Rio to Quito + the Guianas

August 2016

Intro

Rio de Janeiro is one of my favorite cities on the planet – for so many reasons, but none more so than its incomparable location, with towering mountains affording sweeping views of the city and its harbor. Add in the delicious food, gorgeous urban beaches, colonial architecture, and joie de vivre of the Cariocas, and you have a winner. So in 2009, when Rio won its bid to become the first South American city to host the Summer Olympics (which coincidentally was the year of my first visit to the city), I already knew I would be back for it! By 2011, when I had returned to Rio for Carnaval (I couldn’t wait until 2016!), the Galeão Airport was already full of posters promoting the Games, though it was still five years away. They were so excited, and so was I!

I saved the Guianas (you know, those three countries at the top of South America that no one ever seems to talk about) for this trip, with the plan to start in Rio and work my way up the coast of Brazil until coming to French Guiana, Suriname and Guyana. As excited as I was about the Rio Olympics, it was this part, the Guianas, that really sparked my wanderlust. They have always intrigued me – these diverse, unknown, non-Spanish, non-Portuguese speaking nations that eluded the memory of most people. I was anxious to explore them.

Journey Map

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Featured Image

Fernando de Noronha

This beautiful island off the coast of northeastern Brazil is just over an hour’s flight from Natal or Recife, and has over 20 gorgeous beaches, many of them considered the best in Brazil – or in the case of Baia do Sancho, the best in the world! This is Praia da Conceição, one of the most stunning beaches on Noronha, thanks to the backdrop of the towering Morro do Pico, the highest point on the island.

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Sep 2

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Georgetown, Guyana📍 - colorful #downtown #georgetown is even more colorful from the air! 😉 goodbye for now #guyana! ...

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Aug 29

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Georgetown, Guyana📍 - fresh #veggies for sale inside the busy #stabroek #market in #georgetown, capital of #guyana ...

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Aug 25

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St. Laurent-du-Maroni, French Guiana📍 - the `camp de la transportation` was the first stop for the worst criminals of #france when they arrived in the penal colony of #frenchguiana... and it is my last stop here in #guyane! crossing the border soon from france to suriname! ...

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Aug 29

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Georgetown, Guyana📍 - two of #georgetown`s most #beautiful architectural treasures, #city hall and the city engineer`s building ...

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Sep 12

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Julio Andrade, Ecuador📍 - a pretty, colorful #church in the small town of #julioandrade in northern #ecuador`s #carchi province -- made a brief stop here while driving along the beautiful pananamerican highway towards quito ...

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Aug 23

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Cayenne, French Guiana📍 - #sketch of the very popular historic hotel/bar/restaurant/club les palmistes in #cayenne, capital of #frenchguiana, my first stop in the guianas! ...

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Aug 10

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Rio de Janeiro, Brazil📍 - sporting my vintage mexico city `68 shirt in front of the futuristic museum of tomorrow (museu do amanhã), designed by world-famous #architect santiago #calatrava ...

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Aug 24

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Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, French Guiana📍 - #sketch of the #cityhall (la prefecture in french) in #frenchguiana`s second largest #city, #saintlaurentdumaroni, on the department`s western border with suriname ...

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Sep 10

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Tulcán, Ecuador📍 - a semi-aerial view of the #cemetery at #tulcan, a interesting place to wander around and explore what has been called `the most elaborate #topiary garden in the new world`, created 80 years ago in 1936 ...

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Sep 5

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Medellín, Colombia📍 - the first of 9 amazing courses of delicious colombian-inspired dishes, at one of latin america`s 50 best restaurants, el cielo, by chef juan manuel barrientos. the 4 items are numbered and you have to guess what each is as you taste them, and only then will the server return to explain what they were by confirming or correcting your guesses! i got (almost) 3 out of 4 right! very fun and different idea! the last `course` was a nitrogen-frozen candy that you unwrap and put in your mouth to melt while frantically moving it around to make sure you don`t burn your tongue! one of the best, most interesting, and creative meals / food experiences i`ve ever had! ...

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