Sure I tried pepián. Excellent.
We had plenty of rosa de Jamaica, too.
I did have one pupusa. And some tasty street tacos.
But it was this mushroom pizza that impressed me most. I had it three times in one week. 🙂
Category: travel
Antigua, Guatemala
Antigua Guatemala is famous for its well-preserved Spanish Baroque-influenced architecture as well as a number of ruins of colonial churches. It served as the capital of the Kingdom of Guatemala. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. …
Jose and I made the side trip visit from Guatemala City on our half day off from a Gymnastics Camp.
We drove up to Cerro de la Cruz to see the small city.
Jose shopped for gifts in the market.
Early evening in the mist we stopped for drinks at the gorgeous Casa Santo Domingo.
Mucho Gracias to our host Patty and family.
See all my photos on flickr.
Sundays in Latin America
Three times this year I’ve found myself wandering some town on Domingo. Truly the best day of the week in a Catholic nation. Most people have the day off.
In the traffic disaster that is Guatemala City, for example, major roads are closed so people can walk. Kids can cycle.
I arrived Xela, Guatemala mid-afternoon. Decided to walk to my hostel. (I hate cabs.)
Told it was only about 10 blocks, I ended up walking Xela for 3-4 hours. Lost.
But it was entertaining. I revisited some highlights from my last visit 10 years ago.
Finally I reached Centro America Park. In the dark.
Here was the highlight of the day. A big, colourful, mysterious Christian procession.
Men carrying a huge float. Men waving smoking lanterns. Spectators snapping blurry photos.
I had a reservation at El Colibri Hostal. But it doesn’t seem to exist despite being ranked #2 on TripAdvisor. Eventually I tramped over to #3 on TripAdvisor – Hostal Nim Sut.
$17 for a simple room. The past week I’d been staying at a $150 / night 5 star hotel.
Very friendly. Looks like fun as there is a large group of volunteers staying here right now.
who’s who in the zoo?
Sam and girlfriend in Singapore.
Christ the Redeemer, Rio
Like everybody, I’ve always wanted to visit this most famous statue.
Live everyone, I found it to be no let down. 🙂
Most take the quaint cog railway up and down. (But there is a rough scramble trail which starts close to the Botanical Gardens.)
You arrive at the top to his back facing. Interesting.
I like the face. It’s as tranquil as many Buddha statues.
The views are terrific. Obviously.
There’s Maracanã Stadium. It will host Opening & Closing Olympic ceremonies.
This guy’s certainly going to be cheering Brazil to win the men’s futebol gold medal.
Everybody here is happy, happy.
But the Russian girl – Lena – I arrived with nearly got us kicked out. She climbed the Redeemer for a photo. 🙂
… A symbol of Christianity across the world, the statue has also become a cultural icon of both Rio de Janeiro and Brazil, and is listed as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. It is made of reinforced concrete and soapstone, and was constructed between 1922 and 1931. …
I have to try Airbnb one of these days
I spend a lot of time in hotels and motels. Good. Predictable. Bland.
My preference is a very good hostel. Cheap. Fun. Social. And – best of all – a great place to get information on your destination.
But I’m sure there are times I should be using Airbnb.
Airbnb debuted the company’s newest and largest brand campaign to date, “Live There.”
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Brazil NOT welcoming to tourists
To foreign tourists, that is. (If you speak Portuguese it just might be terrific.)
People ask me my favourite countries. Usually I reply by saying China is over-priced and too much hassle for the western tourist.
I’d say the same about Brazil.
Most signage is in Portuguese only. Even museums.
Distances are vast. Traveling the Amazon or moving around the Pantanal wetlands is tricky.
It’s not easy to travel … anywhere. Buying a long distance bus ticket is more complicated than any other nation I know.
Internal flights that cost Brazilians $75 can cost the tourist well over $400.
wikitravel – Brazil
On the bright side, over 3 weeks I saw very few mosquitoes. And found the streets quite clean.
related – Brazil one of 8 Countries That Don’t Roll Out the Welcome Mat
fitness Copacabana
There are 10 hostels near Copacabana. I stayed at two of them over 5 nights.
Like most urban beaches, Copacabana has a busy fitness culture. I cycled or ran the promenade every day.
At regular intervals are Exercise Stations.
Those photos were taken in typical sunny weather. I got some terrible weather. The beach near deserted.
One section is fenced off. I assume something will be happening here in conjunction with the Olympics. (The Beach Volleyball venue is Copacabana Stadium.)
Copacabana Beach plays host to millions of revellers during the annual New Year’s Eve celebrations and, in most years, has been the official venue of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. …
On December 31, 1994, the New Year’s Eve celebrations featured a Rod Stewart concert with an attendance of 3.5 million, making it the largest concert crowd ever. …
cycling Rio
Rio is a city where you can pick up and drop off bright orange bikes all over town. As is often the case, tourists can’t use those without a fairly complicated registration process. 😦
Instead it’s easy to rent for $3 / hour from independent companies.
Arriving first time I found a big chunk of Copacabana fenced off. Some Olympic installation will be put in there, but I’m not sure what. Something to do with Beach Volleyball, I assume.
Weather was lousy most of my tourists days.
Still, it was plenty warm enough to cycle.
Of course I immediately I headed in the direction of the fallen bridge. This was as far as I could go.
This 3.9km bike path opened January 17th at a cost of $44.7. It was built by a company called Concremat.
Fatal Bike Path Collapse Casts Shadow on Rio Games 😦
Now everyone is worried about all the other new Olympic construction. It’s not easy to build roads or bike trails in this rugged geography.
One upside of bad weather is that promenades and trails were much less busy than usual.
When the drizzle lets up, people returned quickly.
There’s plenty to do and see along the beaches. Here’s a glimpse.
I’m not much of a beach bum. But if you like this kind of thing, you’ll love Rio.
Rio snack – Globo
Sweet or salty light weight nothings. Buy them on the beach. They were invented in 1955. Sold out of the Globo bakery in Botafogo, hence the name.
I found them too bland.
Rick McCharles 