My philosophy has always been that life is too short to do things you don’t enjoy, and too short to be missing out on doing things you do want to do. That is why I built my business in the way I did – so that it would free me up to do what I want to do. Our Brazil and Peru tours were interesting - but huge. Everytime we went to a new place, it was a full day’s traveling.
Floating past caymans in the Pantanal, Brazil (Noel Swanson)Brazil and Peru were interesting - but huge. Everytime we went to a new place, it was a full day’s traveling.
We first went to Campo Grande, where we met someone who introduced us to Pousada Santa Clara in the Pantanal, which was excellent. Cheap, but good room, full board and excellent guides. We did a river trip, tube floating among the caymans, walked through the forest and saw an anteater, monkeys, racoons, parakeets, capybaras and loads of birds. We also fished for yellow-bellied piranhas and caught one each, which were then fried for us that evening – very tasty but very small and lots of bones!
From there we went to the youth hostel in Bonito. The hostel was great. We had a private room, there was a swimming pool, and they organized all the tourist trips. We did a snorkel float in both Rio Sucuri, and Rio de Prata – freshwater rivers with astounding clarity. But the trips were very overpriced and very tourist oriented. Apparently everything is government controlled, and you got treated like children on a school trip.
Next was Foz Iguazu which was simply amazing – huge, huge waterfalls that we saw from both the Brazillian and Argentinian sides. Both were equally spectacular.
We then visited Ceu’s friend Matheus in Belo Horizonte – a clean modern city with such steep hills that you really need good breaks on your car! It was like going on a roller coaster. We had a lovely visit with him and his mother and brother – and got to drink the Brazillian specialty drink called ‘Chop’ (pronounced ‘Shop’) which, believe it or not, consists of just the FOAM from an ordinary beer! Absolutely crazy! Matheus showed us his city, took us to the best restaurants and, naturally, we watched the Brazillians play at the World Cup. Nothing else to do, since the entire country closes when a game is on. Even the museums shut until after the game.
From there we went to Rio, and stayed in a rather basic youth hostel at Ipanema. We ate in the restaurant across from ‘The Girl from Ipenema’ restaurant, which is where the song was written. We toured the largest Favela which is run by a drug gang – and as a result has virtually no crime, as they want to keep it a safe place for people to come and buy drugs!
Of course we walked both Copacobana and Ipanema beaches, along which there a several public, open-air, work-out gyms. They consist of a frame of pull up and other bars and one even includes weights. They are totally free and get well used. We often saw people there with a personal trainer coaching them.
Throughout the trip we had sunshine, warm weather, and no rain.
A 4 hour flight took us to Lima, Peru. First stop was a Ceviche restaurant in Miraflores – It was so good when we went there on our first pass through, (on the way to Brazil from BVI), that we went back there a second time. Lima itself, however, was rather uninspiring. Very run-down.
Kassandra Magruder from Adventure Life planned an amazing trip for us again. She listens to what you want and makes suggestions concerning accommodations and activities. She is very responsive and timely concerning any questions I had.
We were choosing between two different places and she priced out both trips.
She is very happy to help!
Emily Shepard
4 days ago
Adventure Life has done a great job helping us plan both an Arctic and an Antarctic expedition cruise. We trust them completely!
Kbear
5 days ago
Very efficient and friendly service.
Kris Ganase
1 week ago
I spent 2 entire days trying to find my Alaska small boat trip, with no success. Then Erin from Adventure Life gave me 4 choices on the same day I contacted her. She was caring and very efficient. I'm very excited about the cruise she found for me.
Janet Houts
1 week ago
Everything about our Galapagos experience was top-notch. I highly recommend this trip if you like be active. Everyone from the planners to the guides to the crew set us up to experience and soak in everything the Galapagos has to offer. They took care of every detail so we could learn and enjoy.