Hewlett Blog
Latin American Journey Joined: January 9th 2009
Logged in: January 30th 2011
Logged in: January 30th 2011
Travel Blog Posts
This is our last entry. Today we leave Buenos Aires and head back to England to resume "normal life". While we are bursting with excitement about seeing family and friends again, there is some apprehension that we can't explain... Maybe it is because we know that our adventure cannot be repeated - well certainly not in the same way. Never again will we have the time or money for a whole year away to explore the world. Maybe it is because there is so much work to be done on our return, moving back into our home, getting jobs, Amy starting school. Maybe it is because the year was so very special, where the three of us embarked on a wonderful adventure to see Latin America, where we had all the time in the world for ... read more
Quirky Caminito
We had a long list of things to see before we left Buenos Aires and so our final week or so was pretty busy. I had finished spanish classes, not learning particularly much in the last part of the course but enjoying the social side of it anyway. We finally made it to Temaiken, a wildlife park about 1.5 hours by public bus from the city. It turned out to be a pretty amazing place, a very modern zoo with some wonderful animals. The first thing we saw were some flamingos from the Carribean, very different in colour to those we'd seen in this continent. There was a whole assortment of large animals from Africa - a very impressive collection. But most impressive were the huge aviaries there, with birds from around the globe. Much to ... read more
Busker in San Telmo
The past two weeks in Buenos Aires have been wonderful, for the most part ... England v Germany ... we watched the game at a sports bar full of Germans in Recoleta. There was another table with English fans, but they kept very quiet. After the disappointment of the game we were cheered up by Argentina's outstanding win against Mexico. Of course their winning streak did not last and we watched as Germany went on to defeat them too. Suddenly, the mood in the city changed and went back to normal. No more World Cup hype. However, the rest of the time has been great. I did another week of Spanish at Vamos but I resolved to change schools and go back to basics though as I was a bit overloaded with new info and it ... read more
Beauty & the Beast
Here we are in one of our favourite cities in the world, Buenos Aires. The city is buzzing with World Cup fever. On every street corner and in every shop window is the Argentinian Flag. Before the Argentinian games people drive around honking horns in anticipation of another win. The atmosphere is electric. And when we are not supporting England or Australia then we are rooting for Argentinia. Of course there is a lot more going on in the city and we're having a wonderful time. I have spent every morning for two weeks in Spanish classes trying hard (and hopefully not in vain) to get better at the language. I found that despite travelling in Latin America for 11 months and using some Spanish and even less Portuguese I have not really progressed. It's my ... read more
Museum of Art Tigre
We crossed from Carmelo, Uruguay, through the Tigre Delta to Tigre in Argentina. The Tigre Delta begins at Tigre, with waterways that wind through the land for miles and miles. However, close to Tigre, some of the land has been given over to the well to do Portenos (BA natives) to build their holiday homes on. As we approached the town there were countless boat-wrecks rusting near the banks of the river - it is crazy that they are left there as they really are an eyesore. Tigre is considered part of the Buenos Aires district and is no more than 15kms from the centro. But it is very different - relaxed and green with some grand detached houses. We found the most amazing place to stay - a hundred year old house in a convincing ... read more
Quirky Colonia
Colonia da Sacramento is quite a contrast to Montevideo. It is polished, classy and expensive. It is a complete and beautifully restored colonial town full of lovely guest houses, shops and restaurants and set against the backdrop of the River Plate. Across the River Plate is Buenos Aires so Colonia fills us with Portenos every weekend, even in the winter. We enjoyed walking around the cobbled streets, visiting the tiny museums, climbing the lighthouse and watching the pretty sunset each night. There were some very quirky restaurants, one we ate in had the owner come out in a different silly hat every ten minutes to entertain the younger guests. Another had some outdoor seating ... in an old car. It was an enjoyable couple of days. ... read more
The chef preparing the parilla bbq
Montevideo was a lovely surprise. It had most of the modern amenities, but with a distinctly old-fashioned feel. It was almost as expensive as Brazil though, particularly for eating out, but we put that down to the poor exchange rate. We found a very sweet, Parisien style hotel in the historic centre of the city and stayed just three nights. The historic centre of Montevideo is well preserved with a mix of architectural styles and influences from its colourful past. Our first day was a Saturday so the flea market was being set up. There were arts, crafts and the usual antique nik-naks you'd expect to find in a British collectables fair. We had breakfast that first morning in a very old fashioned cafe, with hot chocolate, croissants and freshly squeezed orange juice. Then we explored ... read more
"Mate" ingredients
We had three wonderful days in Praia da Rosa. Only a couple of hours by bus from Florianapolis, but a million miles from anywhere. Praia da Rosa is a jewel. It is seemingly undeveloped and unspoiled but in truth there are tonnes of pousadas, hotels and hostels, but they are just tastefully and sympathetically done. We stayed in Bouganvillea Pousada. In truth it was well out of our budget but with some tough negotiating we got the rate down by half and could afford to stay there (kind of). We had our own little chalet with a balcony overlooking the bay. From July to November there are whales in the bay, but we'd secretly hoped they would arrive early this year so we could see them. It didn't happen, but then how could we ever top ... read more
Oysters at Ostrodamus Restaurant
We flew to the coast of Southern Brazil to see what all the fuss was about Florianapolis. It’s a very popular destination with travellers in Brazil, so we thought it must be worth seeing. We were there in the low season (Winter), and stayed in the city rather than on one of the beaches as many of the Pousadas are closed at that time of year. The city is very pleasant, with a small area around the market retaining the old and colourful Portuguese buildings. There is a lovely Plaza filled with ancient strangler figs trees and overlooked by an attractive church and museum. We took an organised tour around the island, taking in the more popular spots in the north and south of the island. The tide was up and the surf high so there ... read more
Cowboy with Herd
On Amy’s birthday morning we were up and at the bus station by 5.30am, then on a bus to the Pantanals again. This time we stayed at Pousada Santa Clara, a Hostel International place, another 15km along the Pantanal Road. As soon as we got there, Amy was ready to start celebrating her 6th Birthday. We gave her cards and presents and she was as excited as if she were having a birthday party at home. In fact she was even more grateful for every little gift she received, which was very sweet. Just outside the restaurant there was a Toucan sitting on the tree, being thrown bits of banana from one of the staff. On the roof of the restaurant there was a scarlet macaw, also very tame and presumably fed by the staff too. ... read more
