I arrive in Manaus very early in the morning, still feeling ill from the Amazon river journey, so it was going to be a real struggle to get myself up for trudging around trying to find a guesthouse - luckily I researched a cheap guesthouse and managed to flag a taxi to take me there. Manaus itself is a very big city in the middle of the Amazon jungle, the population is something like 2million, so again you don't really feel like you are in the ...

Up early for my flight from Belem to Santarem with a stinking hangover but took comfort in knowing that Lee was feeling a hell of a lot worse! It's at this moment when I feel totally relieved I'm not getting on a 5 day boat journey and instead getting a plane half the way. I got my first proper birdseye view of how expansive and devastating the Amazon river can be as we descend towards the airport for landing at Santarem. The river had clearl...

Finally arrived in Belem after a bit of a nightmare journey for me, I will not go into details but I got my first dose of food poisoning and some annoying kids behind kicking my seat and tapping me on the head whilst trying to sleep (yes it's funny the first few times). First impressions of Belem is that it's a bit of a tatty beaten up city, it's what I expected really but it's an essential stop gap before heading out into the Amazon. ...

I feel sorry for the next place that has to directly follow my amazing trip to the paradise island of Fernando de Noronha, although from what I have been told Jericoacoara 'Jeri' was also pretty special. Jeri is not the easiest place to get to; as it involves a bus journey into the main town of Jijoca then you change from a bus to a 4x4 bus with wooden seats and a lack of suspension, which makes the next 2 hour journey across dirt tracks and b...

Backpack packed and I'm ready to get on the move again but this time to a place that can really be justified as paradise. Fernando de Noronha or what I like to refer to it as "The Isle of Fernandos" is an hour's flight from Natal in an easterly direction so really is in the middle of the ocean and secluded. Only 700 people per day can visit the island, which is a national park, turtle sanctuary with staunchly protected marine life. The governm...