Praia das Baleias

Patricia’s family on her mother’s side has a house on the beach called Praia das Baleias, which although being relatively close to Sao Paulo (~ 3hr drive), feels like a world away. We were lucky enough to spend a whole week there, where we were able to completely relax for the first time on our entire trip. Travelling is incredibly fun, but it was nice to be pampered for a change. The wonderful housekeeper, Nadie, looked after cooking and cleaning and our family took care of the shopping. The place was fully stocked, including a never-ending cooler of beers and Guarana, the delicious Brasilian pop drink. It was like being in a five star hotel but even better, because we were able to share the company of our family who really know how to enjoy life!

The days quickly developed a rythym: getting up to go for a jog/walk/swim, then a leisurely breakfast at 10am.

This was followed by lathering on the sunscreen in anticipation of heading down to the ocean. The beach chairs and cabana would already be set up (oh yeah!), and we would spend the afternoon chatting, drinking beers or coconuts, eating corn on the cob from the beach vendor, walking up and down the 2.5km stretch of sand, people watching, playing beach tennis, and overall just having a lot of fun.

Around 4pm we would head back to the house where we would have some appetizers from the grill with caipirinhas, and then a late lunch such as a barbeque, which would last until about 6pm. After this it was time to relax and enjoy the comfortable sofas, laze by the pool and then head out for a final beach walk to catch the sunset.

Ar night we all relaxed over a glass (or two!) of good wine and snacked if we were hungry. One night was spent learning how to make a Brasilian tasty chicken-filled pastry called “empada” from the friendly maids, who are superb cooks. Our own superb cooks, Bill and Lucila, had a blast!

Most of the family had to head back into town after the weekend so we got to enjoy the place with Ben’s parents for a few days on our own with the marvellous Nadie taking care of us.







We broke out of the routine one day to walk over to the neighbouring beach of Camburi, known for good surfing. There we rented a board and Ben, Patricia and Ben’s father had a blast trying out the waves. Patricia was able to improve her surfing skills and became a regular two-footer on the board!

Since the Brasilian side of the family had left, Bill and Patricia got to perfect their Caipirinha making skills, which they put to good use mixing passion-fruit, kiwi and lime versions with good pinga (sugar cane alcohol).






When the time came it was very hard to leave, but there were more adventures to look forward to in Sao Paulo and more family time to enjoy. However, all good things come to an end and before we knew it we were saying sad goodbyes and boarding our plane to Barcelona for the next part of our trip. Cheers to family! Europe and Africa, here we come!

Rio de Janeiro

The “Branco-Miles party of six” forged on a previous fun-filled vacation in Mexico was once again re-united to take on a new adventure.

Since it was Ben’s parents first time to Brasil, Patricia’s parents were keen on a stay in Rio so that they could experience the “heart” of Brasilian culture in the south. Famous for its vibrancy and colour, samba, good food and beautiful people on beautiful beaches, everyone had an amazing time exploring the neighbourhoods of Copacabana and Ipanema where our hotel was located.

Patricia’s dad was the “planner”, and scored big with finding the Arpoador Inn, the only hotel located on the beach and for some reason also incredibly well priced. We enjoyed many a beverage on the beachside tables, with a view of the beautiful rock formations that ring Ipanema beach, right beside the most famous surfing spot in Rio.

The breakfast was all inclusive and deserves mention as our routine involved getting up every day to sit in the sunny restaurant overlooking the water and to fill ourselves with the local delicacies including “café com leite”, “pao de queijo” and a wide variety of fresh fruits. Yum!




Patricia and her parents were able to participate in one of the favourite Carioca (word for people living in Rio) passtimes: jogging along the beach in the early hours of the morning and after the setting of the sun, as Rio remained hot even into the late hours of the night. There is a strong beach culture in Rio, of course, and everyone wants to look good when they hit the sand! Cue the models...

In Rio we did the usual touristy things including strolling the beaches, drinking from coconuts, and sitting on patios having a beer and appetizers while listening to a local street musician playing “Garota de Ipanema”. The girls even got to hit the streets for some shopping! Patricia’s dad arranged a tour to the Cristo Redentor on the Corcovado, where we lucked out on a cloudless day with a full view of the city.

We sampled the Brasilian cuisine with a lunch of “petiscos”, one of “feijoada” and a dinner at a churrascaria (Brasilian bbq). Feijoada is the national dish made of black bean stew and meat, one of Patricia’s favourite meals. We were even able to catch up with old family friends living in Rio, who took us out for pizza under the moon at the foot of the Pao de Acucar. It was incredible.


We left Rio with a wonderful impression of clean beaches, bright sun and beautiful green mountains, full of energy and colour. It was the perfect introduction to Brasil for Bill and Margaret, and a chance for us and Patricia’s parents to fall in love with Rio all over again.

Sao Paulo

We were sad to leave the beautiful beaches of Uruguay, but it wasn’t too hard as we were already looking forward to the Brasilian colour and flair. Our plane touched down in Sao Paulo GRU more than 3 hours late causing us to miss our ride with Patricia’s cousin who had valiantly stayed at the airport despite the lack of information. We caught a taxi deep into the heart of this enormous city and fell gratefully into our bed in the wee hours of the morning.

This trip was all about family as Patricia’s entire set of relatives live in Brasil. She herself is Brasilian, having moved to Canada at a young age, but the family connections have remained strong with frequent visits over the years. Patricia had the fantastic idea to arrange for both of our parents to join us during our stay here. Ben was making his third trip but for his parents it would be a first in many ways. Fortunately, they had met many of the Brasilian family through various weddings and visits in Canada so it was a mix of reunions and new experiences, much of it conducted in Portuguese. Ben’s dad bridged the language barrier with gusto and displayed his mastery by naming all of the ingredients in the famous Caipirinha drink while mixing himself (and others) this delicious cocktail. Quite the feat after the second or third of these boozy beverages! Margaret was soon chatting away with a mixture of hand gestures and facial expressions, making fast friends with the whole family. Lucila and Paulo, Patricia’s parents, were wonderful hosts and co-ordinated the entire trip with the family to ensure maximum fun and adventure!

We were able to experience the infamous nightlife in Sao Paulo when Patricia’s cousin took the two of us out for an adventure with his friends to an exclusive rooftop party and then off for midnight sushi and drinks at the best Japanese restaurant in the city. We recovered the next day with a brunch at the local "panaderia" (bakery), where the food has no equal - fresh bread, empadinhas, kibes, coxinhas, croquettes, and pao de queijo, just to name a few of the amazing Brasilian baked goods that make visits to Brasil a great culinary experience.

The most amazing experience of all was the incredible hospitality displayed by all of the Brasilian family and friends - their warmth and generosity was the highlight of the trip. Throughout our stay we maintained a breakneck pace of social visits, getting together for churrascos (barbecues) and pool parties, cocktails and appetizers, breakfasts, lunches and dinners. We were even able to give Ben an early 33rd b-day celebration with family. It was wonderful to catch up with loved ones over good food and drinks and we already miss them all so much!

Uruguay

With the heat and humidity of Buenos Aires pressing in against our senses, we decided that an early departure for the beaches of Uruguay was in order. Fortunately for us, the border is just across the Rio Plata and was easily reached by small ferry boat. It was an interesting crossing as there was a serious chop on the river that created noisy impacts, causing some passengers to shriek, and also started water leaks along the windows causing us to change seats.

After a quick breeze through Customs, we stepped out into Colonial, a beautiful old town that changed hands between the Spanish and Portuguese as one fought their way north from Argentina and the other fought their way south from Brasil. As a result, the area is dotted with construction from both countries. We were greeted by cobblestone streets, small beaches, nice restaurants and a fine view from the old lighthouse. In the morning we woke up early for a jog along the river.

After spending one day and night in Colonial, we quickly moved on to spend a night in Montevideo where we had arranged to pick up a rental car to make our move to the amazing surf beaches further north. Although we only had one day in Montevideo, we were incredibly impressed by the friendly people and their love of ridiculously big sandwiches, the mix of modern and older buildings and especially by the beaches surrounding the city. Ben even managed to string together a few hilarious Spanish words to talk our way into a 2 on 2 beach volleyball game against some locals. Our opponents were definitely out of our league but were classy enough to let us score a few points.

As we drove away from Montevideo the next day, we felt a surge of excitement for the beginning of another fantastic road trip adventure. We had our sights set on three different beach towns that each had their own appeal and decided to start furthest north in Punta del Diablo. Little did we know as we pulled into the campground that we would spend the entire eight nights in this fantastic location. Over the course of our stay, we came to appreciate how amazing our accommodations were. Where else would you get a hippie-style covered outdoor kitchen complete with fridge (cold beers!), shelves for all of your cooking stuff, a firepit and outdoor grille setup and nice clean bathrooms and showers. We love you Flor de Pez!

But it’s the people that make a place and here we got incredibly lucky. Over the course of our stay we became quite close with the ladies of Argentina – Mili, Anna, Pipi and Caro. We also got to spend time with Santiago (Santi), our new Uruguayan friend who works like the rest of us, but spends the whole summer in Punta teaching surfing. Nice life!

Patricia clicked instantly with these fantastic ladies and was soon speaking excellent Spanish including a few words we learned from the girls that cannot be written down!

Everyone was on exactly the same page during our stay as we moved from late breakfasts to the beach, surfing, listening to music, drinking wine and beer and making some of the most amazing meals of our trip. These ladies can cook over a fire better than any caveman could ever dream of. Homemade pizza on the fire, vegetables, pasta, fish – you name it, they grill it. The parilla (firepit cooking) is a serious pastime in Argentina and it was great to get the full experience.

We also were able to partake in the very popular Argentian and Uruguayan tradition of sharing the mate yerba, everywhere from the campground to the beach. It is an aquired taste and by the end we were big fans!

Below is a picture of some typical mate cups, which are usually made out of a calabaza (gourd), but we also found ones made out of cows feet!

Our very favorite activity was renting a surfboard and heading to the beach to enjoy the waves and the sunshine. Persistence paid off and by the end we were both much improved and looking forward to other opportunities to surf during our trip (yes, that is Ben surfing!).

With such a perfect combination of people and place we enjoyed every minute of our stay in Punta del Diablo and left the rest of the Uruguayan coastline for next time.

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is a beautiful city. So much class and colour in the distinctive neighbourhoods, very vibrant, especially at night. The summer days were muggy and hot, which made hanging out in the shady Casa Esmeralda hostel courtyard an absolute must.

We only dared to venture out after 4pm, at which point we experienced some of the best that the city had to offer. This included a night watching a fellow hostel guest at her usual haunt, a tango club, where the dance is hot and sensuous, and with its own set of rules. We found an evening salsa class in a club which we attended with gusto, once we were properly redirected to the beginners group (thank goodness!).

Our internal clock changed dramatically in BA; a typical day was waking up at 10:45am in time for breakfast in the hostel courtyard, a leisurely start to the day with some internet and hammock time, and eventually a late dinner at 10pm. One night we left for the bar at 1am, and that was considered early by the locals! Brunch is our favorite meal of the day, and we did it up true BA style with a delicious spread at one of the many trendy breakfast restaurants catering to the post-late night crowds.

When we did venture out during the day, we went out with some friends made during our Macho Pichhu trek, who were delighted to show us around their beautiful city. We ate at one of the best and cheapest Parrilla restaurants in San Telmo, Desnivel, and strolled the streets looking at the gorgeous architecture.

Carnival was spent in BA, and we were lucky to see and dance with a Brazilian samba band at the Sunday market. We enjoyed the day eating some of the best empanadas we had in Argentina while sitting on the sidewalk people watching.




Alas, the heat and humidity won out and we cut our time in Buenos Aires short to head to beach weather in Uruguay. Surfing and camping, here we come!

Ben likes this artistic picture of our daily travel staple, nuts and dried fruit, taken at night in the hostel courtyard while waiting for the city to cool down enough for sleeping.