Brazil's north coast to the mouth of the Amazon

Olinda, Brazil - Just out of Recife we got to another colonial town. Olinda was also the first capital of Brazil. I again walked around the town looking at the buildings and churches but I was getting a little colonial-towned out so spent the rest of the day in the hotel pool.



Praia de Pipa, Brazil - It was then off to the real small beach towns of Brazil. At Pipa I went dolphin watching just off the surf beaches and saw several dolphins playing and chasing fish. The rest of the time was spent swimming and sun bathing and watching the marmoset monkeys playing in a tree in town. I also had my first go at surfing, ever. First go I got up on the board and surfed the wave. Admittedly it was white-water but I made it up. I surfed the white-water for another 40 minutes with mixed success and then went and recuperated afterwards with a beer or two.



Canoa Quebrada, Brazil - Saturday and onto another great beach town. At the campsite the girls made some homemade caipirinhas, then some of us went into town and partied up large. Next day we went on a dune buggy adventure along the coast out to the pink sand dunes. On the way we stopped at a spot where there was quicksand and Brendan (Exodus tour leader) and I jumped in to experience it. It was weird and the guides with us told us that 5 people had died in that hole we were in. Me and a couple of the boys spent a day chilling on the beach and then went sand boarding. It wasn’t as fun as Peru but we still had fun going down the dunes on a board. At the bottom of the dune was a waterhole that we would slide into. After a few days of relaxation on the beaches and checking out the sights it was time for a couple of long truck days.



Parque Nacional de Ubajara & Parque Nacional dos Sete Cidades, Brazil - Away from the beaches we went to a couple of National parks where we went into a large cave system at Ubajara and amazing rock formations at Sete Cidades.



Belem, Brazil - Then it was the end of another overland trip and the end of South America for me. I finished in the city at the mouth of the Amazon river. We went out for my birthday on the first night and I spent the next day walking around the Amazonian botanical gardens and zoo nursing a bit of a hangover.



Overall my trip to South America was absolutely amazing. Over the 4 months I saw and did so many wicked things and had very few troubles at all. I definitely recommend everybody else to go even for just one month. The language is not really a problem. Just the basics can do and sign language and pointing works wonders, most of the time. It is a continent of wonders and contrasts and is particularly cheap which is always a bonus.