Obrigada, Brazil.

Happy 2014!  I was lucky enough to ring in the New Year in one of the most beautiful places in the world. This was my first time in South America and without a doubt I am already anxious to come back and see more - our time here was too short.  I am reminded every time I travel how very little I know about the world, really.  One of my biggest regrets is probably not starting to travel earlier in my life.  I feel like being able to visit other places and see even just a small part of the world is such a valuable opportunity.  Yes, it can be a bit daunting to leave your comfort zone and try to figure out how to move around but it's worth the time and effort.  I hope that I continue to have the opportunity to travel around this crazy world as much as I possibly can...

Anyway, Brazil.  Where to start?  Heather and I tried to explore as much as possible of the two cities we visited.  We spent our first week in Salvador which is the capital of Bahia and sits on the Atlantic Ocean in the eastern part of Brazil.  We stayed with a friend there who had previously lived in Lusaka and was gracious enough to let us stay in his summer home (he lives in Brasilia but is from a small town outside of Salvador so goes there to visit family).  We didn't have a car to get around and since his place was located outside of the actual city centre it was a bit difficult to get around but we managed after a few adventures. Unfortunately, neither of us speak Portuguese (Heather can manage much better than she will admit and could at least get us food and taxis which proved to be very helpful) but I was of no help.  I did figure out a few key phrases like "thank you" and "do you speak English" and "I don't speak Portuguese" but to have a meaningful conversation?  Impossible.  But, we were able to visit the beautiful beach of Barra and also went to the historic centre of Pelourinho which was spectacular.  We spent Christmas on the beach in Salvador (one of many days spent on the beach)!  But on Christmas day the beach was packed with families playing, drinking and making merry.  It was fun to be part of the celebration!

After leaving Salvador, we made our way to Rio de Janeiro to spend a week. Heather had been there a couple of times before so had a friend who graciously allowed us to stay in his home.  We spent New Year's Eve among hundreds of thousands of people who sit on the beach in Copacabana and watch fireworks and drink champagne.  Then people just walk along the beach basically all night!?  It's like a giant moving party with people everywhere...it's really amazing to see.  We joined in for a while and then took refuge at a house party.  Turned out to be a truly memorable night.  This night was among many other nights in Rio which were filled with fun adventures and drinking caipirinhas (Brazil's national cocktail made with cachaca, lime and sugar).  Quite tasty and a drink I will try to recreate when I go back home.

During the day we visited Sugarloaf Mountain which offered spectacular views of the city, the Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemor) which is this huge statue of Jesus Christ that overlooks the entire city of Rio de Janeiro and is considered the largest art deco statue in the world, visited amazing neighborhoods like Lapa and Saint Teresa, and made our way up the Escadaria Selaron (stairs of Lapa) which are beautifully decorated stairs.

I have to tell you though that it was hot.  Basically you would shower to go out and end up covered in sweat within 5 minutes of being outside.  The lovely thing about this city though is that everyone is free.  Meaning they wear what they want and no one is uptight about their appearance.  So even if you are sweating away at least you are doing it among people that don't seem to mind too much...

I loved my time in Brazil.  I definitely want to come back again...I mean the World Cup is right around the corner??  And there is also Carnival??  So many good times to be had in Brazil.  I've tried to put up a few pictures so please take a look.  And, again, wishing you all a happy, happy new year!