Blame it on…
The drive up to Rio de Janeiro was a quick one. We had thought about stopping for Ilha Grande, put passed it up after we saw a cruise ship docked on it. The nearby nuclear power plant wasn’t much to look at either.
We missed crossing the Tropic of Capricorn* for the fourth time sometime last week. So, here we are. The farthest north we’ve driven since San Pedro de Atacama, 18 months ago. As far as we know, the bus won’t be pointing south again any time soon.
Anyway, we had good reason to book it up to Rio. We had to pick up grammy at the airport!
*Actually, we prefer to call both tropical lattitudes The Tropic of Cancercorn. Fun Fact: they move about 15 meters per year.
You shouldn’t have missed Ilha Grande. The island is spectacular with long walks to beautiful, unpopulated beaches in a quiet setting. I agree the nuclear plant is off putting, but the boat trip out to the island takes you a world away from that ugliness. I just found this blog yesterday and I’m enjoying it. In fact I started looking at EBay to find my own old bus. Your journey definitely is an inspiration.
Eric – we were in a bit of a hurry to get up to Rio, but we just might go back to see the island. Thanks!
I really enjoyed visiting Petropolis. It is about a 2 hour drive from Rio in the mountains. The Santos Dumont house would probably interest a boy Bode’s age. It’s a nice walk around the town and the palace tour is fascinating. If you have the time and inclination, the town of Ouro Preto would be another place to visit. It is about a 7 hour journey into Minas Gerais state. I haven’t been to Tiradentes, but I’ve heard good things about the town.
If you are traveling north, the highlight of a past trip to Brazil was Morro de Sao Paulo, an island near Salvador. It is definitely family friendly and the beaches are fantastic.
love the one of you and your mom!