Intermission I: Rio to Trinidad

Ok, this will take longer than expected. The Goose can't carry that much fuel so, even if I fill every available space with reserve fuel, we could still barely make it to the island of Trinidad, just north of Venezuela.

Departing from Galeao at 5 p.m. after spending some days enjoying the beauties of Rio and no, I don't mean the landscape or architecture ;-). It is still winter in these parts of the world, but temperature here is around 25ºC during the day, as warm as a warm spring day for me.
We went to walk down the beaches of Ipanema and Leblon, been to the Barra da Tijuca, did some bar hopping at night and such. Rio is still as huge, violent, sexy and vibrant as it was when I was a child. But it has grown so much, and there are so many new beautiful hotels, shopping and such...i hardly recognize it.


Some clouds over Rio as we fly over the Rio Niteroi Bridge

A Rio postal: the famous Cristo Redentor at Corcovado Hill, at the back, the beaches of Botafogo and Flamengo and the Hill of Sugar Loaf and Urca.


The Lagoa!

We've been flying for hours now way up north. We arrived to Recife, near the eastermost parts of Brazil, where it almost reaches Africa. After spending the night there we depart very early in the morning for another maratonic flight.

The sun is about to rise as we fly near Fortaleza.


This is no rainforest, these are the arid lands of the Sertao, where the Cangaceiros used to raid. They were misfits that terrorized the region during the 19th and beginning of 20th century. Many of them were mere villains, but some of them were considered heroes by the peasants, fighting injustice.

Isn't this sunrise beautiful?

Behold the Amazon River! One of the longest and the greatest in terms of water volume carried.
Wish I could rent a boat and travel up river into the rainforest regions until Manaus, but you guys are so impatient and there is just too much distance to travel.


Close to the Island of Trinidad, where we are going to have a break. Below us, the Atlantic Ocean looks gorgeous. Those clouds, tough, mean that a storm might be closing in, better to arrive fast at Puerto España, the main city at Trinidad to spend the night.


Here we are! A beautiful airport just outside Puerto España, the capital. Trinidad is a beautiful tropical island that was once part of the continent. It has some unique flora and fauna (the groups of flying Scarlet Ivis are a sight to behold). This is also the land of the Calypso music, so I guess we are going to dance all night long!