My 4th Solar Eclipse

My 2nd successful Total Eclipse

My second continent on the chase

I love Brazil.

I didn’t know it at the time. I booked this expedition with a Brazilian friend of mine – he grew up in Sao Paulo – and he had offered to show me around the country and see his first total eclipse. I was foaming at the mouth to see another one – Mexico in 1991 was feeling very distant – and the two annular eclipses I had chased in the meantime didn’t quench my thirst for exotic adventure or umbral glory. Brazil did both. Big time.

Eclipseguy in action! And Vicki loves the dunes at much as I do.

In South America, Brazil takes up almost as much space as all the other 12 countries combined. It’s massive. From the all-important Amazon rain forest, to the loud, over-populated sprawl of Sao Paulo, to the pristine dunes of coral sands that line the beaches on the northeast coast, Brazil is a microcosm of the entire planet. Brazil can give you anything. And as is the case with any country, there are two ways to go: as a tourist, or as a local. Travelling this rich land with my Brazilian friend, Dimas, I saw a part of this land very few visitors get to see.

Fortaleza: where the mountains meet the dunes on the Atlantic coast.