On my first night in Rio, I met 5 friendly Brazilian girls from Porto Alegre in my dorm at the hostel. After chatting for a while, they asked me to join them that night. They were going to Carioca da Gema, a famous Samba club in Lapa (Rio). And so, after meeting up with my friend Eric who I had met in Manaus the previous week, we went to go meet up the girls! Check out the vibe in Carioca da Gema. I suggest ...

While I was traveling in Patagonia two years ago, I found myself in the lovely town of Ushuaia. During one of the tours I took when exploring the region, I was told a story. A story about our Canadian friendly animal- the beaver. For those of you who don't know what a beaver is, the beaver is Canada's largest rodent. Beavers have a thick fur with a flat tail. They live near slow-flowing streams where they c ...

Traveling is fun. Backpacking is adventurous. But what happens when Mother Nature plays a trick on you? About 2,500 tourists were evacuated via helicopter following the mudslides that stranded backpackers on the Machu Picchu site on Thursday night. Most of them were transported to a nearby village and then hopped on buses to reach the nearest town called Cusco. An air operation was necessary because the mud ...

Rio de Janeiro is a city filled with places to see and things to do: ride on the cable car of Pão de Açúcar, watch the sunset from Arpoador, bike-ride around the lagoa, hop on a tram in Santa Teresa, visit the National Park of Tijuca, party in Lapa and of course, sunbathe on the famous beaches of Copacabana, Leme, Ipanema and Leblon. But what better way to experience Rio than from a bird-eye view?  This bei ...

Capoeira may have a different meaning depending on who you ask. In Portuguese, it literally means "Chicken Coop". However, the native Americans would argue that Kaá (leaf) and Puéra (past aspect marker), mean "formely a forest". I was lucky enough to come accross the dance while in Salvador (Bahia) 2 weeks ago. We were walking accross the main square in Pelourinho when I saw people sitting down in a circle ...

If you are thinking about going to the Brazilian Amazon or heading to Manaus to begin your Amazon excursion, consider Gero Tour as your tour operator! I found Gero in my Rough Guide to Brazil while planning my trip to Brazil. As flying to the Amazon is expensive, I wanted to make sure to select the best tour operator in the region to ensure 100% happiness! A Gero guide came to pick me up at the airport when ...

Cortejo Afro was among the cultural groups who participated at the parade on July 2, 1998 the date of independance of Bahia. The art of the Cortejo Afro parade lies within the sounds, rythms and vivid Bahian colors. By watching this video, you will notice how the choreography is rich in movement and how they affirm their ethnical background by wearing vibrant colors. A night with Cortejo Afro garantees a ni ...

As I think back at my 3 weeks in Brasil, I try pinching myself to make sure it wasn't all a dream. The Amazon, Rio & Bahia, 3 weeks in 3 totally different places... and must I mention that I had the time of my life. It's hard to believe this trip finally happened, after almost 2 years of waiting. And I can reassure you that I will be returning in the near future. A special moment during the trip was def ...

I don't even know where to begin! The last 3 weeks (yes, my trip is unfortunately coming to an end) have been beyond incredible. The best decision I've made so far was to go backpacking alone. I met wonderful people and now have more places to travel to! I know I haven't been writing so much but I've been so busy! When I arrived in Salvador last Saturday (don't ask me for the time or date because I'm lost r ...

2009 was a year of many changes. I went from working full-time as a producer to part-time school to back to full-time work and between the mist of it all I did tones of traveling. It was a bumpy ride but it was year of finding out what I really wanted to do in life. Well you know the answer to that, ever backpacker knows that traveling non-stop is the number one dream. But really my two most important thing ...