Last Saturday three of my colleagues and I embarked on a day trip to the odd, little town of Gramado, Rio Grande du Sol. 2h 11min is a lie! Does not include time getting inexplicably lost. You only need to drive about an hour towards Nova Petrópolis to understand why that particular area of Brazil is so odd. From the moment you leave the industrial cities of São Leopoldo and Novo Hamburgo1 the landscape changes drastically, revealing lush green, forested hills and meandering roads. Read more

I had finally arrived in Porto Alegre on Tuesday night after approximately a 16 hour trip(transit via GRU). A quick 15 minute taxi ride took me to neighbourhood of Bom Fim, where I’d be staying in a hotel until more permanent living arrangements were made. Marcelo, my cab driver was a helpful guy and offered a lot of advice and information about the city as we drove through it. I was too bewildered and tired to take note of any of it. Read more