In America, Guatemala On  24/04/2013  7 comments

Guatemala City, or Guate as they call it there, was my arrival place in Central America. In general, when I travel alone, I avoid stay long time in big cities, so I had only 2 days in town. During this period the city was had always some sort of fog, as it was screening the sun, it reminded me Lima, in Peru.

Guatemala is big, about 4 million people in a country of 15 million, therefore, great part of the action happen here. It is divided by zones by numbers, streets and avenues are also named by number. For example, I stayed at Zone 13, 15 av. “A” 5-30. This way of naming streets and neighborhoods gives me the idea of being planed, that they followed an urban plan. It is had to imagine this kind of nomenclature on Brazilians cities where cities grow randomly and streets come out of nothing.

Another point that caught my attention in Guatemala was the “Americanism”, starting with the way to name streets, like in the US...

In + More..., Food & Drinks On  24/04/2013  No comments

In this post on curiosities I will create a list of beers I have been drinking around the world. I’m not expert on beer, quite the opposite, I’m wine drinker, but traveling I prefer beer. It is easy, everywhere they have their preferred one, it. Always when I get to a new country/place, I like to taste the local beer. Usually, people always have one they recommend.

The idea of this list came when I went to live in Spain and there was a beer called San Miguel. I remembered I had drinking a beer with that name and it was not in South America. After some days with that on my mind, I actually remembered, it was in the Philippines, in 1997. So, I got the ideas to keep the names of the local beers as a souvenir, and the best way to keep that was taking a photo of it in a local bar environment, a way to remember the good bar moments…

In Guatemala(2013) I drank Gallo and Brahva (the ex-Brazilian Brahma).

In Guatemala On  24/04/2013  7 comments

I wanted to visit Antigua because of Pacaya volcano. It was in my imaginary this Guatemalan small town surrounded by active volcanoes. I had in my mind the image of colorful houses and the triangular mountain in the background. Unfortunately, it was not easy to see this image because there was a lot of fog. Antigua reminded me the images of Licancabur volcano, one can see it from almost everywhere in San Pedro Atacama.

Even though without Pacaya in the background, I loved Antigua. A small town, organized, grounded with cafes, cultural activities and good restaurants. I spent my days walking around, stopping in one café or another, reading, photographing. I enjoy reading in cafes.

On my last day I decided to do a trekking tour to climb Pacaya. We left the hotel around 5 am. When we where picking up everybody, far away I saw the volcano, timidly appearing on the fog. I asked the driver to stop the van so we could enjoy the landscape and take a photo...

In America, Guatemala On  23/04/2013  7 comments

At the same time I thought Guatemala was very “Americanized”, I give a good compliment to Guatemalans on the way they respect the indigenous culture and traditions. A great example of that is Chichicastenango town, or Chichi as they say in Guatemala. So, I decided to go a tour to the market that takes place there every Thursday and Sunday.

The market is very colorful, it reminded me Otavalo (Ecuador) ou Tarabuco (Bolivia). They sell almost everything but handcraft is their main business. It is a good place to buy travel gifts; their clothes and souvenirs are beautiful.  The bargain is obligatory here, if you don’t bargain, there is no fun. On the tour, I met Claudio, a Chilean mountaineer, who was my company to the bargain afternoon. We formed a “team” do ask for better prices and late afternoon we were experts on that art.

Cláudio com a bolsa que comprou para sua irmã, depois de uma tarde de pechincha…

Another stop of the day was the Santo Tomás church, a mix of a Cathol...

In Belize, Chapada Diamantina, Paddling On  09/04/2013  No comments

I had visited the Chapada Diamantina several times but still haven’t been to “mini Pantanal” of the Chapada, the Marimbus. So it was time to get to know this paradise. I told Cirtur agency that I would like to paddle. I did not want to go on the boat just looking, I wanted to feel the river with my body. The guide took us to Lençóis and we left for the river where we would take the canoes. On my boat, there was just me and a couple of tourists.

Right at the place of embarkation, they have already taken an extra paddle for me. We were slowly paddling and enjoying the scenery. It was really a Pantanal in the Chapada. Incredible colors, green, the reflection of the sky in the water … In some places, with more closed forest, they looked like the Igarapés of the Amazon.

After a time in the river, we stopped to make a small trail until the waterfalls of the Roncador River. Relaxing the cold water and the small pools that form in the rocks. A delight on a hot summer day...

In America, Brazil, Chapada Diamantina On  01/04/2013  No comments

Sorry, this entry is only available in Português.

In Brazil, Chapada Diamantina, Diving & Snorkeling, Hiking/Trekking On  23/03/2013  No comments

On my first day at Chapada Diamantina I decided to take a tour to get a broad sense of the place. It was “Roteiro1”(Mucugezinho, Poço do Diabo, Gruta da Lapa, Gruta da Pratinha, Gruta Azul, Morro do Pai Inácio) and Mel was our guide. The first stoop was at Rio Mucugezinho where we went hiking to appreciate the river landscape. We followed the trail for about 15 minutes until we arrived at Poço do Diabo, a beautiful waterfall; there we had our first bath of the day. The water was cold but nos freezing as I imagine it would be. And after the walk under the sun, it was exactly what I was waiting for. The waterfall is big, a great shower of transparent water. Stay under the fall was easy, but the stones were slippery, so one has to be careful. The water was wonderful, invigorating as any waterfall.

After Mucugezinho, we climbed up Morro do Pai Inácio in order to see the landscape of the region. The trail is easy, but steep...

In America, Brazil, Chapada Diamantina, Errante and tour guides On  23/03/2013  No comments

Mel was our guide in Tour 1 and Igatu tour at Chapada Diamantina (2013). Son of diamond mine workers, he was born and grow up in Chapada. Nowadays, when he has some time free he go mining with his friends.

In Chapada Diamantina, Errante and tour guides On  18/03/2013  No comments

With Dairone, our tour guide around Marimbus.

Dairone was born and grow up in Chapada Diamantina. He is enthusiast for adventure and nature. During the tour, we heard some of his stories of motocross around the region.

In Chapada Diamantina, Hiking/Trekking On  18/03/2013  No comments

Chapada da Diamantina is one of the great places for eco-tourism in Brazil, it reminded me Bonito (MS) or Brotas (SP), maybe because of the waterfall. In terms of ecotourism, Brazil is not behind any place. In general, places like this are organized, hotels and guesthouses are good, people are friendly and the tours are well structured. I’m proud of our ecotourism; it is not so disorganized as in Bolivia (Pampas) or Ecuador (Rio Bamba), at the same time it is not ultra organized that look like Disneyland as in Australia. And the most important, there is always (even if shallow) an ecological concern in preserving the place.

This is not my first time in Chapada Diamantina and won’t be the last. The first time was in 2007 when I took a trip with my Yoga group to Capão, on the way back to Salvador, I stayed alone in Lençóis for some more days visiting the region. After that I returned to Chapada a few other times. Now in 2013 I decided to go to places I haven’t been yet...