Arriving in Salvador in early June, the streets were already laced with strings of flags fluttering above the Pelourinho for São João. While the main festival is celebrated over the weekend of 21st-24th June, already the anticipation was building. Even the bus station was covered in festive red, white, blue, green and yellow. São João…
Tag: brazil
Itacare
There’s something about being in the right place at the right time. Somewhere you may have visited before maybe, that’s different second time around. Or somewhere that you didn’t expect much from, but gives you exactly what you need at that point in time. I don’t remember really why we decided to come to Itacare…
Bahia highlights
I’m taking my time (ok, procrastinating) over my Bahia posts. Not sure why, but somehow I feel that once I commit the words to paper, the trip is finally out of reach. But I wanted to post a few photos to highlight places that you really shouldn’t miss if you get the chance to visit…
Digging deeper in the Chapada Diamantina
If I’m honest, I was a little unsure when I first arrived in the Chapada Diamantina. The landscape is striking, but when you compare it to the looming tepuis of the Gran Sabana in Venezuela, it’s not the same. And that’s the point. Many of the Chapada’s secrets require a bit of scrambling over rocks,…
Capture the Colour, Bahia style
I’m not usually one for contests (or by the time I get round to entering the deadline has passed) but the ‘Capture The Colour’ photo competition from Travel Supermarket has me intrigued. There are some fantastic entries already and I have no illusions that I’ll win, but I thought it would be fun to round…
Cachoeira, down by the river
Cachoeira is a quiet little town in the Reconcavo, a couple of hours by bus from Salvador. There are a few colourful buildings and one or two churches, but the best thing to do is wander down by the river. Cachoeira is a centre for woodcarving and there are a handful of ateliers near the…
Top five amazing meals around the world
1. Surubi (a type of catfish) at Bolsi in Asuncion, Paraguay. 2. Tea and cake at Skonis ir Kvapas in Vilnius, Lithuania. A cosy little cellar-like tearoom, it even sells beautiful painted cups that are a million miles from twee Royal Doulton china. Visit in winter and the city takes on a magical quality, the…
Palin to take to the road again in Brazil?
Lonely Planet readers in the UK recently voted Michael Palin the person that they’d most like as their travel companion. Who wouldn’t want to travel with someone so amusing and intelligent, who always seems to have a real desire to find out more about the countries he travels through? I’ve been watching Around the World…
Brazil, Brazil!
The Samba Boys carry on their merry way through to the 2nd round of the World Cup. Brazil is calling me back again…
Postscript…Rio
(yes, this has been sitting in my drafts folder for weeks) Sometimes you see an iconic image so often that it takes away the surprise of arriving somewhere new, but not this time. Just five brief hours to spend in the centre of Rio and already I’m wishing I could stay, enchanted by the skyline…