky bridge with no barriers or lights. Jenny decided to brave it in the shower first but came face to face with 5 big slimey frogs. You would know when one moved by the screams coming from the bathroom! Kim went in second knowing what she had to face but little did she know she would get stuck in there with no handle on the door. After fits of giggles Jenny failed at kicking the door down and ran out in the dark to get help.
The flies in the room were digusting... landing on our beds, in our hair and on our skin. It was horrible! After intoxicating the room with bug repellant we ran to get dinner. Again this was not a pleasant experience with more bugs on our chairs, tables and in our food!!
It was ridiculously hot trying to sleep, we managed to borrow a fan off the barman. After finally cooling down and drifting off to sleep the fan blew up into flames next to kims head! That was enough bad luck for us.. we wanted to come home!
Day 2: Jeep Safari and Trekking
When we woke up we were pleasantly suprised.. the bugs had gone, our mood was lifted and we were ready to start our jungle experience. The jeep drove us down the dirt tracks stopping at the waterholes to look at the animals. The storks were the size of ostriches and the colourful birds were beautiful, especially the toocans.
The caimans (aligators) were everywhere. We found one all alone so our driver only decided to catch the bloody thing! Some were brave to hold it but we were scared and didnt think we were strong enough. We did however get up close for a quick photo but then we were out of there!!
The trek led us through woodlands where we came across many animals such as monkeys, parrots, deer, racoons, anteaters and kingfishers. We were forced to walk through the swamps up to our thighs.. they stank and we were petrified of stepping on anacondas!
Day 3: Boat Trip, Horse Riding, Jewellery Making and Caiman Hunting
The boat trip in the morning was very relaxing. The air was cool and the waters were calm. We managed to get up close to yet more caimans and hear the deafening noise of the howling monkeys.
In the afternoon we got on our horses (more like mules) and rode for 3 hours through the Pantanal, finishing with us galloping into the sunset.
After dinner our tour guide showed us how to make necklaces out of the some of the plants we had collected from the trek and made us both one to keep as a souvenier.
After dark we went caimen hunting! We took our torches, watching our every step and walked to the river. We came across a small poisenous snake that was luckily spotted by Jenny before clumbsy Kim would have stepped on it. As we reached the river the noises of the jungle were intense. Fear hit us when we shined our torches onto the water and saw the hundreds of pairs of eyes staring back at us! Our tour guide caught a baby one, we were brave enough to hold this one.. he was cutie!
Day 4: Piranha Fishing and Tubing
When we were told to stand in the water and fish for the piranhas 3 feet in front of us we were not amused. Nevertheless we jumped straight in. While little fish were sucking and nibbling our toes we were concentrating of the constant bites on the end of our rods from the hungry piranhas! Kim got excited when she caught her first fish only to be disappointed when she was told it was a sardine. We went through half a cow and a ton of eels but we successfully caught some piranhas which we cooked up for lunch. We could have fished all day, being the only ones left in the river they had to drag us away.
Tubing.... not the most sensible of activities but we couldnt miss out. They took us up the river and crueley dropped us off next to a caiman where we had to enter the water and drift back to the hostel for 45 minutes on our rubber rings. At first we were terrified jumping and screaming at anything we felt but we quickly relaxed and thoroughly enjoyed our float back. You will be pleased to know we survived our swim with the caimans, anacondas and piranhas!
What a disaster of a night!!!!! When we first arrived the place looked beautiful with wooden lodges located on the river bed, wild horses roaming and the sun setting. But as the night set in the flys, mosquitos, beatles & cockroaches came out in force! We were led to our room only to find out we were staying in the concrete shack at the end only accessible by a creeky bridge with no barriers or lights. Jenny decided to brave it in the shower first but came face to face with 5 big slimey frogs. You would know when one moved by the screams coming from the bathroom! Kim went in second knowing what she had to face but little did she know she would get stuck in there with no handle on the door. After fits of giggles Jenny failed at kicking the door down and ran out in the dark to get help.
The flies in the room were digusting... landing on our beds, in our hair and on our skin. It was horrible! After intoxicating the room with bug repellant we ran to get dinner. Again this was not a pleasant experience with more bugs on our chairs, tables and in our food!!
It was ridiculously hot trying to sleep, we managed to borrow a fan off the barman. After finally cooling down and drifting off to sleep the fan blew up into flames next to kims head! That was enough bad luck for us.. we wanted to come home!
Day 2: Jeep Safari and Trekking
When we woke up we were pleasantly suprised.. the bugs had gone, our mood was lifted and we were ready to start our jungle experience. The jeep drove us down the dirt tracks stopping at the waterholes to look at the animals. The storks were the size of ostriches and the colourful birds were beautiful, especially the toocans.
The caimans (aligators) were everywhere. We found one all alone so our driver only decided to catch the bloody thing! Some were brave to hold it but we were scared and didnt think we were strong enough. We did however get up close for a quick photo but then we were out of there!!
The trek led us through woodlands where we came across many animals such as monkeys, parrots, deer, racoons, anteaters and kingfishers. We were forced to walk through the swamps up to our thighs.. they stank and we were petrified of stepping on anacondas!
Day 3: Boat Trip, Horse Riding, Jewellery Making and Caiman Hunting
The boat trip in the morning was very relaxing. The air was cool and the waters were calm. We managed to get up close to yet more caimans and hear the deafening noise of the howling monkeys.
In the afternoon we got on our horses (more like mules) and rode for 3 hours through the Pantanal, finishing with us galloping into the sunset.
After dinner our tour guide showed us how to make necklaces out of the some of the plants we had collected from the trek and made us both one to keep as a souvenier.
After dark we went caimen hunting! We took our torches, watching our every step and walked to the river. We came across a small poisenous snake that was luckily spotted by Jenny before clumbsy Kim would have stepped on it. As we reached the river the noises of the jungle were intense. Fear hit us when we shined our torches onto the water and saw the hundreds of pairs of eyes staring back at us! Our tour guide caught a baby one, we were brave enough to hold this one.. he was cutie!
Day 4: Piranha Fishing and Tubing
When we were told to stand in the water and fish for the piranhas 3 feet in front of us we were not amused. Nevertheless we jumped straight in. While little fish were sucking and nibbling our toes we were concentrating of the constant bites on the end of our rods from the hungry piranhas! Kim got excited when she caught her first fish only to be disappointed when she was told it was a sardine. We went through half a cow and a ton of eels but we successfully caught some piranhas which we cooked up for lunch. We could have fished all day, being the only ones left in the river they had to drag us away.
Tubing.... not the most sensible of activities but we couldnt miss out. They took us up the river and crueley dropped us off next to a caiman where we had to enter the water and drift back to the hostel for 45 minutes on our rubber rings. At first we were terrified jumping and screaming at anything we felt but we quickly relaxed and thoroughly enjoyed our float back. You will be pleased to know we survived our swim with the caimans, anacondas and piranhas!
Iguaçu Falls
We spent the first day on the Brazilian side where you get the panoramic views of the falls. We walked the entire width of the falls which are 4 times greater than niagra. Then we crossed the border into Argentina where we miserably tried to adapt our portugese phrases into spanish. The hostel we stayed in was luxurious. We had our own little house by the pool, a bar, a laundrette, pool tables, table tennis and a nice restaurant. We were happy!
On the argentine side we walked across the rivers along the top of the waterfalls. We were surrounded by beautiful butterflies which made the place feel magical, we felt like two little fairies. The views and the sound of the water crashing down was amazing. We made our way down to sea level by jeep where a speed boat took us over the rapids and towards the waterfalls. Little did we know we would end up fully submerged by part of the waterfall gasping for breath and holding on for dear life! An experience never to be forgotten.
On the argentine side we walked across the rivers along the top of the waterfalls. We were surrounded by beautiful butterflies which made the place feel magical, we felt like two little fairies. The views and the sound of the water crashing down was amazing. We made our way down to sea level by jeep where a speed boat took us over the rapids and towards the waterfalls. Little did we know we would end up fully submerged by part of the waterfall gasping for breath and holding on for dear life! An experience never to be forgotten.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Link to photos of Ilha Grande, Paraty and Florianopolis
http://leedsac.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2217479&l=c3a44&id=197810485
Link to photos of our first week in Rio
http://leedsac.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2212671&l=bfab6&id=197810485
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Florianopolis
After a 6 hour bus journey to Sao Paulo, and then an 11 hour night bus we arrived in Florainopolis very tired and in need of a place to stay. But it took us about 4 hours of trekking with our bags in the heat of teh day to finally realise where we needed to get to!! Shoulder and backs killing us! A lovely couple welcomed us to their quiet hostel, where we met up with another friend from mellow yellow.
After a well needed kip on the beach we had a lovely BBQ and drinks at the hostel. The next day the sun finally came out so we the morning on the beach and went to the town for the afternoon for some lunch.
The day after we went sand boarding.... it was so much fun. We started off on the stand up boards but after a few too many falls and eating a ton of sand we decided to try out the bum boards..... we were hilarious to watch. There is a video of us on facebook, for those of you that can get on to it, but to fill in for those who cant get on it - we are sand boarding from one of the biggest peaks and ended up with kim loosing control and slamming into the back of jenny.... jenny ended up flipping over, getting her leg stuck in the board and kim ended up in histerics!!!! The boys were a bit better than us as they are used to surfing but they still had a few funny tumbles on the way down.
Supposed to leave on friday night.... but ended up missing the bus... thanks to our fellow travel buddies!!! But it didnt turn out to be all bad as ended up staying in a nice hotel in the centre of florianopolis. We didnt want to travel back to our hostel as it was too far and this hotel worked out to be cheaper than the hostels in the centre! Lucky us. We forgot what it was like to be some where so clean.... we had a sea view, a lovely bathroom, toilet paper that was folded into a point at the end.... couldnt believe it! That night we decided to go out for dinner and hit a couple of clubs where we danced the night away!
The next day we hired a car out and went to the south of the island, it was really nice just to travel round and stop where you wanted to. Finally on our last day we just spent a bit of time in town then got on our night bus to go to the iguassu falls.
After a well needed kip on the beach we had a lovely BBQ and drinks at the hostel. The next day the sun finally came out so we the morning on the beach and went to the town for the afternoon for some lunch.
The day after we went sand boarding.... it was so much fun. We started off on the stand up boards but after a few too many falls and eating a ton of sand we decided to try out the bum boards..... we were hilarious to watch. There is a video of us on facebook, for those of you that can get on to it, but to fill in for those who cant get on it - we are sand boarding from one of the biggest peaks and ended up with kim loosing control and slamming into the back of jenny.... jenny ended up flipping over, getting her leg stuck in the board and kim ended up in histerics!!!! The boys were a bit better than us as they are used to surfing but they still had a few funny tumbles on the way down.
Supposed to leave on friday night.... but ended up missing the bus... thanks to our fellow travel buddies!!! But it didnt turn out to be all bad as ended up staying in a nice hotel in the centre of florianopolis. We didnt want to travel back to our hostel as it was too far and this hotel worked out to be cheaper than the hostels in the centre! Lucky us. We forgot what it was like to be some where so clean.... we had a sea view, a lovely bathroom, toilet paper that was folded into a point at the end.... couldnt believe it! That night we decided to go out for dinner and hit a couple of clubs where we danced the night away!
The next day we hired a car out and went to the south of the island, it was really nice just to travel round and stop where you wanted to. Finally on our last day we just spent a bit of time in town then got on our night bus to go to the iguassu falls.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Paraty
After a ferry ride and few hours bus journey we arrived in Paraty. When we arrived there was a tropical rain storm so we dumped our bags in the hostel and decided to not let it stop us explore the town. We got drenched!!!!!! Ended up getting lost and being in the rain for 5 hours, i think buying rain jackets on the way home was too little too late!
Paraty is a colourful little artists town on the coast with cobbled streets and lots of nice shops. A little pricey but well worth the visit. There are lots of small islands nearby that you can visit by boat but the weather stopped us from doing that. Had a quiet few days here apart from our last night where we went to the beach as there was a live band playing. Ended the night by dancing and singing along the cobbled sreets on our way home.... again in the rain!!
Paraty is a colourful little artists town on the coast with cobbled streets and lots of nice shops. A little pricey but well worth the visit. There are lots of small islands nearby that you can visit by boat but the weather stopped us from doing that. Had a quiet few days here apart from our last night where we went to the beach as there was a live band playing. Ended the night by dancing and singing along the cobbled sreets on our way home.... again in the rain!!
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