Ilha Grande stole my heart — and it also gave it a workout. Cardio and adventure fans alike will flip for the hiking opportunities on this untamed Brazilian island. With sixteen marked trails of varying length and difficulty, we were spoiled for choice when it came to which corner of Ilha Grande to wander. As we were hoping…

I guess I have a thing for seedy islands. A pirates lair, a leper colony, and a penitentiary for political prisoners — much like Koh Tao in Thailand and Isla de Coiba in Panama, Ilha Grande in Brazil has quite the illicit past. And much like those islands before it, this one also managed to steal…

Forgetting your passport. Missing your flight. Booking a hotel in the wrong city. These are major travel snafus that can seriously dent your wallet and detour your trip. But what about the little mistakes, like, say, booking the wrong horseback riding tour? Because that’s what I did in Brazil. There is so much to do and see…

I already confessed that my time in Paraty was a washout. But while five days of rain followed by three hours of sun was frustrating, it did leave us plenty of quality time to eat ourselves silly, lounge about in our accommodation, and look for a few creative activities that didn’t require a dose of Vitamin D. Heading…

I fell unexpectedly in love with Brazil’s biggest city, but it wasn’t long before I felt the ocean calling me home. Leaving São Paulo, we made our way towards the sea, where we’d planned to drip along the coast all the way to and beyond Rio de Janeiro. Tucked along this so-called Emerald Coast is a turquoise jewel…

When it comes to the first few days after a major festival, I have just a few key priorities in mind: rest up, recharge, and reconnect to the world. The latter can be a serious drag when it means coming back to an overflowing inbox and a built up to-do list. But Heather and I knew exactly…