Gramado and Canela were two cities that I didn’t have much interest in visiting. I’d stayed in Gramado toward the end of 2018 with my family. It’s a town that is popular among Brazilians and notable for its effort to create a Northern-Hemisphere-Christmas-Atmosphere year-round, as well as its plethora of chocolate shops. Canela is a more relaxed cousin of Gramado, with a similar affinity for chocolate, without the Christmas spirit. I hadn’t … [Read more...]
Brazilian Cachaça trip Day Two-Rio Grande do Sul: Casa Bucco and beyond
I bounded out of bed on that second day. It was after 7, later than I’d expected to sleep. I opened the curtains in my room to let in the bright sun. A bright blue, cloudless sky greeted me. Breakfast at the pousada was traditional: a range of cakes, breads, and sandwich makings, as well as fresh fruit, juice, and coffee. With an urge to get on the road, knowing that it would take me almost two hours to reach Casa Bucco, I ate with … [Read more...]
Brazilian Cachaça Trip–Rio Grande do Sul, Day One (cont.): Nova Petropolis
It was late afternoon when I left Weber Haus. On the twisting roads, cars tailgated me. Geez, I get it. You guys like to go fast around tight curves. Small towns appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, with homes and other buildings popping with bright pastel colors. Unfortunately, I couldn’t much turn my head to get a clear glimpse at most of these places, because if I had, I probably would have either gotten rear-ended, or run off the road. It … [Read more...]
Brazilian Cachaça Trip–Rio Grande do Sul, Day One (cont.): Weber Haus
Weber Haus is an increasingly big name in the cachaça community. It’s one of the few so-called artisanal cachaças that I can find at supermarkets such as Pão de Açúcar. With a burgeoning reputation, I was excited, that first day of travel, to visit the distillery to learn more about where they came from, where they are currently, and where they see themselves going in the near future. The parking lot was empty in the middle of the afternoon. … [Read more...]
Cachaça Trip, Day One, Part One—Brasilia, Porto Alegre, Ivoti
I awoke as the orange rays of the sun bled through my bedroom window. Nerves always eat at me before I travel, and so it wasn’t surprising for me to rise early. Day one of my cachaça trip. There were so many unknowns. I shuffled around my apartment, ensuring my belongings were together, made my coffee, and ate a bit of breakfast. By the time that was done, my wife and kids were up. Besides being a travel day, it also happened to be my kids’ … [Read more...]
Route of the Wine, Salta Argentina
Spanning some 500 km of mostly dirt roads, the Salta Route of the Wine is roughly triangular in shape. The largest community by far, Salta is on the northernmost point of this 'triangle' with tiny towns anchoring the other two points including Cafayate and Molinos. Our drive of this route begin in Salta >> Cafayate >> Molinos/Bodega Colome >> back to Salta. Allow at least 5 to 7 days. Start your epic wine journey in Salta - rent a car at the … [Read more...]
Misadventures of a Gringo in Colombia
Upon leaving the unexpectedly small Cartagena airport, I was welcomed by a huge billboard featuring a Colombian Elvis impersonator. The other passengers who had also just arrived were poppin’ into little yellow micro-machine cabs and spinning off into their own assorted narratives. I stood and watched their numbers dwindle. Soon I was one of only a few prey left for the desperate transportation peddlers. A husky, determined Colombian man … [Read more...]
Five Reasons to Visit Medellin
Lonely Planet named Colombia 2nd best country to visit in 2017. I first visited Colombia a few years ago, when I set foot into the walled city of Cartagena. I had just finished reading Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ Love in the Time of Cholera, and as I moved through the old town in Cartagena, pages of his novel came to life, setting the tone for that trip. I discovered a colorful, romantic city where Latin music and dancing greeted me … [Read more...]
Trekking Torres Del Paine National Park in Patagonia
"The clearest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness.” - John Muir I like to think that John Muir was correct in many of his writings. And I also like to think that Torres del Paine is as close as it gets to the wilderness that he describes, the one that fuses the soul into the universe. Located at the southern end of Chile, deep in South America’s famed Patagonia region, this majestic national park surely ranks among the most … [Read more...]
Cruising the Fjords of Patagonia
Few places around the world evoke as much myth and awe as Chile’s Patagonia region. The mere name conjures imagery of pristine wilderness and raw nature, of stunning scenery and awe-inspiring mountains. This is where land meets sea, where ocean currents are funneled through narrow gorges opening to cavernous bays, where innumerable fjords and glaciers carve through rocky massifs. Surrounded by only water for thousands of kilometers in three … [Read more...]
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