We had been driving all day through the rainforest and couldn’t find a place to camp because there weren’t any clearings.
Until we came upon a fork and, in the distance, saw an antenna, which indicated habitation.
South America Travel
The Story of Limes and a Church – Making Caipirinha in Brazil
What were we going to do with 100 limes? An hour ago we thought we were going to be stuck with a bottle of cachaça and a kilo of sugar which had become useless as the main ingredient for our favorite cocktail had been missing: limes.
And now we had 100!
Watching a 360-degree Waterfall in Iguaçu National Park in Brazil
The waterfalls of Iguaçu have been credited with all kinds of superlatives: the best, the highest, the largest, the most spectacular, the deepest, the most impressive.
So, what are they?
Watching Seahorses in Brazil
I can’t remember ever having seen one before. No matter how I turn the bottle, this water creature keeps its head turned from me. Later the opposite happens with another one and I figure that maybe they prefer facing` towards the sun.
In wonder I am staring at a gray-colored seahorse.
Allowing a Place to Unfold – Tatajuba Beach (Brazil)
“I have some chicken on skewers left. Would you like one?” Marcel asked.
I looked at Coen. We just had noodle soup for dinner and aren’t hungry.
“With peanut sauce,” Marcel’s wife Sandra added with a smile.
Is Tourism Welcome? – Tourism vs. Traditional Life of Bartering
“We would leave on Monday, be gone the entire week fishing in either the lakes or if there was not enough water we’d go out on the ocean and return on Saturday. We’d have one day at home and we were off again.”
With his six brothers and parents, Marinaldo lived on fishing. Day in, day out.
5 Places in South America to Listen to Silence
“The sound of silence”
~Paul Simon
My parents had an album by Simon & Garfunkel. I loved listening to it and when I started learning English in high school, one particular song triggered me: The Sound of Silence.
Small and Excellent – Brazilian Coffee
There’s the taste – strong but not bitter and incredibly sweet – but it’s the serving that makes me smile: in minuscule cups. I appreciate something small and excellent, like Meu Doce Pará cookies that are smaller than the tip of my pink.
I love Brazilian coffee.
The Smallest, Tastiest Cookies: Biscoitos do Pará (Brazil)
Meet Viktor, his wife Jacqueline, their daughter Isabella. They make a living by baking and selling minuscule cookies, of which the baking is done in a small kitchen of their apartment.
They call their cookie-baking business Meu Doce Pará.
5 Places to Hike Forest Trails in South America
The rustling of leaves brings peace of mind. It slows me down and makes me aware of my surroundings: nuts and flowers, delicate mushrooms, fabulously twisted lianas, colorful leaves. I spot butterflies, crickets, leaf cutter ants. I take note of the soothing sounds of humming insects and scurrying lizards.
A forest is hardly ever silent.
Boating Through the Ecological Sebuí Reserve in Brazil
In the early morning we sailed through the Baia de Guaraqueçaba in an open motorboat: a world of sapphire-colored water surrounded by blue-grey mountain ranges outlined against a cobalt, slightly clouded sky. With dolphins accompanying us in the distance, the scenery couldn’t have been more peaceful.
We were on our way to the Ecological Sebuí Reserve in southern Brazil.
Getting Rid of Stuff
“Every increased possession loads us with a new weariness”
~John Ruskin
“Just throw it away,” I tell Coen whenever he returns with yet another gadget he received at a workshop. “No, I’m sure I can make somebody happy with it,” he will answer.
So, there you have it, two solutions: Throw it away or Give it away
If it were so simple, I wouldn’t be writing this blog post.
Slow Travel is Not for Sale
“You know, for me, this is what travel is about.”
“What?” I asked.
The sunset?
The rough camping on this white beach of the Tapajós River?
Is he looking at some birds?
Enjoying his cup of coffee?
Maniçoba – Cooking Food for 7 Days? How Slow can Food Be?
The Brazilian dish called maniçoba is poisonous unless it has been cooked for at least 3 days.
This intriguing fact demanded further investigation.
The Difference Between Slow Travel And Traveling Slowly
The Land Cruiser crawls through potholes, jolts over bumps, and carefully drives onto wooden constructions called bridges. Hour after hour, day after day, we drive at a turtle’s pace on the infamous, 800-km-long BR319.
Welcome to the main highway between Manaus and Porto Velho, in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon.