Blogs from South America - page 5368

Nous avons passé près d’une semaine dans la capitale argentine sans nous ennuyer cinq minutes, et nous sommes repartis presque un peu frustrés de ne pouvoir en profiter plus, c’est sur nous reviendrons… Buenos Aires est une ville riche culturellement, beaucoup plus que Santiago, dans laquelle on sent surtout l’influence européenne. Grandes avenues, immeubles haussmaniens, parcs joliment aménagés et beaucoup de monuments. Deux influences surtout sont sensibles dans l’architecture comme dans la vie de tous les jours : la France et l’Italie ont le plus marqué cette jolie ville. Le Teatro Colon a des airs de l’opéra Garnier, et c’est normal, construit au début du XIX siècle il essaye d’imiter au maximum les ‘grands’ d’Europe. La salle est très impressionnante, et l’on n’est pas étonné d’apprendre qu’elle figure parmi les cinq ‘meilleures’ du monde. La Casa ... read more

A 6h+23h bus ride later - a mixture of waking and sleeping and feeling ill going to the putrid bus toilets (don´t worry, it stopped frequently) - and the woman beside me woke me from a violent dream to tell me we had arrived at Belo Horizonte, third largest city in Brazil. Marina came to meet me at the bus stop (she found me after much looking!) with her friend in his car. Back to her appartment she shares with her sister/s (and their boyfriends sometimes!) and brother. They are all ADORABLE, very welcoming, and great to teach me a little Portuguese (Ah, I have to learn now!!)... It´s so difficult to speak (not so much to understand) because it is so similar to Spanish... Ah, but I have a few more weeks here to practice! ... read more

Executive Summary I took a couple extra weeks and stayed around Canoa to learn paragliding. I survived and loved learning to fly. My instructor was one of several gringoes I've met who have 'got stuck' down here. I often feel a mix of happy and guilty when it comes to being a wealthy tourist in an impoverished land. Finally, and not to be missed, a recipe for local dish "bolon de verde". Meeting the "Locals" There's a Hotel California effect down here, subtly tugging at many travelers' heart and purse strings. In Canoa I met quite a few Europeans and North Americans who fell in love with the ocean, often a local Ecuadorian too to seal the deal. There's Calvin, from Winnipeg, who if you ask how long he's been on the road he'll say "Oh, ... read more

I spent this WE on Ilha de Marajo, where the buffalos are wild and stroll around the streets. It is a very primitive island with few cars but many bikes. On the somewhat scary trip to the island (there were big waves, not a very stable boat, people were screaming, bags were flying everywhere and I think that the life wests were hanging there more for decoration than for other purposes :o) I met a bunch of crazy Frenchies that I ended up sharing room with. I had my first warm shower (or should I say boiling since it was either icecold or boiling, hihi) since I came to Brazil. Very nice. We had some nice buffalo meet and then explored the only disco in town. After having tried three times, the bouncer lady finally decided ... read more

Well looks like if you want to get out of town you need to do it yourself even if you do it wrong. I finally got in touch with Venesa and I headed off to San Luis for the weekend. I made the decision on Thurday night and headed out on Friday night. It seems that all of the busses leave at O dark thirty in the morning or late at night and arrive at some un godly hour in the morning. Mine left at 10:10 and got in at 5AM. you know how much I love the mornings. At any rate, the buses are pretty first class here. There have two levels and look like planes of sorts. Some have full beds on the bottom of the bus and Semi camas on the top. (Large ... read more