Brazil Blog
About this blog
Thrill of Brazil is a travel blog all about Brazil written by Moon Brazil author Michael Sommers. Michael blogs about Brazil travel, culture, and more. He welcomes questions, comments, and story ideas.
Recent Posts
- Care for a Drink with your Film? (or a Film with your Drink?)
- Brazil’s Homegrown Tourism Boom
- Brazil's Best and Write-est
- Making House Calls in Rio (Part II)
- Making House Calls in Rio (Part I)
- The Dawning of Brazil's B&B Age
- Rio's Alternative Points of View
- Taxi Trouble in Santa Teresa
- Obamas Take to the Campaign Trail in Brazil
- Plans and Punctuality
- Reliving Tropicalismo - On and Off Screen
- Food and Lodging that Make the Grade
- The Making of Moon Living Abroad in Brazil
- U.S. is Number One Source of Immigrants to Brazil
- Best English-Language Blogs about Brazil
Taken for a Ride
When my sister, Annie, and I first arrived in the mountain town of Chapada dos Guimarães both dusk and rain were beginning to fall. Strangers in a strange town, we flagged down the first (and only) taxi at the tiny green bus station and announced the name of our destination, “Hotel Turismo”, to the driver.
He drove half a block and then stopped in front of a charming stone house fronted by a verdant garden, above which “Hotel Turismo” was displayed in large letters.
“That will be R$10,” the driver announced.
“What???” I screamed, incredulously. “You only drove half a block!”
“Taxis here don’t work with meters,” the cabbie explained. “The base fare is R$10.” more >>
A Walk in the Park (with Alfredo)
They say that the dry season in Mato Grosso lasts from June to September, but when my sister and I planned a trip there in early October, we never imagined that Nature would prove so punctual.
On September 30, the mountain town of Chapada dos Guimarães, some 60km from the state capital of Cuiabá, was sun-baked and scorched by temperatures of 50 degrees Celsius while its skies were choked with smoke from surrounding brush fires.
On October 1 – the day Annie and I arrived from Cuiabá – the first rain in 120 days started to fall. more >>
Fire and Rain in Chapada dos Guimarães
It’s a strange sensation to knowingly set off on a journey into an area under siege by fire, but that’s precisely what my sister, Annie, and I did when we set off for Chapada dos Guimarães, from Cuiabá, the capital of Mato Grosso. more >>
Out of the Frying Pan and into the Fire
Lately, the climate in Brazil has been so out of whack. On September 21, spring sprung and there seemed to be no place that was behaving as it should. more >>
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