As Rio Carnival approaches, Marketing Manager Jenny Powles reveals how easily the fantasy of taking part in the world's largest and most exuberant celebration can turn into a travel nightmare when attempting to wing it rather than booking in advance. Having learned the hard way that Carnival is one thing that really does require proper planning, she looks back on a rather stressful couple of days...

A long time ago (well at least in a time before I worked for the experts at Journey Latin America), I made a rather disastrous decision to fulfil my lifelong ambition to visit Rio Carnival – disastrous because I was going to be away for five weeks and had decided not to book any accommodation for my trip before leaving the UK.

My reasoning was that having spent many years travelling the world by the seat of my pants and arriving in various destinations without any idea of where I was going to stay...

As the February chill blows January's well-intentioned diet plans well and truly off course, we're craving filling, warming dishes packed with cream and carbs. After a root through Papagaio's recipe archives we've found just what the doctor ordered – here are our favourite soups, stews and all-round winter warmers to keep the cold at bay:

Andean Butterbean and Pumpkin Hot-pot	Ecuadorian Potato Soup with Cheese and Avocado	'Carapulcra' - Chicken and Pork in a Peruvian Peanut Sauce ...

Prince William has just arrived in the Falklands to start his six-month search and rescue posting, and we have a few suggestions as to how to fill any spare time he may have on the islands.

With a relatively small population of 2,500 residents but a rather large helping of unspoiled landscapes and abundant fauna, the Falklands are a nature lovers’ paradise. Two of the best spots to see the wildlife in action are:

Volunteer Point
This white sandy beach, a haven of bird activity, is quite literally fit for a (future) king. About 1,500 king penguins call Volunteer Point home as well as gentoo and Magellanic penguins, plus waterfowl and endemic subspecies like the rather brilliantly-named "dark-faced ground tyrant". About two and a half hours’ drive from Stanley, Volunteer Point is the largest, most accessible king penguin colony in the world outside of South Georgia....

We all book flights online these days.

We’ve grown accustomed – inured even – to finding that the advertised £1! fare ends up being closer to £100 by the time you’ve been charged just for booking it, then actually paying for it, having baggage, wanting a seat, etc etc etc. But we all do it.

It seems more convenient – and often it is. You can do it at any hour of the day, and from almost anywhere. And usually it all goes well.

The pitfalls only become evident when something goes wrong. It goes wrong because you can’t ask questions...
 

From this Thursday until Sunday you'll be able to find us at the Destinations holiday and travel show, coming to Manchester for the first time. Being regulars of the London event, we're looking forward to seeing how the new show will compare and, of course, to meeting our clients in the northwest. We're also going to be at Destinations London between 2-5 February, so if you'd like to attend the travel show but are based in the south, fear not!

The show will be taking place at EventCity (here is a map), which can easily be reached on the X50 or 250 buses from Piccadilly Gardens. We hope to see you there!