Dunesville

From Jeri we headed west to the Lencois Maranhenses national park – 15,000 sq km of rolling sand dunes. We walked across mile upon mile of blinding white sand dunes interspersed with turquoise freshwater lakes. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before and we even got to swim in the lakes before watching sunset…

Sand, sand and more sand

After a beautiful (but long and very bumpy) journey along sandy roads, the beach and dunes, via buses, 4WD trucks and sand buggies, we arrived in Jericoacoara. Jeri is a small village built on a beach surrounded by sand dunes and rolling green hills (and the occasional donkey). A highlight was a dune buggy tour…

Heading northwards in Brazil

A few things we have done in the last week or so (most good, one bad): Sitting on a beach under an umbrella in the rain drinking strawberry and passionfruit caipiroskas as big as our heads Wandering around a lovely old colonial town with cobbled streets and painted facades Spending the day on the beach…

STOP PRESS: Jack finds the rhythm in Rio…

As many of you will know, Jack struggles with dancing. We´ve all watched him as he painfully wiggles around the dancefloor. But to our (joint) surprise it seems he can dance to Samba music! On our last night in Rio we went to a samba bar in an area (Lapa) known for good music. After…

Favelas in Rio

A large proportion of the Rio population live in favelas on the hillsides around the city. We went to see two of these favelas. On the way to Rocinho (one of the biggest favelas near Rio with around 250,000 inhabitants) our guide explained some things about favela life: they started in 1950s when the first…