Hello family and friends...sorry about the delay in the blogs, but i've finally been able to upload pics and spend some time recounting the past few weeks. hope you enjoy and big kisses to all! xox a After Rio, i decided to take the remainder of February to work my way over to western Argentina and then down south to Patagonia. The first stop was San Carlos de Bariloche, a popular and gorgeous Argentinian town of 120,000 nestled into the national Parque de Nahuel Huapi in the heart of Argentina's Lake District. Appropriately named, the Lake District is an area of [View Full Entry]

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pulsating samba beats, expansive white beaches crowded with sun tanned bodies, and impressive and scenic landscapes filling in the backdrop....this is daily life in rio de janeiro. i wasn't quite sure what to expect upon arrival in rio. i had decided to go for one week, traveling to and from buenos aires. definitely not enough time to do justice to the expansive country of brazil, but it seemed a shame to skip brazil completely...especially with its infamous reputation for fun living, exorbitant nightlife, and unparalleled dance and music origins. i stayed in a cute little hostel, calle [View Full Entry]

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Known to some as the "paris of south america", buenos aires (or the city of good air) has yet to disappoint.... i have been here for 3 weeks, and all is can say is...i love it here! home to the infamous "evita" peron, the iconic maradona, carlos gardel, and as many would argue, the cultural mecca of the continent - buenos aires has a ton to offer. the city was originally colonized by the spanish back in the 1500's, and still carries its initial European influences. it's situated next to the Rio de la Plata, the main water artery, separating it [View Full Entry]

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hola friends and family! i am currently sitting in an internet café in the heart of san Joaquin de flores, heredia, a very tranquil and beautiful provincial town about 15 km outside the nations capital of San Jose. The province of Heredia is located in the central valley of coast rica and home to the volcan poas, rain forests, waterfalls, coffee fincas (farms), and the rio orosi. San Joaquin is considered a middle class to affluent area, with the authentic feel of a provincial costa rican town and has been a wonderful place to kick of my travels. San Joaquin is [View Full Entry]

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after a few low-key, rain trodden days in la fortuna (but a fun white water rafting adventure!), i headed to the cloud forests of monteverde and santa elena. the cloud forests are rain forests in elevated regions, making them more susceptible to moisture, cloud formations, and thus creating very fertile habitats for a variety of wildlife indigenous to costa rica. The infamous quetzal and elusive golden toad top the list of things to see, as one explores the forest trails either solo or with a hired guide. there are also a ton of bird species, hummingbirds, monkeys and sloths to grab [View Full Entry]

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buenas dias amigos... i hope this finds everyone doing well and having a great holiday and wrap up to 2005! i have moved on from San Juaquin de flores, traveling northwest to the towns of la fortuna, monteverde and santa elena, in the mountainous regions of the north central coast. after calling the bus department on the 23rd to ¨"confirm" that schedules were running the same for the holiday weekend (like any good little traveler would..), i rose early, said my goodbyes to the Fallas Ramos family and headed into the San Jose bus terminal to catch my direct transport to [View Full Entry]

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