To say we merely like açai would be an understatement: we’re addicted to it. This cool treat, unique only to Brazil comes from a fruit from palms in the Amazon, and tastes so good, we had to see how it was made. Get your fix in today’s photo gallery.
While wandering through Salvador today we met a whistle blowing character, and eventually made our way to the Farol da Barra, a lighthouse built on an old pentagonal Portuguese fort. Walk the streets of Salvador at dusk in today’s gallery…
The mark of a good trip has always been hitting that point where you don’t know what day it is. We hit that long, long ago. At times for us, the only anchor to the date on the calendar has been through our work on this site. The turn of the month gave us a pause to look behind, and with some quick calculations, the realization that our eight-month, 244 day long trip hit the quarter-way mark on day 61: March 1st.
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The Best of Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, Argentina Take a look at the top ten things to do and see in Buenos Aires, Argentina, one of Latin America\'s most beautiful and energetic cities. |
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The best of Mexico and Central America Central America, Earth The best of Central America |
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The best of Mexico City Mexico CIty, Mexico We're in love with it. Between the three of us, we've made six trips to the capital city of our neighbor to the south. Thus it was an easy choice: D.F. (District Federal) was a natural starting point for the jaunt. |
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Futbol in Rio Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 02/24 It just happened that on of the biggest soccer games of the year in Brazil happened during the week we were in Rio, so we bought tickets and braced ourselves for a wild ride. |
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A Visit To Mangueira Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 02/22 The gang pays a visit to the Velha Guarda da Mangueira |
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Rio from the top of Pao de Acucar Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 02/21 Rio de Janeiro's skyline is dominated, not with buildings, but with impressive mountains like Pão de Açúcar. We went to the top of it today to get a stunning view. |
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The beaches of Rio Rio De Janeiro, Brazil - 02/20 World famous for it's sunny days, white sands, crystal clear waters and expansive beaches, Rio has the ultimate in mega-beaches. |
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Samba in Sao Paulo São Paulo, Brazil - 02/16 This afternoon, we went to a local samba jam in São Paulo's center. |
Brazilians love their buffets. Tonight for dinner we went to a churrascaria, a traditional Brazilian eatery, where we ate like kings (and paid royally too). Think of a churrascaria like a buffet where the food comes to you. Finely dressed servers walk around with spits of equally fine cuts of meat. Have your full in today’s photo gallery.
With a day like this, it was easy to decide what we were going to do: head to the beach. And being just a mere walk away from our $30 a night apartment in Salvador (we know, you hate us), it was an easy jaunt for us. Hit the beach in today’s photo gallery.
After taking a late night, two-hour flight (instead of a 25 hour bus ride) from Rio, we arrived in Brazil’s colonial capital city, Salvador da Bahia - which everyone truncates to Salvador. At the mouth of a massive bay, Salvador was a natural choice by the Portuguese who trekked across the Atlantic. Relics of its Portuguese roots still stand today, like Fort Santa Maria in the background. Porto da Barra beach’s clear waters abutting the fort are popular with both locals and travelers looking to cool off. Jump into Salvador by taking a look at today’s photo gallery.
We spent most of our last day in Rio trying to get out of Rio, and buy tickets to our next destination, Salvador in the northeast. The ensuing fiasco left us just enough time to catch the sunset at Ipanema beach. See the photos in today’s photo gallery.
On Friday afternoon we visited the Velha Guarda da Mangueira at Mangueira headquarters in Zona Norte (North Zone) of Rio. The Velha Guarda da Mangueira is a musical outfit comprised of the Mangueira samba school’s 10 most senior, well-respected members. The group is legendary, and has performed throughout Brazil and Europe, for decades. Join the in the musical revelries in today’s photo gallery.
It’s a sunny Friday afternoon in Zona Norte (North Zone), Rio de Janeiro. Thushan, Brian and I have just had the fortune of meeting the Velha Guarda da Mangueira, a samba outfit comprised of 10 of the most senior members of Rio’s Mangueira samba school.
I first saw the Velha Guarda perform in 2003 at a free show in Salvador, Brazil and the magical memories of that night - without question the best concert I’ve ever witnessed - have remained vivid in my mind.
This time around, however, our more personal visit to the Velha Guarda has turned out to be less than magical. Perhaps it was the lack of a typical audience participation that made the group appear flat during our brief private set. Or maybe old age has finally taken its toll on this group of master musicians.
Content to have met the group and visit them in their home rehearsal space we begin thanking the musicians and start preparing for our departure.
Then the question comes: “You wanna have a beer down on the corner?” asks Josimar. Not particularly in the mood to drink and anxious to get in some much needed beach time before the sun goes down I debate how I can respectfully decline his offer.
“Come on! Let’s go have one. Just one. Don’t worry, it won’t take long.” Josimar assures us.
“OK, but do you think we’ll make it back in time to catch the sunset on Ipanema?” I ask.
“Sure,” Josimar replies, “The sooner we drink this beer, the sooner you’ll make it to the beach.”
I give in and we head over to a tiny bar on the street. I assume that our party will consist of just Thushan, Brian, Josimar and I, but the bar owner quickly starts lining up plastic tables one after another, setting out chairs for a group of 15. (more…)
Rio de Janeiro’s skyline is dominated, not with buildings, but with impressive - no - stunning, mountains mingling between the neighborhoods and shoreline. Unabashedly called the “A Cidade Maravilhosa” (The Marvelous City), from atop Pão de Açúcar, via ride up on a cable car, Rio doesn’t just earn it’s name, it sets the bar. Catch the marvelous view from atop Pão de Açúcar in today’s photo gallery.