Keep going strong!
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| On the world's widest Avenue |
Friday, October 26, 2012
Buenos Suerte from Buenos Aires 10/26/12
Great job last week for the Homecoming win! We are in Buenos Aires (the NYC of South America) right now and will be having a big Argentine steak while the Eagles are at Ratliff Stadium against Odessa High.
Keep going strong!
Keep going strong!
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Sao Paulo 10/16/12 - 10/18/12
We finally managed to leave Paraty and got a bus to Sao Paulo. The plan was to stop over here for the night, meet up with one of Kristin's previous co-workers, Uma, and start the long bus journey the next evening to Iguazu Falls.
Kristin and Uma worked together on a client back at E&Y. Uma is still with E&Y and happened to be in Sao Paulo for a 7 week international rotation! We managed to coordinate getting together for dinner (quite a feat without the use of cell phones) and had some of the BEST pizza in South America. It was great meeting everyone and catching up with each other. Thanks guys!
The next day was used to upload pictures to the computer, update the blog, return emails, etc. Yay for finally having a good internet connection and our laptop working! We had a bus ticket that evening, so we had all day to be productive. This is where we spent the majority of our day ;-).
We headed to the bus station that evening only to realize while grabbing a quick bite before the bus, that our bus ticket was for 20:00 hrs, and at this point it was 21:00 hrs. For some reason we thought the bus was at 10:00 pm/ 22:00 hrs (crazy military time) so we were there by 9:00 pm, but that was an hour after our bus left. Oops! Luckily, the bus company was super nice and simply exchanged our ticket for the next day at 8:00 pm. Ever since the beginning of Bolivia we can't seem to manage to leave towns when we "plan" to. Lets hope that changes soon, we only have a month left in South America and lots to see!
Kristin and Uma worked together on a client back at E&Y. Uma is still with E&Y and happened to be in Sao Paulo for a 7 week international rotation! We managed to coordinate getting together for dinner (quite a feat without the use of cell phones) and had some of the BEST pizza in South America. It was great meeting everyone and catching up with each other. Thanks guys!
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| Pioneer Audit Room Reunion ;-) |
The next day was used to upload pictures to the computer, update the blog, return emails, etc. Yay for finally having a good internet connection and our laptop working! We had a bus ticket that evening, so we had all day to be productive. This is where we spent the majority of our day ;-).
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| Sao Paulo Global Hostel "living room" |
Paraty 10/11/12 - 10/16/12
After our sad departure from Rio, we (Mike included!) made it to Paraty, a small colonial beach town on the coast. Normally it is a gorgeous town with lots of character and charm.
Unfortunately the rain gods had other plans for the weekend we were there. It rained all day every day Thursday night through Sunday night. However, we still had a great weekend. It was actually a Brazilian holiday weekend, so it was packed from Thursday night through Sunday. Everything was double the price, but it was good to be there and continue our visit with Mike.
Unfortunately the rain gods had other plans for the weekend we were there. It rained all day every day Thursday night through Sunday night. However, we still had a great weekend. It was actually a Brazilian holiday weekend, so it was packed from Thursday night through Sunday. Everything was double the price, but it was good to be there and continue our visit with Mike.
We did manage to have fun despite the rain and went out one of the days on a touristy adventure on a boat to a few of the beaches surrounding the area. In the sunshine, pictures of the places we went to look amazing! In the overcast and rain, many of the places still look great, just not as spectacular.
At least we were able to get out of the hostel. Plus any day on a boat with good company is better than a day on land.
At least we were able to get out of the hostel. Plus any day on a boat with good company is better than a day on land.
Due to the holiday, we actually weren't able to leave until Tuesday, even though we were shooting for Sunday, because the buses were full until then. Fortunately, the prices dropped back down to normal prices and we could make the most of our time exploring Paraty.
The next day we went on a jeep tour to the local waterfalls.
Our guide was actually a new friend that Matt talked to every morning at breakfast. Even though it was still raining during the tour, the waterfalls were pretty impressive due to the amount of rain from the previous three days. There were spots where the tour usually stops to swim, but the water was so high from the rain that those spots were "flooded". The tour also included, amongst other things, a stop at a rope swing, visit to the cachasa distillery (liquor made from fermented sugarcane juice and used in the national cocktail of Brazil, caipirinhas), and a trip to the famous huge rock water slide. The water was freezing and fast, but the slide was so much fun!! The rain couldn't stop us from enjoying this activity!
The next day we went on a jeep tour to the local waterfalls.
Our guide was actually a new friend that Matt talked to every morning at breakfast. Even though it was still raining during the tour, the waterfalls were pretty impressive due to the amount of rain from the previous three days. There were spots where the tour usually stops to swim, but the water was so high from the rain that those spots were "flooded". The tour also included, amongst other things, a stop at a rope swing, visit to the cachasa distillery (liquor made from fermented sugarcane juice and used in the national cocktail of Brazil, caipirinhas), and a trip to the famous huge rock water slide. The water was freezing and fast, but the slide was so much fun!! The rain couldn't stop us from enjoying this activity!
The last day there it was finally sunny so we spent the day on a beach close by. It wasn't anything that special (the more beautiful beaches were a short bus ride away), but after 3 days of rain, it was good to just get out and hang out in the sunshine.
We stayed at a Che Lagarto hostel which is a chain in South America. It was crowded and overpriced for the holiday weekend, but we were happy to have a bed for $30 each. Once the holiday was over, it was only $15 each. It did include a decent breakfast though. However, it also included two SUPER loud snorers that interrupted Kristin's beauty sleep!
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Through Campo Grande to Rio de Janeiro 10/7/12 - 10/11/12
We left Bonito mid-day for a stop over in Campo Grande in order to get to Rio. Once in Campo Grande we looked into flights to Rio and found a couple for about $25 more than the bus, but we were not able to purchase the tickets online within 24 hours of the flight. Thus, it was another long bus ride ahead of us for the next day!
After waiting in the bus station for 6 hours, we had a night bus to Sao Paulo with quite comfortable seats. We also had a cool stop at a restaurant (churrascaria)/gas station/store/rest stop which we referred to as the Buc-ee's (a Texas thing) of Brazil. Matt LOVES the meat buffets in Brazil ;-).
We eventually got to Sao Paulo to exchange buses and continued on to Rio where Mike, Kristin's brother, had a driver waiting for us (sign and all) in the bus station. It was great to have a worry-free arrival! Mike has been coming to Rio for the past few years for his job in the oil & gas industry, and we were very excited to make it work so that we were in Rio the same time as him!! It was so great to be around family and have our own personal tour guide and translator for the city.
The next few days in Rio were spectacular!! Rio has such a great vibe. We stayed on Impanema beach and that part of the city feels so clean and friendly. The combination of beaches plus amazing restaurants and a big city feel made this city very unique. We can't say we did even close to all of the touristy things the city offers, but being in and around the city itself was pretty cool. Our days were spent on Impanema and Copacabana beaches in the sunshine.
One day we went out paddle boarding and the view looking back at Impanema was very cool. We thoroughly enjoyed this activity, but it was definitely much harder staying up on the board in the ocean compared to the lake we were used to. And the water was Freezing!!! Matt really seemed to like jumping in the water off the board, aka he fell a lot. He said it was to "cool off" but Kristin knew better ;-).
In addition to enjoying the beaches, we went up to Sugar Loaf Mountain one afternoon to have a view of the city and enjoy the sunset from on top of the mountain. It was also spectacular to watch the sun go down and the city light up with the night lights. Such a cool view!
Once we were done enjoying the views and were about to make our way down, Matt noticed a couple taking pictures and said, "That's Annie and Chris!", two travelers from the States that we "know" through mutual friends. They left 2 days after we did and are on a similar trip. We had been emailing each other at various times during our trip to see if our paths were going to cross. No joke, that day at lunch Matt mentioned that I should send them an email that evening to see where they were since it had been about a month since we chatted. Such a small world running into them in Rio without even knowing the other was there!! We got to meet each other and chat about our trips for a little while.
Our nights were spent hanging out with Mike and enjoying incredible food, some of Rio's best! Our tour guide took us out to a few of Rio's different neighborhoods including Santa Teresa (a very cool town up in the hills with a European feel) and Lapa (one of Rio's "party" areas where locals dance/ party in the streets late at night). Both of us had been craving sushi, but were skeptical of getting it from certain countries, cough cough- Bolivia. Our first night in Rio we went to an amazing sushi dinner, with a sushi boat and all :-). The perfect way to start our stay in Rio.
It was great to not to have to plan a thing while we were there. A nice vacation from our travels. Believe it or not traveling can be quite exhausting. But, we're not complaining! A BIG THANK YOU to Mike and everything he did for us to make our time in Rio so amazing! I think I saw Matt shed a little tear when we had to leave. We both agreed that Rio was our favorite city in South America so far!!
In Rio we had some info from a friend about Terrase Hostel in Ipanema just a block from the beach. It actually worked out that it was only 3 blocks from Mike's hotel as well. Perfect. It was $25 each for a bed in a dorm. We opted for the 10 bed room to avoid the crowded bunk bed situations. Welcome to Brazil and the high prices!!
After waiting in the bus station for 6 hours, we had a night bus to Sao Paulo with quite comfortable seats. We also had a cool stop at a restaurant (churrascaria)/gas station/store/rest stop which we referred to as the Buc-ee's (a Texas thing) of Brazil. Matt LOVES the meat buffets in Brazil ;-).
We eventually got to Sao Paulo to exchange buses and continued on to Rio where Mike, Kristin's brother, had a driver waiting for us (sign and all) in the bus station. It was great to have a worry-free arrival! Mike has been coming to Rio for the past few years for his job in the oil & gas industry, and we were very excited to make it work so that we were in Rio the same time as him!! It was so great to be around family and have our own personal tour guide and translator for the city.
The next few days in Rio were spectacular!! Rio has such a great vibe. We stayed on Impanema beach and that part of the city feels so clean and friendly. The combination of beaches plus amazing restaurants and a big city feel made this city very unique. We can't say we did even close to all of the touristy things the city offers, but being in and around the city itself was pretty cool. Our days were spent on Impanema and Copacabana beaches in the sunshine.
One day we went out paddle boarding and the view looking back at Impanema was very cool. We thoroughly enjoyed this activity, but it was definitely much harder staying up on the board in the ocean compared to the lake we were used to. And the water was Freezing!!! Matt really seemed to like jumping in the water off the board, aka he fell a lot. He said it was to "cool off" but Kristin knew better ;-).
In addition to enjoying the beaches, we went up to Sugar Loaf Mountain one afternoon to have a view of the city and enjoy the sunset from on top of the mountain. It was also spectacular to watch the sun go down and the city light up with the night lights. Such a cool view!
Once we were done enjoying the views and were about to make our way down, Matt noticed a couple taking pictures and said, "That's Annie and Chris!", two travelers from the States that we "know" through mutual friends. They left 2 days after we did and are on a similar trip. We had been emailing each other at various times during our trip to see if our paths were going to cross. No joke, that day at lunch Matt mentioned that I should send them an email that evening to see where they were since it had been about a month since we chatted. Such a small world running into them in Rio without even knowing the other was there!! We got to meet each other and chat about our trips for a little while.
Our nights were spent hanging out with Mike and enjoying incredible food, some of Rio's best! Our tour guide took us out to a few of Rio's different neighborhoods including Santa Teresa (a very cool town up in the hills with a European feel) and Lapa (one of Rio's "party" areas where locals dance/ party in the streets late at night). Both of us had been craving sushi, but were skeptical of getting it from certain countries, cough cough- Bolivia. Our first night in Rio we went to an amazing sushi dinner, with a sushi boat and all :-). The perfect way to start our stay in Rio.
It was great to not to have to plan a thing while we were there. A nice vacation from our travels. Believe it or not traveling can be quite exhausting. But, we're not complaining! A BIG THANK YOU to Mike and everything he did for us to make our time in Rio so amazing! I think I saw Matt shed a little tear when we had to leave. We both agreed that Rio was our favorite city in South America so far!!
In Rio we had some info from a friend about Terrase Hostel in Ipanema just a block from the beach. It actually worked out that it was only 3 blocks from Mike's hotel as well. Perfect. It was $25 each for a bed in a dorm. We opted for the 10 bed room to avoid the crowded bunk bed situations. Welcome to Brazil and the high prices!!
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