The Pirates of Ipanema

Every traveler sets out driven by different desires. Some are simply hoping to explore and enjoy the world’s wonders, snag some souvenirs, snap some photos and safely return home, with one more pin in the map… this is not a story about them.

There are others, you see… drifters, vagabonds, tramps and hustlers, not to mention runaways, vultures, sex addicts and saints, who creep along the fringe of the backpacker culture, barely noticeable at a glance, never out-numbering the hordes on holiday… except in one legendary locale, where- for a while- the laws of the trail were defied.

This is a celebration of that moment, a tribute to the cast of crazies behind the curtains, and an inquiry into the methods and motivation of the modern traveler.