Brazil. Day 12/13

Day 11 we supposed to explore Pétropolis city however after checking in our hotel,which turned out to be a resort with swimming pools, tennis court, jacuzzi, massage tables, restaurant, sauna, etc.we decided just to relax there )y cup of afternoon tea after a swimmin in sunbathing and playing tennis. moreover the place had a magnificient voew to mountains as itself were on mountain top. Just WoW. Day 12 was Rio time. Actually we were pretty lucky because it was a national holiday so city was pretty deserted and we could visit it in pace. To make things easier we took part in organized tourist group. (Even tho would have prefered to visit in my own way..)still,was great to see on your own eyes the most famous Jesus statuete as well as visit Sugar loaf mountain in sunset..the view from up there was unforgetable in sunset.can't wait to share my pictures! Rio itself in a rainy morning left a sad, dark, gloomy and dangareous cities impression. Maybe it was because pf. the rain and fog and the diatric we were staying-Lapa..however,after visiting worlds gratest monuments and having a sun the city got a different aura. Day 13. We left Rio real early and went along the coast towards our 1 befor last stop-Florianapolis. As day was so beautiful and sunny and the white sandy beaches so inviting we could not resist but stop to have a swim and catch some sun. The night we spent in a small city-a surfers paradise:) called Maresias. Just a charming city where a really nice surf shop owner helped us with tips about accomodation and dinner for thr night.indeed,the place we stayed was lovely hotel with seperated houses and apartments, pool and pf course, my favorite component of happiness-hammocks:) where u can lay down and look at the night skies. Btw,surprise,surprise,but yesterday i finally practiced how to dive on the head. compliments and thanks to my teacher/master-Paulo:) Today we are spending in the car and off to florianapolis. Aa yeee (Oh,one more thing-went to beach soon after sunrise this morning,dont have enough adjectives to describe how amazing it was and how it inspired my all day.just loving living at the sea/ocean..mm ) P.s.sorry for spelling mistakes,writing from my phone from not so premium roads.. p.s.s.the pictures will follow soon:)

Brazil. Day 10/11

after leaving Diamantina and unfortunately, not becoming ridiculously rich by finding diamonds, we changed cities.
as yesterday was Latvia' s Independence Day then we had a special breakfast  - almost,almost latvian style (had also some Laima sweets) and we made 2 typical latvian pigtails :)

yesterday we arrived in a city Mariana and also explored next city - Ouro Preto . In 1980, UNESCO declared this 18th-century old colonial town village as a Cultural Heritage of Mankind.
Dinner we had in Mariana, in this lovely, local beer garden/restaurat with amazing food. so good that despite being completely full, you just want to finish your dish :)
also the hotel is really nice, really nobel and ancient feeling. even all the rooms has names of poets and famous people.
so today we are going to Petropolis and than it' s RIO time :) wuuu wuuu

Brazil Day 8/9

Ola`,

greetings from the nicest and cheapest hotel ever :) we are in this small valley called - Diamantina (click here) and part of Brazil' s Lost World. Diamantina was a center of diamond mining in the 18th and 19th centuries. (so today we are going for DIAMOND searching and washing if the weather will allow, as it is raining cats and dogs time to time). o today - Biribiri time :)

and here comes the pictures from last days :) ENJOY :)

Itamaraca island

The happiness

our travel buddy

Aaaa yeee in Igarassu

Olinda

historical church in Olinda

Chapada Diamantina - Morro do Pai Inacio

Mountain climbers

Our hotel in Mucuge

Byzantine cemetery

Brazil - day 5/6

day 5 and 6. (still extremely excited and amazed of the diversity of the country and lands, views and nature :)

after exploring the city of Lençois, with it' s beautiful, colorful houses and went to a mountain river, which was really amazing, we went to Torrinha mountain where are huge caves where you can go for 3h. (of course, we did not, as you need to have a guide and a right equipment.. you know, Batmans and stuff are living there?! :O hehehe

after checking out the cave we went to Pratinha - an amazing place where you can go snorkeling and diving with crystal clear  water - a river where cows, horses, donkeys are coming to drink water. just breath taking view.
as night falls here around 18:30, we had to go to our next hotel, which was real hard to find in a dark, in the end we made and it was really great. the view was splendid. (which we noticed just in the morning), you can sit on the porch in a hammock or a comfy chair and just enjoy a good book or cup of   freshly squeezed mango juice. (i don' t even want to describe the breakfast - it was tooooo good to be true) :)
as a nice addition, you could even have a little shopping there - some different kind of ladies dresses,and yes, i got myself one :)
after nice morning, we went to a Morrao do pai Inacio (1120m) which we climbed bravely :) our first mountain (for me and Lina :) ) wuu-huu! :) CHECK! :)
after this nice ''workout" we went to Poço Encantado - the enchanted well. it is a lake in the cave and it was discovered in 1940ies by a hunter. the water is clear blue and sooo clean. it was re-opened to a public last year as it was closed due to a several difficulties to a owner of the land.
a fun fact, the guy who worked there said, that he do not recall any other latvian coming there - ever! :) SCORE! :)

now off to diner after checking in and having a quick swim in a pool in the rain :)

xoxo
  

brazil -day 5

After waking up at 3am yesterday and travelling 1000km we have arrived in 1st destination spot-Lençois. Cannot comment the place yeit,as was dark when arrived:) Today will be exploration of the neghbourhood and this old and historical city:) Last night we had this nice dinner with real thin pizzas for 2.(every dish here is for 2.so u should not eat alone here:D) And the nature is just breathtaking:-) Just had a breakfast-all sweet things,like cooked bananas,sweet patatoes with sugar,sponge cake,almond cake,papaya,melons,juices and one some bread woth cheese and ham:) really good:)and the breakfast was at the pool:)lovely start of the day:) Btw,hotel is real cheap-70R$ for 2people, like 11eur per person with breakfast included. Pousadas Buom Sorte. To be continued..

Brazil - pictures - Day 1/2

1st day in beach - got rain - a lot :O but still awesome

at Bora Bora beach

Brazil - Day 2 /3

again woke up at 6:30 am, as you just can' t sleep longer - the sun is up and shining and even the sleeping mask is not saving you from the daylight.
the sun rises here around 4am, so seems that the day is already in half, as it is getting dark at 5pm, already :O so the early birds are enjoying the day longer :)

yesterday we went to a small paradise called - Bora Bora (a name for the beach), but the place name was Praia de Carneiros (which means Beach of Lambs), really, it was sooo beautiful! (Google it!)your eyes are just hurting of how adorable it is. :) it is like an organized beach with nice paths to the beach, coconut trees, colorful, tropical bird figurines crafted in wood, hammocks, where you can lay down and have a nap, live music, where elderly ladies were dancing a traditional dances in their bikinis and swimsuits, restaurants with a nice staff and a beautiful coral rife, which you could see when the tide was up.
at the beach was also a nice church, where supposed to be wedding at afternoon, so it was really lovely organized - with beautiful flowers, violinist and loads of photographers.
some man of the wedding came to speak to us, and he though that I am from south of Brazil that' s why he was speaking to me in Portuguese :) so he told us that actually the new couple won a contest and their wedding will be in national television.
on the way to this beach we saw a lot of sugar cane plantations, like as far as you can see, as this part of the brazil they only have them, not in south.
and they have black rocks :O
and in gas stations you cannot put yourself a gasoline because it must be done by employees of gas stations. it is a way country is providing workplaces to their people.
A really interesting contrast was on the streets between the cars: new, big, small and than you see a small vans (like in Scooby-doo cartoon) everywhere and than somebody pass by you in a traffic jam with a....HORSE :O or with an ore and horse :)

in the evening we went to the Porto de Galinhas (hen city), so there were everywhere different kind of monuments and  figurines of hens and chickens dressed up funny and colorful and colored funky, artistic and nice :) really lovely city with a beautiful beach :)

now, day 3 - going to Olinda a historical city and also in Unesco heritage.
we have already a LOAD of pictures, but they will come..one day :)

big smiles :) off to beach :)