http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/vivakula/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from vivakula en-us Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:11:09 +0000 Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:11:09 +0000 I knew that someway somehow I would get the full Amazonian experience but I had never planned or imagined the adventure that was to comehellipPART 1 THE CITYSo after having to change buses twice on my overnight ldquodirectrdquo bus from Boa Vista I finally arrived in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon the ancient port city of Manaus founded about 350 years ago with its 2 million people http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Amazonas/Manaus/blog-450976.html My last day in Venezuela I awoke happy because I was in a comfortable bed the sun was rising and I could hear the birds singing outside. The sadness and pain of realising I had said goodbye to my new dear friends not knowing when I would see them again wouldnrsquot hit me until just a little later.The first thing I saw when I got up was a pink piece of toilet paper on my floor. It was a note http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Roraima/Boa-Vista/blog-450975.html How can I describe this experience How can I describe my Venezuelan friends Words are not enough... My heart canrsquot translate what I found in these people and it wasnrsquot just the magic of Roraima the highest table top mountaintepuy in the world or the bonds that develop when you struggle together. During this trip this adventure I actually managed to meet a group of people and n http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Venezuela/Guayana/Roraima/blog-450974.html PS DUDES MY LAPTOP GOT FRIED BUT I JUST RECOVERED MY HARD DRIVE SO THESE JOURNALS ARE ALMOST TWO MONTHS BEHIND SO IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHERE I AM YOU HAVE TO PAY ATTENTION TO THE DATES AS THIS STUFF HAPPENED IN THE PAST Estou sintindo saudades pra voces Missing homeI hopped on my 24hour bus to Santa Elena. Itrsquos funny cause I brought like 5 books with me to read just in case but I http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Venezuela/Guayana/Santa-Elena-de-Uairen/blog-450967.html Do you believe in magicBeing a scientist and formerly an uptight realist I can say I never did. Maybe when I was a little princess with her head in the clouds I did way way back but the storms of life quickly dispelled all the myths of miracles...But could there be some magic in the world after all And what kind The kind that makes people fly and dragons breath fire No not likely. But http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Venezuela/Capital/Caracas/blog-436830.html Wow.... what can I say about the last few days..... How about holy crapSo having overstayed my welcome a little in Lecheria not with my friend but with her sister I decided to take off to see what is Venezuelarsquos most famous and probably most spectacular tourist attraction ANGEL FALLS The highest waterfall in the world 989 m high I believe. This incredible wonder named http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Venezuela/Guayana/Canaima-National-Park/blog-435754.html Like a dreamSo what happened when I got off the boat Exhausted but relieved to be alive and to somehow be strong enough to face the journey ahead I stepped off with all 50 lbs or my three bags. I had been the only blond and only foreigner so it seemed on the ferry of several hundred of passengers. As I lugged my life down the dock it seemed a million faces stared at me. I passed the strang http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Venezuela/North-Eastern/Puerto-la-Cruz/blog-429613.html So I landed in Margarita hoping that Jay the captain of the boat I was going to sail the southern Caribbean with would be there to meet me. I had been in such a rush climbing a mountain that morning and getting my stuff together in Caracas that I absolutely forgot to write down the vague instructions of where his boat was nor did I take any back up hostel info that I normally would have taken http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Venezuela/Insular/Isla-Margarita/blog-429611.html One of the greatest things about travelling is that you actually have time time to live. Time to appreciate everything there is to appreciate to do the things you want to do to think about the things you need to think about to just be be yourself without pressure without judgement just you.Touring Brasil was marvellous spectacular.... Brasil is my heart. But also it was tiring... I began http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Venezuela/Capital/Caracas/blog-421497.html So I arrived in Salvador at almost midnight and grabbed a taxi to meet my new friend Gustavo a Chilean friend of Cleanto. Gustavo is doing his masters in environmental engineering in Salvador but coincidentally its actually in toxicology though not officially so we had a lot to talk about. He was really pleasantly surprised when I told him I had a doctorate in toxicology and was totally willi http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Bahia/Salvador/blog-419565.html The north east coast of brazil is soooo much fun Beautiful and brazilian culture is out of this world people are so niceSo I arrived in maceio brazil to meet the most amazing women my couchsurfing host Vitoria 65 retired vivacious professor of French. She picked me up from the bus station made me a baked chicken dinner made me a fantastic breakfast all for free and drove me to the b http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Alagoas/Macei-/blog-419563.html So I arrived in Recife late around midnight. I was a little concerned only because I wasnrsquot sure if my couchsurfer confirmed that it was ok to stay with him and I didnrsquot have a phone card to call him. Luckily I had made friends with a lovely lady Cida that had sat on the plane next to me. She lived or rather worked in Manaus living there 3 weeks out of the month and visiting her so http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Pernambuco/Recife/blog-414442.html SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY EXPECT 2 MORE LARGE ENTRIES SOON AND I WILL TRY TO POST MORE OFTEN BEIJOS AMIGOSSo i sat in the waiting room for my plane in Campo Grade heading to Recifi. Oje vou embora portuguese for im leaving today I sat with a tight squeeze in my heart a sadness and a longing. I wanted so much to stay and spend more time with everyone I had grown to love. I had arrived in Ca http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Mato-Grosso-do-Sul/Campo-Grande/blog-414412.html The bus ride into Bonito from the Patanal took about 4 and a half hours but i didnrsquot mind. I left around 330pm and very soon it was dark and i spent the ride gazing at the thousands of stars in the sky. The sky was so clear that for the first time in my life i could see stars coming all the way down the horizon almost touching the earth. Like a canopy or blanket they covered the entire sky http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Mato-Grosso-do-Sul/Bonito/blog-406990.html So Irsquom sitting on the pantanal... Well not literally. Irsquom in the lounge dining room overlooking the river. Itrsquos so nice and HOT here. At least 30 easily 35. Finally And humid. Presently there is a nice cool breeze coming through here. I can swim in the river if I want but considering we just went piranha fishing there... maybe not. Hehehe...So Irsquove decided to be a little http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Mato-Grosso-do-Sul/Campo-Grande/blog-406977.html Hey guys sorry about the lag.As mentioned I got my cute little laptop and have been writing a mountain of stuff but not posting so im about to post two massive entries so get your coffee cups readyHere are just all the pictures you missed from Argentina Salta Cafayate and Iguazu. Thanks for your patience and I really hope you enjoy cause these take FOREVER to uploadHugges and kisses to th http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Misiones/Iguazu-National-Park/blog-406234.html So I know its been a little while been real busy and no not partying or having fun just chaotic travelling and siteseeing. So sadly I left Cafayate and took a plane to Iguazu. I met up with a great gal from Japan Mona and we went site seeing Iguazu falls on the Argentinian side then the next day we hired a dude to take us to Paraguay where I bought a laptop and then we visited the Brazilia http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Misiones/Iguazu-National-Park/blog-400231.html So Im still here Cafayate has just been too awesome to leave. Sadly I bought a plane ticket 5 minutes ago to go to Iguazu tommorow morning so I need to catch the 5 am bus to Salta tommorow morning. So recap. Danny has pretty much been my best friend since I got here. I mentioned the wine tours... well many more wine tours.. wine ice cream more empanadas and too much tasty stuff. Im going on http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Salta/Cafayate/blog-398924.html just testing http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Salta/Cafayate/blog-398055.html Well I cant believe where i am or how its possible i ended up here.PS Thanks MartinTo confess despite the beauty and wonder of salta I felt a little lonely and sad for reason I wont detail. However I met a generous soul Martin who worked at my hostel. We pretty much spent every day together doing basically not much and playing jenga in the night. We even went to see a movie and it was g http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Salta/Cafayate/blog-396906.html