Cabanas Hotel Bonito

The night bus from Blumenau to Porto Alegre was my longest one yet (about 9 hours), and I didn´t sleep much, so after arriving at my host Bayard´s place I took a nice long nap. The apartment is very small, but cozy, and we share a room.<br><br>Residents of Rio Grande do Sul (or Gauchos as they are called) are a (very) proud bunch and I was lucky to be able to experience their culture a bit over the next few days ...

... pour observer la faune, et la flore locale. Nous apercevons notre premier toucan du voyage.<br>Retour humide donc a l´auberge. De l´orage le soir.<br><br>Vendredi 6 Novembre<br><br>Départ 8h30 pour notre journée d´expédition dans la foret du Pantanal.<br>1er arret en foret pour aller voir Buraco das Araras: depression abrupte d´environ 124 mètres de profondeur et 500 de large. grand refuge pour une ...

... peel on my pillow. The toilet water was running all night and the ceiling was peeling. It had been painted with some sort of white wash, as had the whole place, and there were white flakes everywhere. There were holes in the sheets and curtains, a sagging mattress and no hot water. Des said it all when he called it a **** hotel.<br><br>We couldn&#8217;t wait to leave the next day. No problems checking out of Uruguay at the border with Brazil ...

... good at watching tv in languages he cant understand!).<br><br>Today the hostel organised a tour for us to a ´´Grutas de Sao Miguel´´ a large cave that we walked through. It was pretty cool, and we got to wear green hard hats haha. I think we enjoyed the wildlife more though as we got to see some local parrots and also our first wild Macaws that came screaming in.<br><br>We went for dinner and had a drink for Miss Janes birthday!

... and everyone is drinking chimarrao. On Sunday, the Mercado Publico is closed, but there's a massive street market in one of the parks, and that was very excellent, too. In terms of quality, that was the best market that I've been to. There was high-caliber art, of every medium, for sale, and a massive flea-market at the end of the artisan-vendors. You could furnish your house very well if you bought everything from this market. Everyone goes to Forroupilha park on Sunday, to ...

... whole day (such as Rio da Prata). You have to book before going, which can be done in any agency in the city or through the hostel, which also organizes transportation. Plan your days in advance. <br><br>Rio da Prata (www.bonitoweb.com.br) <br><br>Tour &#8211; Some people say it is the best tour in Bonito. You go snorkeling in a crystal-clear water river with abundant aquatic life. Horseback riding and Bird watching (229 species registered ...

... a banana out of her bag and put it under her chair. Within a minute, 2 monkeys came down from the trees. 1 distracted her and the other nicked her banana. It was amazing. <br><br>On our last day, me, Nathan and Lloyd played tennis, perhaps stupidly in the heat of the day. Unfortunately, I haven't maintained my tennis ability as well as my table tennis ability. <br>That night, we got a nigh bus to Foz de Iguassu. Great night bus, slept like a baby from start to finish.<br>

Hey!, this is the part to of Brazil, I last left you in Belem, after that horrible cruise. Well Belem is very nice we only staid their for 2 nights, but we got a city tour,my favorite part of Belem was there huge market that is tuck near the ocean coast. Its huge, they have everything you can possibly imagine. Lets start at the beginning, you walk in and there´s the produce market, with all the exotic fruits and veg you can imagine,then you cross over to the raw ...

... the photo below housed about 500 wetsuits! It was hard to believe this place ever gets that busy?<br><br> <br><br>Everyone except me (sob, sniff) climbed into their wet suits, wet shoes (?!) and life jackets, which would keep them warm, protect their feet and keep ...

Three planes and innumerable cookies later I found myself in Porto Alegre, southern Brazil. In a cold, cold early spring. 'Cold' is relative of course, and 10*C felt pretty bad after Rio. Especially since my hotel not only had no heating, it appeared to have no ceilling in some places. And single-glazed windows that had me huddled under 2 blankets and 4 layers of clothing all night and most of the morning. And an icy shower. Despite sounding pretty miserable, I ...