🇬🇧 Where to stay during our trips

When we travel we have some options to stay. Some of us have extra houses on the beach or any other destination we please. But to have these houses have extra costs not everyone is willing to pay. And even for those who pay, it’s good to try other destinations we’re not acquainted with sometimes.

Sometimes we can stay at the house of our relatives or friends. Another option not that far from the houses of relatives or friends is to use apps like Couchsurfing and others where we can talk to people who lives where we’re going to receive some tips and even to find a host, or to host them. It’s a rich experience for those interested in exchanging experiences with local people, more than to find somewhere to stay.

Currently there are apps where we can rent houses for some days. It’s an experience I only had many years ago, when I was an adolescent, and without the apps. I say it’s nice for a large group, like it was, then. I traveled with my family. My uncle found a house for rent in Ubatuba and we went there a few days. The disadvantage is that all the domestic service must be done by ourselves. I don’t think it’s nice to do this on holidays or vacancies when you do this all year long! Well... I don’t like domestic services. I appreciate to cook as a resource to exercise creativity. More than that, it’s not for me.

Then... we have hotels, hostels, resorts, etc. Hostels are usually the option for those wanting to save money. Once more, it’s not for me. I have horrible experiences in cheap hotels, so, to try something cheaper it’s not my choice. Let my horrible stories for other opportunities. I love comfort and all the services we can have in a good hotel. Once I called the hotel, from a bar where I went to see a friend playing, and they sent me a cab as there was none close to that bar and I was in a city I never went before! What don’t we do for our talented dear friends? Yes, the good stories are in my mind too and I like them.

Nycka, the nomad

🇬🇧 Brazil - what to eat and drink in the southeast

Brazil is a big country and the variety of typical food travellers and nomads can find here is enormous. Brazil is much more than feijoada and caipirinha. This post is to talk about the food in the southeast region, which includes the states of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais.
This region offer a wide variety of typical foods. Some of these foods are found in restaurants in other regions too, but the local versions, in special for food from Minas Gerais, are much more interesting.
The typical foods from Minas Gerais are among my favourite brazilian foods.
The traditional feijoada is one example of local typical food. Made with black beans and pieces of pig. I don't eat the external pieces of pig, like ears, tail or feet, but some restaurants use only inner parts to prepare feijoada.
Muslims and other people who does not appreciate to eat pig (or the strong taste of black beans) have other options, like the "caldeirada", which is made with seafood and white beans.
Southeast also have "galinhada" (rice, pequi and chicken), the "arroz com pequi" (rice with pequi and bull meat salted to dry), "feijão tropeiro" (beans sauced with bacon and other ingredients), and many other. Chances are you feast in local restaurants in Minas Gerais, where we also can find great chefs of contemporary gastronomy using local ingredients in very creative dishes. Local food, in special fish and seafood on the beach (Buzios, Ubatuba, Angra dos Reis, Parati, Trindade, Rio, etc) are also good options. To eat close to the river São Francisco the local food is also an amazing experience.
Oops! I cannot finish this post without mention local desserts! The most famous is called "Romeu and Julieta" (Romeo and Juliet) and it's made of goiabada with cheese Minas or Canastra. In Minas there is a wide variety of desserts made with fruits, all of them very sweet. The "doce de leite" is made of milk and it's found in different consistences, from cream to solid. You'll find desserts made of papayas, oranges, mangoes and many other fruits, with sugar syrup, creamy or solid. Another good experience is called "quebra queixo" and is made of coconuts.
The best brazilian coffees are from the southeast: from Minas Gerais and São Paulo. The best cachaças are also made in these states.
The "quentão" in Minas is a hot drink prepared with cachaça, with flavour and smell very different from the "quentão" in the south.
These are only some ideas. For more specific tips, follow this blog and my social media channels to keep updated.

Nycka, the nomad