The beauty of Paraty is its close proximity to over 300 beaches and islands….. (LP South America on a Shoestring). The old town isn't bad either. Originally a colonial port town for transporting gold back to Portugal, it is delightful with its cobblestone streets and array of churches. Unfortunately for the gold transporters, the pirates used to sit around the headland in Trinidade, waiting for the gold ships to depart! But more on that later. After our wee...

"You speak English?"; "Yes"; "I don't"….. Eduardo and Gisele took us to Itapema for the weekend for a little bit of beach time. We started the weekend with a BBQ (excellent) late on Friday night in Eduardo's sister's beautiful flat in Itapema. I was afraid I might ruin the place just by sitting down. It looked as though it had just been styled for the cover of a magazine; immaculate furniture, white walls and the occasional full...

After traipsing around the continent for more than two months it was delightful to be welcomed into a home…. We spent the week with Gisele and Eduardo, Brazilian friends of ours met through the KPMG London connection. It was great to just hang out and Gisele and Eduardo are excellent hosts. They introduced us to some of the finer points of Brazilian life: - Guarana has become an addiction. I've never really liked soft drinks, but I'm thinking it's a good th...

The Facebook update says it all - "Kate Robilliard is thoroughly gobsmacked after a wet and wonderful day at Iguazu Falls". The Iguazu Falls lie on the Iguazu river on the border between Brazil and Argentina. Paraguay is also nearby and at one location you can stand in Argentina and spy Brazil and Paraguay across the river. Pretty cool huh!? But its more than that. Nothing can prepare you for the delight of Iguazu. People bandy about figures such as ...

I never thought I'd devote an entire blog entry to a restaurant, but the food was simply devine.... La Cabrera is a bit of an institution in Buenos Aires. Its the kind of place that delivers quality food, but makes you feel welcome, like you're coming home rather than some posh restaurant. The decor is a little kooky or off the wall... but fun! We were surprised to be seated next to a framed copy of the front cover of the Australian Women's Weekly BBQ Cookbook. ...