Blogs from South America - page 5

Atsikeliu vėl anksti, apie 5.30 ir palikęs didžiąją kuprinę saugykloje (tiksliau skalbykloje) einu iki mikriuko. Vėl 3 valandų kelionė iki žygio pradžios. Važiuojam tuo pačiu keliu kaip ir vakar ir mus paleidžia netoli tos vietos kur vakar buvom sustoję apžvalgos aikštelėje. Nuo čia iki lagunos keliauju apie 2,5 val. į kalną. Vaizdai panašūs į tuos kurios mačiau ankstesniame žygyje, tad tikrai visai smagu eiti, be to oras tikrai puikus. Kai iš už kalvos pradeda matytis ežeriukas, suprantu kodėl visi apie šią vietą tiek kalba. Tokio mėlyno vandens nesu gyvenime mates !! Tikrai nereali vieta ir visi vos pasiekę šį mėlyn ežeriuką negali juo atsigrožėti. Čia atėję amerikiečių kompanija nutarai išsimaudyti lediniame ežero vandenyje. Aš kiek padvejojęs irgi įšoku į vandenį. Bet neivienas ilgiau minutės neišbūna, nes vanduo čia tikrai n... read more

Luggage suprisingly arrived!In the mean time we bought some basic stuff. Hardest thing was to find a 'normal' bikini as they all wear strings over here (also the people above 90 years old). We bought an Ipanema Bum Bum (and bum bum stands for ass). Hereby some first impressions of Rio. Culture They say that to know a country you should experience the culture. So we decided to taste beers, Itaipava - Skoll - Antartica - Brahma - Caiperinha (ow yes that's not a beer of course).... you can also find Stella everywhere, Leuven is not far away.... Brazilians are drinking all day long, and they drink lot's... Beside drinking we also checked out the local food. Rice, beans and great 'Picanha' meat. We had dinner together with friends of Lidia (the mother of Roger - ... read more

Wednesday 24 April to Tuesday 30 April (Buenos Aires) Refreshed after a good sleep, my full Buenos Aires experience begins. After my first day in the city, next stop was Recoleta to see some of the cities major tourist attractions and landmarks. Heading north I passed through parks containing historical monuments and pieces of contemporary public art, before reaching a bridge over one of the main arterial roads. The bridge, covered in political statements and graffiti, led to the Centro Municipal de Exposiciones. Passing this dominating building I entered the Plaza Naciones Unidad to see the Floralis Genérica shining in the sun. Designd by Eduardo Catalano in 2002, this piece of public art is a giant sculptural flower with petals that close up at night (well, at least when it's functional) - a gift from the ... read more

* Today was our zip-line adventure (with Cola de Mono company) day. When Matt and I signed up, we assumed it was going to be an afternoon post-hiking activity, but it turns out it was at the same time as the hike, which was disappointing. Especially since the hike today stopped at a schoolhouse. Don’t get me wrong, zip-lining was a lot of fun, but getting to go in and talk with & play with the kids sounded amazing as well. Apparently, an international organization has been using that schoolhouse as a flagship program for creating better schools in the mountains. They have a program where the kids learn better nutrition, and they have also added better bathrooms, given them computers, and organized to have parents come in and cook the meals on a rotating basis. ... read more

Another historical mystery of Rapa Nui is the birdman cult. After the moai had lost their meaning and warfair broke out among the clans a new cult arose. Every year a birdman was picked who would rule the island's society. Thus peace could be re-established. The sacret place for the rituals of the birdman cult can still be visited today. And what a place! At the rim of the crater Rano Kau the Rapa Nui built a small village called Orongo. On one side you look into the collapsed crater of the volcano, 200 metres deep and filled with water. Its steep walls encircle about 1,5 kilometre and open up on one side to the open ocean. On the other side of the crater rim the cliff drops right into the sea, about 300 metres deep. ... read more