Salta

 Los Caldones, the silent sentinels of the desert (one of the Argentine generals dressed in ponchos and hats to fool the army)

 The lovely painted rocks which are everywhere in the valley, very beautiful

The valley of arrow

Buenos dias
We are now in the northwest corner of Argentina, in the province of Salta, which lies close to the borders of Chile and Bolivia.  The area is semi arid in most places, but some areas receive a lot of rain, like Salta, the city.  Right now, its the rainy season, so everything is green and lush and their are lots of crops growing.  The main crops are tobacco, grapes (some awesome high altitude wines), peppers, corn and soy beans, onions and garlic are big too.  So are cattle and goats.
We started in Salta city which was one of the main trade cities for the Spanish as it was close to Peru, Bolivia, Chile and natural resources.  It has a very nice main square with well preserved colonial buildings and even a church or two!  The MAAM is here, which is the museum which houses the Inca children that were found buried on top on of one the the mountains which forms the border with Peru.  The Inca picked the most perfect children, fed them beer to make them sleep and then buried them at 20,000 feet.  They are perfectly preserved.  We saw the Lightening Girl who was struck by lightening while she was buried.  It looks like she is sleeping.  She is perfectly cryogenically preserved.  Sorry, no pictures, but if you google her, I am sure you can see an awesome picture of her.  They also found ( on a National Geographic expedition in 1999) a young boy and a teenaged girl.  It was a great honour to be chosen and the Inca did not think that they died but ascended to the next life.
Early the next morning, we headed south to visit some colonial small towns and see some amazing natural rock formations.   Every little town has a main square and yes, a church.  They are quite pretty and peaceful.  This is the area where the indigenous peoples live, they look a lot like the Peruvians, which is not surprising as at one time the whole area from Bolivia to the bottom of Argentina where under Inca rule.  They are lovely friendly people who live a simple life of mostly farming.  They always have a smile and a wave for you.  This area produces some of the finest weavings and sliver craft.
It is famous for the red poncho, which is a sign of resistance against the Spanish rule.
We have visited a few great wineries, one Colome is the highest altitude vineyard in the world, one of their vineyards is at 3100 m.  It was also the first winery dating from 1831.  The area is known for the Torrentes grape, which produces a sweet dry wine (like a dry riesling).  They also produce some awesome cab sav and malbecs.
We have been following the famous routa 40 which travels from north to south Argentina.  Luckily, we have a 4x4 because alot of the roads have been washed away or flooded by the torrential rains last week.  Sometimes, routa 40 is a lovely paved highway and othertimes its a goat track.  It passes through some of the most amazing landscapes.  The park of Los Coldones ( a type of cactus) where the road follows a dead straight Inca road.  The Incas built their roads at night with torches in order to make them perfectly straight.  We stopped in a patch of cacti and it was like standing amongst a group of silent sentinels watching over the desert, it was eerie and awe inspiring at the same time.  The hills are many colours,, red, green, brown, beige, yellow and all different shapes and sizes.  We drove through the valley of arrows today, named for the arrow shaped rocks which rise out of the earth.  This is a geologist's dream!
WE follow the Calchaqui river which at times is a trickle and other times quite mighty.  WE have traveled over bridges that were under water last week.  Other times we have to ford the river our vehicle.
Its a great place!
Kim and Dan
Lots of problems with the internet connections, sorry no pictures.  I will add them when I get a better connection

Iguazu Falls

That's what they call it in Argentina, in Brazil it is Iguassu Falls.  Most of the falls are on the Argentinine side but the Brazilian national park is larger and more commercial.  The falls are amazing, there is an average amount of water in them now, but in 2007 or 8, they were dry and the year before they were flooded and covered the boardwalks.  They say they are not as spectacular as they normally are this time of year because there is a drought, but yes, you guessed it, it rained yesterday after we got here.  No floods, though.
The falls are huge, they are much bigger than Niagara Falls, at its peak there are 275 falls.  The main falls are the Devil's throat where the water drops 74 m and the water rises so it looks like steam.  There is so much spray that we were soaked after overlooking the area, twice, once from the Brazilian side and once from the Argentine.  It is so heavy, its like being rained on.  All the falls stretch over 2.7 km and you can view them from both sides, although, the Argentines have built a long walkway over some of the falls.    You can view them from above and below and on each side.  We took a boat ride to the falls and the Devil's throat where we saw them up close before being soaked by the falls.  The water was surprisingly warm, the guide said about 25C.  We were dripping wet when we got off the boat.  It was quite an experience, it makes the maid of the mist look pretty tame.
The falls are surrounded by subtropical rainforest and there are lots of butterflies and some wildlife.  They have  coati which are very much like raccoons and can be found wherever there is food, apparently they can be quite aggressive when it comes to food.
They have a spider, the golden orb spider, which spins a golden web.  We visited a bird park where they had dozens of species of birds, including colourful parrots, flamingos, macaws, hummingbirds, scarlet ibis and many others.  They had a butterfly house also, it was really well done.
We are now relaxing at our hotel, which is very lovely with three swimming pools and decks which overlook the rainforest.  Its nice to be back in the land of reasonably priced good wine.  We visited a wine boutique yesterday and picked up some really nice wine and are sipping it on our deck.  Life is hard.
Off to Salta and the Northwest tomorrow for a new adventure!

 Some of the many falls which make up Iguazu falls

 The cloud of mist rising from the falls, a hint of the awesome power

 A toucan (toco tucan)

 A blue macaw

Our friends Kalline and Pablo and one of their twin daughters (in Salvador)
Kim and Dan

Carnaval!

How do you describe Carnaval.....crazy!
Thousands of people partying, drinking, dancing, playing music, men dressed as women, drums, horns, dancers.  Adults and kids alike, the parents like to dress their kids up-fairies, bahian dress, indian chiefs, spider man and whatever else they can find.  This is the time of the year when men love to dress as women, wrap their heads in specially designed towels and wear togas, they call themselves "filo de Ghandy"  (sons of Ghadi-I think Ghandy is Ghandi mispelled and never corrected).
Carnaval takes place in three main areas or blocos, and they differ.  Pelourhino, the historic district is quieter (its all relative), no amplifiers or electronics, just local bands and dancers.  It is much more grassroots, with the costurmes often being homemade.  Dozens of bands of all sizes and shapes, drum bands, horns, horns and drums, the Japanese drum band is amazing-the energy and performance is high octane!  Many bands have costumed dancers which lead them, some in fancy dress, some in traditional Bahian dress, lots of men dressed as women, gladiators, natives, and whatever else they can think of.  Some, I am not sure what they are supposed to be, but they have alot of fun.
In Campo Grande and the Barra, it is more flashy.  They have huge trucks with dozens of massive speakers which amplify the band's music called trio electrico.  They are so loud that you can feel it thumping in your chest, no one suffers from V fib here!  There are alot of big names, yesterday, we went to the Barra and several of the bands had huge followings.  First there is the large (bigger than a tractor trailer)  all fitted out for the band, they play on the top and have stages which move up and down for the main singer.  And tons of speakers.  It is followed by abada, who are followers who pay to follow the trio, they wear "uniform" shirts, each trio has their own followers who wear a different shirt.  They are called pipoca or popcorn as they jump up and down like popcorn.  They dance in an area behind the trio which is roped off, and only those in the shirts can dance there.  If you want to pay more, then you can follow in another trio just for fans, no band.  They drink and dance and often throw scarves and other beer sponsored souvenirs to the crowds.  If that is not your thing, then you can watch from the streets and dance away or pay to stay in a grandstand type area to watch the trios go by.  They move very slowly and it takes hours to see them all, they usually start mid afternoon and go until midnight.  Then there are live bands are multiple venues around the area, which often start at midnight.

 A typical band in the Pelourhino

 They love to dress their kids up, they are quite cute, unlike the men who dress up

 Police presence is everywhere, at times, it feels like you are in a war zone, armed police and police helicopters constantly flying overhead, sometimes it seems like they were going to land on the rooftop bar of our hotel

 A small trio electrico

Women in traditional Bahian dress

Of course, there are all the vendors selling food, souvenirs, and all kind of neon gear, lots of masks, headdresses, pom poms, etc.  Of course there is beer and other drinks, everywhere, cerveza is 3 for 5 Real!  cheaper than water.  You can buy anything.
Sorry not alot of pictures, as you don't carry your camera or anything of value when you go out into the street.
Ciao
Kim and Dan

Salvador

Images from Salvador

Pictures first, a view of Pelourhino roof tops from our hotel

 The cloisters from Sao Francisco convent, with the Portuguese tiles

 The ceiling in Sao Francisco church

 The altar

 An example of the detailed carvings, these carvings are holding up one of the alcoves

 A typical square in Pelourhino

Greetings from the city that does not sleep.
We do, fortunately our hotel is soundproofed.  It is right in the middle of Pelourinho, which is the historic old centre of town.  Pelourhino means whipping post, as the slaves were punished in the Pelourhino square.  Now bands play for Carnaval there.  It is a lovely place with lots of old colourful buildings and yes, you guessed it, churches.  There are many catholic churches, some Jesuit, some for blacks, some for nuns and priests and some for other whites.  Salvador has 365 churches, Dan is in heaven!
The most famous church and the largest in Brazil is here, Igreja Convento de Sao Fanscisco ( you may have noticed that this is a popular name for churches in Brazil), which is an amazing example of a Baroque church.   This one has a convent, church and layman's church all in the same complex.  It was founded in 1500's.  The walls of the cloisters are decorated with blue and white tiles which were painted in Portugal, numbered and sent over by ship.  They were then assembled and placed on the walls of the cloisters, they depict many lessons about virtue, goodness and hard work, they do not have a religious overtones.   They also depict the life of St Francis de Assiz, who is the patron saint of the Church.
The interior of the church is amazing, even Dan was impressed.  It has more gold leaf in it than any other church, I expected to find a gaudy display, but it is really well done.  It is impressive and a sensory overload, but surprisingly, it is attractive.  Pictures to follow, these are legit.  There are many paintings on the walls and ceilings.  The interior was first carved from wood, covered with a thin layer of plaster then covered in gold leaf or painted.  The sculptures are amazing, there is so much detail in each alcove.  There are 8 alcoves and the main alter.  The chandelier is made of 70kg of silver!  The detail of the carvings and the paintings are amazing.
 The main square has 3 churches and the old medical school surrounding it.  Many of the buildings are in poor shape, but they are slowly being restored.  It is a shame to see some of these churches decaying as they are an important part of Salvador and Brazil's history ( and the Catholic church has lots of money).
Salvador is an interesting mix of cultures, they describe it as boiling.  Most of the population have descended from the African slaves and are very proud of their culture.  Their music is prominent in Carnaval.  There are also the Portuguese descendants and of course the mulattos, which form the second biggest group.  There are also many European and Japanese descendants (most of the Japanese are in the Sao Paulo area).
The old historic town is separated by from the lower town by a large hill.  There are no stairs, but an elevator was built in 1873 to connect the lower city with the upper, it was overhauled in the 1930's and now has an Art Deco look.  There are four elevators which take 30 seconds to travel the 72 m distance.  They are move people very quickly.  It is an amazing place!
Love to hear from you, time to watch the parade!
Kim and Dan

Images of Brazil

 Christ the Redeemer, the famous statue overlooking Rio, the largest Art Deco statue in the world

Brazilian Beauties

Market in Lencois

More from Chapada Diamantina

Greetings from the lovely land of Brazil
Chapada (plateau) Diamantina is a vast park with a variety of beautiful sites.  We have visted the Poco Azul, a crystal clear pool of water inside a cave.  We snorkeled in the pool where the visibility was perfect.
We also saw the Poco Enchante, which is a clear pool that is a beautiful blue colour when the light shines on it.  It is in another cave and was discovered in 1980.  The water is clear and you can see 40 m to the bottom, but it is full of calcium carbonate which causes the beautiful blue colour when the light shines on it.
We hiked 12 km to day (yes, Dan hiked) to one of the tallest waterfalls in Brazil today, we could not see the bottom from the top.  There were two rainbows and the waterfall was so powerful that the spray could be seen before we reached the waterfall.  The natives call it smoke.  We are quite lucky with the waterfalls, as there has been little rain, so many of the falls have been dry.  Our guide joked about throwing a bottle of water over the edge so there would be a waterfall.  The weather here is very variable, if you don't like the weather wait 5 minutes.  There are 23 microclimates in Bahia.  Yesterday while we were hiking, big black clouds blew by us with rolling thunder which echoed in the canyons, but it was sunny where we were.
Today, we weren't so lucky, we got rained on several times, but the sun came out and the clouds cleared when we reached the waterfall.  When we were trekking to the falls, the hills were shrouded in mist, it did not look like there were any hills around us.  When the clouds cleared, the view was spectacular, many outcroppings of the characteristic rock in the area, and a vista of greens and blues for as far as the eye could see.  It was worth getting soaked to the skin.  At least I think so, don't ask Dan!
The people of Brazil are so friendly and helpful.  It is a lovely country, expensive, but lovely.

Poco Azul

 Poco Enchante

 Waterfall, can't remember the name

the intrepid travelers beside one the really interesting rock formations (notice the pink colour, which is a dominant colour around Bahia

Bye
Kim and Dan

Chapada Diamantina

Greetings from Bahia
The fire was put out the day before we arrived, enough said.
We are now visiting one of the most beautiful national parks in Brazil.  It is similar to the Grand Canyon, the Bungles and southern Africa.  It has large sandstone canyons, beautiful waterfalls, pantanals (savanahs), forests, crystal clear and blue waters and rivers.   It is a very diverse area.
It is in Bahia, which is the state where many of the descendants of the slaves live.  The majority of the population are of African heritage, so African culture and religion is strong here.  Capoiera is a martial art which was invented by the slaves as a way to defend themselves, but it is disguised as a dance.  The movements are very fluid and strong, part ballet, part tai chi, part judo and part break dancing.  It is very popular here, our guide Mio practices it, it is really amazing to watch.
We are based in two places, the first is Lecois, which is an old colonial town where diamonds were found. There were many diamond mines until recently.  The area is a geological wonderland, gold, diamonds and many other precious stones were found here.  We walked along the river today and the variety of rock and stone formations were amazing.  It is easy to see where the glaciers had done their work.  There were conglomerates of stones from many places, green, red, yellow, pink, and a variety of different stone-quartz,sandstone, granite.  Many carved by glaciers and water.
The whole area is amazing, canyons carved by water, cliffs pushed up by teutonic plates,  lush vegetation and cacti all in the same area.
We also spent a couple of nights in a town called Igatu which is on the top of a very large hill.  Diamonds were discovered here and the town came to be.  At is peak, there were 1100 residents living on the top of the hill, now there are 350.  The views are amazing, but the road up to it, is a real nightmare.  It is cobblestones, very uneven and much of it washed away by the rains.  The high school aged kids have to ride the school bus up and down that road everyday, they must be very dedicated to school to make that trip everyday.  Life in the village is pretty sedate, not too much happens here.  It is very peaceful.  There are many ruins from the diamond  days and the graveyard is quite spectacular. One for the rich with lots of ornate whitewashed crypts and one across the road (on the cliff with much better views) for the poor with simple crosses.

 the view from the top of one of the many outcroppings of rock which was carved by a river, just like the Grand Canyon

A local that we met who was taking us to his house where we could use his cell phone, the house had no glass in the windows, no running water (we met him at the river where his wife was washing clothes), no electricity.  He carried a machete and a gun to kill animals so he could eat.  He lives on what he can grow, fish and hunt.  He is not the poorest, as he has a house.

 Washing dishes in the river, this is where they wash their clothes also.  It is 500-1000m from where they live.

The crypts of the rich in Igatu

Brazil is very much a country of contrasts from landscapes to skin colours.   From the ultra rich to the very poor.  The poor are very much the majority, although the middle class is starting to emerge since Brazil's rise as an economic power.  Corruption is widespread and is openly talked about by the people.  It is a way of life here.   Many of the roads are in horrid conditions, and barely able to be driven on.  We were on one today that was littered with potholes, the pavement was barely a centimetre thick.  It is called a politicians road, because only a small part of the money given to the local government by the federal government was spent on the road.  The rest went to line the local politicans pockets.  It is hard to believe that a country so rich has so many poor who live without running water and often electricity.  OK, I will get off my soapbox and here are some pictures.
Kim and Dan

some Aussie pictures

1-Road train which is a truck which can be 50m long, a real bugger to pass in an automatic diesel campervan!  These travel the roads inland from the coast, this one was just starting up, takes them forever to get up to speed.  Many of the roads are single lane bitumen with dirt shoulders.  When you approach one, you have to pull over onto the shoulder and wait for them to pass.  Law of superior tonnage.!
2-black cockatoos, supposed to be good luck
3-Cape Hillsborough beach, typical of beaches all along the east coast, there are hundreds of beautiful beaches like this, many are empty

Ouro Preto

Greetings
Another day, another beautiful city.  Today we left Tiradentes and travelled with our wonderful guide, Celia, to Ouro Preto.  Along the way we made several stops, the first in a small town famous for their dessert, a "jelly roll"  filled with milk pudding-dolce leche (not as sweet as what we get in Canada-creamier and more milky).  It was very good, we also picked up some lovely coconut sweets, one with dark sugar and peanuts and the other just plain.  The Brazilians love their sweets, today was a sugar rush day!
We then stopped in  Cogonhas, as small mining town which is famous for its carvings and church (yes, believe it or not, a church!).  It is famous because  Aleijadinho (the little cripple) did all the carvings for the church and the Via Sacra ( the story of Christ, with sculptures housed in separate little buildings).
Aleijadinho was a gifted sculptor who made many sculptures for the churches in Minas Gervais (the state where most of the mines are-gold mines in the 17 and 18th centuries).  His carvings are so lifelike, it is amazing, every little detail down to the veins in Christ's hands.  He is even more famous because many of the carvings were done after he lost his fingers and legs (below the knee).  It is believed that he suffered from leprosy.   He did many of his carvings with the tools tied to his arms!   I am not a religious person, but I was truly moved by the beautiful lifelike carvings that he did.  Every detail including buttons and designs on clothing were included.  He carved the story of Christ in several vignettes which are trulying amazing.  You can see other carvings (of the less important figures like the soldiers) done by others (as he was getting old and more infirm by then)  which are good, but nothing like the carvings done by him.  He carved the twelve prophets which stand on guard outside the church.  My favorite is Daniel with the lion.  There is also Jonas and the whale.
He carved the alter for the church, Bom Jesus Matosinho which is amazing.  The angels faces are so lovely, with every little detail is amazing.  He was gifted.
We then travelled to Ouro Preto which means black gold (the gold was covered with a black oxidized layer).  It is a well preserved colonial town from the gold rush days.  The old town is nicely kept with beautiful buildings and lots of churches, I know its hard to believe.  I do not think that it is possible for a view not to include a church.  They had them for important rich whites, not important rich whites, middle class whites, poor whites, mulattos, and slaves (the slave churches are very beautiful and the alter and artwork was done by famous artists of the time).  In Sao Francisco de Assiz , Aleijdainho carved the alter,  he was amazingly prolific.  He dedicated his life to his work after he became ill.
There are many neat little shops and museums.  They have a couple of chocolate factories which make amazing chocolate.   We stopped for ice cream and chocolate, it was very good.  They make a chocolate with cloves and cinnamon, a very tasty combination.
We watched the sunset from the top of our hotel with a church in the background.

  A typical colonial church in Ouro Preto

 The interior of the church painted in the rococco style (illegal picture, Dan is going straight to hell_

Street in Ouro Preto, notice the cobble stones which make walking and driving a real challenge.

Ciao
Kim and Dan

Tiradentes

Buenos dias
We are now in Tiradentes (tooth puller), one of the towns which became rich in the gold rush in Brazil.  After the gold was gone, the town was pretty well forgotten and then rediscovered 20 years ago so it is well preserved.  It is a lovely small colonial town that is quite quiet right now as it is mid week.  It has an old town with a main square surrounded by well kept and preserved colonial whitewashed buildings with colourful trim.  There are many churches, yes, believe it or not!
The area is Minas Gerais (general mines).  The area is rich with minerals (gold, pretty well gone, Iron, and gems).
The most impressive church, Matriz de Santo Antonio, is at the top of the hill and was built in many stages.  Its interior is full of gold leaf covered carvings.  The front of the church is very baroque and the back half of the church is roccoco (sp?) which is very colourful and whimsical.  The church was built before there was a Bishop who had to approve of the plans, so it has many carvings which you would not usually see in a Catholic church.
Unfortunately, no pictures.  There were many more churches, for the rich and famous and the  not so famous rich, the poor, the slaves, and the non catholics.  I think there are 10 churches for 5000 people!
The streets are cobblestone, which makes for interesting walking.  I think that I will invest in a garage that handles shock absorbers and suspensions for cars.  The delivery trucks bounce along, which is quite disconcerting since they carry Coke and beer!  Dan opened a beer today that erupted like a volcano, I wonder why?
The whole area is quite beautiful with rolling hills and little towns full of artisans making the neatest carvings and metalwork.  An artist from Sao Paulo moved here many years ago and started making colourful carvings, which everyone copies.  He then moves on to something else, which everyone copies again.  They are very colourful and big, Hew, you would love it.
We are staying at a lovely Inn which dates back to the colonial days, Solar de Ponte.  It has lovely gardens and a swimming pool, the only problem is the cars bumping along the cobblestones coming up the hill make a horrible racket at 7 in the morning.  An Englishman owns it, he came to Tiradentes (named after a hero in the revolution to free the area from the Portuguese rule)  30 years ago and fell in love with the area, so he started this Inn, it is a truly lovely place.  Beautiful gardens, painted ceilings, great caiparinhas and wonderful staff.
We had a great hike (yes, Dan hiked) up to the top of the hill for beautiful views of the area. Rolling hills dotted with towns and farms with red tiled roofs.  Off to Ouro Preto (black gold) tomorrow, we have an early start , so good night.

 A snake we saw on our hike

the most famous church in Tiradentes -Matriz de Santo Antonio

One of the typical streets in Tiradentes
We would love to hear from you

Kim and Dan

Rio beach life

Hi
Back to Rio, such an amazing city!  We spent our second day visiting the Centro or downtown area.  Fortunately, it was Sunday, so it was not very busy.  Good planning on my part or just dumb luck!

 Beach vendors selling coverups and bathing suits, where do you try them on?

 Sunset, the mountain (can't remember the name) at the end of Leblon beach

Cristos from the Botanical Gardens in Rio

Rio has the most Art Deco buildings in the world,  they love rounded corners.  It is amazing how many buildings have round corners, balconies and interesting deco details.  There are many buildings dating back to colonial times.  Lots of churches, this is an ABC tour (another bloody church!).  The Portuguese are Catholic and loved to build churches-mostly big and ornate.  The smaller ones were for the poor and the slaves.
Rio is a huge city made up of many smaller areas which are quite distinct.  Saint Teresa is very old and hilly with some very nice older homes with amazing views.  The beach areas are more modern and "hip", Leblon is the place to be now surpassing Ipanema which surpassed Copacabana.  Copa is now a little more tired, but some awesome deco  buildings.  The Copacabana Palace (hotel) is a very grand building across from the beach.  Most of the hotels are not on the beach, there are only 4 in Leblon and Ipanema.
The beach, we spent some time there.  The hotel supplied beach chairs and umbrellas (a must, as the temperature was in the mid 30's to 40C).  You can spend the day on the beach and never leave your chair, except to pee and go in the water, which is cool and very green due to an algae bloom.  You can buy anything!  They have people who will fetch you a drink, a beer delivered in a coolie is 4 Real, a coke, 4 real.  You can buy a bathing suit, hat, coverup, empanada, ice cream, sunblock and the list goes on.
There is a real beach culture, the beach from Copacabana to Ipanema then Leblon, has different areas which attract different people.  The area where we were was more family oriented, further down by the Caesar hotel are the more hip people, then the not so nice area next to the canal, and then another hip area, then the gay area, and so on.  It was neat to walk along the beach and see the different groups of people congregating in each area.
We spent a morning visiting the Botanical Gardens.  It was very large and beautiful.  A real deal at 6 Real ($4).  They had the most amazing orchid display, along with many other gardens.
Kim and Dan

Rio

Hello from Rio
Wow, what a city!  We are staying right on Leblon beach, which is right next to Ipenema (yes, where the girl is from), which is next to Copacabana.  We arrived Saturday aftenoon and the beach and roads leading to the beaches were packed.  It seems everyone in Rio goes to the beach on their days off.  Quite a variety people.  You can rent a beach chair, umbrella, buy beer, Smirnoff Ice or any other beverage that you can think of.
The Ipanema band had a practice parade on Saturday night, a warm up for Carnival.  It was great, but lots of people drinking and dancing.  There are over 400 samba schools that participate and they each get about 7 minutes of fame!  We had a chance to peak into the area where they are building the floats for the parade, it looks like a Hollywood movie studio.  The floats were hidden, so they could not be seen from the outside, we got to sneak a look with our guide, Saint Clair (Sinclair), who belongs to one of the samba schools.  The floats are amazing, so much work for one parade!  Dozens of people working on one float, and the decorations are very elaborate.  Each has a theme and is decorated.  We saw a couple of African ones, ones from the sea, many with spirits and ghouls.  They are made of fibreglass and then covered with material, mirrors, sequins, foam, whatever!  They are huge, they carry dozens of people.  Then the participants all wear costumes.  We were not allowed to take pictures, unfortunately, its very secretive.  We saw the area where they were making the costumes for a British themed float, horse costumes, little "Mini" cars that people wear.
The people who work on the floats make 400 Real ($225) every 2 weeks, they often work double shifts and sleep at the sight.  It is hard, hot work, welding fibreglassing, sanding, gluing, sewing.  In the middle of the work area is a large food court with all kinds of kiosks selling food and drinks for the workers.  The Brazilians are not much for taking their own lunches, which is surprising as Brazil is very expensive!  Even the British and French are taken aback by the prices.  The people are very friendly.
We also visited one of the favelas, which is like a shanty town.  It is where to poor live, there is some crime, but for the most part, it is the working poor. Brazil and Rio are very expensive places to live.

 The view of the favela from the cable car, which was built by the government

Ipanema and Leblon beach from our hotel room

The one we visited has a cable car to the top as it climbs a very steep hill.  The views are amazing.  There are armed army officers at every stop (I mean armed, big guns).  We had the chance to talk to one of the locals, as she was riding in the car with us.  You would never guess that she came from such a poor neighbourhood.  Not what we imagine.
We are at a little cafe having lunch at 1600!  The chairs are getting hard, more on Rio next time.
We would love to hear from you.
Kim and Dan

South America

Buenos dias
That's Spanish, but the Brazilians use it even though they speak Portuguese, what a language!  Part French, part Spanish and part something else all on its own!  T's are pronouced as CH, ZZZ is a prominent sound in the language.  Written, it looks like French, but spoken, its anybody's guess.
We arrived in Sao Paulo 3 hours late, of course we have to leave in the middle of a snowstorm.  We we delayed waiting for other flights to arrive and then when we de-iced and taxied to Montreal (or so it seemed), they revved up the engines but did not take off.  Guess what, back to the terminal for replacement of an "air conditioning unit".  Thank goodness we were in executive class, as they would not let us move around and the flight took an extra 3 hours.
Sao Paulo is a huge city, over 20 million (they figure its more as people are continually moving there due to the economy).  We spent one night there in a safe district, although its not advisable to walk around at night, but is safe during the day.
We then traveled to Parity, a lovely colonial seaside town.  It prospered during the gold rush in Brazil in the 1600's.  After the gold rush it was left, pretty much untouched.  As a result, it is a beautifully preserved historic town with lots of colonial churches, streets and buildings.   The streets are cobble stoned, a bugger to walk on, especially after a few drinks.  It is well kept and much the same as it was hundreds of years ago.  It is also a port town, the original one the Portuguese used to ship gold to Europe.  It is in a very protected bay full of gorgeous beaches, coves and islands.  We spent the day motoring around the waters, swimming and snorkeling.  We stopped in little cove and saw golden lion tamarins and black ones (not sure what the are called) and a couple of lizards.  We fed them bread and fruit.  It was cool floating in the water and watching them on shore  (Dan dutifully stayed in the boat to take pictures for all of you!)
We are staying in a small hotel in the old town that dates back to the 1600's.  They put rubber boots in the closet as the streets flood during high tide.  Seems the Portuguese did not account for high tides when they built the town!
It is hot 30+ and sunny.  Tomorrow we are off to Rio!  Should be an interesting drive, all the Brazilians drive like they are racing drivers.  Hang on!

 This is the restaurant we ate in when traveling from Sao Paulo to Parity, yes everything was covered in plastic.  Food was good and it was the cleanest place I have ever been in.

 One of the many churches in Parity, everything is well preserved.

 Parity from the water, the most famous view

Golden lion tamarin

Kim and Dan