Curitiba struck me as one of those cities where I could actually live comfortably, walkably, and peacefully. My friend Jeff, who’s spent more time in Brazil than I have, told me before I went, “Curitiba is one of my favorite cities in Brazil. It’s safer than almost anywhere else, and it actually feels like it was designed for the people who live there.” Maybe that shaped my expectations, but he was right. The city boasts excellent museums, thoughtful infrastructure, lush parks, and traffic that never bothered me. People seemed relaxed and content everywhere I went. I even found a solid rodízio spot for about $30, which is all-you-can-eat, and in my book, that’s a steal. Curitiba is located within the state of Paraná, Brazil, and I spent some time trying to understand the cultural relevance of Paraná within Brazil. I didn’t really get a sense of those distinguishing aspects that make it special in relation to other places within Brazil. I’m reading the Wikipedia article I linked above right now, and it seems to say that industry and farming are defining aspects of it. Seems like I have some more room to learn and explore. I cooked most nights as […]
Read More
After my first visit, I can confidently say that Trancoso is a must-see destination. It’s already popular among Brazilian travelers, yet it still feels like a secret. People clearly know about Trancoso, but when you’re there, it’s as if no one else does. The town has somehow managed to avoid the over-commercialized vibe that plagues many popular beach destinations. Thankfully, many of my favorite destinations within South America continue to fly under the radar by avoiding hype and attention. Fortunately, it’s a good thing that my mother doesn’t read this blog, so don’t worry, I won’t be the one changing that. The beach here is lovely, but the real magic lies in the historic town square, which dates back a few centuries. Around its edges, restaurants and boutiques sit beneath enormous trees hung with lanterns that glow at night, casting a warm light over open-air tables and cobblestone paths. It creates a magical environment and ambiance that I haven’t experienced elsewhere. If I return to Trancoso, I’ll put more effort into capturing that in my photos. Another key ingredient to what makes Trancoso a great place to visit is the food. Trancoso has great food. Trancoso is part of the […]
Read More
Belo Horizonte has been on my radar for a while. It’s the capital of Minas Gerais, one of Brazil’s biggest states, often described to me as the Midwest of Brazil. The people, mineiros, are known for their warmth, and the food has a reputation to match. Minas is comfort food heaven: think pão de queijo, that chewy, gluten-free cheese bread made with cassava, which is probably the most famous Brazilian food. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much time to explore Belo Horizonte during my 13-day stay, but I did enjoy maintaining a balanced routine, which included work. I found a great gym across the street from my Airbnb, along with a branch of my favorite Japanese coffee brand, which I imagine will inevitably make it to the USA (the best iced coffees I know). I’d be up for staying in Belo Horizonte again. My time there was comfortable, and I found it easy to navigate. I’m sure there will be more things to explore and discover the next time around. This time, my pursuits were elsewhere. Marce was the highlight of Belo Horizonte and made the routine an adventure. I celebrated my 45th birthday at an Airbnb with her, and she […]
Read More
I’ve been intentional about seeing more of Brazil, and inevitably, that led me to its capital, Brasília. No Brazilian I know has ever said, “You’ve got to visit Brasília.” And I get why — this city isn’t like anywhere else in Brazil. It’s orderly where others are chaotic, planned where others are organic. Built from scratch in 1960, Brasília was designed to be a symbol of modernity and unity, a capital in the country’s heart meant to pull power and people inland from the coast. Its airplane-shaped layout, the Plano Piloto, was supposed to represent efficiency. Government offices line the fuselage, neighborhoods fill the wings. But the city’s modernist ideals came with a tradeoff: Brasília is built for cars, not people. I stayed in Asa Sul, a district with a nice mix of cafes and apartments. My gym was a 25-minute walk away, but I loved it. Shaded sidewalks, big trees, and almost no one else walking. Each morning, I’d stop for breakfast on the way, grab a coffee coming back, and settle in to work from my apartment. By the end of the first week, the walk had become a ritual, meditative, even. Music, thoughts, or just quiet autopilot. […]
Read More
It’s hard to stay away from Floripa, so I found a way to return for a week on my way out of Brazil. This time I stayed in the south of the island in a small town called Armação, which I hadn’t visited before. My Brazilian friend Laura had recommended it to me as a good place to stay, close to the beach, and chill. I had a lot of work, so I didn’t do much else except go to the gym, eat poke, take photos, and go to the beach. She and her mom made me a really great grilled fish dinner (see photo below). While visiting the beach at Pâtano do Sul (a place I stayed last time I was in Floripa). I stumbled upon the yearly celebration of the African sea goddess, Yemanjá. Yemanjá is a deity from the Yoruba religion that was brought to Brazil by African immigrants and is still practiced today (alongside others). The locals were dancing, singing, and doing capoeira all afternoon and into the night when they lit boats with candles and flowers and sent them out to sea. You can see the statue at the top of this page of Yemanjá. […]
Read More
Ilhabela is an island in the state of São Paulo that I first visited a couple of years ago; this time again, I was accompanying my friend Val, as it is one of her places in Brazil and a convenient escape from the big city for a weekend. For me, the heat was difficult to deal with, especially on a long hike we did to a hidden beach, but looking back at the photos, it was worth the effort.
Read More
I have a million places I want to visit in Brazil, and Pipa was one of them. I first heard about it from a mountain guide I had when I climbed Nevada de Tolima, a high volcano in Mexico. He described it as a beautiful beach backpacker destination that was very popular with foreigners—not my typical destination, I thought to myself, but I added it to my travel queue anyway — our expectations are often wrong when it comes to destinations we haven’t yet visited. Two years later, when I was in Joao Pessoa, Brazil, Pipa was also recommended to me as a place to visit as I continued to explore the country, which piqued my interest – it seemed like the universe wanted me to visit Pipa. It wasn’t until this year, though, that I had the opportunity to do so when my friend and Brazilian ambassador, Valquiria, suggested we visit for New Year’s. Great idea! Pipa’s MacGuffin happened to be a concert by one of Val’s favorite musicians, Ivete Sangalo. However, Ivete canceled the show. We weren’t going to another concert anyway in a super well-organized venue. This is not the first evidence I’ve encountered that Brazilians know […]
Read More
I often write about my travel queue – that never-ending chain of potential destinations continually elongates. Each that captures my curiosity and I want to visit gets queued, and so do appealing recommendations others give me. New entries are consistently added to the queue, but it takes a while to dequeue them because many destinations precede them. Invitations always elbow themselves towards the front of the queue (higher priority) as long as they don’t interfere with the current yearly strategic objectives (YSOs) — yeah, there’s a loose process and ruleset, which, of course, are superseded by their own irregularities and trump cards (e.g., global pandemics). The queue never gets shorter; it always gets longer, as it is easier to collect potential destinations rather than to visit them. Anyway, that preamble served again to remind you of the proverbial Travel Queue® so I could tell you about how Florianópolis had been on it for a long time owing to its cultural significance to the Brazilians and foreign travelers who had recommended it to me (along with literally dozens of must-visit places in Brazil – what a great country). “Floripa” is actually two things — it’s the city of Florianópolis, in the […]
Read More
This was my second time in two years in Fortaleza. I came back for a month to train at a local gym that I really like, work and chill on the beach. Increasingly I find myself returning to locations where there is less to be explored, and more that supports a comfortable life while I am there and Fortaleza is the perfect place for that. My favorite part of Fortaleza is the upscale gym where I train. It’s located a block from the beach in Beira Mar (“seaside”), and much fancier than the gyms I typically go to. It’s expensive too, but everyone is really nice and happy to see me there, and there are yoga classes too. Even though nobody speaks English (and I don’t speak Portuguese), everyone is really kind and supportive. There’s an attached cafe at the gym that sells me post-workout tapiocas, which I just can’t get enough of. I always make performance improvements while I am training there, and each time I leave Fortaleza I am excited to come back again, for longer. I like staying in Beira Mar, a central downtownish place alongside the beach. A long esplanade runs along the beach for about […]
Read More
