Some snaps of the day

Paradise Islands

Lone Swimmers @ Sun Set

Day Trip Boats

Cheese On The Beach

Ice Deliveries on a Jet Ski

Sun Sets

A snap of a snap

little Portuguese churches shot from a speeding car

Ilha Bela

I'm now off the coast of Sao Paola at the eponymous Ihla Bela or "Beautiful Island". Interesting place and I'm enjoying investigating what it has to offer. To get here it took a 4 hour drive from Sao Paolo before we came to the ferry stop that took 30 minutes of waiting in line in our car and then 15 minutes to cross over to the island. Ihla Bela is about 6km by 3km wide, 5km of the coastline and has in the region of 30 tropical beaches all spread around a number of spiky mountain tops covered in forest and clouds. It is a place where the rich of the rich come from Brazil to vacate and it received millions of tourists each year, most coming from Sao Paolo, Rio and Buenos Aires.

Today, we took the car along the north side of the island passing by about 8 different beaches. We decided to descend down a forest path with a small river covered in stones to get down to a tiny beach about 500 meters wide that was situated by a very small farm. Down there was 5 people already and an old women selling beer, water, sun tan lotion and crisps. It was an idyllic hideaway and across the water ways you could see two cruise ships in the water, a man paddling effortless on a kayak and some threatening rain clouds in the town of Sao Sebastian which was in the distance.

I immediately jumped in the warm water when I got the beach. On entry there was no cold sting just warm water. I stayed in there for 20 minutes flapping around in the brown green water with a few waves occassionally disturbing my mediation on the coconut trees and forest slopes that were all around.

After I came out of the water the guy who was kayaking had come ashore and was talking to Camila. He had rowed about 6km to get to the beach and was spear fishing for some local fist to eat. He too was from Sao Paolo, he ended up telling us all about the island, the types of dangerous snakes and spiders that exist in the centre of the island but no where near the beaches. He explained to us that a wind coming down from Rio was causing a certain type of small frequent bumpy wave that was hitting the west of the island today. He went into a lot of detail why Ihla Bela is famous all over the world for kite surfing and wind surfing due to its unique winds that are a regular feature of life on the island. From his colourful and passionate discriptions it was clear to see why so many people come here and it explained why we were seeing so many marinas with a huge variety of paddle boats and all types of powerful jet boats that were anchored in nearly every beach we saw.  He went on to offer to catch some fish and cook for us and he gave us his address on the island where he has a house of his own. He gave me his flippers and snorkeling mask and insists I take them to explore some of the dives to the east of the island which I hope to do Monday. Nice guy.

Today we are also trying to book a boat ride to two of Ihla Bela's most famous beaches. We'll get up at 9am and come back at about 5pm. We'll go by boat but come back by jeep through the forest with a couple of dives in between. So far the best quote we got is about 150 reis which is about 60 euros which ain't too bad so we'll go with that. The jeep ride is supposedly worth all the money alone with a number of water fall stops also taking place where we can dip our toes. Only problem is that the weather is forecasted for rain which may scupper our plans.

One thing I noticed today as well is that a lot of Brazilians now have smart phones. This wasn't the case two years ago. The prices are still ridiculous. It is more costly for me to call Camila's mum's mobile from a Brazilian mobile phone then it is to call her from an Irish one.  The prices are really high, and inter state additional charges exist. A lot of Brazilians have been travelling abroad in the last couple of years, especially to the US, and you now also see a lot of the latest iPads knocking around in beaches and in airports.  The prices for normal day thinks have also gone up. I reckon about 15% since last I came here. That's a big jump. The economy is still doing well, and reminds me of 2005 back in Ireland. They've also this month officially surpassed Britan as the 6th biggest economy in the world. 

Some of the other highlights so far:

-Watching a young man yesterday, maybe 20 years of age, playing Vivalidi on his violin for 20 minutes on rua de meio with tons of kids staring at him in awe like I was

-Visting the Irish bar on the island that was the first Irish bar i've visited abroad with no Guinnesss

-Climbing a mud hill to get up from a secluded beach and meeting a goat half way up who seemed to be kneeling down and watching beetles go by

-Looking at a man standing on a surf boat, fully upright, paddling out to his jet boat about 150 meters off coast. 

-Drinking a fresh water melon smoothie with a plate of calebresa and incebola onions fried with some golden sizzlingly olive oil

-Eating freshly baked potato crisps on the side of the road with a coconut ice cream

-Listening to Brazil's answer to Christy Moore, Jorge Ben Jorge, singing "Moro em pais tropical" - I live in a tropical county, says it all really!

-Met the owner of the hotel we're staying in, 6ft -7 German man who worked from General Motors, didn't like it, when he met a Brazilian woman on holidays decided to come down here and live for good!

Buzios and Dune Surfing

I'm back in Brazil the state of Rio De Janeiro in Buzios and I'm very happy to be here! I'm spending 3 weeks with my Brazilian family and once again enjoying all that this amazing country has to offer. As normal, like clockwork, despite my best efforts, I'm getting a little burnt despite using factor 50 and a Panama hat. The short sleeve t-shirts are on and flip flops and swimming togs are the order of the day. Scarfs and gloves and such items are non existent and if you showed them to the locals they probably wouldn't know what to do with them. 

Buzios is a very special place. It's rare to hear non Brazilian's talk about it and I have a funny feeling the locals are trying to keep it as much of a secret as possible and rightly so. It is a lush peninsula eight kilometers long with 23 beaches of all different shapes and sizes. Yes, you heard it right. 23. It is about a 2.5 hour drive from the city of Rio and it's well worth the effort to get here. It's one of those local gems that most tourists either don't know about or decide to ignore because they want to focus on the city of Rio.


So far I've been to 3 of the beaches and what stands out to me are some of the dunes they have, which they rent skiing equipment to skillfully slide down and also the fact that the water is kind of cold and fresh water rather than very salty and warm like I'm used to when swimming here. 

For me swimming in Waterford conjures up names such as the Guillemene, Newtown Cove, Dunmore East, etc, down here the names of the beaches or completely different: Geribá, John Fernandes,  Horseshoe, Ferradurinha  and Manguinhos. Beach life is central to being Brazilian and central to the Christmas and New Year holidays. The Brazilians in their droves leave their cities and head for their coastline which is a massive 7000 kilometres long.  Buzios is one of the country's favourite destinations, especially since Bridget Bardot the famous French actress came here in 1964 and revealed to the world the beauties the then small sleepy tropical fishing village had which is now a booming tourist destination which has 28,000 annual inhabitants that swell to 200,000 this time of the year with tons of jeeps, buggies and bicycles criss crossing around the peninsula from beach to beach.

Click here to see some images of what's on offer to get a better sense what I'm talking about. 

Like many of the urban Brazilians I left the city to come to the beach. In my case Camila's family and I left the chaotic ugly metropolis of  Sao Paolo's and its 20 million + inhabitants to get to Rio. We took a one hour plane ride from Sao Paolo to Rio and then got a private bus to bring us here. I'm travelling with Fausto, Camila's brother and his son Victor Gabriel, Carolina, Camila's sister and her fiancee Rodrigeo and we also are with the energetic Cidinha who is Camila's gregarious mother. My brain has switched into Portuguese mode and with the exception of Cidinha who has no English, we are also chatting in English as rest of the group are very eager to practice while I'm here.

Like all my other visits to Brazil the trip has been a continuous education and adventure rolled into one. These days i've coined a new term for it "Edu-ventures". It started with Christmas preparations as we arrived on the 23rd of December. The trip to get here wasn't the best. We were hit with a security guard strike in Paris which meant we had a 12 hour delay in our flight. When we got here, my sister in law's car broke down in the busiest road in Sao Paolo, and when I mean busy think of a 5 lane motorway that is 30 km's long and which has huge heavy lorries laden down with oranges, tiles, piping, electronics, etc and thousands of cars and motor bikes zipping by belching out smoke from exhausts and constantly beeping as they jockey for position. Carolina's car broke down in the middle of all this and it sat still bang in the middle lane for 5 minutes before we got some help from some of the other drivers on the road who helped us push it to the side before we got it going again. It was interesting to see the truck drivers were the ones who helped and with military position started to direct the traffic behind us as some of the others who had stopped help push the car. 

Christmas is celebrated at midnight Christmas eve in Brazil. Christmas day is not like ours in Ireland and is mostly for the first half used to recover from the night before. They have a meal at about 10.30pm and for us consisted of Turkey, Pork, carrots, salad, rice and potatoes and an assortment of fruit for starters and desert. Presents are given out at midnight and then cousins, aunts, uncles and friends start visiting from 12.30am to around 2.30am. Most people are in bed in Ireland when the Brazilians are only getting going. As normal, a lot happens in Brazil in what they call the "madrugada" hours which are from 12 to 4am.

It was great to experience Christmas in hot weather, this is only the 2nd time I've been away from home. The last one being in 2004 when I was in Thailand when the infamous tsunami hit. It was great to be in shorts and t-shirt and getting a chance to get away from the Irish weather for a short time to get some heat and light. For me the light is as probably more important in terms of satisfaction rather then the heat. Like Ireland there is something magical about a blue sky, a wide azure blue sky, that makes people smile, sing and dance.  We didn't have it all our own way, but the times when the sky was blue and the sun bombarded us with its rays of golden sunshine and shot darting shadows all around us when the odd cloud in the sky blocked its view were delightful to watch. As ever I was very appreciative of it having come from a rainy few days in Waterford and Dublin. It was worth the airfare alone. 

It's the 1st of Jan and I'm being called to go to lunch so I better go. Let's see what 2012 has to throw up, I hope it goes well for you and yours. I'm going to get a glass of pineapple juice or"abacaxi" as they call it by their local indian translation and ponder on what lessons 2011 had to reveal which I will bring with me into 2012 as we look to some new objectives and goals I hope to reach.

Feliz Ano Novo! Happy New Year. 

On the hunt for gout!

Last week was such a great week. It was a sojourn to Porto to explore the wonderful maritime historical city and its enchanting river Douro where the finest port in the world is produced. For many years I like a hot port in the winter with my newspapers on Sunday. Typically, it was a glass of Sandyman but over the years I've enjoyed quite a number of other brands: Fonseca, Grahams and Foleys. I was spoiled when I saw the variety in Porto. I typically drink red but after a friend of mine gave me some white, Lagrimas (translated to "tears" appertivo port) I was also converted to it!

Our first stay was Hotel Palacio which a Portugese native who works with Camila, a lovely guy called Daniel, recommended. I booked it for 99 euros a night on hotels.com and while a small 10 minute ride out of the city it was worth it. The welcome we received was as good as any I've had in other hotels, with a couple of free glasses of port and an enjoyable 20 minutes being given by the women booking us in with a map of porto and the region and telling us what to see, do and eat.

After a couple of days checking out some of the local river haunts including a decent churrascaria where I got my fill of picanha and Camila also got some bacalchua, we took a two hour train to Regua in the heart of the douro to another recommended hotel, Acaporou which was excellent but expensive at 220 at night. Unlike others I've been in this was deep inside a vineyard and hugged the river Doruo itselt with an excellent view. We stayed for 3 relaxing days and toured around the local "quintas" or farms tasting all types of wines and cheeses. The trip was made even better in that we had a chance to meet our French/Portugese friens Liza and Al who spend a night hanging out with us!

We'll be back, I'd recommend mid Sept, as that is when the fun is to be had with the harvest of greats being prepared.

San Fran, Sydney, Mumbai and Rome

The last few months since joining LinkedIn have been a whirl wind. Very long hours coupled by the steepest learning curve I've encountered.

Random highlights from recent trips:

• Bumping into an old work colleague on George Street, Sydney as I went for a 7am run. Small world.
• Meeting a blind man in Mumbai with 10% vision who was bursting with excitement after marrying a beautiful women who has 30% vision. The humblness in which he told his story will also stay with me.
• Street children begging at your taxi window
• Experiencing the mania of cricket world cup in Mumbai, only comparable to the soccer world cup in Brazil. Thousands and thousands of Indian kids bringing cricket bats with them everywhere.
• Lawless, fearless, 3 wheeled, rickshaw drivers in India
• Rome with Joe and Dad. Priceless. We should have done it years ago.

San Francisco

I'm recently back from my first visit to the wonderful city of San Fran. On this occasion I was over for a two day off-site (internal meeting) with my US colleagues to plan for next year. I recently came back from another visit to Hyderabad in India via Dubai and I've been piling up the miles on the road. In recognition of being away from home a lot my manager allowed me to change my usual business class flight status to two economy flights to allow my wife to come with me. So on this occasion it was the two of us! This was Camila's first visit to the US and she needed to go through a lengthy, absurdly bureaucratic process (and I mean absurd) including an interview before she got a ten year visa to visit the US. Eventually all was sorted out and we both found ourselves in SF for the first time. I spend two days at the internal conference and then we both took another 4 days off to the check out the city. We stayed in the highly recommendable W hotel, on 3rd avenue and Howard (the pancakes are a must). Which is a very modern boutique hotel which caters for the young at heart? It's location was perfect and it took us no time to get to Union Square as well as down to the port area.

Highlights on the trip:
1. Seeing what an Apple conference looks like. When arrived the launch of the new iPhone was in full swing and you could feel the buzz in the city
2. We checked out a baseball game and were lucky enough to be with the Microsoft team in our own corporate suite which was an experience
3. We visited Alcatraz which was a fantastic audio tour that I would highly recommend. You need to book a day in advance as it is almost impossible to buy tickets on the day.
4. We checked out the famous Fisherman's Wharf with its whining and belching seals which loiter around the front of the harbouring smelling badly in their hundreds.
5. We rented some bikes from Blazing Saddles (which brought back some memories when we were taking out the bikes as I met some young lads from Limerick who were on their J1 student visa for the summer [reminded me of when I did the same in New York, Long island]), from there we paid 32 dollars each, which i thought was a little steep, and spent a lovely hour cycling along the cost and over the famous Golden Gate Bridge and on to Sollenous before we got the 30 minute ferry back to leave the bikes back. Great views from the bridge and well worth the effort
6. We went to a very nice Brazilian churracaria and stocked up on some of Camila and I's favourite food: fejoada, manioc and of course picanha.

On the home we also hit it lucky as we got upgraded to business class, which we were delighted with, not sure why, but it helped a lot getting a few hours sleep before arriving in London. San Fran left a big impression on me. It is clean, there is a lot of green living taking place with lots of people recycling and cycling, the restaurants and bars are great, and there is loads of people using technology which is no surprise considering the HQs of Google, Apple, Facebook, Oracle and scores of startups are nearby and dotted across Silicon Valley. I'm really looking forward to coming back and maybe next time making a detour to Las Vegas!

Caracus Clouds and Corruption

High above the sprawling metropolis of Caracas, 2150 meters up by cable car you will find the wonder Avila Magico. It is here that I caught my first majestic view of Caracas’s sprawling skyline etched into the rolling jungle hills all around. The cable ride to the top costs 18 bolivars or approximately 3.50 euros (using the official exchange rate), and it take a glorious 18 minutes to get to the summit. For me this funicular ride was made all the more special as I entered a great big bulbous grey cloud half way up. As it enveloped the tiny cable car I was in, visibility dropped to no more than 3 meters.  I was alone, moving at a 45 degree angle with a sheer drop below and wild canopy vegetation all around.  It felt like I had my own personal cloud to move me forward gliding gracefully over a thriving green tree ceiling. It lasted for almost 5 minutes.  I didn’t want it to stop. I felt I had been physically transported inside my own grey matter. Occasionally, another cable car, always empty, ghosted past me and evaporated into thin air. I was suspended in the air but moving forward. 360 degree cloud all around me and only the sound of the cable car wire sliding me along reminding me that it was reality - not a dream. It was surreal.  A moment like no other.

At the top you can see the coast line and tower jungle below carved into the valley. While at the top I went hunting for a Venezuela magnet for my collection back home and wasn’t disappointed. With broken Spanish I chatted to a very nice shop attendant and I managed to get a lovely piece of polished wood with the city vista on it.  With hunger setting it I decided to eat some more delicious Arepas that I had been introduced to the day before. These are delicious corn bread pancake like breads that the locals stuff with all kinds of things: vegetables, sauces and meats.  Easy on the palette I think the folk back home in Ireland would enjoy them and I’d encourage them to seek them out where you can. Unfortunately, we don’t have Venezuelan restaurants that I know of back home but I’ll be looking for some Arepa ingredients in the Brazilian shop in Dublin when i get back.  At the top of the mountain is a half kilometre stretch of well laid out path with some small and large restaurants. Also, at the top is the famous Hogert hotel which was created by...

I joined a tour of local Venezuelan’s as they toured the hotel but left half way so I could get down early and make my way to the airport. On the way down I hit the cloud patch again and this time as I glided I thought about Aruba and how far it was from here. I also thought of home and looked forward to getting back there which is always the double bonus when travelling.

Unfortunately, I need to report that security is a huge issue in Venezuela and as I was to learn in the airport corruption is rife under the despotic rule of Hugo Chavez. While in Caracas my colleagues in work informed me of the difficulties of living in Venezuela at present. 40% deflation in the currency in the last 12 months; two dual currencies in operation with the locals having little or no ability to buy dollars or Euros unless using the black market; minus 2 GDP growth, 35% unemployment, a huge reliance on oil revenue to keep the country afloat; 95% food importation; mass emigration; constant electricity and water breakdowns; a border dispute with Colombia and horrible violence on the increase.  Venezuela is not a safe place at the moment. It feels as if it is also going to get worse listening to the locals. Maybe it will become Burma or worse Zimbabwe? Chavez has a seemingly iron grip on the country and he has already changed the constitution - al la Putin style - to allow himself serve well beyond the normal two four year terms usually allowed. 

While going to the airport I made the mistake of not asking the taxi man to escort me to my check in. This is something you really don’t need to think about in other countries, at least the ones I have visited. Normally when you go to the airport you step inside the door, you are greeted by a monitor showing what check in gate you go to and then you make your way there hassle free. In Caracas this was not the case. Anti-drug police where everywhere.  Like spiders setting a web very quickly an English man working for Cisco and I where asked to go into a room where our bags were carefully checked for drugs. We then both had to enter a machine to do a body scan. We were told we needed to pay a 40 euro tax for exiting the country which was normal in Venezuela and I knew from talking to my colleagues I had to pay. When I went to the counter to pay it the security people asked if I would trade my dollars with them for the local Bolivar dollar. This was a way for them to make a little more money for themselves as the US dollar or Euro on the black market was worth at least 40% more than the official exchange rate pegging. I explained I didn’t have any of either which was the case and that I would use my credit card. Then out of the blue the officials started asking me for a “propina” which is a tip in Spanish! I refused to give them anything. At which time a young officer started to heckle me. I understood enough Spanish to know that the words he was using were not nice.  At this point I had my passport back and was in the public area where you pay for your exit tax. He followed me and asked me again for a “propina” and I refused. As I made my way to the  Air France check in but he was again giving out!  Luckily, nothing else happened. Looking back, I learnt that I should have got my taxi man to escort me to the gate and possibly this wouldn’t have happened. At the time in this situation you are not sure if they are going to plant drugs in your bag or for how long they may detain you. Everyone is speaking in colloquial Spanish and your passport quite often gets distributed amongst 6 or 7 people and sometime one of them enters a room alone and you’re not sure what they are doing with it. An uncomfortable situation and one I hope I don’t have to go through again. It helped showing my Microsoft ID and I count myself lucky no further complications arose.

When through the gate the Cisco gentleman in front of me bounced into me again and we went for a beer together. He was very annoyed by the whole experience he went through and vowed never to come back again. I could see why. For me it’s sad when officials like this are so blatantly corrupt with foreigners.  This is obviously only the tip of the iceberg of the type of full-scale corruption in place, at this time, in Venezuela. For the locals who have to live with this type of quality of life on a daily basis my thoughts are with you all and I hope that brighter days are soon to come. Seanie Fitzpatrick and his raspacious mob and our struggling slow-drip government seem like knights in shining armour compared to the crew down here on the streets of Caracas. I’d take Cowen and co any day of the week compared to Hugo Chavez. Make up your own mind, but in doing so, check out this excellent documentary: War on Democracy.

Colombia, Bogota

Having made the flight from Seattle to Atlanta I had less than 72 hours to visit Bogota. The classic in and out so not a lot to report. I was here to work to evangelise and explain a new global social media recruitment strategy that the team I work for is deploying around the world. I was also here to talk about some direct sourcing techniques using Boolean logic to pin point information using search engines and databases. A training that helps our recruiters around the world source more passive candidates on the internet. I stayed in a boutique hotel called Hotel Casa Medina, which was very comfortable and very close to the office. I’d highly recommend it if you come here.

What strikes you straight away when you arrive is the security protocols. Fingers prints needed to change money. Finger prints needed to enter the office. Guards and sniffer dogs checking our cars as we enter into shopping malls. Like a lot of south American countries you have to pay attention to where you are going, when, what you wear, etc. One of the girls in the office kindly brought me and one of my other colleagues from the US to the famous T junction one of the nights which is a big shopping mall beside a T street full of modern western mostly restaurants. While there we stopped off at the local Irish bar where on a Wednesday night I got the chance to watch a packed pub of Colombian’s sit back and have a few beers after work. While there Claudia our host from the office told me a little about the FARC guerillas and how they are almost completely wiped out by the present government even though they still manage to detonate occasional bombs with devastating effect in the country. We also heard about stories about how beautiful Cartagena on the coast  and the capital of flowers Meddelin. While, only paying a quick visit to Colombia I’d definitely like to come back. While the traffic was bad in the city and the security is high, I felt safe, the people we met were very nice and the government seems to be stable and moving its economy in the right direction.

Mauritius

About a 5 hour flight from the east of South Africa is an island nation off the coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about 500 miles east of Madagascar. In addition to the island of Mauritius, the Republic includes the islands of Cargados Carajos, Rodrigues and the Agalega Islands.

The island is most famous for an extinct bird: the dodo. Uninhabited until the 17th century, the island was ruled first by the Dutch and then the French after the Dutch had abandoned it. The British took control during the Napoleonic Wars and Mauritius became independent from the UK in 1968. Now the country is a very proud republic full of sugar cane and tea plantations with the symbol of the mythical bird everywhere you look. The people are kind and generous and look more Indian than African. Similarly the culture is closely pegged to the Indian markets and Hindu temples are everywhere.

Nowadays the island is also well know for the speed and ingenuity by which it has tapped into the world tourism market. It was for its proximity to South Africa and the lure of a relaxing week on the beach and in a nice hotel is what would we were looking for. It was what we got.

The Heritage Golf Spa is on the south side of the island and one of the new breed of hotels. They care for your total needs while there and at 300 euros a night is a little pricey but worth it all. Events like water skiing, kayaking, cloud surfing, archery, giant chess, bikes, hills walks, tennis, massage, aquarobic sessions, and much much more are often. For us we went for a treatment a day of massages and then we both took a water skiing lesson a day. The entire experience was completely relaxing and exactly what we wanted and needed after 4 weeks on the road and the especially in the knowledge that "back to work" was looming.

One of the best experiences we had was a stroke of luck. The day we were due to leave to go home ir flight got delayed. It was 8am when we were in the airport and we learned that we wouldn't be leaving until 8pm that night. Something that made our heads hang for 30 minutes as we were trying to learn about when and how they were going to get us home our heads dropped a little. They then said they'd be sending us to a nearby 5 star hotel, we could have free golf, as much free food as we wanted, free internet and go snorkeling if we wanted. Now that's what I call looking after your displaced customers. I got 18 holes in and Camila relaxed on the beach getting some sun rays. We then went on the most amazing hour of snorkeling I have ever been on. What was happening under the water blew us away. School of fish everywhere racing around the famous Azul Blu lagoon, with hundreds of them surrounding us with some cheeky ones even kissing us! There was animals under it that I never knew existed. Hand in hand we snorkeled together for 30 minutes in about 3 meters of water with about 15 other people in a huge lagoon and then we went exploring a bit. It was brilliant - I really really loved that snorkel - the very best I have ever done. The 12 hour flight home after that was a breeze.