Category: Brazil

Friday, APRIL 5, 2012 It is my last full day in Guaruja (a beach resort about an hour's drive from Sao Paulo) before we drive inland and complete the holiday with a series of days with my wife's family. So it's my last day to enjoy the sights and sounds of the beach. Every morning, particularly if it's sunny (well of course it would be) and if I've woken up early, I spend an hour walking the beach. The flat we are staying in is literally across the road from the beach, so in no time at all I'm on the beach, sandals off, and wading ankle deep in warm water, with the early morning sun beating down. I'm sharing the huge beach with a number of early risers, including the odd surfer, a number of people jogging, a few fishermen...

Wednesday, APRIL 3, 2012 Throughout my time in in Brazil, somewhere there is a television blaring away, often showing football or soap operas. Some of the television is actually quite good, but for every good show, there are a hundred that are bad - especially the soaps, that are full of over-acting, shouting, young vivacious women blatantly wearing very little, and being so very.. well.. Latin. I can't help watching the TV without hearing the Fast Show's wickedly funny take on Latin TV - I'm half expecting to hear cries of "scorchio" on the weather forecast!  To counteract the really bad TV (and there is much to counter act), are the good shows. The one that took my interest was a soap opera. I can't believe I'm admitting to being caught up in a soap opera, not least of all as I don't speak the language,...

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 2012 So here I am on day six of my honeymoon in Brazil, sitting downstairs in the open air dining area, waiting for breakfast while looking out at the tropical rain that's been coming down all night. Normally that would be a bad sign, but right now I'm glad for it. It is a cooling rain, that somehow is relaxing, and reminds me that I'm in a tropical rainforest, and not back home suffering from a drought that I hear is plaguing the east of England right now. Everywhere is green, lush and the unfazed by it all. Just as I type a humming bird flew just a few feet away dipping it's beak into the red flowers of some exotic plant that I don't know the name of. I'm currently on day three of my stay in...

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 2012 It's Wednesday morning, day 6 of our trip to Brazil, and we are waking up to soft but persistent tropical rain. Last night, while driving back from our trip to the north side of the island to visit the 'historical centre, I had my first experience of driving in a tropical storm. I must admit when driving back on the wrong side of the road, in the dark, on an unfamiliar, small winding road, in an alleged but gut-less 1.4 saloon with an exhaust that was blowing, was intimidating.  But as it was lashing down with rain, and gale force winds were shaking the palm trees to the point where some of the fronds were blown onto the road in front of us, I must admit to being a little scared. We later found out we'd driven...

Thursday, March 29, 2012 Even before we arrived in Brazil, I found out that Brazil was unique. Our early flight from the UK meant that we arrived the same day; in fact we arrived around 6pm, meaning we'd arrived at rush hour. Now, understand that Sao Paulo is busy at the best of times, but in rush hour a 10 minute drive can take hours. In an attempt to reduce the pressure cars are legally required to take holidays. Each car must take one day off a week during busy periods. In some ways it makes more sense than congestion charges, but it does favour people with two cars. Unfortunately, my wife's sister's car was taking a holiday on the very day we were to arrive! Therefore we had two choices, to either get a coach ride across town and get a local taxi for the short trip to the house, or get...

Friday, March 30, 2012 Considering Brazil is covered largely by Amazonian jungle, rain forest, and much impenetrable tropical flora, it may come as a surprise to some to learn that Brazil doesn't have many large animals. What is has in abundance though, is feet. Or more precisely creatures with more than two feet. It is therefore to my utter disbelief and dismay how often I see domestic animals abandoned or neglected. This isn't to suggest all Brazilians don't care for animals, quite the contrary. There are some who have opened their homes and hearts to so many cat and dogs for example, particularly the most desperate ones. But it is the shear number of stray cats and dogs in poor health wandering the streets that often puts a tear in my otherwise dry eye. Just today on the drive up to Paraty (RJ) we saw four stray dogs and...

Brasil, officially the Federative Republic of Brasil, is the largest country in both South America and the Latin American region. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population. The country's economy is the world's seventh largest by both nominal GDP and purchasing power parity, as of 2012. A member of the BRIC group, Brasil until 2010 had one of the world's fastest growing major economies, with its economic reforms giving the country new international recognition and influence. São Paulo, home to some 20 million people, is also home to my wife's family. It is known as a financial and economic centre of Brasil, and is both a city and a state. As time goes on this area will be populated with more mementos of my trips away.  I doubt I'll ever be able to record all of...