A horrendous racket, sounding like some sort prehistoric monster was coming from the trees. I realized after a while that it must be one of the appropriately named howler monkeys, and sure enough there it was sitting in the trees to one side of the path. Five minutes later I said to Helen that it would be really nice if we also saw some of the tiny marmoset monkeys that live on the island. And right on cue, a group of about 20 of them started leaping through the ...

Sitting outside a wooden shack at dusk with a jukebox playing on the veranda, I spotted a tiny green flash just in front of me. Fireflies! We sat there watching them come alive all around us as evening fell, drinking cans of beer with the locals and wondering what wildlife we would see tomorrow. A magical evening! The Pantanal is an area of wetland that is almost the size of Great Britain, and in the tiny corner that we explored I have never before seen such a c...

It was one AM and I was wandering through the streets of Lapa with money stuffed down my underwear and a few other random places in an attempt to deter the rife pick pocketing that apparently goes on at these events. The street party didn't even kick off until eleven, so I think it may well have gone on all night. And this is a weekly event. They certainly know how to party in Rio.We went to the party as a foursome. Helen has joined me for the first month in Sout...