TravelStream™ news feed for member panf007 on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/panf007 en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:07:24 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/panf007/6/1248893092/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/panf007/6/1248893092/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/panf007/6/1248893092/tpod.html Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:07:24 -0400 Runnin´ down a dream, going wherever it leads

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Foz de Iguacu, State of Parana, Brazil

Foz do Iguacu on the borders of Argentina and Brazil is truly a natural wonder of the world. Higher than Niagara, wider than Victoria and by far more beautiful than both or any other water fall in the world.
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Florianopolis, State of Santa Catarina, Brazil

The overnight bus from Rio to Florianopolis was fairly comfortable. We left at 8pm and arrived around 2 pm the next day in Floripa with a transfer in Curitiba.I have heard of the beautiful beaches for Isla de Santa Catarina / Florianopolis from other travellers, and I always wanted to visit here, so since this will be our last stop to a Brazilian beach, it was a perfect three days of relaxation.First day, a beautiful sunny day, we visited the Praia Mole on the east shore of the island. The huge waves of the Atlantic crushing on to the beach created a perfect surf spot for some of the pure surfers around. Me and Juliette were not surfers so we decided to walk to the northern beach through a small path for a more relaxing, sun tanning experience. Of course, upon arrival we realized it is a clothing optional beach, and didn´t hesistate to do a full body tan for a couple of hours. The waves here are smoother than Praia Mole, so a quick swim to wash off the sand before leaving was more refreshing than usual.Second day, we took the confusing local bus (with a couple of transfers) to the longest beach on the island, Praia Mocambique, near the town of Barra da Lagoa. This beach is slightly more crowded than the previous day but it is just as nice and clean as any other on the island. We only stayed a few hours before heading back on a fully loaded bus that packed to the limit. Me and Juliette decided to check out a movie in the stunning five level modern shopping mall. Unfortunately, the movie ´The Watchmen´ sucked goats and was the most dissapointing 2 1/2 hrs of our entire stay in Floripa.We wished we could stay longer, but we are short on time and this is close to the end of our trip. I really enjoyed Brazil. Its people are friendly and honest. Its highway and bus systems are straight forward and relatively safe. Its selection of delicious food is just mouth watering. But mostly, Brazil´s beaches and easy going attitude mixed with efficiency is just a perfect balance of PARADISE. We will return to this beautiful land and discover more next time.Brazil is our non-official ´final destination´, and it is a great place to finish our trip. Next stop, Curitiba and then on to Iguazu Falls, we are at the final stretch......I can almost see the finish line.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/panf007/6/1235957640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/panf007/6/1235957640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/panf007/6/1235957640/tpod.html Fri, 06 Mar 2009 21:36:53 -0500 Runnin´ down a dream, going wherever it leads

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Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

First I would like to say, Hostal Republic in Catate district is one of the cleanest hostals we have stayed. Although the price is a little high $45 (90 Reais) double for our budget, we enjoyed our stay here nontheless. The reception is friendly, rooms are clean and secure with good showers, free internet and of course air conditioning !!!The nights of Rio de Janeiro may not be as popular as Buenos Aires, due to some dangerous area, we usually stayed in the main tourist areas of Copacanbana and our hotel district. But the nights are beautiful if you want it to be. On Saturday after Fat Tuesday, we attended the Parade of Champions at the Sambodomo. Basically a final parade of all the Samba school of the Rio Carnaval. We didn´t have tickets, but was lucky enough to get a last minute ones at the gate from scalpers for $5 each (same price as the taxi that we took to get home after the show), although we were in the general admission Sector 13, the cheap section had better than expected views and the fun was unbeatable. People in our section are from poor district of Rio (hence the affordable $5 tickets), but they party like there is no tomorrow, singing and dancing for each samba school parade. By the looks of it most are from Portela as that school got the biggest reception from the crowd. Even though I joked to Juiette that we are sitting in the ´Favelas´ section where there are nine blacks to every one white person in the crowd, we felt safe and danced along with everyone around us.Nights of Rio is filled with fun and music, just play it safe.
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Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. For those who has never been to this city, the exotic fantasies are filled with sunny beaches, beautiful girls, all surrounded by tropical jungles and rocky hills that rises straight from the sea. Well, that is exactly what this city is all about.The first thing we did was do a walk through an air conditioned shopping mall in Botafogo (ahhhh air conditioning). Me and Juliette´s favorite place from our last trip in this postcard perfect city. We ate the famous Brazilian ´comida por quilo´ translation: buffet of mouth watering dishes where you pay by the weight. Usually a $8 meal (about half kilo) would fill the stomach to the max. We watched a few movies: Slumdog Millionaire, War of the Brides, and The Wrestler, just to catch up with the modern world we left behind.Then we did the usual tourist stuff. A walk on Copacabana and Ipanema beaches was the first one off our check list. To be honest, Brazilian girls with their beautifully curvy (sometimes surgically enhanced) bottoms fitted in the string thongs are worth a stare. I must say Brazilian girls have the most beautiful backside of any women in the world, and they don´t mind being looked at.A trip to the Sugar Loaf with the stunning views of the city is also a must do. We timed it perfect just before sunset upon arrival, took the cable cart up and up again, and watch the light of the sky change for a memorable 2 hours.During the day, Rio is more than beautiful, at night, it is a mythical...
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Paraty, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

When it comes down to where we want to spend the Brazilian Carnaval, we had a few choices. Salvador for its street parties. Rio de Janeiro for its Samba Schools. For the most part we were looking for something truly special and original and not too chaotic nor expensive, and with a help of a internet cafe owner in La Paloma, Uruguay (who happens to be Brazilian), we finally decided to discover the true Brazilian Carnaval in Paraty, Rio de Janeiro.Paraty is an old colonial town situated perfectly in between Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo, on the lush Brazilian coast with beautiful beaches and islands around it. Our flight from Porto Alegre to Rio was on time, then a quick transfer to the bus station and we got the first bus at 2pm headed to Paraty. The road was jammed and it took two hours longer than the suggest 4 hours to get to Paraty from Rio. When we finally arrived at 8pm, it was dark, and the party had already started on the night before the official celebration was to begin. We checked in at a nice family run pousada / hostal (there are hundreds of pousadas in Paraty all with good vibes) for the 6 days of Carnaval.The first night at exactly midnight, the drums started beating, and the street party has started. People dancing, drinking and singing, having a great time, and we were so excited that we have found a good Carnaval me and Juliette didn´t hesitate to blend in with the street party. Paraty is where Brazilian comes to play (judging by everyone here speaks Portuguese instead of English), since it is located only a few hours from both Rio and Sao Paolo, the number of foreign visitors are almost none during Carnaval, the town is mostly Brazilian (from Rio and Sao Paolo of course). We danced among the Baterias (drummers) and marched through the cobblestone streets. It is a safe party, a fun party and free party, which is what Carnaval is suppose to be. I can imagine the Paraty street Carnaval is what Rio Carnaval was like in the 60s or 70s before the Sambadromo. The Baterias of Paraty are local high school boys doing their magic after midnight (who during the day works at the supermarket or internet cafe), unlike Rio Samba schools who are professionally trained year long. The street party (even though beer and Smirnoff ice is flowing) is safe and secure and free spirited, which probably cannot be said for both Rio or Salvador.The next morning comes the famous Paraty Carnaval treat. Everyone headed to the nearby beach and cover themselves in mud and party starts again. The ´Bloco da Lama´ translation: mud people or cavemen, is a long tradition in Paraty. Me and Juliette did the full experience of course.More to come....
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Paraty, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The Paraty Carnaval had been a blast - four days of non-stop street party. Lost in this madness was the beautiful town of Paraty and its tranquil surroundings. At night, the Carnaval rules the stars and the cobblestone streets, but during the day, Paraty has lots more to offer. There are many nearby beaches to explore, we took a day trip to Trinidad, about an hour bus ride. The beach is cleaner and the waves are prettier, of course thousands of others also had the same idea, so it was crowded but still very enjoyable.On the rainy day of Fat Tuesday, we took a bus into the mountains and discover the water fall / slide. Where in the middle of the jungle, the river plunging down stream created a natural water slide. It is good to get away from the humidity of the town and breath some pure rain forest air.Of course the colonial town of Paraty is certainly picturesque enough for the camera, especially during the full moon high tide or a sudden thunderstorm where the cobblestone streets are flooded, creating a mirror image of perfect reflection.All in all we had an enjoyable stay in Paraty. Would come back again someday. Next on to Rio ...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/panf007/6/1230862380/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/panf007/6/1230862380/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/panf007/6/1230862380/tpod.html Mon, 02 Mar 2009 23:16:04 -0500 Runnin´ down a dream, going wherever it leads

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Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Province of Puntarenas, Costa Rica

A "quick" five hour bus ride from San Jose brought us to Santa Elena, a small mountain town on the edge of Monteverde National Park, known for its cloud forest and canopy tours. We stayed at the Cabina El Pueblo, the new upstair rooms ($27 double) is a great deal. Clean room, hot showers, free internet, common kitchen and owner/manager are the friendliest family we have meet in Costa Rica. They are very helpful with info and bookings. This friendly atmosphere is lacking in many hotels / hostels we stayed in Costa Rica, but this family run hotel is one of its kind and made our stay very enjoyable.First day, December 31, we took a light stroll through the forest reserve, it is quite relaxing and beautiful indeed. Although paying $17 per person to see rainforest in the moutains is kinda like a pratical joke in Latin America. Think about it for a second, you can see it for free almost anywhere in Central and South America. Alternatively, would you pay $17 to see snow fall in Canada?Second Day, New Years Day, we booked a Canopy tour with Aventura. It was the first time for me and Juliette doing zip lines through the rain forest. At $40 per person, it was worth the money (much better spent than the national park fees). The guides are very helpful and the adrenaline rush is one of a kind. In two full hours, we zip through about 12 lines in between giant trees of the Monteverde jungle, at various speeds and length. The last two zip lines were above the 120 meter canyon, through the clouds and gushing winds, it was quite amazing. There is also a rapel, rope bridge crossing and Tarzan Swing, which is more like a semi-bungy with a big swing through the jungle.Happy New Year !!!
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Arica, Chile

La Paz was the same, chaotic. Buses, cars, people, kids, food, souvenirs, pollution just seems to blend into one. It is not my favorite city, but the view from the highway above the city is beautiful. La Paz, Bolivia is also the highest capital city in the world at close to 3600 meters above sea level. We stayed one day, and left the next morning at 5am to catch the international bus to Arica, Chile.The road to Arica is stunning, words couldn't´t justify its natural beauty. Most travelers take the bus to Uyuni to see the salt lakes and then cross to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile. We heard many good and bad stories from other travelers who toured the salt lakes, mostly high prices and drunk jeep drivers. Although 3 days in Bolivia does not do this diverse country justice, we took the same route as 7 years ago, down the Andes to Arica, Chile. This day, it was sunny and blue sky, which made the journey to Arica even more awe inspiring. The snow capped volcanoes (three of them) at the border crossing (by far the most beautiful border crossing in the world) between Bolivia and Chile is dream like.With the border crossing relatively time consuming, especially in Chile side, it was almost 5pm before we arrived in Arica, total of 10 hours. The desert road down to Arica is also quite unique by world standards, just on the edge of the Atacama desert (world´s driest), the view on either side of the highway was mostly dry sandy hills, miles after miles. The city of Arica is quite a contrast to La Paz, beautiful seaside city, clean, fresh ocean breeze, 25 C year round, and not too expensive. We both love this city, and wish we could stay here forever. The pedestrian mall has all the shops and pubs and restaurants. We enjoyed some clean food for once. The view from the top of the hill south of Arica is also quite beautiful. The only thing we had to get use to is that Chile (in the summer months) has day light saving time and the sun sets around 10pm here, thus the life of the city only starts to rumble after 9 o´clock at night.
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Tamarindo, Costa Rica

After a day in Playa Coco, we headed to Tamarindo, it use to be one of the best surf spot in Costa Rica, now like many other Pacific Coast cities, big resort development has spoiled Tamarindo a little, but it is still one of "hot spot" for any traveler.The beach in Tamarindo is a long stretch of soft sand, beautiful and clean. The waves are not the best, but it doesn't stop many surfers to perfect their skills. Dotted with palm trees, it look close enough to paradise. There are many tourists here, from backpackers to surfers, to wealthy North American all-inclusive resort types to Costa Ricans from San Jose here for the Christmas Holidays. The prices of everything is much higher than other parts of the country, but there is only one Tamarindo, so we didn't mind too much paying a premium price once in a while.We stayed here for Christmas, which for a beach resort town, Tamarindo lacks the Christmas spirit like other Latin American cities. Me and Juliette even tried to learn to surf on Christmas Day, now this was an experience that's worth bragging about. A visit to the nearby beach, Playa Grande, ($1 by boat to cross the river to the north of Tamarindo), was another great trip. Playa Grande is nearly deserted, only a handful of surfers trying their luck. We certainly enjoyed Tamarindo more than any other place so far, so missing Nicaragua does have its alternative rewards.
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Porto Alegre, State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

<i>Imagine there is no countries,It isn't hard to do...Imagine all the people,Living life in peace...Along with the wisdom of John Lennon, today we pass through a city of no countries and its people living in peace.Upon some internet research, we realized the border between Uruguay and Brazil at Chuy - Chui is a difficult one to cross independently, but we still went against our instincts of taking the overnight international bus. We boarded our bus at La Paloma at 8:30am, the chicken bus of Uruguay sort of speak. It stopped everywhere, in every town that didn´t exist on the map, in the middle of the highway to pick up / drop off passengers. We finally reached the border around 12pm.The Uruguay immigration is 3km from the actually town of Chuy, so we asked the bus driver kindly enough to drop us off at the immigration so we didn´t have to back track. It would have been easy to assume we would get the exit stamp without a problem, but this day is not going to be as smooth as silk. The immigration official asked us for the entry ticket (ferry from Buenos Aires), for which I had to dig into my backpack to find as I wonder to myself about this stupid bureaucracy. After we got our exit stamp, then it is a 3km walk into town, fortunately we got a taxi about half way there.Now comes the absolutely stupid Brazil immigration. We asked the taxi to take us 3km into Brazil, where the Brazilian immigration was suppose to be, but someone decided to changed to rules to make things difficult for everyone. The Brazilian custom guard told us in slow Portuguese / Spanish / English, we had to take the taxi back to Chui, then take a bus to the next town about 20km away, then get the entry stamp, and take another bus to Porto Alegre, our final destination. Say what?? Well, we will try.We bought the bus tickets to Porto Alegre in Chui. Two buses actually, first to the nearest town to get the immigration, then onto Porto Alegre. Fortunately I was able to change money easily at Chui, and there is one hour time change in our favour entering Brazil. Our bus left Chui at 11:45am (Brazil time).We got into the nearest town, about 20km away, half hour later. Of course the bus driver only stops at the bus station and we (me and Juliette plus 5 other backpackers) had to walk another kilometer to find the immigration station, which is basically a house that resembles any other house in this small town. We got our entry stamps and hurried back to the bus station just in time to catch our bus to Porto Alegre.All in all this is the most stupidest, most retarded border crossing ever. Why couldn´t both Uruguay and Brazil just build their border posts close to each other to make things easier.Or next time, we just take the overnight international bus.Our first impression of Brazil is empty, green, hot and humid. We arrived in Porto Alegre around 8pm. A long day finally ends as we checked in at Hotel Palacio at the center of the city at $35 double.
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