Carnaval de Rio

Beautiful beaches, Samba, Caipirinhas and of course Carnaval. This is La Cidade Maravilhosa, Rio De Janeiro. "Sand, Sky and the beautiful bodies that parade in between the two" That´s how Lonely planet describes Rio. Well actually it didn´t quite feel like that on my first day and night cause the weather reminded me of England, Copacabana looked more like Ghadira on a Sunday in August and I´m not even going to comment on the bodies. Our apartment was in Copacabana a stone´s throw away from the beach so i decided to have a rest and hopefully wake up to a better start. But that never happened cause after a half an hour walk I got to Ipanema to go to a Hippie fair only to get to Praça General Osorio and greeting me was the rain. Vendors and people spread for shelter and I had to walk back home in the rain.

Next day I woke up early to go meet Julian at the airport but that never happened between his flight being delayed for 3 hrs and airport information not knowing of Emirates. So i head back to Copacabana only to find him just arriving at the apartment. Weather also got better and we spent the rest of the day on the beach catching up and sipping caipirinhas. And Rio was looking much better than yesterday.

Next couple of days we spent bumming around Copacabana and Ipanema Beach. Illha Grande is a tropical island a couple of hours south of Rio. After a way too early start we get to the island and venture off for a two hour hike crossing the island to get to Pria Lopez Mendez, white sand and clear water, definitely worth the trip.

So it was all good, Rio was feeling great, but that didn´t last too long. We got too comfortable i guess and one night we headed to Copacabana in the evening to chill. Some beer, a deck of cards my cigarettes and some loose change were all our possesions. People were fishing nearby and Copacabana was lit all the way. Suddenly three guys who faked jogging, stopped next to us. It took a couple of seconds to sink in but we were being mugged. Well it was kind of funny cause they only got the 2 Reals, left the beer and smokes and also apologised before leaving. I must say for a couple of days I was being paranoid. But it soon got better and really it had to happen sooner or later.

Cristo Redentor lies atop the Corcovado overlooking the city. Once up there you get all of the city underneath you stretching from the massive Maracana to the neighbourhoods of Santa Teresa and Lapa going on to the Sugar Loaf, Copacabana and Leblon. Amazing view and yes I did take the tacky picture of me being dwarfed under the statue.

Pau de Açucar was amazing. You get a closer look at the the city itself outlined by the infamous favelas. We also got to see sunset over Rio and i guess the pictures i attached will do a better job than me describing it. The second picture of the three is Copacabana by night, the last one is my favourite.

Set on a hill overlooking the city,the neighbourhood of Santa Teresa with it´s cobbled streets has a charm of days long past. The Cristo Redentor overlooks eternally as witnessed by this picture in the neighbourhood.

Same song repeated over and over again with the crowd singing along getting more drunk every time the song starts again with the constant spray of water over the crowd is what makes a Bloco. And the bloco de Barba in Botafogo was no exception. This is the first taste of Carnaval we got in Brasil. After that half drunk and completely wet we headed to the Maracana to watch Fluminense vs Vasco. We got there and there was a strange feeling of tranquility. We were a couple of hours early, at least we thought, only to find that the match had started early and was just into the second half. Vasco the home team was loosing 1-3 but they managed to draw at 4-4 in a show of average football, but we were in the biggest stadium on earth and got to see 4 goals ... so it was all good.

Sunday came and that meant the Sambodromo. An amazing show of colours, samba and of course the girls. Well the cariocas claim it to be the biggest show on earth and it lived up to it´s reputation.

Malbec and Aconcagua

14hr bus ride from BA and you find yourself in Mendoza. Beautiful plazas, the Andes and good wine , lots of it. Everything seems to work slower over here . A holiday destination for Argentinians and to prove it I find most of the residents at hostel Damajuana to be Argentinian. I sit by the pool and 2 hours later I find myself badly sunburnt playing poker with some Argentinians and alomost drunk. Second day we headed to the bodegas with the Bike and Wine option which turned out to be a lot of cycling and much less wine than we had expected, so at the end of the day we decided buy a bottle of Tempus Alba Malbec and enjoy the lovely view from the terrace of the vineyard. After moving to Hostel Lao, which I strongly recommend, I met up with a German and two American guys, and we decide to rent a car and head to the Andes. So we leave at 7am next morning 2 hrs later than planned and after a couple of wrong exits we start heading in the right direction. We first drive by Uspallata, a lovely valley surrounded by polychrome mountains, 105km west of Mendoza, at altitude of 1751m which served for filming 7 years in Tibet. Further into the Andes at 2720m we got to Puente Del Inca, a natural stonebridge spanning the Rio Mendoza. Underneath it lie ruins of an old spa stained yellow by warm sulphurous thermal springs.
We finally reach Aconcagua which at 6960m above sea level is the highest mountain in Americas. The contrast between Aconcagua and the rocky mountains and valley surrounding us is simply amazing.
On the way back, due to the amount of driving and lack of sleep the previous night, I miss one of the many Immigration stops for the Chilean border. ooooopsss.... So I reverse and a pearshaped officer asks for license and registration, gets us all out and asks for passports. Seeing nothing wrong he starts threating to take my licence and to fine us for overspeeding. Figuring out the scam I reply "non intiendo" to most of what he said, at the end he lets us go with just a warning.
That same day I bus it back to my lovely Buenos Aires, where i head to Janaina´s place, Julian´s friend and a great girl, where i stayed all throughout my stay in BA. Mucha gracias chica.
My last bife de choriso at Des Nivel in San Telmo, a must for whoever is in BA, a night out at Opera house and in the morning Rio Baby, where I will meet Julian, so i´m not alone any more ma ok.

Buenos Aires

Where else can u get cigarettes for 3.5 pesos, cabs for 10 pesos, internet at 1peso/hour and get a 700g juicy T-bone steak with wine and sides for 30 pesos, including tips (Lm1 = 9 pesos) ...

And all this surrounded by buildings that could have easily fit in Paris or Rome, countless momuments, unique neighbourhoods and the occasional tango show on the street.

This might not be as simple as it sounds because u have to watch out for drivers especially bus drivers who drive oblivious to other cars and especially pedestrians. While doing this u have to be careful not to step on dog shit or hit a street vendor who will try and sell u anything from leather jackets to sweets, napkins or pens.

I have been round the city but one of my favourite spots is La Boca. Situated along a harbour, mainly settled by Italians this poor nighbourhood hosts the famous Caminito.
The colours around you switch you in a good mood as soon as u get there and if that doesn t work the live tango shows or the love for Boca Juniors and Maradona will.

Recoleta is famous for it´s cemetry where Evita rests in peace, or tries to poor soul, cause it´s one of the most photographed places you can imagine. All the cemetery is one work of art with some incredible sculpture.

One night we went to see a Tango show. Best Tango show i ever been to ...hehehit was also my first but seriously it was the best. The show was at Tortoni cafe, oldest cafe in Buenos Aires.

Well I can go on for ever but I´ll send some pics instead to try and give you a taste of Buenos Aires. And the meat you eat here. That picture is not at a butchers but a Parrilla named Des Nivel situated in San Telmo, and I am already best buddies with the waiters over there ..hehehe

I love Buenos Aires.

The Plan

So this is it. South America. 6 moths of it. The plan is to cover as much as possible of it. Landing in Brasil, down to Argentina, back up to Brasil all the way up along the coast, cross into Bolivia through Amazonia, Peru, Equador (my treat... The Galapagos) up to Columbia, Venezuela, Cuba and finally fly back from Mexico.

So for me it all started in Sao Paolo Brasil where I landed at around 11pm on Sunday the 21st Jan 2007. After more than an hour waiting for my backpack, I found out that British Airways had lost all my belongings for the next 6 months. It´s almost 1 am by now and I am stuck at the airport, so i find a cosy spot at the airport and make it my bed.

I wake up round 6 and make my way to the city to buy me some essential stuff like clothes..hehehe and make an excuse of it to see the city. Massive place but business oriented so i decide to head for Foz De Iguazu that same day. 4pm comes and i am on the bus to Iguazu on an 18 hr bus ride,at least i have a decent bed...hehehe

I arrive in Foz on Tuesday morning in serious need of a shower, so i head to Paulimar hostel which turns out to have a swimming pool and yes finally showers.. In the afternoon i headed for the falls. Amazing place, really is i mean i spent 2 days looking at water fall down and would go again any day. And if u thought it couldn´t get better just go on the Argentinian side. From Brasil u get a pamoramic view but in Argentina you are in the falls.

And now it´s Buenos Aires baby...