Hello!
my final blog from south America :o(
i had a lovely final weekend in Buenos Aires!
Friday was my cousins birthday and we had a party! It was lovely to be able to be there for the party!!
On saturday i got my haircut and went to Recoletta Market (this is in a posh part of Buenos Aires, which was full of tourists and well dressed argentinians) and managed to buy some more "useful" stuff to squeeze into my rucksack!
In the evening i met up with a really old friend! We went a posh looking nightclub called opera bay, it looks like a squished Sydney Opera house and had pools inside it! It looks out onto Puerto Madero the waterfront part of BA and there were beautiful views!!
i am slightly ashamed to admit it but Argentinan electronic music is growing on me (probably a good thing i am leaving soon eh!)
Sunday i took the bus back to Mar del Plata to see my family!! It was really nice to see everyone again and i felt really lucky to have them so close!
Tomorrow is my final day in Argentina...! i have one more friend to try and see before i go!
The time i have spent in South America has been incredible (and im not exagerating...!) i am really going to miss so much, like being able to randomly chat with people in queues or public transport or anywhere at all, people juggling at crossings, big family get togethers, AMAZING buses, men being all gentlemanly, sunday markets, great music and dancing, mostly my family and maybe even siesta!
The list could go on and on...but i will stop!
So i guess bring on Australia...
I can´t wait to see my family there! i am going to spend some time in Sydney with my Aunt (Dad´s side) and cousins who i haven´t seen for about 7 years!
A friend of mine from Uni is going to be in Sydney at the same time and its her birthday so were going to meet up! and hopefully another friend i met in Argentina will be in Australia around the same time so we can also cross paths!!
hope all is good back home or in whichever place you have reached in your travels!
Lots of love
Emz x x x
Wednesday, 30 May 2007
Friday, 25 May 2007
Argentina, the north
Hello!!
hope all is good!!
been back from Brazil about 2 weeks now, decided to head to the north of Argentina as it is where there are the most indiginous and ´traditional´ villages.
I started my trip up north to Cordoba a student city! As you can imagine the night life was excellent!!
On a more cultural note, i visited the house Che Guevara grew up in!! It was suprising to me that he was from such an upper class family (im not sure why...). Also i was suprised when i saw his passport and it listed his skin and eye colour as well as his nose and face type! times have certainly changed!
I also did an amazing bike ride... although it involved more gliding down mountains than cycling!!
From Cordoba i headed up to Salta, suprisingly the nightlife here was also crazy. The best known attraction near Salta is the train to the clouds which travels across the north, unfortunatley it was closed for maintenance so i was unable to take it! However i was lucky enough to find three other people who wanted to rent a car and do the accompanying car route!!
It was absolutley gorgeous, we stopped literally every half an hour to take photos!!
I must apologise now for the likely number of photos of multicoloured mountains that will appear on my facebook page!!
After a couple of nights in Salta i headed further up north with one of the people i had shared the car with! We went to a village called Humahuaca (excellent name!!) it was really stunning as there were cactus´everywhere and i felt like a total stranger as all the children on the bus stared at me and my friend with big curious eyes!!
It was freezing at night and i was still cold with thermal pj´s (attractive i know...), 5 blankets, gloves, socks and a hat!
On the way up we came across a strike/road block! it was amazingly chilled compared to English strikes...the people had put bits of tree and car across the road and put up a flag and were just chilling on the side of the road...!
The following day we headed to another village called Purmamarca which has a famous 7 coloured mountain, it was beautiful!!
From here we went to some salt flats, it was crazily windy and we got blown over every time we tried to take a photo!!
The salt flats were bizare as it looked like it was covered in snow but then the floor had formations in it!
The guy who drove us up there lived in a village of 150 people!
We had wanted to go to another village the following day to check out some inca ruins but due to the amount of strikes/blocks we encountered we decided to head to a nearby town called Jujuy instead.
In Jujuy i had my favourite meal since i arrived in South America!! we found this weird bakery/cafe that did a 4 course veggie meal for 2.50! it was delicious and there was even a cake at the end that tasted like custard mmmm!
Last night i took my last big bus journey (20 hours...) back to Buenos Aires!
I leave for Australia next thursday! i can´t beleive how quickly time has gone and that i have less than a week here, eek!
I am going to head back and see my granny, uncles and cousin before i head off and try and see as many friends before i go!
will keep you updated, keep me updated to ;o)
lotsa love
Emz x x x
p.s. to those of you finished exams etc CONGRATULATIONS!!
hope all is good!!
been back from Brazil about 2 weeks now, decided to head to the north of Argentina as it is where there are the most indiginous and ´traditional´ villages.
I started my trip up north to Cordoba a student city! As you can imagine the night life was excellent!!
On a more cultural note, i visited the house Che Guevara grew up in!! It was suprising to me that he was from such an upper class family (im not sure why...). Also i was suprised when i saw his passport and it listed his skin and eye colour as well as his nose and face type! times have certainly changed!
I also did an amazing bike ride... although it involved more gliding down mountains than cycling!!
From Cordoba i headed up to Salta, suprisingly the nightlife here was also crazy. The best known attraction near Salta is the train to the clouds which travels across the north, unfortunatley it was closed for maintenance so i was unable to take it! However i was lucky enough to find three other people who wanted to rent a car and do the accompanying car route!!
It was absolutley gorgeous, we stopped literally every half an hour to take photos!!
I must apologise now for the likely number of photos of multicoloured mountains that will appear on my facebook page!!
After a couple of nights in Salta i headed further up north with one of the people i had shared the car with! We went to a village called Humahuaca (excellent name!!) it was really stunning as there were cactus´everywhere and i felt like a total stranger as all the children on the bus stared at me and my friend with big curious eyes!!
It was freezing at night and i was still cold with thermal pj´s (attractive i know...), 5 blankets, gloves, socks and a hat!
On the way up we came across a strike/road block! it was amazingly chilled compared to English strikes...the people had put bits of tree and car across the road and put up a flag and were just chilling on the side of the road...!
The following day we headed to another village called Purmamarca which has a famous 7 coloured mountain, it was beautiful!!
From here we went to some salt flats, it was crazily windy and we got blown over every time we tried to take a photo!!
The salt flats were bizare as it looked like it was covered in snow but then the floor had formations in it!
The guy who drove us up there lived in a village of 150 people!
We had wanted to go to another village the following day to check out some inca ruins but due to the amount of strikes/blocks we encountered we decided to head to a nearby town called Jujuy instead.
In Jujuy i had my favourite meal since i arrived in South America!! we found this weird bakery/cafe that did a 4 course veggie meal for 2.50! it was delicious and there was even a cake at the end that tasted like custard mmmm!
Last night i took my last big bus journey (20 hours...) back to Buenos Aires!
I leave for Australia next thursday! i can´t beleive how quickly time has gone and that i have less than a week here, eek!
I am going to head back and see my granny, uncles and cousin before i head off and try and see as many friends before i go!
will keep you updated, keep me updated to ;o)
lotsa love
Emz x x x
p.s. to those of you finished exams etc CONGRATULATIONS!!
Monday, 14 May 2007
Brazil in short...
hello!
apologies for lack of updates...im gonna try and not write an essay...but basicly i LOVED Brazil!!
Especially Rio! it is an amazing city, even just to look at! Everywhere is such a contrast as there are beaches, jungle, islands, mountains, tall offices and slums (favelas) all in one place.
last time i wrote i was in Iguassu, it rained sooooo much on the first day that we arrived that the next day when we went to the Argentinian side of the waterfalls (the close up side) we weren´t able to do the boat ride into the falls! i was gutted but enjoyed getting soaked nontheless!
The next day we went to the Brazilian side of the falls (the panaramic view side) and since i couldnt see the falls up close i splurged and did a helicopter ride over them!! it was fantastic!!
After Iguasu we headed to a place called Bonito, which was indeed as it´s name implies pretty!! Also it was a bank holiday in Brazil so the place was full of life!!
On the first day went to a lagoon type thing where there were loads of massive fish in the water! It took quite a while to pluck up the courage to hop in with the fish!!
The next day i went snorkling in cristal clear water! i had to wear a "sexy" wetsuit!! i saw loads of massive fish and snails it was stunning!!
This day was my favourite as in the evening we went to a party in the middle of a massive coutry house, well it was basically a big hut with a DJ and loads of benches and huts around!! I learnt to dance Forro (a brazillian dance) and ended up walking home at 6am and being chased by cows...it was fab!!
Next, onwards to the Pantanal. This is a big wetlands (apparently larger than France) that was like a pretty swamp!
There was soo much wildlife everywhere you looked! especially caiman (alligator type things) and wild horses running around all over the place!
One of the coolest (or scariest bits...) was walking throught the pantanal bare foot and taking a swim in one of the many pools! this was after i had been warned the niht before about piranahs, anacondas etc...!!
We spent 2 nights here sleeping in hammocks, i realised after this that i am a city girl born and bred and we ventured onto the city of campo grande where we caught our flight back to Rio the following day!
I spent the weekend enjoying Rio´s nonstop nightlife, learnt to make caipirinhas (Brazillian cocktail of limes, sugar crushed ice and sugar cane alcohol) and dance a bit of samba (another brazilian dance)!!
On the monday i went to Ihla Grande (a big tropical island) with 2 of the girls from the trip before. we got the ferry to the island at about 5.30 and were able to see the sun setting over the sea and the islands! it was beautiful!!
when we arrived we had to walk across the beach to reach our hostel...it was pretty hilarious as it was pitch black and we had all our stuff on us!!
The following day we did a 2 hour hike to a beach called Lopes Mendes, apparently one of the most beautiful in Brazil! I would definatly agree with that as the sand was pure white, soft and squeaked when you walked on it!! The water was transparent, turqouise and warm and there were fish swimming all around! it was incredible!!
The next day it poured with rain!! the hostel made popcorn and put films on for us as we were pretty restricted in what we could do!!
The evening was fantastic and totally made up for the slow day as we had a party by candlelight as the electricity cut out! it was another late and alcohol fuelled night and i met up with friends i made in Mendoza (argentina)which made the party even better!!
So then back to Rio...
I went and stayed with a childhood friend who is luckily enough to be studying in Rio!!
one of the most interesting parts of my stay with Adam was visiting a favela with his housemate who volunteers in a nursery there. The favelas are sort of shanty towns built up the mountains on the edges of the city. There is often a lot of crime and violence in these places and they are mostly governed by drug dealers.
We went to a mothers day party, some of the mothers there were really really young and others old and it was a really lovely experience!
Oh yeah and one more amzing thing about Rio...CHOCOLATE PIZZA!! thin crisy pizza base with warm melted chocolate and fruit or nuts on top!! delicious!!
why doesnñt it exist in the UK???
sorry for writting an essay! i did my best to summarise my Brazilian adventures!
i am now back in Buenos Aires and have until the end of the month to try and explore some of the north of Argentina and maybe some of Chile!
my bus to cordoba leaves tonight at midnight...
hope everyone is well!!
best of luck you guys doing finals and any evil end of term work!!
muito love
Emz x x x
apologies for lack of updates...im gonna try and not write an essay...but basicly i LOVED Brazil!!
Especially Rio! it is an amazing city, even just to look at! Everywhere is such a contrast as there are beaches, jungle, islands, mountains, tall offices and slums (favelas) all in one place.
last time i wrote i was in Iguassu, it rained sooooo much on the first day that we arrived that the next day when we went to the Argentinian side of the waterfalls (the close up side) we weren´t able to do the boat ride into the falls! i was gutted but enjoyed getting soaked nontheless!
The next day we went to the Brazilian side of the falls (the panaramic view side) and since i couldnt see the falls up close i splurged and did a helicopter ride over them!! it was fantastic!!
After Iguasu we headed to a place called Bonito, which was indeed as it´s name implies pretty!! Also it was a bank holiday in Brazil so the place was full of life!!
On the first day went to a lagoon type thing where there were loads of massive fish in the water! It took quite a while to pluck up the courage to hop in with the fish!!
The next day i went snorkling in cristal clear water! i had to wear a "sexy" wetsuit!! i saw loads of massive fish and snails it was stunning!!
This day was my favourite as in the evening we went to a party in the middle of a massive coutry house, well it was basically a big hut with a DJ and loads of benches and huts around!! I learnt to dance Forro (a brazillian dance) and ended up walking home at 6am and being chased by cows...it was fab!!
Next, onwards to the Pantanal. This is a big wetlands (apparently larger than France) that was like a pretty swamp!
There was soo much wildlife everywhere you looked! especially caiman (alligator type things) and wild horses running around all over the place!
One of the coolest (or scariest bits...) was walking throught the pantanal bare foot and taking a swim in one of the many pools! this was after i had been warned the niht before about piranahs, anacondas etc...!!
We spent 2 nights here sleeping in hammocks, i realised after this that i am a city girl born and bred and we ventured onto the city of campo grande where we caught our flight back to Rio the following day!
I spent the weekend enjoying Rio´s nonstop nightlife, learnt to make caipirinhas (Brazillian cocktail of limes, sugar crushed ice and sugar cane alcohol) and dance a bit of samba (another brazilian dance)!!
On the monday i went to Ihla Grande (a big tropical island) with 2 of the girls from the trip before. we got the ferry to the island at about 5.30 and were able to see the sun setting over the sea and the islands! it was beautiful!!
when we arrived we had to walk across the beach to reach our hostel...it was pretty hilarious as it was pitch black and we had all our stuff on us!!
The following day we did a 2 hour hike to a beach called Lopes Mendes, apparently one of the most beautiful in Brazil! I would definatly agree with that as the sand was pure white, soft and squeaked when you walked on it!! The water was transparent, turqouise and warm and there were fish swimming all around! it was incredible!!
The next day it poured with rain!! the hostel made popcorn and put films on for us as we were pretty restricted in what we could do!!
The evening was fantastic and totally made up for the slow day as we had a party by candlelight as the electricity cut out! it was another late and alcohol fuelled night and i met up with friends i made in Mendoza (argentina)which made the party even better!!
So then back to Rio...
I went and stayed with a childhood friend who is luckily enough to be studying in Rio!!
one of the most interesting parts of my stay with Adam was visiting a favela with his housemate who volunteers in a nursery there. The favelas are sort of shanty towns built up the mountains on the edges of the city. There is often a lot of crime and violence in these places and they are mostly governed by drug dealers.
We went to a mothers day party, some of the mothers there were really really young and others old and it was a really lovely experience!
Oh yeah and one more amzing thing about Rio...CHOCOLATE PIZZA!! thin crisy pizza base with warm melted chocolate and fruit or nuts on top!! delicious!!
why doesnñt it exist in the UK???
sorry for writting an essay! i did my best to summarise my Brazilian adventures!
i am now back in Buenos Aires and have until the end of the month to try and explore some of the north of Argentina and maybe some of Chile!
my bus to cordoba leaves tonight at midnight...
hope everyone is well!!
best of luck you guys doing finals and any evil end of term work!!
muito love
Emz x x x
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