After just getting back from 2 weeks in Brazil, I kept a journal and just updated my entries (backdated). Here are some rambling thoughts about the country, but go back to Dec 10th to start my trip report ( Read more... )

Today has been an incredibly long day stretched into two days. We woke up in time to go to the Brazilian Top Team jui-jitsu traning gym, where the Nogueira twins, Mario Sperry, and Marillo Bustamante train. They are some of my favorite Pride fighters, and we were really excited about going. It took us awhile to find the place, but were really glad ( Read more... )

We slept most of the day away, then got up and said goodbye to Maria and her family. Her dad drove us back to our hostel in the afternoon, then we had another great dinner at Pecado and watched some kids do awesome acrobatics in the streets. Going to bed early, tomorrow is our last day.

Woke up today to find Maria's mother looking in through our bedroom window...that was quite a surprise, but it was also funny. We got up, had a breakfast of mango, guava, banana, bread, cheese, and some other fruits, then about an hour later had lasagna for lunch. Eventually we got dressed and went to the market so Tim could buy some Christmas ( Read more... )

Tim woke me up at 9am this morning and said a tour was leaving in 20 minutes. We got ready quickly and went on a great Cariocas tour (Cariocas is what they call people from Brazil, as if to say we are doing things that the locals do). first, we went on a long hike up a mountain called Santa Bonita in the Tijuca National Park. It was great exercise ( Read more... )

Today was pretty boring. We woke up in Porto de Galinhas, took a taxi to the airport in Recife, flew to Rio, and checked back into the Lighthouse hostel. We made plans to see a movie with Maria and Priscila tomorrow, went to eat at the Churrascaria restaurant, and got some sleep.

Slept fitfully, and had a hard time waking up. Today turned out to be one of the most intense of the trip so far. We got up at 8 and had mediocre breakfast provided by the hotel, then walked the mile or so down to the dive shop at the main beach. We hopped in our boat, put on our flippers and masks, and got ready to snorkel. Our guide spoke no ( Read more... )

This morning, we got up early and the hotel people agreed to drive us the hour or so to get to Porto de Galinhas for less money than a cab. We got down here and found a hotel that was exactly as far as you could possibly be from the town center - about a mile walk. We spent some time at the beach and walked to town, and found a nice little touristy ( Read more... )

Today we woke up really early to catch our flight from Morro de Sao Paulo to Recife. We had to make a long walk, then ride a bus, then get on a tiny 8 seat plane for the flight over to Salvador to catch our connecting flight to Recife. On the way to the airport, we saw the back side of the island, and it was really bad ... just a dirty poor area, ( Read more... )

Today we woke up early and took a cab to the boat dock for our catamaran ride to the island of Morro de Sao Paulo. It was one of the 'must see' places according to many people, so it was worth the $50 ride and $100 flight back. Once we got here, we quickly decided it was our favorite place so far. This place is the definition of a 'tropical island ( Read more... )