History
- History, Independent travel, New Orleans, North America, Photography, Travel Blog, USA, Wildlife, World food
New Orleans Is Unique, Y’All
Unique is an adjective regularly used to describe New Orleans, with guide books and websites consistently referring to the city as “unique in the whole of the USA”, a description based largely on the amalgam of cultures which have clashed, fused and evolved into the persona which The Big Easy enjoys today. To us, it feels like this fusion and integration has created a single style: a Nawliner is one particular type of person, regardless of historical cultural background. No barriers, no segregation, joyous inclusivity. You are more from this city than from any one particular background. A big guy is playing Barry White and Bill Withers on his keyboard…
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New Orleans And All That Jazz
“Hey y’all. Y’all havin’ a good time?” Everyone responds. “O’ course y’all havin’ a good time. You is in Nawlins and in Nawlins everyone has a good time. If you ain’t havin’ a good time, den you is in da wrong place” And so the scene is set for our time in New Orleans….. We’ve given ourselves some changes of scene which have bordered on culture shock in the past, but we’re not sure we’ve ever made quite such a leap as this one. One minute we’re in the Amazon rainforest listening to the gentle lapping of the waters of the Rio Negro, the next we’re taking a stroll down…
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Manaus: Industry, Elegant Buildings & The Meeting Of The Waters
“A couple of Englishmen strolling through Brazil, end-to-end, wonderful, friendly, even without speaking Portuguese always sought to enjoy everything in the city”. These words are, unaltered, the review of us placed on airbnb by one of our hosts in Brazil. It pleased us so much that we just wanted to reproduce it here. As if this whole thing didn’t feel strange enough already, we’re finally getting undressed and into bed when the cockerels start crowing to remind us that daylight is only a couple of hours away. Half past ten in the evening seems an odd time for a domestic flight to take to the air, particularly a 4-hour flight…
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The Many Faces Of Recife
Brazil must surely be one of the best countries in the world for using the Uber taxi service, certainly the best we’ve encountered anywhere so far. Easy, reliable and cheap. We originally intended to hire a car to explore the Olinda/Recife area, but once you realise that a half hour Uber ride can cost as little as £2.60 there’s just no point taking on the driving yourself. But you know, once you get the hang of Brazil, it’s not altogether odd that Uber works well: this is a surprisingly well developed country in a technological sense. For a start, this is virtually a cashless society, everywhere expects payment by card,…
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The Crazy World Of Francisco Brennand
Picture an artist and sculptor being given a gigantic space in which to let his imagination run riot. Imagine if that space was a disused factory set in substantial grounds with endless opportunities for indoor and outdoor exhibition, and if that sculptor was given enough time to create over 2,000 items in an isolated world of fantasy. And finally, imagine if that guy had a mind full of wild ideas way beyond the norm. Welcome to Oficina Brennand and the life’s work of one Francisco Brennand. First, some context and history. The factory in question, with its many brick built industrial buildings and wide open grassy spaces in between, was originally…
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Concluding Rio: Sugarloaf, Rocinha And Tijuca
Sugarloaf Mountain is, like Copacabana, Ipanema and Christ The Redeemer, an icon of this famous city. Reached by cable car from the neighbourhood of Urca, the double summit of Morro de Urca and then Sugarloaf itself provide yet more fabulous, panoramic views of the city, viewed from the opposite perspective to that of Corcovado. Thankfully a bit less crowded than the platform at Christ’s feet was, the peaks here also feature a number of paved trails through the surrounding hillside forest where vultures circle overhead, birds squawk in the trees and patterned lizards dart away from human footfall. Just like up at The Redeemer, it’s a joy to simply linger…
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Cidade Velha: Where Cape Verde Began
Darkness has long fallen as we reach our next home, Michaela is in desperate need of rest after the ordeal of the ferry crossing from hell and curls up in the foetal position on the bed, a sure sign she needs recovery sleep. Of course, we haven’t eaten since breakfast: Michaela won’t be in the mood to face anything – I’m empty but don’t feel I should leave her alone so it’s just a handful of Pringles for my dinner tonight. While she sleeps I go to catch up on some admin and to research our new place – but the wifi is as dead as a dodo and stubbornly…
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To A Land Called Fire
Having from breakfast time till 4pm to make our way back down the island, we take a leisurely scenic drive down the east coast before turning inland across to Praia, rather than retracing our steps through the mountain ranges. Just before we leave the coast, we take a short break in the very appealing town of Pedra Bodejo where a great looking restaurant on the clifftop makes us wish we needed more than just a fruit juice. And so by mid afternoon we’re back in Praia, car returned to the rental company, ready for the earliest morning start of the whole trip for the dawn ferry to our next island,…
- Africa, Cape Verde, History, Independent travel, Outdoor Activities, Photography, Travel Blog, Walking, Wildlife
Hikes And Histories: More Of Tarrafal
It’s a few minutes before 9am and our guide Seeto is already waiting in the square, chatting and joking with friends. He meets us with the warmest of smiles but is continually interrupted by greetings, handshakes and fist pumps – you get the distinct feeling that everybody knows everyone else in Tarrafal. Seeto introduces us to our companions on today’s expedition, Alejo and Gabriella, on holiday here from near Albacete in Spain. Today’s hike is a downhill challenge, we will be starting high up in the mountains of Serra Malagueta and dropping way, way down to arrive at the natural lake in the bottom of the canyon some three hours…
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From Boa Vista To Santiago: A Praia Arrangement
There’s an endearing simplicity about the names of places on the Cape Verde islands, a simplicity which somehow reflects the unhurried, uncomplicated way of life here. The island with salt pans is called, simply, Salt; the island with hills is called Good View and a town with a sandy shore is named Beach. Perhaps even more amusing, the two islands with active volcanoes are named Fire and Angry. In the native tongue, these five are, respectively, Sal, Boa Vista, Praia, Fogo and Brava: translated into English they sound hilariously basic. You can’t get much more straightforward than names like those! Thursday morning sees the hazy cloud lift and the humidity…