Mar 25, 2011 - A quaint village

In the morning we catch a local bus to a small village called Trinidad. A narrow windy road through the rainforest to the beaches – takes around 45 minutes. We cruise the beaches, enjoy the views and walk through the forest following a small creek and water falls. Lunchtime we catch a return bus. This turns out to be fun – we meet a tourist bus and there is confusion as to how we are going to pass. A number of cars arrive and are held up, then some of the tourists get off their bus…..just what you need, pedestrians in the mix. Our driver...

Mar 24, 2011 - and on to Paraty

We fly to Sao Paulo - nearly three hours. Very fertile soil with lots of agriculture and waterways. Then we board a mini van and head for a small coastal town called Paraty. Supposed to be a five-hour trip but takes quite a bit longer. By the time we are checked into our hotel it is 10.30 however we still go out for a meal. This time seafood and is one of our special meals. So tasty and with a few glasses of wine we eventually hit the sack 1am in the morning – very tired but very happy.

Mar 23, 2011 - Day 6 of My Trip to Brazil

This was the trip everyone was looking forward to. By the end of it all we would meet two Brazilian legends and visit the largest club in Brazil. We started our trip with great anticipation, since the schedule had us visiting Zico’s football academy. Zico is one of the greatest Brazilians to wear the #10 shirt and his accomplishments at the domestic and international level as a player and coach speaks for itself. The trip was just over 2 hours and we spent that time as coaches relaxing, sleeping and just talking to each other. We got there...

Mar 22, 2011 - Day 5 of My Trip to Brazil

The day began with the bus being an hour later. We were then off to Fluminense Football Club. Since we were running behind we were not sure how the dynamics of the session and the lecture were going to be affected. We were all hurried into a lecture room to meet with Coach Caio the Head Coach of the U15 boy’s team. Once again the information was stimulating and very informative. As I sat and listened to him, I kept on thinking about the various ways I could apply the information to the players in SVA academy. He talked about the attributes...

Mar 21, 2011 - Day 4 of My Trip to Brazil

Today started off as a simple day since not much was on the schedule. However, the information and the knowledge that was received and shared was certainly priceless. We visited Botofogo today and what a trip it was. The bus dropped us off at an outback and we proceeded to walk into what seemed like a house. As we walked though the turn style it was clear that it was their main facility. We proceeded to their training ground and were met by the assistant coach of the U20 youth team. He spoke English and was a former member of the Rutgers...

Mar 20, 2011 - Great views, shame about the clouds!

Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, 15 Mar 2011 – Midnight in Brazil A friend commented on yesterday’s entry, saying that sometimes we native English speakers expect too much English from our overseas hosts – and she is right! We can be somewhat lazy, even arrogant, when it comes to travelling and expect everyone to understand English, even though we do not communicate in their native language. However, like it or not, English IS the Lingua Franca of tourism and business, so we think it is reasonable to expect some English in primary tourism...

Mar 19, 2011 - A quiet day in Rio

Copacobana, Rio de Janeiro. 13 Mar 2011 – 2100 in Brazil On a fifty-day trip, one day is bound to be less good than the rest – today was that day! We don’t know whether it was the weather; the surprisingly decrepit look of our neighbourhood; the unhelpfulness of our hotel staff; or just us; but we have not been especially impressed with our first day in Rio. This is sad, because we were very much looking forward to visiting the home of the Carnivale – perhaps things will improve tomorrow when we ride the cable car to the Sugarloaf. We...

Mar 12, 2011 - Rio de Janerio, Brazil

I know we had send you a Xmas message from Rio--------but here are a few more facts and pictures of the city. I would say the only way to go to Rio is by boat, the sail in is just amazing---good thing our cabin was on the Port side of the ship. It is very green and tropical and the beaches (Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon) look amazing. Then you look up and see Christ the Redeemer on Corcovado, Sugarloaf and the huge bridge crossing to Niterol, on the other side of Guanabara Bay. After docking we took a bus up to Petropolis, about 1 1/2...

Mar 10, 2011 - Rio de Janeiro - Carnival!

Around midnight on the 3rd March we arrived in Rio. Waiting to pick us up was our friend Marc who we had met on a couple of trips in Cusco. Luckily for us, Marc had a 4 bedroom apartment in Rio and had invited us to stay, saving us almost $2000 on accommodation. From March 4 - March 9 we spent our time heading to blocos, going to the Sambodrome to watch the parade and doing other touristy things like Sugarloaf Mountain and visiting Jesus at Corcovado. March 10 we left the comfort of Rio and flew to Foz de Iguazzu where we crossed the...

Jan 24, 2011 - Rio de Janeiro

Monday, January 24, 2011 The view of the harbor area from the ship was rather depressing with warehouses that seemed pretty rundown. But all of that is going to change according to our guide Claudia when the harbor will get restored for the Soccer World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016. Jim, the retired architect in our group, said that they’d better start making better progress, of it’s not going to happen. There are large signs proclaiming that transformation as we left the harbor on our way to Sugar Loaf Mountain. We drove down...

Jan 20, 2011 - Our Itinery: 12 countries & 81 beds later

Our Itinery; in order of date, place we stayed, city / town, & country. In some cases, if we think the hostel was amazing, I have added the official web address. MEXICO 14 June: "La Fiesta Airport Hotel", Mexico City, Mexico (www.fiestainn.com) 15-16 June: "Meson de Tulum Hostel", Cancun, Mexico 17-19 June: "Poc Na Hostel", Isla Mujeres, Mexico (www.pocna.com) 20 June: "Hostel Colorado", Playa del Carmen, Mexico 21-23 June: "Papaya Playa", Tulum, Mexico (www.papayaplaya.com) 24 June: "Hotel Chetemal", Chetemal, Mexico BELIZE 25 June:...

Dec 19, 2010 - Rio

After Ollayantambo we had an abosolutely amazing experience at Machu Picchu. An amazing sight and something we wont forget! After the hike we soaked our sore muscles in the hot springs at aguas calientes and ordered pina coladas by the pool :) Sadly we had to leave Peru, but are now in Rio de Janeiro, where we have enjoyed 2 days of perfect beach weather and made the most of it. You can get everything from your umbrella on the beach, todaay we got sandwiches, iced tea, bbq prawns, hair braids and bracelets without leaving our umbrella....