Paris vs London

(Updated June 2020)

I have been to Paris 7 times now and its surprising that with each visit my fascination for the city has gone down. My first trip there had been my first trip to mainland Europe itself. I spent a week in the city and proclaimed it the most amazing city EVER. My second weekend visit dimmed its enchantment for me but was still fun. A third one day trip ended up being boring as I had had enough of the tourist sights and didn't know what else to do. By the fourth day trip (for work), I didn't even bother to stay there, and just came back to London right after the meetings.

Paris from Montmarte

My fifth trip now was for a weekend to meet a cousin who has just shifted there and it turned out to be even more different as I was looking at the city more as a place to stay than visit. Maybe that's why I noticed a lot more of the positives and negatives of Paris as a place to stay. Its very interesting to see how different the same place feels to a person in the 20s versus the 30s 😊. And by the sixth and seventh trips for work, where I stayed in Paris for a night, I felt nothing for the city.

Rather than write about what I felt, I thought I would just highlight some of the differences which I noticed versus London (the other similar global city I know and where I stay).

Twinkling lights and twinkling Eiffel Tower

- Paris is definitely grander, more open and has more historical and gorgeous buildings than London. The central area goes on forever and you can walk for kilometres and still see all the stone buildings from the city Napolean built. It's definitely better organised in terms of wide roads, and the palaces are bigger and richer than Buckingham Palace 😊.

Beauty of Montmarte

All the older buildings appear brighter too because of the colour of the stone - light brown versus pale white in London. My theory is that this is because of the war - London was pounded a lot more than Paris which fell more easily and therefore has a lot more left of the grander imperial times.

Streets of Paris

On one of the trips when I was in our office on Champs Elysees, I could see Eiffel tower and Arc de Triomphe from the office. And they were both so gorgeous. Somehow the view of Eiffel tower towering above all the buildings around always uplifts me. On one of the trips, I got to go towards the outskirts of town. And I loved how pretty the outskirts of the city were. So green, with beautiful new glass buildings and all lanes lined with trees. Very pretty indeed

- Overall, Paris feels less safe than London. I haven't understood the reason for it as there are loads of people on the road always in Paris. Still, its just a feeling you get, plus based on how much people tell you to be careful. Apparently phone and purse stealing is very common especially on the Metro. It might be because of lot of poor and homeless people on the streets but I don't know for sure. Also Paris streets are definitely less clean than London! I am sure that doesn't help in the safe feeling either

- The roads are wider in Paris. And because there is no congestion charge in central Paris there are  lots of cars everywhere. Plus everyone drives recklessly with disregard for all rules. So its free for all for pedestrians and cars alike, and breaking red lights is quite the norm.

Street style!

- People in Paris are very very stylishly dressed, more than London for sure. It looks like everyone takes the time to accessorise themselves well, the women and the men. And they are all so slim! Its very easy to get a fashion complex in Paris!! The reason might be that in London you have a lot more bankers, consultants and other professionals while Paris seems to be a hub of artists and the like, a more bohemian mix of people who know how to enjoy life!

Performer at Montmarte

- Overall, people in Paris are less helpful than in London (but then I guess Parisian (un)friendliness is already world famous 😊). Its tough to get by without French and most people have such a serious look on their face that you think twice before asking them for help! And even if they know English, they answer back in French, which is very very annoying. This is quite in contrast to the British who are definitely one of the most polite and helpful people I have encountered (at least on the outside 😜). Also the general service in restaurants and hotel in Paris leaves a lot to be desired too.

- While travelling on the Eurostar, while entering Paris, you do pass through some areas which don't look as pretty as the rest of Paris. And the station feels a lot more older than when you leave from London. On the train, you get good signal only once you get onto the French side, not while on the UK. That's always good to know. Also, the service to get onto Eurostar while coming from Paris is not as good as in London. I was travelling business class and we still had to stand in long queues there. It was quite irritating. In London, they definitely treat you better 😜

- Paris feels a lot more multi-cultural as you see loads of Africans, Arabic and other people who are clearly not ethnically French. They all have embraced the local culture and language and you feel they are a part of Paris. This mixing is not seen in London or other European cities as much.

Woman on a street corner

- It also appears that there are a lot more cultural events happening in Paris. Apparently there are festivals happening every weekend. Even on the roads, you can see musicians practicing their bands and dancers practicing their dance. Maybe its just a feeling or maybe its true...

- The French love their food. But given how limited my liking for non-veg food is, I haven't been able to enjoy it much. But slowly I am learning. When in France, its better to start eating sweet food 😜. On one of the trips, I went to the macaroon shop near my office and loved it. I even bought a few (more than a few actually) to get back to London. Ive also realised while going out to eat, it makes a lot of sense to look at the menu before you go. The chances of me being able to eat increase exponentially that way :). I went to a restaurant called Semesa near Arc de Triomphe, and for a change enjoyed my food 😊.

Nuit Blanche outside Hotel de Ville

- When I was there, Paris Fashion week was going on and we spotted weirdly dressed people standing outside the fashion show locations. Another event that was happening was the Nuit Blache - the all night art and culture event. We did not see much as the event was happening all night. But we just took a walk to one of the locations and experienced some of the sights; a group of people carrying their speakers playing loud music and dancing on a street; ice sculptures in front of Hotel de Ville; thousands of people walking around those areas, with some very fashionably dressed;-); food stalls up all around; a random concert happening in a store with people looking in from the glass outside; Notre Dame had a couple of entertainers and so on. It was like the entire city was out in the open at 1 am! We loved the experience so much; its again something I haven't experienced in London yet. Guess people in Paris are a lot more openly fun loving than the British...


Over the years, the glamourous sheen of Paris has come off for me and its a multi step learning experience to uncover what lies beneath. A place to stay and a place to visit are never really the same:), isn't it? And who knows, what I discover about the city may be more exciting than what I knew about the city before...?


Updates from 2019 visit

On my last visit to Paris, we mostly walked around town one of the evenings. I observed some changes to the city while walking around (again as differences from London), am sharing a few here:

- There are much less high rises in Paris and I love that about the city. The central areas looks more preserved as an old city, as compared to London. There were very few parks around though. As we were walking and wanted to sit, it took longer to find a place

- We did find some green spaces around Montmarte, and loads of people were sitting there enjoying the sunny day. Also the view of Paris from up the steps is just stunning. We walked around in the area, past the Trinity Church, past the bustling street of March Montorguelle, past some other churches. Everything was so lit up and lovely in the evening

- It rains as much as London in Paris. It has just managed to market itself better and not be known as a rainy city

- There are just so many more street artists in Paris, everywhere. And it’s such a pleasure to observe all the art around

- People are very well dressed. They all look so stylish. Also everyone wears a lot more tight clothes than London, that’s their style looks like

- There were loads of police around town, and I had noticed it for the first time. The city also felt a lot more unsafe than I remember from before. I saw a lot more Syrians around too, begging. It was different than before

- I know its a controversial view, but I have always been less than impressed with the food in Paris. Every time. It has such a different palate as compared Indian food, I just haven't warmed up to it yet

A week in Cambridge

Cambridge from the river

I've been to Cambridge a couple of times and always wondered how fun it would be to study in a student town as pretty as Cambridge. Where there are people in the same stage of life all around, student related activities around the year and everything is geared to making the life of a student fun and comfortable. Its something I would love to experience this as my studying experience was different and I studied in much smaller campuses. I never got a chance to do it till now but this summer I was in Cambridge for a week on a work training. And I think I can say that it kind off did fulfil part of my wish;-).

While in Cambridge I stayed in Downing College which is located close to the city centre. All our sessions during the week were in their auditorium and we spent a lot of time in their grounds. It seemed like a pretty college with lot of green grounds and space to move around. It also had an interesting history of how it came into existence after tens of years of negotiations between the benefactor 's will and his wife's relatives:). But so do most of the colleges around:).

I have written about this earlier also that work travel isn't always the perfect way to explore a place and I felt the same even now. We spent full days in trainings with further events planned in the evenings. So we did not get any spare time to ourselves and I don't feel that I know Cambridge fully.

All our events were around the central area, in the Kings College, the Guildhall and nearby places. We spent all our time in this area but I did get out of the planned stuff a couple of evenings and spent time walking around which I really enjoyed. Of the 3 evenings I was there, I went out punting two of the evenings and walked around the colleges on the third. I wish the weather had been better but then its the UK and you can never expect too much:).

Punting in the river

Punting is something very specific to Cambridge - it is essentially boating on a wooden raft using a long punt instead of an oar. The punt is a huge long rod which is used to push the ground behind the boat and hence it is much slower and tougher than using an oar. Learning how to punt takes longer as you need to learn to efficiently maneuver the raft just by pushing it!! Also therefore punting can be done only in places with a shallow river.

It was all very very idyllic, the whole punting experience. With you drifting away between the colleges on both sides while the punter is telling you stories of a different era. And if the weather is great, this is an ideal way to relax and explore Cambridge.

The punt ride was for about 45 mins along the river Cam (that's where the name Cambridge came from!!) and the punters (is that what they are called?) give the tourists a history lesson on Cambridge. On both the punt rides we did, the stories were different, though not really inconsistent:-). The punters mostly told us about the history of the four main colleges on either side of the river - Kings College, Clare College, Trinity Hall and St Johns.

Cambridge was setup in the 1800s after a riot erupted in Oxford between the scholars and the local villagers. The Oxford scholars then came to Cambridge which was then a centre of religious studies and started the Cambridge university. Given their past history, they setup the university on the other side of the river Cam to protect them from the villagers:) in case more riots erupted in the future;-).

Stephen Hawking's office

There are some 30-40 Colleges in the University and all of them have a long and interesting history. They are all huge, with their own chapels, huge dining rooms, college grounds, student accommodation etc.. In fact, a lot of these colleges were used as sets for shooting the Harry Potter movies. Students get admitted to the University of Cambridge and then apply to stay in one of its many colleges. The Colleges are prestigious in their own rights as they have their own tutors who teach the students personally and are responsible for them doing well. No wonder, of the 90 Nobel prize winners from the UK, Cambridge produced 32 of them!

The punters shared loads of stories with us, some true and some not that much:). I will just mention the ones I found interesting.

Kings College: The Kings College is the prettiest of the colleges on the river and the most photographed one too. Its chapel and neighbouring buildings are typically used as the symbol of Cambridge. It has historically been where all the rich students used to study as its quite expensive. For a long time, it was a finishing College for the rich (especially students from Eton) but now has started admitting up to 60% students from public schools (Given that the national average for public schools is at 93%, it is still a rich man's college). We had our first day's welcome drinks in the open grounds of the College as well as our welcome dinner. It was the perfect introduction to Cambridge, starting at such a picturesque location.

Kings College

The Kings College also has an interesting part to play in some of the wars - it became the centre of the Civil War when Lord Cornwall used the cathedral for housing his horses and soldiers. And then during the World War, it faced a lot of bombing and therefore its stained glass windows were taken down and stored safely to keep them safe till after the war!

Trinity Hall: Apparently it is the richest college in Cambridge and owns lands across the world including in Wall Street. It was setup by the King Henry VIII of England when he decided to setup the Church of England. He wanted it to be a non-religious place of study and made it the biggest and richest in Cambridge. He even took aways lands from the Catholic schools to make it so. And that's the reasons that it till date has a deep rivalry with St Johns College which was catholic till a long time later.

Trinity Hall

Trinity Hall has one of the most impressive alumni list. Newton studied here as did Stephen Hawking,  Tennyson, Jawaharlal Nehru and Rajiv Gandhi. Or for that matter, even Prince Charles. Though he came in with a letter from his mother to admit him to the College! Its said he was an average student and his bodyguards who also had to take the exam to be with him in the examination room got better grades that him;-).

We walked around inside the college too and it was grand and majestic from inside. When you enter, you see the grounds and all around the various halls and chapel - what a tranquil place it would be to study and think! Trinity Hall is also famous for its Wren library which houses Newton's first book, the first English published Bible as well as Shakespeare's hand-written books among a host of other rare books. We did not get a chance to see it but would be nice to see them. The British Library in London also houses some such rare manuscripts and would be nice to have a look at them too sometime!

St Johns College: Just opposite Trinity Hall is the St Johns College which I found the prettiest of them all. The College is grand from the outside almost looking like a wedding cake:). We walked in the grounds outside and found it very majestic. What fun it must be to study in a location like this:). The backside of the building is quite ugly though, made of bricks unlike the stone in the front as this was the part where all the servants used to stay. The College has now grown Virginia creepers all over the walls to cover the ugly backside.

St Johns

The College is also famous for its 'bridge of sighs' across the river Cam which students would cross to get their marksheets and hence the sighs. The bridge of sigh is present in multiple locations around the world like the original in Venice and copies each in Oxford, Venetian in Las Vegas and a prison in Pennsylvania. Also just behind the College is an addition to the college, a building which was designed by a computer and therefore so terrible, that its known as the Carpark building! The difference between the two is so stark, its not funny at all!

St John remained a Christian College and was the seat of religious learning for a long time. But then Trinity Hall took over some of the sheen from it;-). St Johns and Trinity since then have a lot of rivalry between them. In fact, in a sporting competition, the St Johns rowing team hit the Trinity Hall rowing boat with a spike to destroy them and have not been allowed to compete in sports since then. The punter also told some story on how something related to St Johns was the inspiration for the 007 books but I have forgotten what the logic was. Lastly a famous alumni of the school is Manmohan Singh, the ex Prime Minister of India (just felt like mentioning this random fact!).

Clare College: Next to Kings College is Clare's College. It was founded by a famous lady of the 17th century, xxx who was the richest woman in all Europe at that time. She had married three times to wealthy husbands and they all mysteriously died. So as they said, 'she bought her way into heaven after committing crimes in her life on Earth':). The College is again very pretty and its famous for its garden which has plants from across the world - including a banana tree - the only one in Europe and which has grown a banana only once (in 2008!).

Clare College gardens

On the River Cam is located a Mathematical bridge which apparently was built by Newton without using any nuts and bolts! And when others tried to take it apart and put it back together, they were not able to do it without bolts. Though the truth is that it was built by Newton's students many years after he was gone and the bolts were of such a colour that they were not visible because of which the story came about. And so its not true!

We also learnt two other random facts on the punt ride - Cambridge professors are the only ones in UK who can legally eat swans from the river other than the queen herself. Also the University library is quite huge and apparently holds every book published in UK ever! There were loads of many such random stories about Cambridge which the punters told us. To hear about them, you should try punting yourself some day:).

Anyways, for me the rest of the week was spent attending all the work events. We had dinners in the University Grounds, ate at Revolution Bar, Don Pasquale, All Bar One and where all, walked around the market square which offers good shopping and generally had a great time relaxing around. There were Shakespeare plays being enacted at a lot of places, lot of Churches around and so much peace and silence around - as I said, would love to study here sometime!

Impressions of Brazil

I have wanted to visit Brazil for a long time (actually go to South America itself) and finally booked an 11 day vacation for summer this year. It was actually quite cheap (relatively!) to go there in Brazilian winter when supposedly its the low season. I wonder why that is so especially since the weather is quite comfortable and pleasant during winter. I would think summer would be worse with temperatures going up to 40 degrees but thats how it is. Anyways it meant lesser crowds and better weather for us and I am not complaining.

Where to go

When I started planning the trip, I realised that 11 days were not enough at all! Brazil is a huge country with diverse places across its length and breadth. The culture, landscape and weather varies a lot depending on where you go and hence you need to pick the right places based on your interests. My final itinerary was as follows, I picked up two very different nature based experiences which were specific to Brazil - diving and wildlife:

• 1 day - Rio de Janeiro
• 5 days - Fernando de Noronha (an island off the North-east coast of Brazil)
• 4 days - Pantanal (wetlands in South-west Brazil, an easier alternative to Amazon forest)

We also spent a lot of time travelling between the places as distances and flying times were quite long.

During my research, I read about many other places which deserve a visit if you are there longer. Here's my list:

• Near Rio - city of Paraty known for its colonial history and culture; island of Ilha Grande for relaxing on a remote island away from the city; Buzios for a fun relaxing seaside town about 2.5 hours drive from Rio
• Iguazu Falls - supposedly the best falls in the world and require a two day trip from Rio (potentially Argentinian visa too)
• North-east Brazil - Salvador, the African cultural hub of Brazil; Recife, a beach resort in the north; Olinda, another colonial town in the north
• And of course the Amazon forest, but that needs at least 5-6 days to make that trip worthwhile

Travel within Brazil

Throughout our travels we crisscrossed the country multiple times, landing and changing planes at multiple cities and seeing the changing landscape from above. We spent two days flying within Brazil and spending so much time in the air looking down made me feel I knew the country a lot more than just the three places we stayed in!

For our fight from Rio to Fernando de Noronha, we landed in Belo Horizonte first and then Recife. As soon as we left Rio, the landscape became green and mountainous, and had clouds trapped between them. From the top, it looked like cotton spread all around, and this view continued for a long time. And just before Belo Horizonte, we flew over wetlands where the rivers made funny shapes on the landscape below, like bows. When we landed at Belo Horizonte, the land became flat and we could see farmlands as far as the eyes could see.

Recife from the plane

From Belo Horizonte, we flew to Recife and I can’t forget the first view of the city. Emerald green waters all along the coast, white sand beaches next to it and the high rises stretching all along. And behind the high-rises, the city filled with slums till wherever you can see. The difference between the two faces of Recife was very stark! I have never seen so many high rises in a single city other than New York, but then behind them, 80% of the city was covered by shanty houses. Its a scene which I cannot forget. And you can see it only when you fly. For people visiting Recife, they will never get to see the real city, the 80% of the city. All they will see and know is the emerald green sea and the posh high rise hotels just next to them. But thats how it is!

Anyways, while flying from FDN to Cuiaba, we again stopped at Recife and then Campinas. We also had to stay in Campinas overnight in some airline hotel as our flight got late and we missed our connection. The hotel was outside the city, so we did not see anything there. Once we reached Cuiaba, we did get a chance to drive through its small streets and lanes and realised how terrible driving could be in Brazil:). When flying from Cuiaba to Rio we stopped only at Brasilia, the unknown capital of Brazil. Don’t remember much of it other than it was huge and you can see lights till wherever the eye can see.

We flew with Azul from Rio to FDN and then FDN to Cuiaba. I must say, we were very impressed with their service. Even with two very short transfers for each flight, everything was well managed and our luggage was duly shifted on time. And once when our connecting flight was getting delayed, we were again impressed by how they reached out to us, helped us change our tickets and then plan the whole change efficiently. The only not so great fact was that they don’t serve proper food on the flights. Only snacks - gummy bears, muffins, nuts and so on - irrespective of whether its time for lunch or dinner.

History and culture

Brazil has a very interesting history. It is the only Portuguese speaking country in South America, sharing its border with old Spanish colonies. An interesting part of its history is that when Napoleon had attacked countries in Europe, the Portuguese king had shifted his capital to Brazil, to Rio!! So for 13 or so years, the seat of the Portuguese empire, was not in Portugal but in Brazil! I haven’t heard of any similar situation in any of the other colonies.

Everyone in Brazil speaks Portuguese, but apparently its different from the original Portuguese and its tough for one to understand the other. Also, English is not spoken widely and this can be a bit of a problem for tourists. Brazil was ruled by the military in the 60s and the 70s when they had banned learning any language other than Portuguese - this could be one of the reasons for that.

People in Brazil are quite mixed. People who are white (from Italy, Germany, Portugal and so on), the African slaves who were brought from Africa and then people of all shades between the two:). I don’t think I can guess looking at someone if they are Brazilian or not. It made it very easy for us to blend in too, we were not that different from all the others around:).

The biggest wave of immigration happened about 450 years ago when Germans, Italians and the Japanese shifted here. They all got free land from the Portuguese government to come to Brazil and start agriculture here. Most of the whites settled in the south of the country which is less “warm” in more ways than one than the rest of the country. The Africans who came here mostly settled in the north which is warmer. And hence within the country you have two different cultures, the warmer culture in the north and the whiter colder culture in the south (or so I heard).

Overall, Brazil felt much more developed than India. It got a head start as it got independence in the mid 1800s and has moved fast since then. I did feel that the culture was a bit lacking - I did not see anything which I felt was different about Brazil. Maybe its because of the places I visited, which were not really the culture capitals but more the nature capitals. But still I felt it the entire time. Maybe its the fact that everyone here is from elsewhere that might have contributed to it. But Brazil is definitely not a Mexico or Tanzania or Vietnam with deep centuries old history of its own.

Other random titbits

• Getting a visa for Brazil is easy - it had a relaxed visa process and not too expensive either (other than if you are an American, and I can’t say I find any fault with that;-) )
• Winter is a great time to visit Brazil. The weather is quite warm, always above 20 and mostly above 30
• There are 4 time zones within Brazil and its a good idea to check before flying or making any bookings:)
• Like the US, food portions are generally too much, so you need to be careful when ordering!
• Mangoes are common here and apparently they were imported years ago from India
• You need to be careful with your cash and cards. Cash was taken out using our debit cards, even though we used them very carefully and only at safe locations

Other articles on Brazil:
Rio de Janeiro
Fernando de Noronha
Pantanal

The party city - Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

Rio at night
(with Christ the Redeemer statue)

During our trip to Brazil, we flew in to Rio from London and stayed there only for a day. Initially, I was a bit unsure about that as everyone I have met has loved the city, and I thought one day might be too less for it. Though now, I think that was more than enough. I haven’t figured out why there is so much hoo-hulla about the city - its definitely pretty, has nice beaches and all, but other than partying, I don’t see much you can do there for long. And given that that wasn't what we were looking for, it was the right decision to not stay there longer.

We took the official taxi from the airport to the hotel, which cost twice as much as the regular ones you can take from right outside the airport. And that was true for the rest of our time there too - we were quite cautious in Rio because of its reputation as an unsafe city and so ended up overpaying almost all the time.

View of Rio from afar

Rio is famous for its beaches, the most famous of which is the Copacabana beach. And then there are the less famous ones of Ipanema, Leblon and so on. Most of the tourists stay around these beaches and so the hotels here are quite pricey. We stayed at the Mar Ipanema hotel, which was a relatively cheap option. It is in the Ipanema area and I would totally recommend it. Its 5 mins walking to the beach, has good views of the beaches, lagoon and the Statue of Christ, and is of good enough quality.

Ipanema beach

We spent half of our day on the Ipanema beach and the other half visiting the famous tourist spots around. The Ipanema beach was pretty, it was sunny and warm and looked like everyone in the city was out in the sea! The water was clean green, and quite warm; enough to enjoy the water with the waves providing extra fun. The weather was perfect for the beach too, 26 degrees (and that too in winter)! There were also helicopters circling the beach areas to ensure tourist safety.

The road next to the beach had been turned into a pedestrian zone for the day, and you could see everyone walking around, taking in the views while the hawkers were trying hard to sell their wares. The whole beach was lined with high rise posh hotels and then on the other end of the beach was a favela. (The favelas are the famous slums of Brazil, made famous for their drug business in the movie City of Joy). An interesting thing was that this favela did have one of the best location in the city - located on a hill, with a view of the Ipanema beach, the sea and the mountains beyond! Not bad at all. Also, this whole area reminded me a bit of Bombay, there was just so much similarity between the two.

The city and cathedral

For the second half of the day, we took a guided tour in a mini-bus for about 4 hours to cover the main tourist sights of the city. It felt like quite a relaxed tour and we figured out that timing wasn’t of any importance to anyone, given how behind time everything was running! The tour started with a visit to a modern cathedral in downtown which was definitely missable. Then we stopped at a place where the Samba schools practice for the Carnival which was again missable. On the way, we drove by the bay area, where all the boats are parked and the river comes inland. It looked like one of the more up-market areas of Rio.

The next stop was the statue of Christ the Redeemer or Corcovado. The statue is located on top of the mountain and is visible from many places in the city. Its covered by the Tijuca rainforest all around (Rio is one of the few cities with a rainforest in the middle of the city!). Not sure if there is anything to see there though, other than some wildlife like monkeys etc..

Christ the Redeemer

When on top, you need to go up some stairs to reach the statue. To be honest, I had expected the statue to be bigger than what it is. Its majestic but not as much as I had expected and I was definitely underwhelmed.

The view from the top though was impressive. You get a 360 degree view of the city - its hills, the airport, a lake, bridges across the sea and the neighbouring city of Niteroi across the bay. The whole view was a little misty though given the time of the day - might be because of pollution. Its a very impressive view and a must. Very few cities in the work could boast such a view. Though when on top you can see the high rises interspersed with the favelas - it brings to mind immediately the inequalities of most of the developing countries in the world. But still, its a definite must see.

Sugar Loaf mountain

After that, we went up the Sugar Loaf mountain, which is one of the iconic features of Rio. To reach the top, you have to take two gondolas - one to the top of the smaller mountain and then another to the top of the one behind. From the top, you get a similar view of Rio as Corcovado but since we went there in the evening, we saw the night view. The twinkling lights especially around the beaches was picturesque. But it was still missable. Going to just one of the two places is enough in my view.

Copacabana beach at night

We also realised how much your photographs depend on the lens that you use. We were using our recently bought zoom lens and it changed the look of all the photos we took. And then one of our fellow passengers took a picture of us with his own lens - it was completely different from what we had been taking till then. Totally convinced my that buying the right lens is most important to get good photographs.

It was easy to get to all the tourist places, as they weren't crowded. Apparently in the summer its the opposite - queues and queues everywhere. Overall, people felt very chilled out too, all were dressed in relaxed and colourful clothes. Women overall seemed quite healthy, and not like the hot women they show in Rio movies:).

We ate dinner near our hotel at a restaurant called Viasete, it was nice. There were a couple of very nice restaurants nearby but we had read so much about the city being unsafe, that we did not venture out much or explore anything on our own - maybe that might have brought us more in contact with the real city but we missed it.

The next morning we were to fly to Fernando de Noronha and realised when in the taxi that we were going to the wrong airport! We figured that out soon enough, so was good. We also did our first successful haggling with the taxi guy, very proud of it:). One caution though - be careful of using ATMs in Rio airport. We used our debit cards there trying to take out cash and got none. And then a couple of days later, fraudalent transactions had been made on those same cards.

Overall, I must say that Rio did not feel like something to write home about - it was just a normal city with a beautiful location. It did have a mixture of old colourful Portuguese buildings and gothic churches peeping out from between the high rises and the favelas. But overall as I said, we were underwhelmed by the city.

Other articles on Brazil:
Fernando de Noronha
Pantanal
Impressions of Brazil

Pantanal - the Brazilian wetlands

Pantanal

Pantanal was the last stop on our Brazilian vacation, after Rio de Janeiro and Fernando de Noronha. Its the name of the huge South American wetland, spread across South-west Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. The area is under water for most part of the year and hence is full of dense vegetation and varying wildlife. Its a good alternative to the Amazon forest, as its a lot easier to get to than the rainforests, plus apparently its easier to spot animals here as the forests are not as dense.

Getting there

If you are in Brazil, you can enter the Pantanal from the North through the city of Cuiaba or the South through the city of Campo Grande. To enter Pantanal, you need to drive on the Transpantaneira road, which connects Pocone - the entry town to Pantanal, cutting across the Pantanal right up to Porto Jofre. This is the lifeline of the area, is unpaved and apparently was never completed! There are many Pousadas lining the Transpantaneira where you can stay and explore the area. These were actually Faziendas or ranches which now serve as tourist accommodation.



We flew to Cuiaba from FDN, and then were picked up by transport from our Pousada itself, which was located approximately 38 kms inside the Pantanal. The whole drive took us about 2 hours - 1 hour till the city of Pocone and then an hour on the Transpantaneira to our Pousada in the Pantanal.

Transpantaneira

The Transpantaneira road is red and extends till where your eyes can see. There was a very old world kind of feeling about it - red mud unpaved road going into areas rarely visited. It gave quite an exhilarating feeling when we first entered this area. And it felt all uninhabited all around. There were no houses, no people on the roads, just silence and sounds of the birds. Once in a while some tourist vehicles would cross, or you would cross a fazienda as you drive - and that was it. The only people who stay here are the tourists and the fazienda owners, and thats about it. The rest is just open lands on both sides and the hundreds of animals and birds which are part of this ‘open zoo’, as our guide liked to call it:).


Wildlife watching

We spent three days in the Pantanal, exploring the areas nearby, on foot, cycle, boat, horse and jeep (all possible modes of transport actually:) ). The best time to spot animals is in the mornings and evenings when the weather is cooler and the animals are out and about for food.

The first day we drove from Cuiaba, we spotted lots of animals and birds around the Transpantaneira itself and that was true for the rest of the days too. There are many more animals around the main road, than inside the Pantanal which felt quite counterintuitive. The same day, we took our cycles and went cycling on the same road, looking for animals on our own. It was fun, though a bit inconvenient as the cars which were crossing us were stirring up a lot of sand! We saw some birds but came back soon, as were a bit scared to be out in the open where there is no one to ask for help or even direction:).

The river safari

The next two days we did not come out to the main road much - we went horse riding one morning, on a boat ride within the Pousada and then walks within their lands again. The horse riding was a bit of a flop show actually, it was a 3 hour ride in the sun where we did not see a single animal!! The boating definitely was better - we went on a river nearby, which was full of hyacinths everywhere and the banks were all swamped with water. We spotted hundreds of birds there which was fun (and cool!).

Jabiru

One morning, we went for a walk to the local watch tower which was within the Pousada. It was a nice walk, though we did not see much other than the usual birds. We did spot a Jabiru stork sitting on top of a tree, trying to find material to rebuild its nest. Everytime it would fly off, tens of parrots would come to its nest trying to destroy it. The Jabiru would come back and shoo them all, then go away again and the same thing would repeat!

Caiman

The last day, we went on a jeep safari next to the Transpantaneira which in hindsight was the best option. As I said earlier, there are always loads of animal sightings next to the main road. This is because, when the road was constructed, lots of gaps were created just next to it. Over the years, water collected in these gaps and now they are all small ponds - a source of water for the animals in the dry season. So they turn up there to quench their thirst all too often, making it the easiest place to spot them!

Of all our trips, we spotted the maximum animals during this jeep ride. It was a 3.5 hour ride all together, driving deeper into the Pantanal. And in one trip we spotted the anteater, cappybaras, macaws, toucans, swamp deers, cutias, caimans and many many birds. While coming back, we tried spotting animals using spotlights that the guide shone all around. It did not work too well, but am sure sometimes it does. And I should say, doing the jeep safari is definitely a better option that going for the horse riding or walks that we did.

Cappybaras

Overall, we did not spot as many animals as we expected as they hid in the high bushes all around. We spotted carpuchian monkeys jumping in the trees and creating a nuisance; an anteater eating away next to the Transpantaneira; a herd of about 20 cappybaras with 18 of them children lazing around in the grass; a couple of marsh deers; cutias scurrying on the roads; and 20-30 caimans. The caimans were the easiest to spot - 50% of the water bodies had the caimans sitting next to it lazily, or swimming sneakily. We also tracked a tapir couple of times, but never got to see it!

In the Pantanal, the other commonly seen animals are the armadillos, tapirs, anacondas and the jaguar. We did not get to see any of them:(. I read somewhere if you go deeper into the wetlands, you increase your chances of spotting these animals, so that could have been one reason. I personally think that spotting wildlife in the wild is so different than seeing in a zoo that you need to go with a lot of patience, and luck also plays a big part, so it may just happen that you don't spot much!

Heron

For us, therefore it was the birds which were the highlight of the trip. There are hundreds of different species of birds in the area, and they are all over the place. We must have spotted over 50 types ourselves. Birds are tough to photograph though, sit far away from humans, don't stay still and fly off at the slightest distraction.

Water jackanara

But their colours are amazing. We saw birds everywhere and had become experts at spotting them and naming a few too! There were hawks (savannah, roadside) and kites perched on top of the fences and high trees; red headed colourful cardinals, saffron finches, red vermillion fly catchers, orange troupials and red vermillions prancing around; tall herons, storks and egrets walking around the water bodies; orange kingfishers looking for their prey; yellow cescedes singing beautiful songs; huge rheas strutting around; Amazonian parrots and parakeets making lots of noise; macaws sitting on palm trees and making a ruckus; toucans flying around in pairs; chachalacas not flying off the roads; huge ibis sitting on the trees; woodpeckers; orange water jackanaras peeping from the water hyacinth; nacubius and silver beak tanager (was actually deep red though it looked completely black) flying off into the bushes; and so on. We saw so many birds, its tough to list them all out - here are just a few of the nicely photographed ones. (check the names)

Birds of pantanal

Macaw

There was a large pond in front of our chalet which is where we got some of our best bird shots - we just sat there in the afternoons, with the zoomed camera on a tripod and birds came flocking by to be photographed. It did need a lot of patience though. One of the mornings, we also spotted a caiman swimming right in front of our chalet in the huge pond. I had gone looking for it the previous night - its lucky that I didn't spot it, would have been quiet a scare!

During one of our walks in the forest, our guide also told us about some of the interesting trees out there, it felt like a jungle survival walk:). He cut an exposed root of one of the trees from which water was dripping - its apparently used by the locals to find water when lost in the jungle. Another one when cut would ooze a white milk which was a great antiseptic. And then he showed us a tree with cotton growing on it!!

The guide also once broke a small part of a wood termite hill from which he picked up the termites on his hand and rubbed them - the locals use that as anti-repellant perfume. I could not try it, though everyone in the group including my husband tried it. It did have a very fresh deodorant kind of smell though! The guide also pointed to us the fire red ants which can cause a person to paralyse. We of course chose to stay away from them and observe from afar

(Its a separate fact that there are no local natives left in the region anymore, either they've all been killed or constrained within the reserves. All we have now are stories of what they used to do when they lived in these areas)

The Pantanal was very green just next to the water bodies, with dense trees and bushes. And in the dry season, the rest of the area become yellow and dry, and the vegetation also all dried up. There were many pretty scenes everywhere, especially around sunset.

Also there were hundreds of cows and horses everywhere on all the ranches - the whole area felt a lot like the Australian outback/Texan ranch style. The cows in this region have been brought from India - they are called the skinny cow/ brahmin cow or zebu cows. The cows made it feel a bit like home too, reminding me of views of rural India. Sigh!

Caiman

One interesting aspect of the area is that the water is very acidic - so its very clear and there are no poisonous animals anywhere. Also, the clear waster makes it easier to spot wildlife like caimans and anacondas in the water (still needs luck though!).

When we were there it was very hot on two of the days, but then a wind came from the South and it got cloudy and chilly (and even rained in the dry season!!) for the last two days. But overall the weather was very hot and humid. We would finish our outdoor activities in the morning before 10 and then continue in the evening after 4. The afternoon in between was spent lazing around in the Pousada or just waiting with the camera for the birds to come and be photographed! Its so hot, its just not worth going out in the afternoons.

The nights were prettier - clear skies, quiet environs and twinkling stars. You still had to stay inside though because of the mosquitos, so reading or watching something online was all we could do.

The Pousada

We stayed at Pousada Estancia Vitoria, about 38 kms on the Transpantaneira. Its a nice lodge, about 700 metres off the main road. The manager Joao was the driver cum guide cum head water, all in one. He was of German descent, but born and raised in Brazil. He was very good at his job, talking to all who were staying there and making sure everyone's stay was comfortable. And it was!

The advantage of staying at this lodge was that the staff as well as the guides all spoke English. They had huge lands and ran their own jungle trails, rented cycles (or free), as well as had horses and boats for the various excursions. Basically once you are there, they managed your itinerary for you. The chalets where we stayed were orange in colour, quite basic but extremely comfortable. Our chalet faced a large pond and looked out onto the wild, which made it quite enjoyable.

The best part of staying at this lodge though was the food - it was the first time in our stay in Brazil where we found tasty vegetarian food. The lodging includes all the meals, and their food is buffet style - with lot of salad options, as well as vegetarian dishes. We loved it and ate well at all the meals.

Pousada Estancia Vitoria

The Pousada also has its own pool, which was good to laze around in the sun. The whole estate was quite relaxed and had a lazy feel to it. The staff was good and helpful. The wi-fi was also of a high speed. I was very impressed with how comfortable the place was and how developed Brazil is. Getting internet and all other facilities in the middle of nowhere is quite impressive. It definitely felt more developed than India! Other than the mosquitos though - there were loads of them at night making it tough to stay outdoors.

One thing about the Pousada though initially irritated us a lot. Before arriving, we had a bit of a problem with our flight, as the connecting flight was delayed and we missed our flight. Contacting the Pousada by phone and email created a bit of a confusion, and our contact - Gunter cancelled our reservation the night we were to land:)). It was quite a hilarious situation, and Joao managed to salvage it. But my first reaction was - this is not the way to work when you are in the hospitality business. Getting annoyed and cancelling a reservation because a client has changes to their itinerary or was not able to communicate on time is not really the way to go. Anyways as I said, Joao managed the situation well, so our stay at the place was very smooth.

On the river

Overall, I enjoyed the stay in Pantanal - it was like being in the wild, far away from any civilisation. The air was clean (though sandy!), time was slow and we totally relaxed. The one regret I do have is that we did not see all the animals we wanted to. It could be either because of our luck, or the wrong weather, or just being at the wrong location. Either way, my expectations were not met in terms of the animal sightings I was expecting. Maybe thats for another time!

Other articles on Brazil:
Rio de Janeiro
Fernando de Noronha

Impressions of Brazil

Diver's paradise - Fernando de Noronha (Brazil)

Fernando de Noronha (FDN) is a small island near the equator, located in the Atlantic ocean about 200 miles from the north-east coast of Brazil. Its actually the largest of some 21 very small islets around it, about 10 kms long by 3.5 kms wide. Its the only one of the 21 which is inhabited while the rest are very small and uninhabited. All these islands were created during volcanic eruptions, and hence are quite hilly and uneven.

FDN was discovered by Amerigo Vespucci (the same guy after whom America is named) but it was named after a Portuguese trader called Fernao de Loronha. It was owned by him for sometime, then turned into a Portuguese fort, then was a prison, an American base and now has become a major tourist destination. The island is not that well visited though - no one I know has ever been there and a lot of people in Brazil who we asked had not been there either(though all had heard about it!).

On FDN, the total population is only about 2500 people and it has a very rural otherworldly kind of feel to it. It has been designated a national marine reserve and offers a huge variety of sea life. Hence even though it could be a popular tourist destination, its not - because the number of tourists on the island is controlled (not more than 420 are allowed at a time) and travelling there is expensive. You have to pay 52 Real for each day you stay at the island, plus 162 Real for visiting the marine park side of the island (which is about 70% of the island and includes all the diving sites and most of the beaches).

We stayed in FDN for about 5 days and spent all our time diving or swimming, relaxing on the beaches or the villages, or looking for vegetarian food:). We stayed in a Pousada (local inn) called Pousada Mabuya in the village of Vila do Trinta. It was barely a village with about 20-30 houses, but so be it:). We woke up early everyday and finished early too as after sunset, which was around 6pm, there wasn't much to do.

Dolphin Bay

The island as I said was very small. There were 2-3 very small villages - Vila de Remedios, Vila do Trinta and some more. All around there were sand beaches and diving sites. The island was very very green and lush with forests. There was a single road from one end to another, with small red mud tracks going towards the beaches. Most of the tourists stayed in the Pousadas in the villages as there were not really any big hotels. And thats it - thats all the island was!

Diving

Diving is what everyone goes to FDN for! Over our 5 days, we went for a total of 4 dives, all through Atlantis Divers (there are two more on the island as we had researched). Atlantis is located next to the church of Vila do Remedios, on a cliff and just in front of the old palace and the sole bank on the island! The first evening we were in FDN, we walked till the island and I was completely smitten by how different life on the island was! It felt so quiet and calm and pretty - its very tough to explain how it was.

Overall, Atlantis Divers were quite relaxed, though very expensive. Two dives costed about 450 Real per person. It was quite convenient though, they picked you up at the appointed hour, had two boats going out everyday for dives and always had at least one English speaking dive instructor (thankfully). With each of the dives, an underwater photographer also accompanied us - she would take photos during the dive and give them later the same evening (again expensive of course!!). Overall the experience with them was positive and I would definitely recommend them.

We went to 4 diving spots in total - Laje Dois Irmaos (Site of two brothers), Caverna da Sapata (Sapata cave) Buraco do Inferno (Hells Hole) and Cabritos (which means goats!). Of these, the last dive at Cabritos was the best of the lot. On all the dives, we saw multiple sting rays, manta rays, moray eels, sharks (3 reef sharks and 1 nurse shark), blue and purple lobsters, one octopus and the usual fishes like frade, grouper, barracudas, pink linguida, sogars etc.. Overall, there were loads of fishes everywhere, many big and colourful ones too, but limited corals. And on our first day when we were coming back from the dives, we spotted two turtles swimming in the open sea, paddling away - was a cute sight. Sometimes the dolphins follow the boats, jumping and dancing next to them. It did not happen on our dives but one of our fellow tourist did see them on one of hers.

However, the highlight of the dives was the last day at Cabritos where other than all of the above, we also spotted a turtle!! It was a huge green one and we swam with it for a couple of minutes! In fact I think I came too close to it and tried to swim away, but it was too fast a swimmer for me and kept getting closer. Finally I was able to swim above it, which felt amazing. The dive at Cabritos was a drift dive, we had to do nothing and the current just took us all around! To be honest this one dive was the best and worth more than the other three put together:).

I should mention though, on our dive the last day, some of the fellow divers were quite aggressive which spoilt the experience. They would aggressively swim towards anything that was spotted, pushing all other people in the way. It turned out to be quite a pain, and I have not witnessed it ever in so many of my other dives. Was quite sad!

Beaches

There are many beaches and bays on the island which are a must-do. Here is a list of the ones we went to and our impressions:

Beaches on North side of the island

Couple of dolphins

Baia dos Goldfinhos (Dolphin Bay) - You cannot swim in the Dolphin Bay but can visit a viewpoint high up in the cliffs which gives you a great view of the huge Dolphin Bay. Apparently, dolphins visit this Bay almost everyday (and 94% days every year to be precise) and this spot can give you a view of the dolphins when they come dancing. The best time to view them is early morning around 6:30 am but they come and go during the day as they please. So there is no guarantee when they appear and you do need a lot of patience if you want to see them:).

There are generally a couple of people from the Spinner Dolphin project who sit there the whole day, counting the dolphins that there And they do it everyday! It might be interesting to chat with them and learn more about the dolphins. Given that they get bored sitting all by themselves all day, am sure they would love to chat - we however couldn't as we didn't know any Portuguese:(.

Dolphin

We went to the Bay twice, both times early morning. The first day we were late and missed the dolphins. We stayed on for two more hours but no dolphins showed up:(. We did see a manta ray and a turtle down below plus a beautiful rainbow after the rains. The second day again we waited for 1.5 hours and just when we were about to leave, they came! In 3 groups of about 80 dolphins! What a sight that was, to see these graceful creatures playing and dancing in the water. The view is still from far off, but enough for you to see and enjoy what they were doing. We tried to capture the dolphins jumping up and down, but the real thing was definitely better than what the camera captured!

Baia dos Sanchos

Baia dos Sancho - Sancho beach is a smaller beach than the others, surrounded by cliffs on one side and the sea on the other. Getting there is a bit tough though as you need to climb down narrow ladders and this can get tricky after dark. The beach is pretty, plus you can snorkel along the right side next to the rocks. We spent almost an hour there, snorkelled and spotted loads of fishes but nothing too interesting.

Also, Sancho is supposedly the prettiest beach in Brazil but I wouldn't agree:). I would rate it as the second best, after Baia dos Porcos.

Baia dos Porcos (Bay of Pigs) - We got our first view of this beach from a viewpoint near Sancho beach - it looked just like a picture in a postcard!! Yellow sand, emerald green water, reefs to snorkel around, stones to sit on and beautiful rock formations just next to it. What else can you ask for? Though that day it had got late, we went back to the beach again the next day to experience from close what we had seen from far.

Baia dos Porcos

And loved it totally!! We walked in the water, on the sand, and just relaxed. We did not get a chance to snorkel there, but I can bet it would be amazing. But guess what, even without doing much, we saw a sting ray floating in the water, just next to the beach!! We also saw loads of crabs here - interestingly, the ones on the rocks took the same colour as the rocks while the ones on the ground were a bright red colour (random titbit!).

Getting to this beach is a bit tricky too, you need to get to the Americano beach and then walk over the rocks to get to Porco Bay. Also the access gets blocked during high tide, so you need to be careful when you go and when you leave.

Beaches on South side of the island

Praia de Leos - Leos beach is famous as being the site where turtles come the same time of the year, every year to lay eggs (around May I think). I have heard that during this period, tourists can book a cabin at night and watch the turtles come in from the sea to lay eggs. When we were there, the egg hatching season was already over though.

We just went there to get a view, and it was a pretty long beach with yellow sand. Nothing much otherwise to write home about though, since the turtles weren't there:(.

Sueste beach - Next to the Leos beach is the Sueste beach which is the only beach located on the main paved road, and is easy to get to without having to walk through mud tracks! Its a dirty beach though with lots of seaweeds cluttering the sand. The snorkelling there however is good. There is a restricted area where you can swim only with a lifejacket as the water is shallow and fishes can come very near you.

We snorkelled on the beach for about 2 hours and saw lots of small and big fishes. Also, a shark swam by very close to my husband's leg!! That was a bit scary and we swam as fast as we could back to the beach. I would rate this beach as a must-go for snorkelling. It might be a good idea to get a guide from the beach itself to take you around the area, to spot fishes easily as well as avoid sharks:). Also, apparently you can spot maximum fishes either in the morning or late evening, so thats the best time to go there.

Atalaia beach - There is a natural tidal pool at the beach where you can snorkel and spot great sealife very easily. However, its not open to public access, and you need to book ahead with the ICMBio divers as they allow only a limited number of people at specified times to snorkel on this beach. We did not book in time and could not go there, but I have read that this is worth going to.

Other beaches on North side of Island (and not within the Marine Park)

All the beaches mentioned above are part of the Marine Park and you need to show the Park entry card before going there (costs about 160 Real for 10 days). However, there are 4 beaches on the Northern side of the island which are free to visit. They are all connected along one long white sandy stretch - the Americanos, Boldro and Padre beaches. All have amazing yellow sand, emerald green water and loads of sun to enjoy. They also provide a view of Dois Irmaos, also know as the Two Brothers mountains. We went to these beaches twice - they are a good place to relax and enjoy the sun, or swim in the water. A lot of people also surf here as the waves are good.



Its also said that the sunset on the island is pretty. We somehow always missed it but it may be worth waiting on one of the beaches to see it. The days are quite short around the year, only about 12 hours. So it limits the amount of time you can spend outdoors. Also after sunset, it gets dark pretty fast too.

Flora and fauna

First view of FDN

The island is covered by equatorial forests - creepers and dense trees are everywhere. The first view of the island is very pretty - a bright green pops up in the middle of miles and miles of blue sea around. The island appears to be completely covered with a bright light green colour, freshly washed by recent rain. When your plane lands, you get a view of the one single paved road crossing the island, the smaller mud tracks of red mud emanating away from it, the blue green water all around and the yellow sand beaches contrasting the colours all around. There are limited houses around the island - its mostly just a sea of green. I also saw a rainbow while landing, and over the next 4 days - all creating a pretty picture.

Other than the sea life that we saw diving and on the beaches, there were some other animals to spot. We saw some huge rats with no tails scurrying around on the island. The lizard called mobuya abound everywhere - on the beaches, in shops etc.. They look quite icky, don't seem to be scared of humans and come very close to them all the time (too near I would say!!). We also spotted a large lizard one day, which looked like a huge lazy iguana. It might be called tegu - am not sure of that. Other than that, we saw loads of different birds whose names we don't know - white dove like birds, black birds with red beard etc.. Was fun spotting them, and hearing their sounds coming from the trees.

In the water, turtles, dolphins, rays etc are very commonly spotted. Many times dolphins follow the boats trying to divert attention, jumping and dancing next to them. If you are lucky, you may see them very close to your boat, else the option of Dolphin Bay always exists:). Also, there are two separate projects ongoing right now on the island - Project Tamar to save the turtles and Project Spinner Dolphin to save the dolphins. You will find both mentioned everywhere - they are especially important as the dolphin and the turtle have become the identity of the island.

Villages

As there are not that many people on the island, there aren't any cities. There are however a couple of very small villages. Our Pousada was in Vila do Trinta, just next to the biggest village on the island - Vila dos Remedios. They were both about 5 mins walking, and it has all you would need - a hospital, multiple restaurants, pharmacies, convenience stores, tour agents, schools, pousadas, a square, buggy renters, a square, a bank, a church, a palace - its all there. As you walk down the village, you see a huge building known as the Palace which might be the biggest and prettiest building in the island, after which comes the bank, next to the Church - and all these buildings are facing the sea.

In the villages

This walk was fun always, felt like walking in a different century altogether. People sitting around idling, stars shining very bright, faraway sound of the waves hitting the rocks, and birds all around singing all the time. Though the weather was always very humid, it always felt very refreshing walking in this village area.

We also visited the local Hospital once, it was quite helpful and efficient and free! Quite a good experience.

Accomodation

Pousada Mobuya

Our Pousada Mobuya was located in Vila do Trinta, right at the junction, one road of which goes to the harbour, one to the other end of the island and the third to the village and Atalaia beach. There were some restaurants around too which we did not explore. In front of our hotel was a supermarket as well as a place to rent buggies from. There was also a gym in front which played loud music in the evenings for people to dance and exercise on:).

The Pousada was very functional, clean and suitably located. It was quite reasonably priced too given everything else on the island. The owner, Luiza spoke some English but not much. There was a hammock right outside which was perfect for lazing in the sun. I did that often after coming back from the dives - read a book while swinging slowly in the sun and then slowly doze off.

Getting there and around

There are very few flights to FDN given the limit on number of tourists. There are about 2-3 flights from Natal and Recife daily in the afternoon coming in to the very small airport. I am guessing they must be closing down the airport for the rest of the day other than from 2-5 pm:).

Even on the island its all vey simple. Its a longish island with one paved road running from one end to the other. All the beaches etc. are located on the side, with couple of hundred metres mud tracks to reach them. There is a bus service consisting of two buses which runs along the main road all day, with about 20-30 mins gap. One of the bus goes to the Porto and the other to Sueste Beach, and they are quite convenient for travelling around, costing 3 Real for each trip.

Our buggy ride

Other than that, buggies are very common here - they are huge uncomfortable monstrosities in bright colours which make your life very easy as they can drive on the mud tracks comfortably going right up to the beaches. They are very very efficient to use especially when it rains as the mud tracks get very difficult to tread on. We also once hired a cycle which did not work out too well. The roads are made for the buggies and not the cycles/bikes.

Also another option is to just book a day tour of the island - the agents take you around the island to the beaches etc. in a convenient way so that you can quickly cover everything. We preferred doing it at our own leisurely pace though.

Its mentioned on wikitravel and a colleague told me too that you can easily hitchhike a ride on the main road - people are obligated to give a lift if asked. I can confirm its not really true. We tried a couple of times but it did not work.

Food

There are many many restaurants on the island offering a range of seafood dishes, but its very tough finding food as a vegetarian. The fact that people don't speak English doesn't help either! We ate in the village of Remedios all the time and pizzerias saved our life! We ate at JC once and Sao Miguel twice. Both offered Margarita pizzas to save us:). We ate at Flamboyant cafe once, where the waiter spoke very good English, it makes such a difference! We could tell him what to add, what not and even chat with him, which hadn't happened for the previous couple of days!

Other than that, we had a lot of juices and coconut water on the islands. The juices were funny - they were mixed with water everywhere which diluted their taste too much. It looks like its a Brazilian way of making juice:). There were loads of fruits too everywhere and I particularly liked the pineapples - they were locally grown and very tasty too. We also tried the Brazilian fruit - acai. It was quite different and I didn't like the taste much but new things are always worth a try:).

Weather

The weather is completely equatorial - temperatures range between 24-27 degrees all through the year. We went in winter, so there was a bit of rain two of the days. The rains are short though - the clouds shower and then in 15 mins, the sun is back. The water offers a welcome relief especially in the hot sun. It was quite humid and by the end of the day you feel very very lethargic. We slept very well there too, not sure if its because of the weather, but we had complete deep uninterrupted sleep every night.

People

People in Brazil are mixed - white, brown and black. It was the same on the island too and its tough to identify who's a Brazilian and who is not. Overall the people did not seem too friendly and helpful, but it might be due to the language barrier and our lack of Portuguese skills. Its tough to get around without knowing Portuguese as very few people can speak English. Its also helpful to learn a few words as the trip will definitely be much more comfortable that way.

Tips

- Book a buggy on the island, it really makes going around much easier
- Book a visit to Atalaia beach early on as you cant go there yourself
- Research a bit on the dive sites and choose where you want to go. Some sites are definitely better than the other
- Always be prepared for the rain, it happens anytime and finishes soon too. But can easily make you wet in those 5 mins!
- FDN is also one hour ahead of Central Brazil time which created some confusion. When the phone was connected to the local network, it would show the Brazilian time. However when it was connected to the local wifi and the connection was switched off, it would turn back to the right FDN time - so thats something you should definitely be careful of!

Overall, the whole experience on the island was surreal - away from the real world and completely in the midst of nature. It was also very very relaxing as the whole air was relaxed. I would recommend the island as a must-go for anyone who is fond of diving and relaxing.

Other articles on Brazil:
Rio de Janeiro
Pantanal

Impressions of Brazil