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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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There’s Something In The Kitchen
There’s flies in the kitchen I can hear them buzzin’ And I ain’t done nothin’ Since I woke up today Lyrics from “Angel From Montgomery” by John Prine It arrives precisely on time. All the weather apps had said that the tropical storm would hit around 9am and, sure enough, rain starts to clatter the roof at 8:55 and five minutes later thunder is crashing and we have to raise our voices to be heard above the sound of the rain. Three hours later it’s still hammering down and we are mopping sections of the floor at various points: this is when you discover that these quaint old houses aren’t…
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Shock News: Brazil Is Really Big
Saturday night in Puerto Iguazu is properly rocking, busier than every previous evening with queues outside several restaurants and music from numerous bars clashing mid street in a melee of bass lines and choruses which succeed only in drowning each other out. Bon Jovi, Men At Work and Gnarls Barkley merge into a disturbing melange which threatens to confuse and confound the ears. Whether it’s like this every Saturday, or whether it’s especially busy because it’s Easter, we’ll never know. Our last night in Argentina And so after our brief 5-day glimpse of Argentina, we head back across the bridge and cast one last look at the pale blue skies…
- Argentina, Brazil, Independent travel, Photography, South America, Travel Blog, Wildlife, World food
Across The Border: A Glimpse Of Argentina
I have always been fond of making the point that flora and fauna, and therefore consequently the cuisine which is invariably traditionally based on what is available locally, don’t know where international borders lie. In other words, just because mankind placed a dividing line in a certain place doesn’t mean that one cuisine stops and a different one begins the moment you cross the line. Or that because you’ve travelled five miles everything on your plate, and in the countryside, will have changed, just because some bloke some time decided that’s where the line is. I may however have to shift that opinion slightly having made the short, hassle free…
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From The Coast To The Falls: Heading South
With the buses leaving at awkward times and featuring difficult connections, we opt instead to do a deal with a local driver in Paraty to take us all the way to our overnight stop at Guarulhos, nearly four hours’ drive away. As we leave the jewel which is Paraty behind and head up into the mountains, we ponder on whether crossing the range will take us out of the rain and back into sunshine. In reality the exact opposite occurs – the weather deteriorates considerably and by the time we’re on the freeways our driver is battling spray, surface water and worsening visibility. Pools of rainwater dance and splash in…
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High Climbs & High Tides: Last Days In Paraty
We’re not always altogether comfortable with organised group tours, and although both of the outings with Paraty Tours have been good, it’s time to go independent again after two successive days of being chaperoned by others. So Wednesday morning we head to the bus station and wait in the heat for the number 25 bus to Trindade which, by the time the driver reverses out of the stand, is ridiculously overloaded with far too many people and far too much baggage. The little bus really struggles on the mountain climbs, with the driver opting for first gear and a raging engine uphill, then inching slowly down the other side with…
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Boats, Bugs, Booze And Not Doing Things By Halves: Days in Paraty
Just as we’re fearing a stifling night without AC, the lights come back on and we can hear the sound of cheering from neighbouring houses – this has been the second lengthy power outage in our first few days here, brought on this time by the afternoon thunderstorm and lasting until bedtime. It’s been handy then that the Caborê Brewery is only just down the road: brewery means generator which means cold beer and a restaurant which is open, saving us a walk through the rain to those areas unaffected by the outage. This local beer at Caborê isn’t at all bad, either: more pricey than the ubiquitous Brahma but…
- Brazil, Independent travel, Outdoor Activities, Photography, South America, Travel Blog, Walking, Wildlife
Hello Again Brazil: Discovering Paraty
Exotic bird calls boom or squawk through the trees, now and again the undergrowth rustles with the movement of an unseen creature. We are drenched in sweat, dripping wet from head to toe; the baking sun casts searing heat into the occasional clearing but for the most part the lofty canopy traps intense humidity in the spaces below. Official signs warn of poisonous spiders, scorpions and snakes. The heavy air is full of the scents of foliage and damp earth. This is the Atlantic Forest, its million shades of green scaling every mountainside and sweeping with sumptuous colour to the very edge of the shore. The climb has been testing,…
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Time To Go
When the plane touches down in São Paulo on Friday morning it will be precisely four weeks since we made our way to Rio airport for our hastily organised and unexpected journey home, and frankly there hasn’t been much to shout about in those four weeks. Unless you are given to shouting about rain. One of the anticipated joys back when we were first planning long term travel was to escape the English winter. That word – winter – conveys, in many parts of the world, images of pristine white snow, frozen lakes and icicles hung from the eaves of roofs. It’s not like that in England, oh no. Winter…
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Returning To Brazil
It’s been a strange start to 2024. We can’t quite recall now why we decided to delay the start of our travels until February and give ourselves the whole of dull January at home in England. Had we had an inkling of what February would bring, we may have made different plans – but of course an event such as a family bereavement is not a predictable one. Our long journey through Brazil and into the USA was meant to last from the first week of February till the last week of May, but of course was cut short by the unfortunate news and we headed back home on Day…
