Upon leaving Dona Romana and her home of cataclysmic faith in central Tocantins, the final push to Brazil’s northernmost parts entered a most precarious phase. There was only one road north now, the infamously decrepit and dangerous Belém-Brasília, “about which the Quatro Rodas listing for Paraiso de Tocantins warns ‘avoid […]
“As we approached Natividade, Tocantins’ oldest and most enigmatic town dating back to 1734, a strange translucent whiteness hovered overhead as if a wide, diffuse light was gathering above. […] Although Natividade is the only historically preserved colonial backwater in the state, it is so unassuming, so far off the […]
Bananal Island is the largest fluvial island in the world, with a violent history. Only several years before our visit, the local Javaés Indians had ransacked and taken over the park occupying the northern third of the island (on the Araguaia River, a massive Amazon tributary) they did not already […]
Several hours north of Brasília is one of Brazil’s best run national parks, where I spent an otherworldly long weekend. “I have a a theory that many of Brazil’s best kept secrets – such as Worm Farm Inn – are at the end of a long dirt road…. So it […]
Inhotim, a contemporary art complex with 22 galleries and dozens of sculptures among 1 million sq. meters of botanic gardens, is world-class, alone justifying a visit to Minas Gerais. I returned, as a birthday present, on a free Wednesday, when there are more people interacting with the art. [please hover over […]
