My 25th birthday was exactly 2 weeks ago (on Valentine’s Day — I’m a love child) and as a gift to myself I have decided to do something that I never expected to willingly do.  I’m about to spend 40 days backpacking through 4 countries and 10 cities in South America.  I have spent the [...]

Like several locations within the city of Rio, wandering around these lovely gardens makes you forget that you are in fact in a huge city.  Unlike the Brooklyn Botanical Garden the upkeep of the place is incredible, and unlike the Keukenhof Gardens in Holland all I had to do was walk for about a half [...]

The first two weeks of February were spent visiting my dear friend, Lorena, in her hometown of Vila Velha in the state of Espirito Santo, a charming little beach city on the other side of the bridge from Vitória. These first photos are from Setiba — a beach about a half hour away.

These next [...]

I have issues with tourist attractions. I hate the Disney World-like lines. I hate the fashion-challenged crowds decked out in mid-calf socks and running sneakers, Hawaiian-print shirts, and cameras hanging around their necks waiting their turn to get the generic “look-at-me-I-have-proof-I-was-here-at-this-place-so-far-away” photo only to speed off to the next destination to do the [...]