Travel

Rio to Cusco, Peru via Lima

We said goodbye to Rio. I am pleasantly impressed with this city, if I speak Portuguese I wouldn’t mind living in Rio. The people are naturally festive and with their new found economic strength they have a lot to celebrate about. It would be nice to visit this city again when they hold the World Cup in 2014 or the Olympics in 2016.

Free Day

It’s a free day in our tour, even vacations need a break. A number of us opted to take a leisurely boat ride around ‘Bate de Guanabara’. Not much information was given during the ride because our guide, Carlos, speaks very little English – about 15 words to be precise, most of them are names of places like Sugar Loaf and Copacabana Palace. But he is a nice fellow and tried his best to communicate. When he was overwhelmed he finds someone who can translate.

Vasco vs Flamenco

7-Apr-2012 06:30PM BST, Rio de Janiero When in Rome – do as the Romans do. Our tour ended just pass mid-day but Ricardo suggested to those who are interested, to watch the state finals of soccer at the Stadium Rio. There were 8 takers, Jeanne and I included. Ricardo then organised for the hotel to… Read More ›

Pao de Azucar

The first interesting information I got from the guide when we first landed was that the body of water, now called Guanabara Bay, was discovered 1-January-1502 by the Europeans. They thought it was the river thus the name January River or Rio de Janiero.

This bay is of great naval significance, the small opening to the Atlantic Ocean makes it easy to defend from pirates. At the mouth of the bay is a loaf shaped mountain that serves as a landmark to the navigators as well as a look out for pirates. This mountain is called Pao de Azucar or Sugar Loaf Mountain.

Nova Fiera de Sao Cristovao

6-April-2012 7:30PM BST, Rio de Janiero – Brazil This was not part of our travel itinerary and I would credit Ricardo, our guide, for making this happen. He certainly went out of his way to make our visit a tad more interesting by offering us a sample of local life in Rio. Most tourists would… Read More ›

Corcovado, Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon

As expected, the site of the statue is an awesome vantage point to see Rio de Janiero. The sky is clear, weather not too warm. The crowd is of reasonable density for the time we were there. It is one off my bucket list of things to see.

Down in Brazil

5-April-2012 Rio de Janiero, Brazil Ever since we decided to take this trip, Michael Frank’s – Down in Brazil, has been playing in my head. Down in Brazil It takes a day to walk a mile Time just stand still And all those café ‘ole girls in high heel shoes They take away your blues… Read More ›

Buenos Aires to Iguazu, Argentina

3-April 2012 Iguazu, Argentina We packed our bags after the Tango show before going to sleep. I tossed and turned and have not really had any sleep. Then it was time to head to Buenos Aires Domestic Airport and fly to the border of Argentina and Brazil called Peurto Iguazu. It’s over 1000 km in-land… Read More ›

Tango

Tango, as we were told, was a forbidden dance. It used to be spurned and danced only at the cabaret with women of questionable characters. It was not until it became a craze in Paris did it eventually became socially acceptable to dance the tango. The president and his wife themselves had unveiled the dance back into their culture. Now the best tango dancers in the world are in Buenos Aires. It has become their symbol. You cannot go to any souvenir shop without a tango themed statue, painting, mugs, magnets etc.

Buenos Aires in a Day

2-April-2012 – Buenos Aires, Argentina An advantage of being in a tour group is that you don’t really have to do a lot of research to know where to go and what to see. Everything is laid out for you as a tourist. Sure you may just get to see the highlights – but that… Read More ›