Most people know that we are not really city people. We much prefer quiet villages or getting out into nature on the trail. And although we like Rio de Janiero, the real reason we LOVE it is that it melds so flawlessly with the mountains, and the sea, much the same as another favorite of Istanbul. Because of this, there…
Rio de Janiero is loaded with things to see and do. And in a month, we hardly cracked the shell on its offerings. But we saved the best for last…yes, our most fun day trips and favorite activities in Rio unintentionally occurred on our last few days in the city. Unsurprisingly, they were both adventures we hadn’t read much about…
Getting There (Is Half the fun?!) Flashing us back to India or Nepal, getting to Ilha Grande was the complete backpacker package to welcome us back to our fast travel month of August 2023. We don’t have days like this very often (anymore), so it’s always good to have a reminder of why we don’t. 🤣 It was complete with sweat-on-sweat…
Getting There & Where we Stayed From Ilha Grande, we took the local ferry ($5/each) to get to Angra Dos Reís, followed by a local bus to Paraty further west of Rio de Janiero. Paraty is one of those places typically known as "a colonial gem" by local and international tourists alike. Because of this, it was also a bit…
Getting There From Paraty, we boarded our first long distance bus in Brazil and had some major sticker shock at the price…far from the norm we’re used to in Latin America. For a 4.5 hour route, it cost 215 Reais or $44 for the two of us to Rio de Janiero. We then traveled an additional 1.5 hours north to…
After a day with an internet hit, fluffy pillows, and getting officially stamped out of Colombia and into Brazil, it was time to graduate from Amazon Light to the “real” Amazon. This leg would take us 3-4 hours up a Brazilian/Peruvian Amazon tributary to Palmari Nature Reserve, and encompass our biggest budget splurge since our Tanzanian safari in 2019. …
From Letitica, there are two ways out of the Amazon. The easy way we came in (by plane) or the hella more interesting way (by river.) Within those water options, there are two boats: One is the expensive “speed” boat, which still takes 36 hours to get to Manaus (the nearest city in Brazil with an airport) and costs about $160…
At last! After three nights sleeping cozily near hundreds of people in a hammock on a boat, we had arrived to the Brazilian Amazonas capital of Manaus, also known as “The Gateway to the Amazon” which can only be reached by boat or air. The city, most notable for its peculiarly placed pink opera house and Amazon research centers, sits on…
