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Brazil Blur

Sunday, August 12th, 2007

Just a quick note to say that we are having a great trip here in Brazil.  Too good of a time for the blog.  Sao Paulo was way better than any book says it is.  We looked for dangerous people and found none.  Randy and I then rented a car and drove the coast to Rio spending three days in Paraty – a nice colonial town on a beautiful bay.  Finally, Ipanema and Copacabana!  On to Minas Gerais later in the week followed by Bahia for the remainder.  All I can say right now is that it is looking like Brazil is the best country I have visited, Brazilians are the most wonderful of people, Brazilian women… ahhhh, and we have not seen ANYTHING that is remotely dangerous in appearance.  Crossing Sao Paulo streets with the cars gunning for you or Rio de Janeiro with its 80kph buses on the streets – now there´s danger!  Off to a favella tomorrow in search of the dangers for which Brazil is so infamous.  I´m expecting to find impoverished neighborhoods with smiling people.  Geez, you can´t believe the smiling faces in Brazil.  It´s too bad a small minority of drug gangs has the world (media help) believing this is a place to avoid.  Quickly falling in love with an amazing nation.  Wish I could speak Portuguese…

From the Center of the Universe

Tuesday, July 31st, 2007

New York City, that is… Well, I am on the road again.  I am writing from the world’s most expensive internet “cafe” (Kinko’s – no food/drinks allowed) – $18 per hour (Bolivia = 25 cents!!!!).  I love NYC, but the prices are astronomical.  Time off has been good.  Too long maybe, but I am ready to go to Brazil.  We (my friend, Randy, included) will be there for a month before I head to Morocco. 

I have to thank the following friends for putting me up (and putting up with) for the past few weeks – I love all of you!… Bryan and Matthew, Ilene and Jim, Randy, Robert and Donna, Terry and DiAnn, Mom!, Joan and Joe, John, Anita and Alex, and Hal.  Throw in all the food and I am definitely the best cared for homeless person in America.  I would be embarassed, but I am settling into this life very well and it looks now like I am truly going to do this for a while so you’ll all probably have to see me again 🙂 

I am more than ready to get back to my life on the road.  I have missed it a lot even while having adventures galore here in the USA including nearly being crushed in a my kayak by a flying 8-point buck (I kid you not), seeing Randy take a kayak for its first submarine adventure, watching bald eagles on Lake Sonoma and near Turner’s Falls, MA, paddling on Cape Cod, meeting Jillian’s guy, washing pots and pans and what-not at a wedding for 200 guests, and a few other that I am probably forgetting. 

I also survived electronics meltdowns.  My camera never recovered from the very wet and miserable return from the Amazon.  A new model is now onboard.  My laptop hard drive became increasingly flakey and troublesome.  The laptop will recover, but is not going to Brazil.  That’s too bad and the reason I am paying $18 per hour to sit here.  I gotta go.  Next dispatch… From South of the Equator!!!!!!!

Who Is Really Guilty???

Tuesday, June 12th, 2007
One thing that is starting to really bug me is the finger-pointing that we do towards other countries when it seems like we have some responsibility for their problems.  The cocaine trade in South and Central America is a good ... [Continue reading this entry]

Home

Thursday, June 7th, 2007
Well the first week has gone very well.  The shock of America wore off quick and I have settled in.  I have been busy with taxes, the storage pods, reconnecting with friends and the next leg.  The next leg is a ... [Continue reading this entry]

Out of South America

Saturday, June 2nd, 2007
Well I am at SFO waiting for a ride to Sonoma County.  It was one hell of a seven month adventure.  I need some time to digest it all.  I'm disappointed it ended on a rather low note, but that ... [Continue reading this entry]

It’s a Jungle in Manu… Inkanatura Sucks!

Saturday, June 2nd, 2007
My last adventure in Latin America was a visit to Manu National Park in the Amazon Basin in Peru.  I went all out with a five day, four night stay at Manu Wildlife Center which has a great reputation.  Manu ... [Continue reading this entry]

The Camelids

Thursday, May 31st, 2007
I probably don't talk about the animals as much as they make their way into my life on this trip.  Sure, when I get hit by a gorilla, that makes news, but I do see a lot of animal life.  ... [Continue reading this entry]

Last Day in Sacred Valley

Thursday, May 31st, 2007
I escaped from hectic Cusco with my new friend, Isabella (Swedish pharamacist living in Ireland), on my last day at altitude.  We chose to spend the day in Sacred Valley seeing the last bit of major sites that I had ... [Continue reading this entry]

And Now for Heaven

Thursday, May 31st, 2007
My Lake Titicaca adventure started with a ride to Llachon on Capachica Peninsula.  I went with a guide named Guido from Explorandes' kayaking outfit called Titkayak.  The Capachica Peninsula in combination with Chucuito Peninsula which is on an opposite shore ... [Continue reading this entry]

Protests in the Unknown Continent (Central America and Caribbean Included)

Friday, May 25th, 2007
Although La Paz and Bolivia in general seems to have the most, I have seen protests in Mexico, Ecuador, Peru and Argentina and I am sure they happen regularly in every Latin American country except Cuba.  I like the protests... ... [Continue reading this entry]