My Escorted Tours

In October I joined G Adventures on their "Best of Brazil "Comfort tour.

I couldn't wait to see Rio de Janeiro so on the first morning , I  went for a long walk on the famous Copacabana beach.

The residents of this beautiful city say: "God made the world in six days, the seventh he devoted to Rio," What a marvellous place!!!

I stood at the top of Corcovado mountain right after sunrise, at the foot of the statue of Cristo Redentor ( Christ the Redeemer) which overlooks this gorgeous city.  It took my breath away!

Later that morning, we took a cable car up to the Sugar Loaf Mountain which is a granite monolit.  We admired more of the panoramic views of The Harbour of Rio de Janeiro - one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World.. 

I wish I could have spent more time in Rio.  This magnificent city has so much to offer.

But off on the next adventure, we headed south on this beautiful coast of Brazil;  which reminded me of our Sea to Sky Highway of British Columbia. On one side there is a luscious green mountain range, and on the other side the sparkling blue sea.

We took a ferry over to a laid-back island called  Ilha Grande.  It is a protected area: no cars, dirt roads only; it felt like stepping back in time. 

During our stay here some of us  hiked through the jungle , passing unspoiled, secluded beaches and 3 hours later arrived to Lopez Mendez beach.   I have never seen sand softer / finer than this  in my life. 

I didn't want to get off this paradise island. 

The next town we visited  was the colonial city of Paraty , protected by UNESCO

We spent a day out on the bay, enjoying our Boat Tour where we swam in emerald waters and drank Caipirinha. This is Brazil's national drink made of ice, sugar, lime and cachaca.

Later that afternoon I managed to get lost in the old town. I wandered through many slightly curved streets, carefully watching every step of mine and tried not to break an ankle on the rustic cobblestone streets.  The buildings were all painted white with many colourful doors - It seemed like a maze to me! ( I got to appreciate the smart Portuguese settlers idea on how they were protecting their city)  Another unique feature of the old town is that those streets during high tide get flooded by seawater . 

From Paraty  we drove to Sao Paolo for a short flight over to the Brazilian and Argentinean border to see another natural beauty of the world:  Foz do Iguaçu, or Iguassu Falls.  

A friend of mine once said, that "One needs 10 set of eyes to capture all the beauty". How True!!!

We wallked around the National Parks on both side of the border, using trails and catwalks and some of us enjoyed a Boat Ride on the river;  I took my first helicopter tour which gave us a great overview of the falls and the jungle around the area.  What a fabulous trip!

In December I spent 10 nights at the All-Inclusive Hilton Rose Hall Resort & Spa. Had a great family holiday. The resort has 2 pools, one for the sun lovers and the other one for the entire fun loving families and couples. The second pool is a freeform pool and it feels like a water park with waterfalls and waterslides. Kids, adults, everyone loved to float down the lazy river in the big comfy yellow tubes. I also enjoyed to lay back and relax, visiting the swim-up bar from time to time. There are great activities around the resort: all kinds of water sports; windsurfing, tubing, boat trips with the glass bottom boats. Board games; big chess board in the grass by the ocean; ping pong; afternoon games for anyone who wants to participate. For golfers, the golf course is right next to the resort. I'm not a golfer, but I heard that paying that course is quite an experience. Safe, unspoiled beaches off the golf course, great for nice long walks and for collecting shells and colorful Sea fans... I found the staff very friendly and helpful. Saw weddings on the beach in lovely ocean / mountain view setting with gorgeous sunsets... At night, there's a night club at the resort for adults and entertainment  for children and families like magic shows; dancing, singing and fire shows around the pool. Taking a day trip to Dunn's River Falls is a must :)