Sometimes the strangest things become tourist attractions. If you asked me whether I would like to visit a poor neighbourhood controlled by drug lords in the US, I would call you crazy. However, put that neighbourhood in Rio de Janeiro, call it a favela and suddenly I'm in. So, for our second day in Rio,... Continue Reading →
Christ, smaller in person than you would think.
Our first day in Rio de Janeiro started with a predawn trek through Paraty to catch the bus. Fortunately, we had picked up the tickets the day before so it wasn't a problem when the ticket booth for the bus company wasn't open. It doesn't matter where you are in the world, sitting at a... Continue Reading →
A car free day in Paraty.
When faced with a day at a UNESCO World Heritage site like Paraty you need a plan. Ours was aggressive, but with a little luck and determination we just might succeed. The plan had three components: eat, drink, wander; repeat as required. We started with a leisurely breakfast at the hotel. This included both food... Continue Reading →
Sailing the Brazilian seas, not a bad way to spend an afternoon.
Waking up in Paraty after a rough day of travel, we hoped a new day would bring a change of luck. Things started looking up from the moment Katy first looked out the window, sun! By this point in the trip we hadn't seen a lot of sun so Katy did a little happy dance.... Continue Reading →
The road to Paraty should not go through Curitiba.
Well, it was bound to happen sometime. Over the years, we've done a fair amount of travel and I'd say we've had some pretty good luck along the way. It seems our luck ran out, at least for a day, and we had what can probably best be described as a craptastic day. The plan... Continue Reading →
3 Meals, 3 Countries, 1 Day
While we were touring the Brazillian side of the falls with Katy, Michelle, and Rebecca they mentioned a plan to have three meals in three diffrent countries all in the same day. Unfortunately they hadn't been able to make it work. So, we decided that we would take care of it. The plan was to... Continue Reading →
Dangling from a rope at Iguassu Falls
Our first day in Foz do Iguassu had a very civilized start. We booked this part of the trip through G Adventures (formally known as GAP Adventures - apparently people confuse cheap, crappy clothes and adventure travel) and we weren't meeting the local guide until 10:45 am. After a busy few days in Buenos Aires, and... Continue Reading →
Buenos Aires – Started the day with the dead, thought we might join them at the end.
Our last day in Buenos Aires was a relatively calm one. Our flight to Iguassu didn't leave until 7:05 in the evening so we had most of the day free to explore a bit more. We decided to get up fairly early and go see the Floralis Genérica, a giant aluminum flower sculpture that "blooms"... Continue Reading →
Colonia – There’s more to Uruguay than rain.
On our second day in Argentina we decided to leave the country and take the ferry across the river plate to Colonia in Uruguay. This was recommended both by the guide books and by a Uruguayan coworker of mine who said Colonia was nicer than Montevideo and definitely worth the trip. Getting to Colonia from... Continue Reading →
Buenos Aires – Tango, sight-seeing and an unexpected run.
To be fair, it's been grey and rainy, we were fresh off the plane and it was only the first day, but Buenos Aires did not jump immediately to the top of my 'favourite places' list. After arriving at Ezeiza International Airport, we found a shuttle bus to take us downtown and also provided a... Continue Reading →
192 Reasons 