Author: Colin Clark
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The Seven Cities
There was one place that I wanted to go to ever since Francesca mentioned it at the start of our trip – a place I had kind of heard about since I was a kid. We travelled overnight from Fortaleza (scary bus station) to Parnaiba in the state of Piauí. Another coastal city, Parnaiba is…
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Fortress Brazil
Just when we thought Natal was scary, along came Fortaleza! The 5th largest city in Brazil, Fortaleza, or Fortress, is the state capital of Ceará. Surely the shiftiest place we have stayed so far! Rio had its homeless zombie-likes at Carnival time, Salvador had its shootings, Recife its pedophiles and Natal its dark tense streets.…
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Christmas In Brazil
Forget trying to extend your tourist visa in Recife – the women who work at the little Polícia Federal room at the airport are extremely lazy, arrogant and egotistical. There is no help to be had there. If you do decide to try to extend in Recife, don’t bother with the address listed online –…
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The Shark Coast
After the cultural highlights of Salvador, we decided to make our way up the coast by bus toward our destination island, Fernando de Noronha. On the way, Maceió and Recife, two coastal cities of Brazil that are both name after features of their geographic location. Maceió is an Indian word for natural springs of water…
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The New Brazil
About 70km away from Belo Horizonte is a large artists environment set in beautifully kept gardens and open to the public. We got to the rodoviario early in the morning of 22nd February 2013, and boarded the bus to Centro de Arte Contemporânea Inhotim (Center of Contemporary Art Inhotim, pronounced In-hot-cheem). Inhotim was build by…
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The Gold Trail: Ouro Preto
Traveling the 6 hours from Petropolis to Belo Horizonte (Beautiful Horizon) was a pleasant enough experience. All bus trips in Brazil are best reserved using the online website http://www.buscaonibus.com.br. We booked our tickets, taxied to the rodoviaria (bus station), and on the morning of the 20th February we set off North through the mountains to…
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The Gold Trail: Petropolis
Leaving Rio de Janeiro on the 18th February was a relief. I was nervous about visiting the city before I got there after hearing so many stories of crime and violence, especially against tourists. I was crushingly disappointed when we got there only to discover a third world city that has very little to offer.…
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A Masonic Retreat
A good day for a bus journey saw us leaving the vast clump of concrete jungle that is Sao Paulo. Luckily we had packed well, and intelligently, and our rucksacks that are zipped onto or backpacks are easily detachable, and packed for a bus journey. Simply, unzip the rucksack from the backpack, and hey presto!…
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Koh Yao Noi – A New Beginning
I am kicking this blog off while we sit in Bangkok feeling a little cooped up in our apartment in Huay Kwang district. I have the beginnings of a cold, brought on, no doubt, by my body’s response to not smoking for the last few months and the perpetual cold air blowing in from the…