Travelling south of Porto Seguro, there are three beautiful holiday villages, each with their own characteristics and magical charms. Arraial D’Ajuda, Trancoso and Caraiva all started life as fishing villages on Brazil’s palm lined Bahia coast and have developed into trendy getaways with completely distinct personalities. There’s something for every taste here and the further south you go the more remote and rustic the locations become. With a passion for the beach and everything that goes with it, it’s not surprising that Brazilians have developed a saying for the things they love – “é minha praia” – which literally translates as “that’s my beach” so we decided to do a little research of our own and spend time in each of these villages to see which one we would call ‘our’ beach.
Festival Fever – Festa do Bonfim
19 Jul
Brazil is famous for its vibrant festivals and raucous celebrations. Naturally outgoing and full of life, smiles and laughter, Brazilians instinctively know how to have a good time making their parties amongst the biggest and best in the world. Images of streets thronged with carefree revellers, live bands playing every kind of music and curvaceous ladies dancing in sequined bikinis is not a marketing ploy, this is the real deal! The Brazilian calendar is chock-full of festivals and if you spend any length of time in the country, it’s highly likely you’ll stumble across one. For those lucky enough to be swept up in the festival spirit, the anything-goes celebratory vibe is infectious and it will undoubtedly be the highlight of any trip to Brazil.
Wake up and smell the coffee – Colombia’s Zona Cafetera
3 Mar
Growing truly exceptional coffee is one of the things Colombians do best. In fact their coffee is considered to be amongst the greatest in the world so we fully expected to be left wide-eyed and shaky with the amount we intended to drink in the country’s renowned bean growing region, aptly named Zona Cafetera.
Inner tubes, bamboo and string – river travel the Bolivian way!
4 Oct
Five days – drifting 250 kilometres down river – from Guanay to Rurrenabaque – on a home-made raft – with no engine…I must have got that all wrong. Was there a way such a trip could really be possible? The voice on the other end of the phone took a deep breath and repeated what they’d already explained. The ‘No noise’ jungle rafting experience through Bolivia’s chunk of Amazonas was created for people looking for unparalleled adventure. Six people, a guide and a cook, along with rucksacks, food supplies and camping equipment, would pile on top of a raft no bigger than 5 metres long and 2.5 metres wide and float to their destination using only the natural flow and currents of the river. There would be jungle walks to spot exotic animals and indigenous tribes were never far from the river banks. Home each evening would be under canvas in a rustic camp and to wash ourselves there would always be a crystal clear river or a gushing waterfall nearby. Rendered speechless as my head span with all of this information – all I could muster were the immortal words – “Sign us up!”
Welcome
Featured posts
-
Torres del Paine – the ‘W’ trek
Visitors from all walks of life converge on the small hamlet of Puerto Natales to visit Chile’s and perhaps the Continent’s number one national park – Torres del Paine. Located in the Southern Patagonian ice fields at the end of the Andes, the park offers diverse wildlife and incredible mountain scenery, glaciers, lakes, rivers and […]
latin chattin' 