Rio At Night.

The full moon rises over the beach from the view of my hotel room in Copacabana Beach. Like most culturally rich cities, Rio has its share of fine restaurants. Geró in LeBlon was a treat for me. The people watching was better than the food. Arcos do Lapa punctuates the vibrant street and nightlife scene […]

Rio: Another Photo Essay

While Rio is the sensual city and the people are laid back and take life at a pace much more different than São Paulo and the beach culture that permeates distinguishes it from any other city I’ve visited, I could never find myself living here. Buenos Aires, on the other hand, with its mix of […]

Who Gets Their Shoes Shined on the Beach?

Seems odd that in this country where everyone where’s Havianas (the ubiquitous and cultish flip-flop sandals of Brazil), that you’d see so many shoe shine boys parading up and down the boardwalks of Copacabana and Ipanema Beaches. I’d soon find out that these fahvela kids have an incredible scam. I’d heard about it so when […]

Two Years And Counting.

I started my journey two-years ago today. With an interruption from January to October in 2006 due to my broken leg mishap in Bolivia, I’ve been on the road for 15 months, visited 17 countries and logged 35,228 miles. It was originally a two year journey. And it was about now that I HAD dreamed […]

Taking and Talking With Rio Cab Drivers

Last night I enjoyed some great Sushi at Sushi LeBlon a few beaches down the road. Though I walked here earlier along the world famous Ipanema Beach, I decided to take a cab home. Later I learned that the buses were much cheaper, and frankly easier. The music he’s playing is not Brazilian. It’s great, […]

Rio de Janeiro

For the further out places, I take taxi's, buses and white vans that cruise up and down the boulevards picking up people for a couple "reals". ... A two station cable car whirs you up to the top of this signature mountain in Rio de Janeiro.

Continuing North: Angra dos Reis to Rio de Janeiro

Maybe it didn’t get better but I got more. Eyefuls more of some of the best coastal riding of my life. Simply put, the coast from Ihlabela in Sáo Paulo state to Angra dos Reis is beach, surf and sand lovers paradise. Save a small part of Angra that is industrial and features a nuclear […]

Parati or Paraty? Paradise redux for me.

The ride to Parati was bliss. Passing deserted beach after deserted beach I imagined that beaches like these could only be found on exotic islands in the middle of some ocean or sea. But here along the Costa Verde (Green Cost) tropical islands and pristine white sandy beaches flanked me for the 3 or 4 […]

Ihlabela, Ubutubu & Paraty

Taking a 15 minute ferry ride from São Sebastão I cruised along the north eastern coast of the island until settling on a small hotel in Vila. The island was fairly quiet and as usual I shared the hotel with perhaps one other guest. Church on the square in São Sebastão Ferry boat ride to […]

The Seduction of São Paulo

By the time I had finished my chores and prepared to settle in for the evening the phone rang. Amazingly, it was Beto Sempa, a Brazil Rider from São Paulo. How did he find me? And that fast. I simply sent out a brief e-mail to the Brazil Riders contacts provided me by Salvador and […]