I arrived exhausted into Santiago around 2am. I stayed in the 'burbs to the northeast of the city. The weather was scorching, late 30's most days. Santiago sits in a valley and the air is generally still and has a pleasant smell despite the hanging pollution. I took it easy my first day and walked around the area I was staying in and took my guitar to a park and sat under a big tree. My host and I took a few beers up the hill behind her house where we could watch the sunset over the whole city and the [View Full Entry]

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My original plan was to spend Carnaval in Salvador, but after making such great friends in Rio I decided to spend it there. I met up with the gang at Ipanema beach on Friday afternoon. It was the only day I was back there that was sunny. I had forgotten how much it rains in Rio. We hung out there for a couple of hours and then went home to change for the night. My first two nights of Carnaval were spent at Lapa. I was a bit disappointed with this as I had been out in Lapa many times before [View Full Entry]

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I was back in a hostel for the first time in a while in Natal. After checking in I wandered the few blocks to Ponta Negra beach. I was immediatley pleased that this would be my home for a week. I strolled along the shore down to the southern end of the beach taking in the mix of tourists at luxury hotels and locals enjoying the beach. Upon reaching the southern tip I was disappointed to find the giant sand dune that towered over the beach was fenced off and was sign posted as military property. I returned to the hostel [View Full Entry]

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After a few hours sleep I arose to see the Christmas day sunrise over the ocean in Copacabana. I was meeting Lara in her old home city of Recife in the northeast of Brazil. I arrived a few hours prior to her and her friend Eduardo was nice enough to pick me up from the airport. We did a drive-by tour of Recife's beach and it's Old Town before Lara arrived midafternoon. Christmas night we met up with Eduardo and a bunch of other friends - including Cynthia who attended my birthday bash in Rio - and went to a bar [View Full Entry]

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My god the heat ! I had the luxury of having my first host in Rio meet me at the airport. The humidity of the place was the first thing I noticed as we waited for the bus into town. I had been in hot places recently but hadn't experienced humidity since Texas. I spent the weekend at his house in Botafogo in the South Zone. Later I was to stay in Copacabana, Flamengo, Lago do Machado, and also one night in the North Zone. My first night was reasonably relaxed. With his friend, we went out for pizza and a [View Full Entry]

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I'm flying high over Argentina with the hottest new band Still Water, and we're all about to die ! Ok, maybe that's a bit dramatic but I had terrible turbulence coming into Buenos Aires. After 8 months of flights and many with bad turbulence, this was the first time I had any fear for my life. After we cleared the clouds and the lights of Buenos Aires were visible below, I looked out the window to try and see the source of the ruckus. Looking back I saw we had passed through a crazy lightning storm. Bolts shooting every which way. [View Full Entry]

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I arrived at 6am into a cold, grey Lima. I was to learn that Lima was always in a constant state of grey. Being mid October I assumed it would be warmer in this southern hemisphere country. Despìte hearing horror stories of people being robbed and kidnapped at gun point in Peruvian taxi's I took one from the airport to my couch surfing destination. After my driver showed uncertainty of where the street was I feared I was being hustled. But after stopping to ask several police officers on the side of the road and going to a police station in [View Full Entry]

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I returned to Europe for a quick hit of fun. Five weeks this time. I couldn't resist a 1 cent flight to Dublin so I made that my first destination. Colin, an old mate from high school lives there now so I had somewhere to stay right in town. Most of my time in Dublin was spent drinking - it's Ireland ! It seems like every second shop is a cool little pub. Even though I'm not a fan of Guinnes I figured I had to try it in Ireland. Better than it is in Australia but still not my cup [View Full Entry]

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I've got to be a part of it. Atleast for a few weeks. At the beginning of my New York experience I was staying in the very north of Manhattan in the Dominican ghetto. It was a very interesting experience and I think good to see the not so glamorous part of Manhattan. My first night in New York I went with my new friends to Times Square. There by chance we stumbled upon Ozzy Osbourne playing a free concert to the people in the street on top of the Hard Rock Cafe. Party. Bonus. My first week was pretty full [View Full Entry]

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With all the landmarks of Las Vegas it was easy to spot it through the plane window. Seeing this oasis of sin in the middle of the desert I couldn't help but be filled with excitement and anticipation. As soon as I stepped out of the air-conditioned airport I was hit by a wave of heat. It is disgustingly hot. I hit happy hour with my host before we did a lap of the main. I got dropped downtown which is the old section of Vegas. The casinos here are cheaper and less extravagant. After checking this area out I went [View Full Entry]

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