Featured Country - Brazil

How can you go on a trip around the world and miss out Brazil? A fair question, but had it not been for a Brazilian couple I met in Auckland I would have probably not spent the last month of my travels there. It comes as no surprise that in such a vast country one month doesn't "go a long way", will only provide a limited experience of different cultures in various regions and will leave you with a desire to come back and see some of the missed hotspots that fellow travellers kept on raving about. Arriving into Sao Paulo at the end of May, I flew 1700km up the coast to Salvador in the sunshine state of Bahia where I started off with 2 solid days of rain and cloud - not exactly what you'd expect. Despite the poor weather and my lack of enthusiasm for Salvador, I very much enjoyed the incredible caves near Lencois in the Parque Chapas Diamantinas and the picturesque beaches of Morro de Sao Paulo. The route continued South to the awesome waterfalls in Foz de Iguacu, followed by some peaceful days in Bonito from where I made my way to Rio de Janeiro - the marvelous city, via the Pantanal and the colonial coastal town of Parati.

Favorites etc.

So what was your favourite ... (spot/country/beach - pick one), would be a question that friends are naturally curious about. Although I didn't like the idea of such a tops-list I did in the end compile one on the following basis: Architecture Criteria: Impressive buildings = stuff to see within a lifetime. - Sagrada Familia (Barcelona, Spain) - Alhambra (Granada, Spain) - Hotel Unique (Sao Paulo, Brazil) - Iglesia de Santo Domingo (Oaxaca, Mexico) - Macchu Pichu (Macchu Pichu, Peru) Landscape Criteria: A natural sight or wonder that leaves you in awe and wondering how nature can be so beautiful. - Amphitheatre & Tugela Falls (South Africa) - Foz de Iguacu (Brazil/Argentina) - Salar de Uyuni and around (Bolivia/Chile) - Sussusvlei (Namibia) - Gruta Torrinha (Brazil) Beaches Criteria: If I had to walk back from the pub and the road were shorter than the beach, I would still choose any of these beaches. - Buffalo Bay (South Africa) - Bazaruto Archipelago (Mocambique) - Morro de Sao Paulo (Brazil) - Hari Beach (New Zealand) - Tofo Beach (Mocambique) Restaurants Criteria: I would even do a little d-tour to visit any of these restaurants if I am back in the area. (they're not all gourmet) - La Custeyere (Vendays Montalivet/France) - Tokara (Stellenbosch/South Africa) - Bodega Castaneda (Granada/Spain) - Carretao/Porcao (Rio/Brazil) - 5 Flies (Capetown/South Africa)

Why am I Doing This?

Indeed a pretty good question considering all the work that has gone into this site. So who or what is it for? First I wanted to create a platform which would help me keep in touch with my friends and family. This could have been done with a series of emails as well, yet a combination of word and images convey a far more vivid and extensive picture of the various regions I have travelled through. This trip will be a unique experience which I wanted to capture it in a presentable format allowing me to look back and recall the various locations and situations. Without this site many past events would have undoubtedly fallen prey to my notoriously short lived memory. Third, I wanted to create an archive of information with useful tips for food and lodging, places to see and things to do, which I could offer to fellow travellers which may be following some of the same paths I had previously explored. Lastly I wished to create something extraordinary, rare and valuable in terms of its contents and presentation - something I could look back on and be proud of. That's what keeps me going and what motivates me to make this an exceptional site.