Nickolaaaas

Where to start. Having left my home and new copado amigos in San Telmo, BA i passed quickly thru Salta in the north of Argentina and San Blas on the west coast of Mexico. I am now sitting in my new share house in San Diego, Cali. After nearly 8 months, a lot of bife de chorizo and even more communication problems, i am now back on english speaking soil in the land of knarly surfers y pinchy cabron mexicanos.(es una broma chavos, los quiero todoooo!) It trips me out hanging in north america, not the same feeling as when i was in disneyland mode 14 years ago. After more than 3 weeks walking down the street and hearing the accent i still feel like im an extra in a episode of the OC. The accent, ... read more

So the road turns again and after sharing just over 2 RE BUENISIMO weeks together as a foursome, team Oz splits in half. Team Shake De Lock head to the coast of Chile to catch cold sic narly olas and the Simpson brothers to hang out for two more weeks catching sweet memories for those years ahead, when we´ll be hanging out on the terrace, sharing a cerveza and laugh whilst sitting in our robot wheelchairs reliving it all. It´s funny how the travellers road bends, twists and falls into some amazing little crevices, people and places. I have found myself in El Bolson for the last 2 weeks enjoying this tiny hippy tourist town with such ease. This pueblito has such a nice energy, ambience, onda everyone ends up staying as long as their life ... read more

Arrived on a bus from Buenos Aires 7.30pm new years eve to the big smile and open arms of Juancito Boludo Bastida THE MALLORCA MAESTRO. He immediately invites the four australian reps to a family asado(bbq) to kick the night off. Awaiting is a feast of traditional argy meat, salads,deserts, vino, cervezas and a whole lot of argentinian family hospitality that greets us all with a kiss and smile that immediately makes us feel at home. After gorging on the masses of meat, midnight hits, champagne flows and we move into the street to watch all the neighbourhood dads demonstrate to the small children how to set off a firework without hitting the close by houses. One dad was embarrassed a little as his failed to light a single one and grandma had to disgracefully ... read more

The thing about travelling alone is you have plenty of time to question and think about every decision, past, present and future you make. I have had mucho tiempo to think about whether i have made the right choice to move to an alien speaking country that is trying to climb its way out of an economic crisis. My spanish works to get me what i want to survive, to meet people, to have random conversations and throw a cheeky wisecrack at my new locale grocer, Juan. However at other times, when trying to join in a discussion on the work restrictions for south americans or the history of Peru whilst trying to understand the different accents coming from Colombianos, Peruanos and Argentianos, I really struggle to stay happy and interested and find it very frustrating ... read more

Que pasa dIARY! i´ve arrived in Santiago! yeeeaaarrhh, The travel excitement FINALLY hit me when i was looking out the window of the plane, waiting to see the first sight of this huge continent that i will call home for the next year.(see photo, i was reeeeaaaalllly excited right then ;·) Hit the airport and managed to spit some spanish at the hoards of taxi/shuttle/bus drivers all vying for my Pesos the moment i step out of customs, like bee´s to the honey. After a 20 hour journey it was a nice little welcoming. Turns out the guy i picked, was actually pretending he knew where i was staying. no pasa nada, we found it pretty easily, it´s on the main square of the city, Plaza de Armas. All worth it though, what a square and ... read more