South America Destinations: Rio de Janeiro

My wife and I spent 10 day in South America in early June, visiting Rio de Janeiro, Iguassu Falls, and Buenos Aires.

Copacabana Beach

Our first stop was lively and colorful Rio, a city with nearly 7 million inhabitants. We stayed at a hotel located at the world-famous Copacabana Beach. It's fall there so the beach wasn't too crowded.

Christ the Redeemer

We made the usual tourist stops—riding cable cars to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain for a breathtaking view of the city, taking a train to the summit of Corcovado Mountain to see the majestic Christ the Redeemer statue, and walking up the 215 tiled steps of the Selaron staircase in the Lapa district. I thought I saw the "Girl from Ipanema" walking on the sidewalk near the café where the song was composed, but I'm sure it was my imagination.  It was still a nice thought.

So much to see and so little time.

Cables leading to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain

Our guided tour also took us past the multi-colored favelas (where many of the poor reside in shacks) and areas where the rich live in high-rise apartments overlooking the beaches. The tour even included an optional trip to a favela. We didn't go but several of our fellow travelers who did said they were amazed how clean and tidy the residents kept their homes.

Our local guide, Eduardo, told us that children only attend public schools four hours a day because of the economy. The rich send their children to private schools. There's not much of a middle class. Not surprising, crime is also a problem in the city. 

Municipal Theatre

We did try to venture out from the hotel during our free time but found it difficult to navigate the city. We're urban hikers and like to make our own discoveries. We didn't see as much as we wanted to, such as churches, government buildings, and parks.

Carlos Braguinha statue

We stopped in several downtown shops and found the merchants to be friendly and helpful despite the language barrier (Portuguese). We walked to the Riosul  mall, which compares to upscale shopping places you'd find in the U.S.

Rio, founded in 1565 by the Portuguese, has a rich history and shows promise for a bright future. Many may remember that it hosted the 2016 Summer Olympics.

But it's a shame that there is so much graffiti marring public buildings, walls, and other places (we've also seen that in Roma and Budapest).

A selfie on the Selaron Staircase

Regardless, it was an unforgettable two days in Rio. We'd like to return and really get to know and understand this dynamic and diverse city. We left knowing that it has much more to offer visitors. 




Until the next time. . . . 

EPIC Finalist Update

Last March I was notified by the Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition that my coming-of-old-age novel, "Old Ways and New Days," was a finalist in the contemporary fiction category.

EPIC recently announced the winners in the 17 categories in its annual competition for ebooks and my novel didn't make the list.

My congratulations to CJane Elliott for her coming-out novel, "Sex, Love, and Videogames," named the best in contemporary fiction. 

It was an honor for me to have my novel considered for the award. Simply being one of three finalists was gratifying.

Click here to see the list of all the winners, including Ariana Awards for best book covers.

EPIC is now accepting books through July 15 for its 2018 competition. Visit the website for more information. Best of luck to those who decide to enter their novel. 

You might also want to consider joining EPIC and be part of a network of authors, publishers, editors, and others in the industry.

Until the next time . . . .

South America Destinations -- Rio de Janeiro, Iguassu Falls, and Buenos Aires

My wife and I recently returned from a wonderful vacation to Brazil and Argentina.  We made stops in fabulous Rio de Janeiro, powerful Iguassu Falls, and beautiful Buenos Aires.

We've visited Europe in the past, and while we love the Old World, we decided to expand our horizons by traveling to our neighbors to the south. It was well worth it. Simply unforgettable.

We got to see and experience some things about each place, but more than anything, it whetted our appetite to return to South America to take in more that the diverse continent has to offer—natural wonders, historic sites, and the people.

Here are a few images from each of the places. I'll be writing more about each destination in upcoming posts.

From Rio:

Copacabana Beach

Cable cars to Sugar Loaf Mountain

From Iguassu Falls:

A view from Brazil

A view from Argentina

  From Buenos Aires:

Colon Opera House

Obelisk 

Until the next time. . . . 

Progress Report-—Back to the Manuscript (Editing-Submitted)

I completed the edits, revisions, and rewrites to my upcoming novel. My editor will receive 190 pages this morning, and then forward it to the publisher, who will have someone proofread the 94k words.

And then it will come back to me in the galley proof for one last read. It will be the last time I can make any changes to the manuscript. 

But there's still more to do in the interim before the novel is released on Nov. 1. I'll have to work with the design artist on the cover, write a synopsis for marketing and promotion, and take care of dedication and acknowledgements.

In the meantime, I'm going to take a short break and then begin work on the third book in the Old Ways and New Days series. 

Until the next time. . . .