Blogs from South America - page 5355

Well, some of you reading this will already know what I'm about to relate, but for those of you who weren't paying attention, this is the story so far... In April 2005 I set off, a rather nervous volunteer, to Ecuador to work on a conservation reserve called La Hesperia, located a couple of hours from Quito in the Western Lowlands of the Andes. LaHesperia/url As a long-haul travel virgin, and a non Spanish speaker, there were many times before I left that I questioned my own sanity in heading off into the wilds of South America with little real idea of where I was going or what I would do when I got there. Despite dreaming of travelling the world for years, I found that when it came to it I was a feardy cat ... read more

I took a boat to Morro de Sao Paulo - An island which is located in a 2 hours distance from Salvador. From the boat Salvador looked like a really beautiful city (not at all like San Antonio), and it felt to me as if I was leaving all my troubles behind in Salvador. When I arrived, I realized that every image I had about tropical islands, was true in Morro - Magnificent beaches, a little bit of jungle, palm and coconut trees on the beach, beautiful women. Here for the first time I truly understood the meaning of the Spanish word 'tranquello' (there is no good translation, but you can try relax / calm / no problems). I met here allot of interesting people - From Switzerland, Germany, France, Argentina, Spain and even tourists from ... read more

It is completely spoiled by huge amount of tourists but it still is a magnificent structure in an overwhelming location. It is expensive on a South-American price scale and you quite don't feel you get your money's worth but you get to see the Machu Picchu you have seen in photos everywhere for your own eyes. That's what we felt about it. Aquas Caliantes is quite a shitty place that get's all the tourists without any effort. Not worth staying but we had to. The hostal was the worst with paint crumbling from the walls, snail community living in the bathroom ceiling and water floating on the bedroom floor. No need to fix these things since the tourists keep coming anyway. Ofcourse there are nice hotels as well, but the prices are on western level. Because ... read more

O Rio e DEMAAAAAAAAIS, LEGAO, MARAVILHOSO!!! Rio is FANTASTIC!!! Backtracking to Belo Horizonte: evenings spent chilling at Claudio´s funky sushi restaurant (and trying the different varieties of caipirinha - strawberry, mango, pineapple... YUM!), making great contacts (among whom - a lift to Rio!!), and a crazy dancing evening (all night... morning... etc) at a trans nightclub... which, incidently, resulted in my lift (Claudio) sleeping through our agreed meeting time to go check out the apparently fabulous mining town of Ouro Preto (Oh well, got to leave something for next time!)... I did go to the hairdresser though. My nails will have to wait for another day (year.. lifetime?!) as it was full... but it did give them something to talk about at the hairdresser that I´d NEVER in my life had them done!!! Everyone was very ... read more

Today is my second day in Buenos Aires and I have already learned some things. 1) cross from my new apartment is a heladorìa, ice cream shop. 2) To get into the center of town I will take the number 152 bus. 3) People dont seem to drink as much matè as I thought they would. 4) People with curly mullets, especially the boys, are hot 5) The bus is .80 centavos. 6) There are six people who make up a traditional tango band. 7) Butter is manteca here, not montaquilla. 8) The letters y and ll are pronouced with a j sound. 9) They use the form of vos instead of tu. I havent figured out how to use it though. 10) Gatitos, cats, live in public parks. 11) You can drink the water. 12) ... read more