Presenting this beautiful photo by morrissey, taken from the banks of the Lagoa River in Brazil. The shot’s so beautiful, I don’t know if I’d rather be on the water, where the picture seems to have been taken, or walking through the beautifully-lit village.
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t’s time yet again to call your attention to the wonderful Latitudes Magazine. I try to let y’all know about this pub each month because it really is one of the online standouts where travel is concerned. This month’s coverage takes a look at Tanzania, Alaska, Corsi and (believe it or not) Sao Paulo. The latter is one of the worst cities I’ve ever visited, but Latitudes actually makes it look inviting.
Many cities popular with tourists actually have specialized police forces just to deal with the problems
travelers in a foreign country often run across. Tourist Police are there to protect foreigners and to ensure
that they have a safe time while visiting. Far too often, however, it seems that tourists need protection from
the Tourist Police.
Last week, two officials from the Rio de Janeiro Tourist Police Battalion stopped a
visiting Czech and American couple and threatened to haul them to jail for drug possession. Of course, this is an
old trick; the couple had no drugs. But that never matters. The police can always claim they found some and
unless you pay them off, you’re going to jail.
The Czech and American knew the score and emptied their pockets of $260. But that wasn’t good
enough. The greedy cops accompanied the very tourists they are paid to protect back to their hotel to extort even
more money. It was at this point that alert hotel staff called Rio de Janeiro’s other police force
who promptly showed up and took their colleagues into custody.
In countries like this, I’ve always felt that uniforms are fare scarier than the common thugs who populate
the streets. At least you know what to expect from the thugs.
When I read the Men’s Journal headline, World’s Wildest Cities, I thought it to be
yet another ranking of the best places to get drunk and fall down. Wildest, however, in Men’s
Journal jargon apparently refers to the outdoors.
The article suddenly appeared much more interesting.
Rio de Janeiro is mentioned for their fantastic beaches (Ipanema!), mountains, outdoor sports, and flirting.
Cape Town is praised for much of the same, in addition to diving and canyoneering. San Francisco makes the list
for its bevy of parks, biking trials and water sports (wet suits required). A nod is given towards Sydney for its
fine surfing, great beaches, and “beer-fueled karaoke.” Bringing up the rear is Barcelona. As
much as I love this city, I was surprised to find it on the list. Included due to its “celebration of life
outdoors,” the city boasts, in my opinion, some mediocre beaches, some mediocre bike trials and some amazing
outdoor cafes and plazas in which to partake in the other wild activities for which the town is so well
known.
I’ve always been
obsessed with people watching especially in places where people tend to lose themselves. Places like foreign
discoteques where music and the human body move fluidly as one through foggy surroundings and the mind hopes to one day
register and make sense of the dream. That’s the feeling I get from studying the party-goers in this unknown location in Brazil taken by Evan R. The photographer, also known
as uknowthename, has one of the most incredible travel-related Flickr
photo streams out there. I chose this one mostly because I’ve been dying to go do some dancing myself, but for now I’m
stuck indoors with my samba/techno infused sounds to float only from my laptop.