U.S.A. (chant, repeat)

Great to be back in the States. Arrived in Newark this afternoon after an eight hour flight and my parents surprised me at the airport, so I am in Philly tonight and enjoying myself before heading back to NYC tomorrow.

Has been a great three months of travel. Some stats from the two trips:

42 cities/towns visited (either on a day trip or at least one night spent in the location)
16 countries visited
9 different languages encountered

3,400+ miles traveled by train in Europe
3,100+ miles traveled by bus in South America

3: average daily count of gelato consumed in Rome
2: times I was a victim of fly-by pigeon droppings
1: times my debit card was eaten by an ATM (digested whole, successfully recovered)

Thanks to all who were able to meet up abroad with me at some point , and to everyone for all the support over the past few months. My trips were that much better because of all of you. Was a fantastic experience, but it's always nice to come home. Until next time.

JH

Lisbon Finale

Have had an enjoyable weekend in Lisbon to put the finishing touches on my Euro trip. This city is pretty and unique in its own ways, though I think its up there as one of the hardest to navigate by foot because the maps are crappy, the street layout is a mess, and the street names themselves are, not surprisingly, in Portuguese which makes them very hard to correctly pronounce when asking locals (and they seem to enjoy watching tourists get lost and wander around their hilly streets). First on my tourist attraction list yesterday was the Castelo do Sao Jorge and it took me about two hours to find the place, and its not that far from my hostel. Youd think that a giant castle on the top of a hill would be easy to find but you would be wrong. After many wrong turns, dead ends, and much huffing and puffing I found the place and it was very cool and provided some great views of the city.

Lisbon (first and second pictures)

Last night a bunch of us from the hostel got dinner then went to an outdoor fado show. Fado is traditional Portuguese music which is a bit melancholy in its original form but we went to a local street party in the Alfama neighborhood that had a lively fado singer and a dance beat and everyone danced for hours. Was a lot of fun and combined with the street fair gave us a good feel for how Lisboas citizens get down on a Saturday night. Then we hit a club afterwards called Lux that was a cool spot but had lame music. Oh well, overall the night was a good one. Also, our group from the hostel for most of the night had two American guys, one Australian girl, one French girl, one Brazilian guy, and one guy from Estonia. Keeping it diverse.

Moorish Castle at Sintra

Today a few of us took the 40 minute train ride north to a town called Sintra which is very pretty and has its own castle that dominates the one in Lisbon. Awesome views, nice little cafes, and some Moorish history lessons all mixed together. A good day for my last full one on the road before I fly back to the States tomorrow. Hard to believe that I left for Rio de Janeiro three months ago, but I am very excited to come home.

Madrid

Spain´s night life is helping me convert to siesta culture in a hurry. These people know how to party, and I have a string of late nights in Barcelona and now Madrid to confirm the hype that I had heard about these places. Arrived in Madrid yesterday and walked around a bit in the afternoon then took a solid nap. Last night went out with a guy from my hostel and his buddy who lives in Madrid, then we met up with some other hostel people from all different nationalities and went dancing at this Latin club til the wee hours. Good stuff, and this town is growing on me.


Today I went to the Museo del Prado and saw some great Spanish art. Saw the Royal Palace as well and in between enjoyed a nice lunch of paella, some steak, and red wine. Again, the Spanish know how to enjoy themselves as they take super long lunches in the early afternoon. Not sure how people actually have jobs here but then again I don´t have one. Will definitely be coming back to Spain to spend more time at some point.

As for now I´m about to head out for my overnight train to my final stop: Lisbon. Hard to believe the travels are almost coming to an end, but I am psyched for a weekend in Portugal.

Barcelona

Not surprisingly, FC Barcelona's colors and gear line every major street in this pretty town. Arrived here Tuesday morning after a 14 hour overnight train ride from Milan. Was not too bad of a ride though our sleeper car was hot as hell for the first couple of hours.

Barcelona has been awesome so far, and reminds me of a more cosmopolitan Rio de Janeiro. Strolled down La Rambla (the main avenue in Central Barcelona) with a couple people from my hostel mid-day yesterday and walked down to the beach. Very pretty, and very clean. Made it over to La Sagrada Familia in the afternoon - Gaudi´s masterpiece of a cathedral that was started in 1882 and is still being worked on today...on schedule for a 2030 finish. Unique structure, especially as far as cathedrals go.

La Sagrada Familia

Our hostel hosted a sangria party last night then a big group of us went out to a local club until 4:30a. When we left, the place was still bumping (with mostly American music - I was feeling the Flo Rida). But Club Roxy closes early on Tuesdays at 5:30a. Spain knows how to party.

Today I visited the Museo Picasso which was one of my more enjoyable museum experiences. The museum is put together well with stages of Picasso´s life explained (in Catalana, Español, and English) in the front of each room then a series of paintings from that period in his life. Was very interesting to see how his style of painting drastically changed throughout his lifetime. I am a big fan. Also, the guy painted a TON.

Strolled a bit more around the city and enjoyed the sun, and had a nice tapas lunch. Now it´s time for a late afternoon siesta.

Firenze and Siena

Florence
Have spent the weekend in Florence (Firenze in Italiano) and it has been a good one. Had a nice day strolling yesterday and visiting the Accademia to see Michelangelo's David statue, which was all it was cracked up to be. Sculptural perfection. Then visited the Duomo and made it to the top for a fantastic view of the city amid the rolling hills of Tuscany. Yet another sweet town in Italy.

Today I took a day trip to Siena which is only 1.5 hours away by train. Very cool little town, and the main Piazza del Campo is one of my favorites, as far as piazze go. The town has a great vibe, which I was feeling even while getting dumped on by 25 minutes of torrential rain (got stranded in an alley when the rain started, under an old arch - less than ideal for shelter). First rainy day in weeks.

Siena's Piazza del Campo
Sadly, my action-packed tour of Italy is coming to an end tomorrow, but it has been a great twelve days in my new favorite country. Tomorrow I head to Milan in the morning where I will spend a few hours before hopping an overnight train to Barcelona. Definitely looking forward to my next stop as I hear good things about Barcelona, and hopefully the town is still partying after FC Barcelona's big win last week. But more important matters to take care of tonight, i.e. gorging myself on my last authentic Italian dinner for a while.

Naples, Pompei, the Amalfi Coast, and Capri

Naples
Has been a very enjoyable last few days here in Southern Italy. I spent Monday afternoon and evening in Naples and hung out with Renee's cousins - had a blast. Her cousin Celene was the best tour guide and took me all over town on the back of her motorino (scooter), which made for a true Napolitano experience. I had no idea Naples was such a pretty town. I did have some idea that the town claims to have the best pizza, and I confirmed that claim at Da Michele.

Tuesday I took the Circumvesuviana train to a town outside of Sorrento called Sant'Agnello (one hour south of Napoli) - beautiful, tiny coastal town and a perfect base for visiting the ruins of Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast, and the island of Capri.

Pompei
Pompei was a very cool experience as there is so much of the town still intact despite Vesuvius wiping out the population almost 2,000 years ago. There are countless well-preserved structures amid dozens of city blocks, some very detailed and colorful mosaics inside different (roofless) houses, and even a couple victims on display (the victims were people or animals that were killed after the eruption but their forms appear almost frozen by the ash that enveloped the city).

Spent all day up and down the Amalfi Coast yesterday: it is a 40 minute bus ride to Positano and another 50 minutes to Amalfi. Positano is the prettier of the two towns, but both are gorgeous. Huge cliffs jutting straight into the ocean in front of tree-covered hills, and the towns are full of multi-colored houses built on the rock with small streets that wind along the hillsides through the town. So pretty (pic to the right).

Green Grotto of Capri (we swam through that)
Today a group from my hostel took a boat trip to the island of Capri. Was a blast. Capri is a pretty island off the coast of the mainland here, and the coastline looks similar to the Amalfi coast. But we had two local Napolitano guides and our own boat with food, beer, and biscotti, and this means of transport beat any bus or train I've been on. After spending a few hours on the island, our guides returned and picked us up at the marina, then we went around the island and explored the three different grottos along the coastline. The grottos are naturally formed caves in the cliffs along the ocean that are each named for the colors they produce when the sun shines through the openings. Awesome. Lots of swimming, a little bit of jellyfish (though no sting victims), and plenty of sun. Great day. Will be bummed to leave Italia but I've already come up with a laundry list of excuses to return.

Roman Holiday

Roman Forum w/ Colosseum in background
Rome has quickly catapulted into the top spot for my favorite city. Incredible, truly. So much history and so many ancient ruins mixed in with modern cafes, restaurants, wild people, great little side streets, and the best food. It is hot, loud, in your face, dangerous to walk around (solely due to Vespas filling every gap in stopped or moving traffic), and often crowded despite how massive the city is - chaos, really. And it is a beautiful thing. Long blog entry beginning...now:

Arrived here Friday evening and Im staying with my buddy Zandy as he is in Italy for the week and is meeting up with his family up north on Monday. We hit the tourist attractions hard yesterday - started at the Vatican Museum, and thanks to the tips of Rick Steves (my new favorite guidebook author) and our quick thinking we didnt have to wait at all to get in. The museum has a staggering amount of sculptures dating back thousands of years, and some very ornate ceilings and artwork (ornate is an understatement). The finale of the museum tour is Michelangelo's masterpiece in the Sistene Chapel. Jaw-dropping paintings and detail - truly amazing, and surreal to finally see in person after hearing so many things about the place. But perhaps the most surprising aspect of the Chapel was how every sign and guidebook said that pictures were not allowed, yet the museum staff silently watched tourists shamelessly snapping photos with flashes by the dozens. I may have snuck in a couple photos myself.

Inside the Colosseum

Next was St. Peter's Basilica (above) which we were able to enter through the Sistene Chapel, thereby bypassing the line outside. The Basilica is the largest church in the world by a longshot, and pictures do not accurately illustrate how huge it is inside. I read that it can hold 60,000 people. Pretty amazing. And there are more incredible sculptures and artwork that line the walls and ceilings. Started to get numb at the beauty of this place by that point in the sightseeing, but then we walked outside into St. Peter's Square which is a grand outdoor plaza surrounded by a semi-circle of statue-mounted columns. There is a fountain on either side and an obelisk in the center, and plenty of empty space for gatherings - symmetrical and sculptural perfection. The only thing missing was a Pope sighting.

Since we did not have to wait much at all for the Vatican City sights, I decided to head over to Ancient Rome and see the Colosseum and Roman Forum (Z arrived to Rome before me and already visited these). Incredible. Really beyond words, especially because the structure is still standing and it is 2,000 years old (I'm having a hard time writing about this stuff as I feel like a broken record and I am running out of new words to describe the sights). Walking up to the Colosseum and then inside and around the stadium seating was quite an experience. I kept envisioning the gladiators in the center with the raucous crowd cheering, just as in the movie. Then the Forum (the main square where it is said Rome began) is not far from the Colosseum, and is filled with columns and ruins from centuries ago that are still standing (at least partially) as well as the Temple of Caesar and other relics of that ancient civilization. Awesome.

Ok that was exhausting to type. So many things to see here, and I didnt even mention the Pantheon temple (above) and Trevi Fountain, which are unique and terrific in their own ways. Bottom line: if you haven't already, visit Rome before you die. It is a must.

Italia

Finally made it to the country I've anticipated most. Arrived in Venice yesterday with my bro and spent the day and night there. Very unique town and very pretty. Hundreds of canals filled with gondolas and bridges all over the place, winding streets and dead-ends that guarantee getting lost (we did), and very old world feel. Public transporation there is by vaporetti, which are water taxi boats.

Jerm and I had a great time seeing the major sights in Venice (Basilica di San Marco, Rialto Bridge, etc.) and just walking around for hours. We grabbed dinner last night and our first Italian dinner in Italy somehow surpassed my obnoxiously high expectations. Had an insanely good meal at this little spot a few streets in from the Grand Canal. Nine euros for one liter of delicious vino della casa (we may have taken down two reds), tomatoes and mozzarella for the antipasto, spinach and ricotta filled gnocchi for my first course, delicious fish for my second (the name escapes me), some tiramisu, and almost too much bread with olive oil and balsamic...but not quite too much. Weight-gain mode in full effect.

After a great visit my brother flew home this morning and I took a train to Florence for the afternoon and night before heading to Rome tomorrow for the weekend. My hostel is right off the gorgeous Plaza della Repubblica, though operated by a guy who seems to be a few slices short of a pizza pie. Ive just been chilling here today and got a much needed haircut and beard trim (pretty high and tight for both the head and stubble, but necessary for the warmer weather) after enjoying un po di gelati. Then I spent the rest of the afternoon walking around amid incredible architecture and scouting the town for when I return here next week to spend more than just a day. Will be relaxing tonight with some more outstanding food and likely my second helping of gelato for the day.

Vienna

Austria´s capital is a pretty one. Jeremy and I have hit most of the main tourist draws, including the Hofburg Palace, St. Stephen´s Cathedral, the Parliament and City Hall buildings, plenty of older Baroque-era theaters, and Mozart´s apartment from when he lived here for a few years. To be honest, everything was awesome except for Mozart's apartment which was a letdown (I think because Salzburg, his birth place, has the rights to all of his original music, property, etc. This museum had nothing except claim to his original apartment, which was interesting as it is where he wrote Figaro, but overall a bit weak).

Today held the highlight of Vienna: the Schönbrunn Palace and palace grounds from where the Habsberg monarchy ruled. The grounds were massive and beautiful and Jerm and I walked all over. Great gardens, majestic fountains, incredible sculptures, and an unbeatable view of all Vienna from the top of a hill. Feeling strong after our palace visit, we ventured into the Naschmarkt (had authentic wiener schnitzel there yesterday) for another solid meal and some more good Austrian bier.

We cut out Salzburg from our itinerary due to my bro´s schedule and we are taking an overnight sleeper train to Venice tonight which should be Eurotrip-esque. Then we have a full day in Venice before he has to fly out Thursday morning. I am pumped to start my time in Italia.

Prague - Czech it out

Prague's Old Town Square
Pretty cool city here - beautiful castles (apparently there are 100 spires  in Prague), very pretty streets, and fun night life.  Having a good old time despite coming here with no idea what to expect and very little idea of what to see (the Czech Republic is not covered in my Lonely Planet, and I was lazy about getting another guide book).

Highlights so far in Prague: Prague Castle that sits on a hill above the river and has several old cathedrals within; Charles Bridge with it's old statues and dime a dozen local artists; the bar and club scene which can have a very Euro feel; and last but certainly not least the 24 hour bratwurst stands on the street corners (though I think all the sausage and Pilsner Urquell consumption is starting to catch up with me).  

Have one more night here and will spend it with my youngest bro (arrived last night) and my friend Ed from work who was nearby for business (seriously) before Jeremy and I head to Austria tomorrow.  TK had to fly back this morning after an awesome stay.  And now it's nap time.

Street sausage stand

More Deutschland

Leipzig at night
Tom and I had a very nice stay with my friend Annemarie in Leipzig (my bro and I met her in an Argentine hostel and she so graciously offered us her apartment for the night) - rented a rowboat on a river in town and paddled around for the afternoon with some local brews, then we all had dinner and we went out with her for a bit to her colleague's art show then to her favorite local spot which was this giant bar and dance club that looked more like a dungeon. Very cool, and Leipzig has a solid vibe.

Tom and I took the train south this morning and stopped in Dresden, Germany for a few hours. Beautiful town - old looking architecture (though much of it had to be rebuilt after the WWII firebombings) and situated right on the Elbe river. A beautiful mix of new commercial development with the old surviving buildings and churches. And the weather was perfect, as were the bratwursts and beers we took down in the town square before catching the train to Prague.

About to head out on a pub crawl here in Prague. First impression of the hostel is that it is a decent one. And more sausages are in our near future (in more ways than one as we are sleeping in a six bed dorm).

Dresden

Amsterdam, now Berlin

Amsterdam 
Everything you've read or heard about Amsterdam is true. It is a beautiful city with canals running all through town and very pretty 17th century architecture lining the streets. Tom and I have had solid weather, adding to the daytime appeal of this place. It's such a civilized city on the surface, so it feels a bit funny to walk by a couple kids legally rolling some reefers outside a coffee shop in the middle of the afternoon. But that provided a glimpse of the other culture in Amsterdam, which takes the spotlight at night. And when it gets dark in Amsterdam the city is quite different than in the daytime. As a packaged deal it is a pretty cool place to visit.

Berliner Dome
TK and I took a six hour train ride to Berlin last night and once we successfully navigated the S-bahn (local train system) we arrived at our hostel and got a feel for the neighborhood here. We got a bite to eat at a local biergarten which had very good German food (veal meatloaf and meatballs), then headed back to our hostel to enjoy the `Monday Madness´ at the hostel´s bar. Beers cost one euro and boots cost eight euros (boots hold over two liters of beer) - needless to say we parked it here with some other guests for a while. Things are a bit hazy this morning, but we are feeling strong and are headed out to sightsee. On the list for today: the Brandenberg Gate, Reichstag, Holocaust Museum, and Berlin Wall (the 1.3km that is left of it). Pretty pumped.

Brussels, Belgium

Final experience in Paris: was sitting at a cafe in the quasi-outdoor international train station, Gare du Nord, waiting for my train to Brussels and a pigeon took a dump on my right arm. It almost went unnoticed, but it was too disgusting and as a result took my long-sleeved shirt total for this trip from three down to two. FYI.

Moving on, I had a fun afternoon in Brussels and it was consumption-packed: hit up a local frites place (Belgians claim they invented fries) that had 46 different kinds of sauce to go with the fries; then had some local beers and a croque monsieur sandwich at a recommended bar; and finished it all off with some ice cream. Gross, yet awesome. Oh and I did some good sight-seeing as well. The main square here is pretty cool.

Going to go try and navigate the French and Flemish street signs around here and see what this town has to offer on a Tuesday night.

Paris

It was only a matter of time before I left the spoiled environment of a country whose people speak the same language as I do (though most people we met speak English anyway). No matter, everything about Paris (besides the fashion sense of Parisian men) has been beautiful.

Have had a great time with my Mom and grandmom here (they were both in town for my grandmom's 80th birthday present and left for the U.S. this morning), and we have mastered the town and seen all the major attractions.

Highlights: the Musee d'Orsay, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, and of course taking an elevator to the top of the Eiffel Tower for some incredible views. The Arc de Triomphe is right near where we stayed, and it might be my favorite landmark in the city.

Paris itself has a very relaxed cafe culture that is easy to get used to, though I think we experienced more crowds than usual as this past weekend was a holiday weekend in France. Regardless, I've had a blast these last four days.
main entrance to the Louvre

London in 48 hours

Having a great time in London. Arrived here Wednesday afternoon and met up with my buddy Bruce outside his office after taking the overground train from the airport. As he finished up work I re-entered tourist mode and visited St. Paul's Cathedral. Absolutely beautiful, and there was a choir singing when I arrived which helped the hairs on the back of my neck stand up even further. And to think of how old everything here is is crazy - the sign at the entrance of St. Paul's said that a church has stood on that site continuously since 600 AD.

Wednesday night we went out in Fulham/Chelsea area where Bruce lives and watched the first half of the Manchester United - Arsenal game. Saw the only goal of the match, then met up with our friend Carl and had a pretty big night. Was glad I didn't have to get up for work in the morning.

Yesterday I did the standard tourist circuit in the City - hit up Big Ben and Parliament, spent an hour in Westminster Abbey (incredible), and saw Buckingham Palace. Very cool. Big Ben is gorgeous and so detailed, and Westminster Abbey has a mind boggling amount of history inside of it (as does the rest of London). There are graves or memorials for some of the most important Britons in history, including many royal figures, authors like Chaucer and Shakespeare, war heroes, and even Charles Darwin (go figure).

After my sight seeing I met up with Bruce and a couple guys he works with, as one of his colleagues is a former muay thai fighter (trained in Thailand for a bit and fought semi-professionally for years) and trains at a place in East London. I went along and it was awesome. Great to workout, and while I was definitely a bit rusty I held my own with some of the aspiring MMA guys in the gym when we sparred for 45 minutes at the end. My shins have the bruises to prove it.


I'm off to Paris this afternoon to meet up with my Mom and grandmom. Very excited.

Blarney Castle and Kilarney

Left Cork this morning and visited Blarney Castle and the castle grounds. Classic Ireland scenery (at least compared to what I was expecting). The castle was incredible and put Kilkenny's to shame. Had a great walk up through tight stairwells, dark stone hallways, and 500+ year old rooms, and our visit to the castle ended when we each kissed the Blarney Stone. True to legend we received the gift of gab, and became the two latest part-Irish tourists to check that off their lifelong to do list.

We then drove further west to Kilarney which sits on the coast of a few giant lakes inside Kilarney National Park. Walked around here today and again the countryside was beautiful. We are very close to the Ring of Kerry (an area of spectacular scenery and another popular tourist destination) but unfortunately will have to save that journey for another trip as my dad and I both fly out tomorrow.

view from Blarney Castle, post stone kiss

Has been a great stay in Ireland. The people are super nice, happy, and they all love to socialize over a pint (or four) - very easy to feel welcome here. Will definitely be returning in the future.

Kilkenny and Cork

Before I left the States, a few people told me to make sure I got out of Dublin to experience the best parts of Ireland. My dad and I had a blast in Dublin, so I was pretty pumped to leave there today and drive South. After a tasty full Irish breakfast (the local cafe near our Dublin hostel had it's own version - fried egg, two sausage links, two pieces of bacon, baked beans, half of a tomato, and blood sausage), we hit the road. Kilkenny Castle

Kilkenny is a small town a little less than halfway between Dublin and Cork. Very old school little town with shop-filled streets and a medieval castle (first built in the 12th century) as the main attraction. Pops and I stopped here for about three hours, checked out the castle, walked the streets (which were dominated by local high school kids on their lunch hour), grabbed a bite at a bar and grill, then headed further south and west for Cork.
Street in Cork

Maybe it is because I love crew and many water sports, but it's hard for me not to like a city that has a river nearby. Cork is one of those cities - has a good sized river and the channel actually splits, and both parts flow by the main section of town. The town has a nice feel to it and is less touristy than Dublin. Did some sightseeing tonight and had dinner at a local bar and ended up meeting three local guys by the end of the meal. Two of them stuck around and we bar-hopped for a bit. Total wankers. Have not laughed that hard in a long time and we had a blast. First six hours in Cork have been very good ones.Dad and I with our two new friends

Dublin, Ireland

St. Patrick's Cathedral

So far so good in Dublin. After we rented a car and braved driving to the city center from the airport on the wrong side of the road this morning, my dad and I went to a local spot for lunch and each enjoyed a bowl of lamb stew and a pint of very good Guinness. We walked around town for a bit then took a much needed Irish siesta to wait out the rain showers. Post-nap the sun came out and we did some more exploring, then parked it in some pub and had a few pints while locals were already dancing hard...at 7:45 at night. We watched rugby and hung there for a while, then got a bite to eat down the street, then went to another watering hole in Temple Bar that was packed and had great live music. Just getting back now after spending a couple hours there. We may or may not be pissed at the moment (to use a local phrase). Sleep will come easy ahead of tomorrow's sight seeing.









Temple Bar area at night

Round Two - Europe

Hi again. After a great time back at home, I am about to ship off for trip number two and I'm very excited. Stop one is Ireland - flying into Dublin tonight with my dad. We will be renting a car there and we'll be touring the countryside for the next five days before my pops heads back to the U.S. Will be a blast. I'll check in again from across the pond..

Home

Happy Easter. I changed my flights to come back to the States a few days early and surprise the fam. Trip #1 complete, and it is damn good to be back. The finishing touch - a South American winning the Masters today. Poor Kenny Perry.

A Good Friday

Yes, that's what I titled this entry. Deal with it.

Had a solid day here in Quito. Got breakfast at a place nearby this morning then walked around town for a while. Enjoyed some nice pastries from the local panaderia, then found a decent spot to watch the Good Friday procession through town. Was interesting, but not a whole lot of fanfare (or variety for that matter) - the procession featured hundreds and hundreds of people in all purple robes, with hoods, walking through the streets and each group of 30 or so had someone dressed up as Jesus who was carrying a large wooden cross within their group. Each Jesus had to take at least one break while I was watching, as the crosses they each carried were huge. And the purple robes were a bit strange as they looked like KKK uniforms (I'm hesitant to say but they did). There were a couple marching bands sprinkled throughout the procession, but overall it was low-key despite an enormous turnout by the local population.

In addition to the sporadic music today one constant of the afternoon was the sound of street vendors yelling out, trying to sell anything you could think of. I'm talking drinks, snacks, ice cream, cigarettes, candied apples, "Happy Easter" picture frames, rosaries, shoe laces, flip flop bottoms (with no thong attached), hats, small children, etc. Definitely the biggest selection of street goods that I've seen in my travels thus far. The list grew to include umbrellas, ponchos, and other rain gear this evening at the outdoor mass I attended in Plaza San Francisco (it started pouring rain shortly after the start). A versatile sales force here in Ecuador.

Next stop tbd.

...Quito

The border crossing yesterday evening was a bit shady, as expected. My bus from Mancora arrived 30 minutes late, and when I finally got on I felt like I was interrupting some Peruvian family gathering as there were people (adults and kids) sprawled out across many of the seats, including my assigned seat so I decided to pick a new one. When we arrived at the Peruvian immigration checkpoint in Aguas Verdes, we were filed into a dimly lit hallway where we had to get our departure stamps one at a time. There were a couple giant cockroaches running around, and they provided a nice accent to the process. Within ten minutes I got my stamp, handed in my customs form, and got back on the bus. One minute later a mom sat down next to me and started breast-feeding her child. So that was interesting. But I was unfazed and ready for the next checkpoint. On to Ecuador.

A short while later after crossing the ¨bridge¨ we arrived at the checkpoint in Huaquillas, Ecuador. The customs window there was outdoors so it thankfully lacked the feel of a third world prison. Got my temporary visa for Ecuador, and then I had to get into a taxi with a woman who worked for the bus company through which I bought my ticket to Quito. Apparently there are no direct buses to Quito from Peru, which I was told while on the bus. I wouldve rather known that ahead of time, but oh well.

So Im in the taxi with this woman in the backseat (she seemed trustworthy enough, relatively speaking, and I had no other choice), and I sat right behind the driver. I may have looked tense as I was watching the cabbie and ready to pound him if necessary. We drove to the bus station in town, and drove around crowds of people in tiny dirt streets with all types of people selling all kinds of things. When we turned onto the last side road on which the bus terminal was located, the scene from Clear and Present Danger came to mind - the one where Harrison Ford´s motorcade gets gunned at from the rooftops in Bogotá. Thankfully that didn´t happen, and I got on the bus one hour later (and I seemed to be the only gringo on this bus and the first bus).

The bus ride was not that smooth - kind of a crappy bus and the roads in Ecuador are mostly two lanes and all seem to have speed bumps every 15 minutes. Doesn´t make for a sound sleep. But there were only a couple stops (including one where police boarded our bus asking for documents) and 12 hours later we arrived to Quito on time.

A bit exhausting. Definitely was the most eventful travel experience I have had down here, and I am glad it´s over. I need a shower.

On to Ecuador

It has been a relaxing couple days in Máncora. Good weather, good beach, good chilling. Had a lot of nice interactions with the locals here - from conversations on the beach to watching yesterday morning´s local news broadcast of former President Fujimori´s sentencing for human rights abuses. All very interesting, and made for some solid experiences to end my two plus weeks in Peru.

Now its time for me to move on to my fifth and final country down here - taking a bus to Quito this afternoon. Should be my last major bus ride of the trip, and hopefully it will be as smooth as the rest. TBD.

Máncora

My last stop in Peru has so far come through as advertised - Máncora is a pretty nice beach town that is very chill. People in this small coastal town are laid back, including those at my hostel. The place where I am staying consists of a group of bungalows that is situated on top of a hill overlooking the main (dusty) road and the ocean, and I have a nice view of the beach. Is a relaxing spot - definitely my speed right now after an action-packed stretch throughout Southern Peru.

I spent a few hours at the beach today (standard Monday), and now Im going to venture back into town to buy my bus ticket to Ecuador. Trying to get it early to beat the Easter Weekend travel rush (there are many fans of that holiday down here in South America). And I´m making sure I get my ticket through the one bus company that has been recommended by my guide book and other travelers, as apparently the Peru/Ecuador border crossing is a bit shady. I guess I will see for myself soon enough.

Lima

Renee and I arrived in Lima yesterday morning and stayed in a nice neighborhood here last night called Miraflores. Lima is a huge city - 9m people - and very modern, especially compared to everywhere else I have been in Peru. Most importantly, there is a 24 hour supermarket across the street (reminds me of Whole Foods) that I just hit up for a luxury item that I have not seen once in South America: pretzels. You can bet that I will enjoy them immensely on my bus ride tonight.

So Renee left this morning, which I was bummed about, but since she still lives in the real world she had to get back. I am heading north this afternoon to Mancora, Peru, which supposedly has one of the nicest beaches in Peru. Will let you know if that is the case.

Lago Titikaka and Puno, Peru

Puno is a pretty nice town on the shore of Lake Titicaca, and yesterday Renee and I explored the famous Lake and some of its islands on a boat tour. The first part of our tour stopped at one of the Uros Islands, which are floating islands made of reeds that the Aymara people have been making for thousands of years and some families still live on them. It was like stepping into a totally different world - their houses and boats are made entirely of reeds and they even eat the reeds. Next stop was to a much larger, natural island called Taquile which is inhabitated by the Quechua. Was very interesting to see their home and culture. Overall the scenery by the lake is very pretty as the water goes on as far as one can see (it is the largest lake in South America) and at 4,000 meters altitude the air and water look crystal clear.

Last night for dinner I decided to try cuy, a Peruvian specialty: fried, whole guinea pig. The presentation was quite nice as it came sitting up on my plate with a tomato wedge crown on it´s head and carrot in its mouth (teeth were still in). Overall the dish tasted decent but did not have a lot of meat on the bones - somewhat disappointing for something that was described as a favorite of the Inca Kings.

Machu Picchu

There are no words to describe the awe of Machu Picchu. Renee and I visited the place yesterday and it was without question the highlight of my trip so far. We took the train to and from the site like my bro did which was a bit long, but well worth it. It was cloudy when we first got there around noon and you couldn´t really see Wayna Picchu (the big mountain behind the ruins in all the pictures - link below). But it started clearing up and Renee and I hustled through the ruins to try and get to Wayna Picchu before the 1pm cut off and we were successful. We were visitors #383 and 384 at 12:42pm - they close the gate to the mountain after 400 people, or at 1pm (whichever comes first). The climb was tough but the views were spectacular as most of the clouds cleared up for us, but some remained which added to the mystique of the ruins.

Machu Picchu is really a wonder, and I have the pictures to prove it (but still have not uploaded any - will try again soon). We explored the grounds for a couple hours after our climb and did not want to leave at the end of the day. It is an incredible place.

Machu Picchu w/ Wayna in the background (again, we climbed to the top of Wayna):

http://z.about.com/d/archaeology/1/0/_/B/machu_picchu1.jpg

Renee and I are now in Puno, Peru on the shores of Lake Titicaca. Very pretty. We had a exciting, adventurous, and surprisingly seamless trip here today. We showed up at the bus station in Cusco at 9:15 this morning and asked two companies about buses to Puno (a lot of the websites, just like the plumbing in Cusco, were not working last night or today), and we only found ones that departed late tonight. Then we walked up to another company I had heard of and found out they had a direct bus to Puno that just left at 9am. The woman behind the counter got all psyched up and told us she would pay for the cab for us to catch the bus and we could board it when we caught up. Was ridiculous, but it worked. She came with and it went great- we caught the bus in less than 15 minutes and got here to Puno on schedule, six hours later. Scheduled to tour some of the islands of the Lake tomorrow - should be good.

Colca, now Cusco

Thursday and Friday were long days but well worth it - Colca Canyon is absolutely incredible. I thought the landscapes I have seen over the past few weeks would be hard to top, but the canyon and nearby valley are beautiful - giant, green mountains as far as you can see with a river running all through the valley and small towns along the hillsides. It was so picturesque that it almost looked fake - and my weak attempt at describing the place definitely does not do it justice.

My group of four had great weather on both days and hiked a lot - 6 hours total on Thursday (mostly downhill into the canyon), and 4 hours total Friday (all uphill from the bottom to the top - legs are still killing me). We stayed in bamboo huts in the bottom of the canyon on Thursday night and the huts had grass roofs and dirt floors. And our "oasis" had zero electricity. So you can imagine that arriving there in the dark on day 1 and leaving again in the dark on day 2 at 5am made things a bit interesting (for navigation and for hygiene). But all in all a great two days.

This morning I arrived in Cusco, Peru, a mere 80km from Machu Picchu. The town is completely overrun with tourists (which I guess is to be expected), though it still has some local character as evidenced by the festive street parade this afternoon in the Plaza de Armas. Kind of a dull, sleepy afternoon here as I wait for Renee to get here tomorrow morning. Tomorrow we will plan our next few days here, which will revolve around our visit to the Lost City of the Incas. Very psyched.

Arequipa, Peru

Another stop along the Andes means another visit to a picturesque town set in a valley below snow-capped volcanoes. So far Arequipa is pretty cool - decent size town with the most beautiful Plaza de Armas I have seen so far (I think most South American towns have this centrally located square/plaza). But I came here for the canyon trek, and after some initial setbacks last night and today (tourist low season = less availability for 2 day treks, the bus route to Cusco is shut down due to striking workers, etc.), I just booked my trip and am set to leave on a two dayer to Colca Canyon tomorrow morning at 3:30am. There will be lots of hiking so it should be good prep for Machu Picchu next week, and tomorrow night will be interesting as I rough it in some bungalow in the bottom of the canyon. Also, Colca Canyon is over twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. I am psyched.

Getting here yesterday from Chile was a bit of an adventure. To cross the border into Peru, one has to hire a collectivo which is a group taxi - not many buses make the relatively short trip from Arica to Arequipa. Thankfully two other people from my hostel were going the same way so the three of us pulled up to the bus station in Arica and were instantly mobbed by collectivo drivers trying to get our business - they were literally sticking their heads in the windows of our cab and yapping at us before we got out. It was a total mess, and once we picked a driver one of us had to watch our bags by the car, another had to take our passports to get tickets, and another had to pay some b.s. parking lot tax in Arica before we could leave. Anyway, we made it through the border along with two other Chileans in our cramped car (six in the car, total) and then boarded a bus for Arequipa a little while later. And that six hour bus ride was the scariest one yet as our driver apparently did not feel the need to use the brakes very often. Some of the turns this guy made around the sides of the mountains were incredible/terrifying. But we made it.

Arica/misc.

Arrived in Arica early this morning and spent most of the day outside. Decent beach town but not a whole lot going on and the beaches are pretty empty (it is a Monday I guess). Was going to try for a surf lesson tomorrow but I have decided to head out a day early to Arequipa, Peru - canyon country - so I can set up a multi-day trek there before I leave for Cusco Friday night.

Not much to write home about Arica, so some very general observations on South America thus far:

- everyone here loves ice cream (ice cream stands are all over)
- all bottled soda is/has expired, be it three days or three months (seriously. cans are fresh)
- stray dogs live in every town
- graffiti is in every town, regardless of how developed it is and including the random towns I have passed on bus trips
* the graffiti here is particularly strange, as most of the stuff I can translate is harmless yet it takes away from some beautiful places. e.g. in Mendoza there is a giant outdoor park, and my bro and I were walking along and saw that someone had spray-painted nonsense on some trees. Why? Not cool.

Besides the above, South America has been a great place to visit and I trust it will continue to be so. I will leave you with one last observation: I was eating lunch outside today and a rather large, older woman walked by wearing a hot pink shirt that said ¨Feeling Naughty¨in English in big black letters. I hoped/feared she knew what that meant, but I did not bother to ask.

San Pedro - 1, Yellowstone - 0

The geyser trip was a success as I found a different spot in town that runs Sunday tours. After a false alarm last night around 8pm with the tourist agency initially saying that the cops closed the geyser park for today due to bad weather (which obviously would have cancelled our trip), they changed their minds last minute and we ended up going this morning at 4am. Well worth the 3:45 wakeup.

El Tatio is the name of the geyser park and it holds the highest altitude geysers in the world at 4,750 meters (almost 15,000 feet), and it puts Old Faithful to shame. There are geysers everywhere. Dozens and dozens of them. And it´s not like you sit in some bleachers and wait for one to erupt - you literally walk around the field and there are steaming pits and shooting water everywhere you look, some big, many smaller. Definitely dangerous (the welcome station hands out tourist brochures that include how to treat burn victims), but truly a sight with the snow-capped mountains and volcanoes in the background.

After a tour of the grounds and some breakfast, we walked to some of the bigger ones that have strict paths you have to follow when viewing them, then we had the chance to go for a dip in the hot springs there. Was awesome, but freezing when we got out (only three of our group of twelve went in) - was 10 degrees Celsius below zero when we arrived at 6:30 but was slightly warmer when we went for a swim. Unreal.

I think San Pedro has been my favorite stop yet as it is such a unique place and has a lot of personality for a small town. Was a great stay, and I am leaving here tonight for Arica which is a coastal surf town and one of the northern-most in Chile. Should be a good stopping point before heading north into Peru.

San Pedro, revisited

Ok, I definitely passed judgment on this town too early. Granted, my first impression of the place was clouded by how shady my arrival was: at night, in the dark with few street lights, no luck at my first hostel, bugs in the bathroom of the hostel I eventually stayed in, and barking dogs as I tried to fall asleep that first night. But I woke up yesterday and the sun was out, the bugs were gone, the dogs were quiet, and I explored the town and determined that San Pedro is actually very cool. The dirt streets and stone walls of shops and restaurants are not very welcoming at first, but a quick glance inside one of the doorways usually reveals some kind of hidden gem of a cafe or shop. There are several restaurants here that have great outdoor terraces under thatched roofs and the food is quite good (though this town is very expensive by South American standards as they take advantage of being an oasis in the desert/tourist hotspot).

Yesterday afternoon I did a tour/hike of some of the surrounding areas that was put on by one of the tour agencies here. We visited and trekked around the Cordillera de Sal, Valle de Muerte (originally was Mars Valley instead of Death Valley but the two words en Español were confused over time), and Valle de la Luna. The landscapes are incredible, and the rock formations definitely look like something from another planet or from the moon (hence the names) due to all the seismic activity. We hiked up to points where we could look all around and see the huge Salt flat just south of San Pedro, the Volcanoes to the east (two are 6,000m high and snow-covered, and the one erupts with smoke and ash once a year according to our guide), and the Andes on much of the horizon. At one point during a hike a storm blew in pretty quickly (I was corrected that some parts of the Atacama desert are the driest places on Earth, but this part where we are gets the occasional rain storm). The wind was blowing hard and throwing rocks and sand into my legs and the legs of the other ten or so people on the hike. Was kind of painful but made it more fun I think. Then it cleared to reveal a rainbow, and we climbed to a peak then ran down a massive sand dune into Death Valley. Sounds surreal but it is true - wish I could upload some pictures here to show you guys what I am referring to. The day ended with a hike through Moon Valley where we watched the famous San Pedro sunset from on high and it lived up to all the hype. Sounds like a story book, I know. It was great.

Minor setback today as my guide from yesterday told me there was a tour available for Sunday (tomorrow) to go see the Geysers and hot springs in the area, but I went to the tour agency and they do not run tours on Sundays. Kind of bummed as I am leaving here Sunday night to head north, but I will make do renting a bike and exploring some more.

San Pedro de Atacama

After spending 23 hours on a bus - which actually was not too bad until the last few hours as I slept and read a lot and the scenery was great - I made it into town here last night around 9:30. It was a little shady, as the bus station was not actually a station but really an outdoor dropoff point. I was trading emails two days ago with a woman who ran a hostel here who said she would pick me up at the bus stop. She was not there, so I tagged along with two Americans to their hostel as it was pitch black out, found out that their hostel had no empty rooms, then found one down the street. The bed was clean and the room pretty simple, though the bathroom left a little to be desired. Im exploring town now to see other hostels and likely stay there for the next two nights.

San Pedro itself is in the middle of nowhere in the Atacama desert. According to a couple books, this desert is the driest place on Earth and no measurable precipitation has ever been recorded. The town itself is very small, with dirt streets and stray dogs wandering around (the dogs are a consistency so far in South America). Right now I am typing on a dirty keyboard with a cat in the chair next to me, so that´s cool. Going to go walk around a bit and check this place out, as there are some awesome sights around this area. Adios.

St. Patty´s in Santiago

I am a day late, but Happy St. Patrick´s Day to all my Irish and Irish-loving friends out there. My brother and I arrived in Santiago, Chile yesterday evening and sadly our St. Patty´s celebration was less than exciting. The bus ride from Mendoza was good, with amazing scenery as we snaked through the Andes (on some of the turns we found it better for peace of mind to not look out the window and down the mountain where our windy road continued).

Santiago is a big city set in the valley of the Andes. It looks pretty from afar but definitely has a different feel than the smaller town of Mendoza. Our hostel is solid and spacious, but the neighborhood is not that great, and we ended up only finding a pizza place for dinner last night and slightly warm beer from the supermarket - the South American version of celebrating our Irish heritage, I guess.

My bro flies back to the States tonight and I will be sad to see him go as we have had a great time together. I basically planned most of my trip up until this point, and now I have ten days to get to Peru. I think I will be heading up north on an overnight bus this evening to a desert town called San Pedro but I need to hammer out those details this morning before Greg and I go explore the city (since I have nothing booked at the moment). We shall see...

Some more South American experiences

So Greg and I have had some more down to earth South American experiences in the past 48 hours. Starting with his encounter with a fiesty stray dog in Vina del Mar (Chile) on Saturday morning that wouldnt leave him alone, then with his bus ride from Santiago that took three hours longer than advertised/expected. Once he got here we managed to break a window in our bedroom as a couple of bees got through our only open window (a glass paned door, actually), and the glass was very thin which we found out after Greg smacked the second bee. Then the ATM machine ate my card on Saturday evening after I withdrew money. And obviously the bank was closed, so he and I went over this morning and thankfully were able to bypass a huge line to speak with a rep there, successfully communicate and prove my identity (in Spanish), and get my card back. Whew. Would have been pretty bad if I couldnt recover it. Thankfully we had a great Argentine barbecue at the hostel last night to make me feel a little better before heading to the bank this morning.

But all is well now. The hostel staff doesnt care about the window, my ATM card is safe, and now we´re going wine tasting on another beautiful afternoon. The town of Mendoza is great, complete with several park squares and lots of outdoor restaurants/cafe´s. The surrounding geography is amazing as well and we got a nice dose of it yesterday on horseback at the base of the Andes. Very cool. I am trying to cut down on my use of the term "awesome" as a British girl here commented that Americans use that word too much, but this place is awesome (and I told her that several times).

El Omnibus

I arrived in Mendoza, Argentina this morning after experiencing the famed South American overnight bus ride for the first time. I have to admit - it was a nice trip despite lasting 13 hours. I paid up a few pesos for the fully reclining seats that were super comfortable, and the bus staff served a decent meal and a light breakfast.

After a quick bus-wide bingo game, I spent the first 2.5 hours watching The Prestige with English subtitles on the TV which was satisfying, and I was able to sleep on and off for almost seven hours (would never happen on a plane for me). I´ll take it. The last hour was great as we approached Mendoza: the sun was rising over some vineyards, lighting up the Andes mountains (some snow-capped) on the horizon. A pretty romantic moment for me and the sixty year old man in the seat to my right.

I am at the hostel now waiting for my bro to get here, as he is en route from Chile. The place is nice - basically a big house with it´s own backyard. Have not seen our room yet though so I will reserve final judgment until then. Would love to get into the room sooner rather than later, as I stink.

Last day in BA

I have been having a fun time in Buenos Aires and the nightlife and dining has definitely lived up to all the hype. Last night I had one of the best meals ever - a giant steak served with this pumpkin mash, fries, roasted onions and peppers, a baked/fried thick piece of provolone, and a fried egg. It was an obnoxious amount of food, so of course I ate it all because I was starving and it was delicious. It cost $10. Awesome.

A group of us from the hostel went to a show last night at the local cultural center and it was a tango/acrobatics performance. I will admit that I was skeptical going into it and it does sound strange, but it was super cool. There was obvious tango dancing which was neat to watch, but there were also trapeze acts, one guy dancing on a high wire (literally), and other crazy stuff. Very glad we went.

Today I`m getting some things together in prep for my departure tonight to Mendoza to meet my bro. Very psyched, and I am okay with leaving BA as, though it has been a nice visit, it is a very urban place and I think it has less appeal for someone who has lived in a big city before like myself. No matter - my first taste of Argentina has been a great one (minus most of the local guys here who either have mullets, mohawks, or Kenny G hair). We`ll see what stop #2 has in store.

B.A.

Buenos Dias. I arrived in Buenos Aires yesterday after an enjoyable flight that actually arrived 20 minutes early, which I am told rarely happens here. I was welcomed by an airport police dog taking a hot one on the floor next to my flight's baggage claim belt. Thankfully I avoided contact, got my bag, and got a taxi to town pretty quickly.

Buenos Aires has been very cool so far. Recoleta, the neighborhood where I am staying, is nice and there are a lot of bars and restaurants within walking distance as well as some big tourist attractions that I will check out today. Everyone at the hostel is very nice and they are from all over - Australia, New Zealand, France, Canada (Quebec), and exotic Houston. Last night I went out with the Australians and the guy from Houston and we had a good time. Had a great meal at this place near us that consisted of some empanadas, cazuela (an Argentine stew that is a local specialty), and some local beer and wine. Split four ways it cost $10/person - very cheap and delcious. Also we finished dinner after midnight and the restaurant was decently crowded which was crazy (to a gringo like me) for a Tuesday. Afterwards we went to this outdoor bar called Milion that is in an old three-story mansion that a couple friends recommended before I arrived here - was a solid spot. If it was in NYC you'd have to get a table or where pants or something lame. Chill here, and one guy there was sporting a well-crafted pair of cutoff jean shorts.

This morning I woke up early to walk to the bus station and purchase a ticket to Mendoza so I can be on time to meet my bro there this weekend. I think I did pretty well speaking Spanish on my own to the two women behind the ticket counter, though once they started asking me what part of the bus I wanted to sit in I had to enter full tourist mode and pull out my Spanish phrase book/dictionary. Oh well, I am learning.

complete

Today I hired a taxi to drive me around town which actually was pretty cheap, and gave me a good excuse to try out off-color phrases in Portuguese from my little Lonely Planet language book. My trip to Rio as a tourist is now complete, as I visited the statue of Christ the Redeemer on Corcovado mountain as well as Pao de Acucar (Sugar Loaf), a mountain on the shoreline that requires use of a cable car to get to the top because it is so steep. The views from the top of both places are easily the most beautiful I have ever seen and the statue of Christ is massive up close. I know I haven´t traveled that much, but I can´t imagine there are many cities as beautiful as Rio.

Unfortunately I did not get a chance to go hang gliding but I am headed to Buenos Aires in the morning, which should be good. But if I spoke Portuguese I may have stayed here a lot longer.

The Real Rio

I got to experience the local flavor of Rio over the weekend, starting on Saturday night with a great dinner at this spot in my neighborhood. Open air restaurant, lots of people, great Brazilian food and good Brahma beer. I went with a friend of a friend who is from Rio and was very glad to see what the locals do on a Saturday night. We walked around for a bit after dinner then he drove me around, and we drove through Copacabana where I had two of the more interesting experiences that night. Copacabana is notoriously more dangerous than Ipanema and Leblon at night, and that was confirmed by a road block we had to drive through that my friend called ´the blitz´: two cop cars and about six cops were standing on the side of the road that they turned into a one-lane passage. As we approached, my friend turned the dome light on in our car so the cops could see in - and they were glaring at us and every car as we drove by, apparently checking for illegals, drunk people, or anything out of the ordinary. He said it was pretty standard. Oh also they had bulletproof vests and machine guns on their hips. Solid.

Literally five minutes later (was probably a little after midnight at that point) as we were turning around to drive back to Leblon, a car about 20 yards ahead of us ran a red light. As I was pointing this out to Bernardo he did the same thing. When I asked him why, he responded that in that area it´s safer to run a red light than to sit at one as you´re an easier target for robbery. Welcome to Copa.

Yesterday I saw Barra (pronounced like Baja) which is a beach town further south of where I am. Beautiful place, not surprising. Today I´ll be doing some tourist things though - hoping to head up to the Christ the Redeemer statue shortly. Leaving for Buenos Aires tomorrow so I´ll be trying to pack it in today. Hope everyone is well.

Dia doys (day two)

Pretty good Saturday so far after a jet-lagged 11 hour sleep last night. It was cloudy for most of the day here which probably was good for me not getting badly burned by the sun, though likely bad because it prolonged the inevitable. Not surprisingly, I am very white compared to just about everyone here. Thanks, New York.

I walked the beaches of Leblon and Ipanema today (got my picture-taking out of the way this morning and I felt like the only one with a camera) and parked it on Ipanema for a while. There are volleyball courts everywhere and it seems like everyone is a pretty good player. There are also games of fut volei going on some of the nets - literally volleyball without using your hands/arms. Insane to watch how good these guys are, partly because I´d be embarrassed if I stepped onto the court and tried to use soccer skills (I don´t have any). It´s played two on two on a full size beach vb court (with net) and I watched several long rallies with guys using their heads, chests, thighs, feet, and even tops of shoulders - and with good accuracy. Unreal.

Tonight I´m meeting up with a friend of a friend for dinner then a night on the town. Should be fun and I´m excited to experience what cariocas do on their Saturday nights in Rio.

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend.

Made it

Rio is awesome and hot - 93 degrees when I landed today. Eddie C´s friends hooked it up with a ride from the airport which was great, and I´m staying in a flat in Leblon (neighborhood right next to Ipanema - 3 blocks from the beach).

The city is absolutely beautiful, though North versus South is quite a contrast when you´re driving from the airport. The north section is the poor part of town and the south is the wealthier/more touristy part where Copacabana, Ipanema, and Leblon are. The two sections are separated by the mountain on which the famous Christ the Redeemer statue stands, and the statue faces north. Quite a sight.

I´m going to go stroll the beach right now with my gringo feet, and then have my first dinner somewhere outdoors (much better temperature here when the sun goes down). I´m thinking steak, beer, and bed. Will let you know how that goes.

It's time

Just about ready to leave for the airport. Very excited and a little anxious - looking forward to getting down there and into the thick of it. One thing I learned before this trip even started is that Texas barbecue and Lone Star beer, while delicious, are not the ideal food and drink choices for the night before a 12 hour plane ride. I'm glad I have an aisle seat.

Thanks to everyone for the thoughtful well wishes and great send-off's. My next post will be from down South in Brazil. Until then...

Numero Uno

Getting ready to leave for South America on Thursday, and getting some last minute things together in the meantime. As this is my first blog post, I'll take this opportunity to ask that the kids who may comment on my posts keep the language clean and appropriate (for the most part). You know who you are. Thanks.