Ants on a hangover

After a boozy night drinking with the locals (and a few Brits) in the town square followed by a very Colombian salsa club, we took a local bus to a small village called Barichara. The town was justly famous for its lovely colonial streets but more importantly (for us anyway) it had a restaurant which specialised…

Colombia: leave your preconceptions at home

Colombia was definitely the most controversial destination on our itinerary. Many people questioned our desire to visit it (including the Foreign Office). However, (nearly) gone are the days of cocaine cartels, Pablo Escobar and paramilitaries. It is now firmly on the backpacker circuit and seems to be one of the safest Latin American countries. We landed…

Brazil round-up

A few observations after five weeks in Brazil… Things we liked: Beer always come in a bottle-shaped cooler with chilled glasses The buses are very comfortable – they make National Express seem Third World There is a lot of sand – from gorgeous desolate beaches to amazing 50 metre high dunes The most isolated, random, dirty local bar…

A beach on the Amazon!

Who would´ve thought there would be a white sand beach in the middle of the Amazon? Well there is and it looks like this… Alter Do Chao is a small quiet riverside village with a sand island (Ilha Do Amor or Love Island) that juts out into the river. It is full of rustic restaurants…

The Amazon SLOW boat

What can you get for 40 quid these days? A pair of jeans? A night out? A weekly travelcard? Well, in Brazil it buys you a three-day ‘cruise’ along the Amazon from Belem (on the Atlantic coast) to Santarem (deep in the heart of the jungle). However, the catch is you have to sleep in a hammock (on…