Brazil

Rio de Janiero, Brazil. The very symbol of Brazil and especially of Rio - the statue of Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor in Portuguese). As if the 98-foot statue isn't impressive enough, the views over Rio from up here are incredible.

Top : Nature trails and observation decks at the top give a birds-eye 360-degree view over Rio.

Bottom : My new favorite bar. With views like this it's easy to hang out here all day.

Rio de Janiero, Brazil. The other great icon of Rio is Sugarloaf Mountain. It takes 2 cable car rides to get to the top of this granite pinnacle and these are the views when you get there. In the pic above you can barely see the Christ statue, across the city along the ridge line in the distance, just right of center.

Copacabana Beach, Brazil. One of the more famous beaches in the world (and not because of Barry Manilow's song), this place buzzes with activity day & night. Colorful characters, lots of primping and posing, wild outfits, the skimpiest of bikinis, sexual orientations I didn't even know existed, crazy behaviour of all types, abundant food & drink, great music, and even some decent surf - that's Copa in a nutshell!

Amazonas District, Brazil. In April 2022 I spent a week or so out in the middle of the Amazon rainforest. April is "flood" season, which doesn't mean too much until you get here and see it for yourself. Every year at springtime heavy rains up in the Andes flood the Amazon and its tributaries up to 35 feet deep. The rivers start rising around February and peak in June. Then by October or so it's all bone-dry again. Then it repeats. In this photo I'm paddling a (very heavy) traditional dugout canoe over a rainforest that is flooded over 30 feet deep; there are tall trees right under the boat. Ahead is one of the few structures out here - the landing that goes to the Eco-Lodge that I'm staying at, 100 km from the nearest city. The Amazon is a water-world this time of year so there's plenty of great paddling to be had. The thing to do is paddle under the higher parts of the rainforest canopy and check out all the birds, monkeys, sloths, etc that have been chased up into the treetops by the floodwaters. It's a lot cooler under the shady canopy too - you just gotta hope a snake doesn't fall into your boat!

Amazonas District, Brazil. A sampling of critters and beasts encountered in the Amazon basin, without really even trying too hard. Clockwise from upper left : Capuchin monkey, plush-crested jay, amphiro redring butterfly, coati, crazy unknown fly, tarantula, tobacco hornworm, calango lizard, capybara, human+caiman, Below : Piranha!

Amazonas, Brazil. Fishing for piranha is about the easiest thing ever. Any kind of bloody bait will do; we used tiny bits of steak. Piranha are small this time of year but but they'll get up to about a foot long by late summer. That'll give you something to think about while you're swimming!

Huanchaco, Peru. Wherever there's surf, there are surfer-chics. Here's an unusual sight, at least to gringo eyes : an Inca skateboarder girl. Go girl - good stylin' !

Amazonas, Brazil. A tranquil scene from the canoe : flooded rainforest with a rainbow overhead.

Amazonas, Brazil. A local indiginous kid helping to make some kind of quinoa- type product at a nearby village.

Iguazu Falls, Brazil/Argentina. Iguazu Falls takes a bit of effort to get to. But it was well worth the trouble, one of the highlights of my trip in fact. The falls span both sides of the Brazil / Argentina border. Both sides are amazing but I think the best experience is on the Argentina side, where you walk right along the very edge of the dropoffs, with the falls raging right under your feet. Brazil offers a different perspective, where you are looking across the valley directly at the falls. Do both!

Iguazu Falls, Brazil/Argentina. Iguazu might be the most mind-blowing set of waterfalls I've ever seen. Or ever will see - it's hard to imagine how to top this. The falls run for nearly 2 miles along a series of cliffs; it's so spread out that it's impossible to get all the falls into one photo. All of this is contained in a beautiful tropical rainforest. Even better, this was "flood" season, so the falls were really pumping!