225 days, starting in August 2011, ending in March 2012 the biggest adventure of my life.
Read more ...
225 days, starting in August 2011, ending in March 2012 the biggest adventure of my life.
Read more ...Not all dreams come true, yet all trips come to an end. This trip had no exception.
It was hard to leave the hot summer in Rio and get back to work into a cold incoming spring in Rome.
I keep looking back over the past few months and recall the extraordinar y moments I have spent. I don't regret any single day of my "Round the World" trip. After all I eventually made it, exactly as I planned one year ago. I will always remember the last 225 days, every and one of them.
continuing from: "The Last Adventure - PART 1". Being excited by - or scared of- the possibility of meeting a jaguar face to face in the jungle, we start our trekking early in the morning. Mosquito are all way around, I'm glad my blood must be horrible 'cause I don't get any bite. At least from them.
After the extremely exhausting experience in the Jungle, a few days relaxing on a Brazilian island is what one needs.
After the Torres del Paine experience in Patagonia, I though I had done with exhausting trekkings surrounded by nature. Then I went to Chiapada Diamantina (MAP) and realized I was wrong.
If the most important carnival is held in Rio de Janeiro, most locals claims that the most original and traditional one takes place in Salvador de Bahia (MAP). So here is the plan: taking a flight during the middle of the party and switch city.
There is no Brazil without carnival, and there is no carnival without Sambodromo (MAP), full stop.
Over two months of Brazil cannot be shinked in one page. Mostly if O' Carnaval is part of the trip!
I'll try anyway.
Read more ..."Ilha Grande" (MAP) literally means "big island". In fact the island is not really famous for his hoge size: just a 15 km wide. Here there is just a small village (Abrao) surrounded by impressive and tick vegetation. There are no car in the island, that means the only way to reach the beaches is to walk across the jungle...
There are two way to get from Sao Paolo to Rio de Janeiro: one of the is the quick motorway that connects directly the two cities. The other one is going through the coast. It takes much more time, the road is not in good conditions and... the places you may happen to visit are so extraordinary that you may never arrive in Rio.
Once you get sick of getting a bus (bycicle, taxi) to easily reach a beach in Florianopolis (SEE PREVIOUS ARTICLE), and/or simply you want some more adventure or privacy, there are plenty of activities to do everyday.
Technically speaking I officially entered Brazil during my day trip to Iguazu. However, Florianopolis (MAP), in Santa Catarina province, is the first place where I spent some time inside Brazil.
Floripa, as everybody calls it, is far too famous for being such a small island (28 km long) and such an incredible number of beaches ("praias"): 42 they say. I was not able to see ALL of them, yet everyday I tried to make the most out of this stunning island.
Half island (the north part) is massively touristic. This is the perfect place to chill out, relax, drink a caipirinha and have a swim under the control of the baywatchers.
Soccer here is not an option: it is a religion. Children (both girls and boys) start kicking a ball even before being able to walk. In the late afternoon, when the sun is a little bit lower, the low tide generally leaves the perfect environment for a great soccer game. There is no age or number limit, just play - they are extremely fare - and have fun.
Yet here is not the only sport: the ocean and the shallow reef creates the perfect environment for surfing. And when you're tired (or scared) of the huge waves, you can always go to the safer dunes, just close to the beach
If one needs some more privacy, just walk a few minutes along the sea, there is always a isolated spot to relax and have kind of a private sand-garden.
It's lunch time, there are several options. You can just lay down and wait for someone to serve you fruit salads, beverages, meat rolls... Or you can go and eat some fresh fish on a restaurant. How do you know it's fresh? The fisherman just landed on the beach with the boat full of... If you have a kitchen you can even buy from him.
Yet florianopolis is not just salt water, there are several rivers and lagunes scattered around, when people live, play and relax.
It's the end of the day, the island gets prepared for the night: night parties on the beaches, neverending clubs, caipirinhas and a lot of fun activities are about to start