We arrived in Rio just in time to catch the final days of Carnaval. We met up with Sara, thanks to Carolyn, and got to participate with the locals. Think of a block party/street party that actually walks in the streets with singing and dancing and when one finishes you move onto the next block or park.

Sara and her friends were great tour guides the next day. They navigated us around the city, showing us the famous beaches and taking us up to the top of …

We only planned one week in Brazil expecting to go to soak in Carnaval and see some of the sights. What we didn’t plan for was accommodations. We looked around at hostels and hotels and nothing was reasonably priced. I mean $80 USD a night per person for a mattress in a room with 19 other people?!? That rate really existed, but most weren’t in a room that large. Plus since it’s Carnaval, a minimum 5 to 7 night stay. We “tricked” the system and booked for the 2 nights …