Flat Brasilia

Deciding that all work and no play makes Renee and Eugene no fun, we decided to pack up our London flat, pack in our jobs and head for an adventure around South America. Hopefully this blog chronicles our trip for our friends and family as we head ...

... it.  The climb back up was another matter!  Next day more people arrived, Paulo a fantastically funny guy from Brasilia (I nicknamed him Borat because his English accent was so similar it was uncanny) as well as Pablo and Marcela, ...

... error I know, was shivering all night, felt like I was back in the mountains. Think I may have hypothermia!! I arrived in Brasilia's rather tatty concrete 1960's long distance bus station at 6.30am. I bought myself another bus ticket to Cuiaba, one of ...

... so we will now have to miss out on going to the caves that we originally intended going to since it is a very long drive to Brasilia, our next stop. The first section of the drive was very pretty with lots of scenic hills around, in addition today is the ...

... right (too hard to explain but it works!) you can traverse the city easily which we did many times with Vince and Ana. Brasilia is surrounded by hills and valleys, goes from green to brown from wet to dry season, and has a lifestyle ...

... palace with waterfalls on the outside, before retreating to the relative cool comfort of the shopping malls (umm.. 'cause we needed the bank.  Not because the fascinating architecture in Brasilia was anything less than absolutely fascinating...) ...

... MY South America in a nutshell. I will miss the empanadas; the gorgeous ice cream; banana shakes; my 100% natural steaks; flat tasteless bread (although maybe I wont miss this that much); eggs, eggs and more eggs (Atkins dieting gone mad); cheap ...

... road side for more than 50 years, and it is untouched. It looks just like the statue of Christ over Rio de Janeiro en Brasilia. I didn't understand what was being said, but we were stopping. About an hour and a half into our Journey in the middle of ...

... So if you have some extra money stay in one along Praia de Fora and Praia Grande which is about a 15 minute walk from Brasilia. Our hostel (Marimar Encantadas) apart from the lady and the rules was actually quite cool. The huge deck was right on the ...

... - most importantly its pastries! By divine intervention of the gastronomy gods, Stefano and I quickly stumbled upon the Cafe Brasilia - its large glass windows displaying all the buttery, custardy, flaky goodness one can imagine. We flopped down on ...

... well-spaced monumental buildings, and landscaped roads -bit reminiscent of a planned city being built, like Canberra or Brasilia. Housing looks quite affluent, but eventually gives way to enormous timber mills and industrial projects on reclaimed ...

...Our newly 'extended' Brazilian visas (done not in the Policia Federal in Brasilia as you may have thought, but rather by hand ourselves in a coffee shop in an effort to save US$60) got a few dubious glances from Border Control but they were more ...

... the obvous lack of another (Toyota).  VWs are popular in many markets, which wasn't particularly special, but there are several models (Brasilia and Gol) that are branded solely for Brasil's market.  I don't think I have seen many (or any) brand ...

... less than 100,000 sq km of this is in Bolivia and Paraguay; the rest is in Brazil. VALPARAÍSO From the flat city center ascensores (funicular elevators) creak at an improbable angle up to a very different city above. These tumbling chaotic cerros ...

... is to simply chill and surf for a few days before I head off to an island off Salvador to properly unwind before heading to Brasilia to photograph some of Oscar Niemeyer´s best work.   I then fly home on the 22nd Sept..... It´s going to be an ...

... . WARNING - Stay away from Rapido Tolima as a bus company. They promise you a large bus with television but ends up giving you a small bus with a crazy driver, no TV, small seats and no air-condition. Take Brasilia or something, but not Rapido ...

... day to embrace the culture and street life of Vietnam. It was fascinating and chaotic. Crossing the road is a nightmare. We thought Brasilia was bad, but Hanoi is much worse. You step into the road and have to keep walking and hope that the ...

... . But leave we had to do. I only had 2 weeks left on my visa and had yet to see lots of places. Among these were Brasilia, the capital of Brazil which was my next destination. Things I learned I must write a disclaimer first to say that what I write here ...