gregory
Scott Gregory Joined: March 18th 2005
Logged in: March 9th 2011
Logged in: March 9th 2011
Travel Blog Posts
RECOVERED
It’s amazing how weather can change the way you think about a place. Sydney has been having record low temperatures this past week. Granted it has only dropped into the low 40’s but that is cold when a lot of the houses do not have heating systems (especially the apartment I’m staying in). I’ve been wearing jeans and a hat to bed and huddling over cups of hot tea with my flatmates. The funny part about this cold weather stint is seeing what people wear….you’d think it was 20 below out. Through it all everyone keeps telling me how great everything is in the summer. There are so many outdoor and rooftop bars/restaurants, grassy parks and beaches that I imagine it would be a different city in the summer. I suppose it would be like ... read more
RECOVERED
G’day everyone…..I’m finishing up my first full week in Sydney and loving it so far. The weather remains very mild for it being the middle of winter but I've had to buy a sweater. So funny to think of December as the middle of their summer too, Christmas must be a different experience. I finally found an apartment after looking at some tight situations. Apparently there are a lot of people who rent 2 bedroom apartments and then sublet them to travellers, cramming 4 bunk-beds per room and charging about $600/month/person for short terms. I almost settled on one of those situations with 4 Brazilians and 2 British guys in a 2 bedroom place when a friend of a friend said he was moving to the UK and I could take his bedroom. It has ... read more
lobster clam bake with mom and dad
New places to see, new people to meet and new adventures ahead! The main target of this trip is Australia, Southeast Asia and possibly a trip around the globe through Europe on the way back to the US. The world is such a big place but seems a little smaller and life seems to make a little more sense the more places I visit. With the real estate market slowing in Florida, I decided to leave my previous job and take some time to travel before moving on to the next venture. I put all my belongings in storage, bought a new hiking bag and a series of one-way plane tickets.....and the adventure begins. From Tampa I flew into New York City to hang out with Miller for a few days before driving up to ... read more
Dia Del amigo
I returned from Iguazu Falls into Buenos Aires and stayed at a friend's apartment for two nights...my last two in South America. The first day back was what the South Americans call "Friends Day". Apparently it's like Valentines day, except just for friends....which is kind of a cool idea. I think it might just be an excuse to have a party, but it's a registered holiday so I couldn't argue with that. I ended up going out with about 12 other Argentine friends and we went to a bar where they had rented out the top floor. We ate, drank and laughed and had a really fun time. It was a great way to spend my last night out in Buenos Aires. It also made me realize how much I would miss a lot of the ... read more
Ipanema Beach
Just spent the past week in Rio de Janeiro and am now in Puerto Iguazu getting ready to head back to Buenos Aires tomorrow morning. Rio was beautiful and lots of fun. Kind of like a Hawaii/California mix with a South American twist. White sand beaches, lots of surf, big boardwalks, and lush green mountains shooting up in the background. I flew from Buenos Aires and arrived in Rio at midnight...not the best idea when you don't have a reservation anywhere during the busy season. I found myself walking around Copacabana at 1am knocking on hostel doors looking for places to stay, knowing little to no portugese. I was about to find a spot on the beach to sleep when I finally came across the last bunk in this hostel just outside of town. I ... read more
Bariloche
Made it down to Bariloche through some beautiful scenery in the south of Argentina. Bariloche is located near the border of Chile on the Argentinian side of the Andes mountian range in Patagonia. The town looks a bit like Aspen with wood and stone buildings, ski stores on every corner, and big snow capped mountians in the background. The town was fairly small and located on a huge lake about 20 minutes from the main Catedral ski resort. I checked into this one hostel for the first night and just relaxed....made some pasta, met a few english and canadian girls and we rented a movie and stayed by the fire for the night (I know that sounds cheesy but it was really cold and I needed to get adjusted to the temps). Unfortunately due to a ... read more
bus stop
I left Cusco and headed for Puno (the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca). We arrived in Puno after a really bumpy 6 hour bus ride. The town of Puno itself was really dumpy, poor and dirty. We went down to see Lake Titicaca which was pretty anticlimactic as well. I was expecting some beautiful bright blue lake with mountains shooting up behind it… instead I saw a regular lake (although I do have to note it's the highest navigable lake in the world which was cool) with touristy boats that can take you for a trip to some manmade floating islands, but not much else really to do. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but oh well. Instead of staying overnight we decided to get something to eat and then continue bussing it south. The ... read more
Machu Picchu
Amazing...that's the only way to describe Machu Picchu! People kept telling me how cool it was, but until you go there you don't ever realize how right they were. I left Cusco by train for the town of Aguas Calientes. Aguas Calientes is the last town before Machu Picchu (if you can even call it a town, it was about 2 square blocks in size nestled in the Sacred Valley). The following day we hiked up to Machu Picchu to catch the sunrise and beat most of the other tourists. There are shelves of books attempting to tell the history of Machu Picchu and what it used to be used for. Some say it could be the lost city of the Incas, or the city of the virgins of the sun, or a summer hangout for ... read more
Plaza de Armas
I checked out of my apartment in Buenos Aires and hit the road for some new adventures. I met up with a friend in BA and we left for Cusco, Peru. We arrived in Cusco after 10 hours of delays and connections through Lima and Arequipa, Peru. Flying into Cusco I could see the big dry mountains begin to rise and see snow capped mountains further in the distance. As soon as I walked out the door of the airport the solicitations began...people asking if I wanted a place to stay, a taxi, a Machu Picchu tour package, festival tickets, etc. I chose one lady with a particularly interesting silver lined tooth (which I would later see on every older Peruvian woman) and she took us into town. Cusco, Peru is the starting point for all ... read more
me and my new friend
The time has been flying by and I will be moving out of my apartment in less than a week. My next stop is Peru, maybe Bolivia (if their political situation continues to improve and the roads remain open), and then Brazil and the south of Argentina. I'm going to miss Buenos Aires but am excited to continue my travels and see some more of South America. It's beginning to feel a little more like fall here as the temperature begins to drop, and it has been raining the past few days as well. Apparently the winters here in Buenos Aires are similar to Southern California winters, and never really drop below 50 degrees. I've finally discovered how the people are not starving by the time they go out to dinner at 10 or 11pm. In ... read more
