Fifteen's a crowd

Location: Puerto Varas, Chile
Spent Three days in Bariloche, Argentina (above) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bariloche. Bariloche is like the Whistler of Argentina, or so I've heard as I have never been to BC. It is at the top of the Patagonia Mountains, East side of the Andes, and absolutely gorgeous. Was there for three days, and spent most of them alone. Although I love that I constantly have people to travel with, it has gotten a bit much for me; I'm not use to the constant crowd. At the moment there are 15 of us travelling together so I felt it was time for a break. I spent a lot of time alone wandering, writing, relaxing and absorbing.

All I wanted to do while there was go Paragliding, but the weather was so unstable that I couldn´t go. So everyday I stood on the edge of a cliff waiting for the right wind. LOL. That's not totally true it was only one day, the other days I just got a phone call telling me I couldn't go.

I liked relaxing all day in Bariloche and a few nights we went out dancing. Surprisingly I really enjoyed myself dancing... more rock music less 80s. It's not that I hate dancing so much as I can't dance, but a few drinks and I don't care!

After Bariloche we came to Puerto Varas, Chile http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Varas . The first night here we had my favourite dinner so far. We went to a Chilean BBQ and I had Congia (white fish) and Arabic Rice and veggies, it was soooo good! Mmmm 'bout time too, having a hard time eating well in S.A. The next day Dwende, Sponge and I hiked up this small mountain to go Canopying. Of course once we got to the top it was closed so we sat around for a while, had a photoshoot and headed back down the mountain. On the way down through the meadow Dwende claimed to see a snake. He came running and screaming up the hill like a little girl. I had to go a head of him to ensure there was no snake... oh Dwende. When we finally got back to town we were starving so we went for the best pizza in town, and it was good... very, so was the beer. The next day a group of us were able go canopying. It was lots of fun, not scary at all, which I would have preferred :-) Glad there was a bigger crowd as I think that made it more fun, specifically to watch Guava.

No Sleep 'Till Bus Ride!

Location: Buenos Aries

Okay silly title I know, but being as I was only in BsAs for a few days I had to make the most of it and not waste anytime sleeping :-)

Our second last day in BsAs we met the new group of travellers joining us from BsAs to Santiago, Chile. Jess, a new traveller, Sponge, Guava and I went for a walk in the poser part of BsAs called Palermo. We walked through Plaza Italia, the Botanical Gardens, and basically the streets to just absorbed the energy and lets be honest, guy watch. Once we got back to the Hotel it was time to wish farewell to Heffe Cabrone (Freddy) "Bye Bye Freddy Bye Bye". It was actually sadder then I expected a fairly emotional goodbye for me, I didn't cry or anything, but it sucked.

This was our last night in BsAs so we got all dolled up and met the new group for dinner. During the introduction Guava made me laugh so hard I had to leave as tears came out of my eyes. Nice first impression I gave to the rest of the group I'm sure. I digress. Dinner for 15 followed the meeting and then it was off to party for the night. Not all 15 of us went out, but 2 cabs full of people did. Dulio (new tour leader) aka Dwende (Dwarf) took us on a champagne cab ride to a bar in the sub-burbs where his friend was DJ-ing. Although it was small we had fun dancing and of course meeting boys :-) Once the bar closed (about 2:30am) a few of us got in cabs again and headed to a club at the Marina. It was a full on dance party! I would say it was similar to a North American Rave, except they served booze. I had a ton of fun, actually ended up leaving around 4:30 am and going to another party that looked like it was in a school gym or something.. Again very rave like. By 8:00 am I was ready to go, so I hopped in a cab, found the hotel and tried to sneak in under the radar. Didn't happen. No matter though I had a fabulous final evening in BsAs.

Not wanting to waste my final day, Sponge and I went to Plaza Italia again, walked south down Liberator to the Japanese & Rose Gardens to see this bridge she wanted to see. On the way were propositioned to make a movie, a dirty movie, I laughed in the guys face and said no thank you. Hung over and tired we saw the bridge, took pictures, and headed back to the hotel for yet another shower. I have found that I have to take 2 or 3 showers a day in BsAs as in addition to the heat it is also smoggy here, so you just feel dirty all the time. Anyway, we had a late lunch, showered and got ready for the overnight bus to Bariloche.

BsAs to Bariloche is a 20 hour bus ride, but I was ready for it, as I needed sleep! Guava, Maharani and I were on a separate bus from the group, but that actually made it a bit more fun. Maharani got her flirt on, Guava had a child crushing her, and I had wine and caught up on my sleep. Yeah! This is where my trip was suppose to end.. but it didn't ;-)

I Heart Buenos Aries

Location: Buenos Aries

I said it, I heart BsAs and I do! I arrived in B. A bright and early on Monday morning; what a FABULOUS City! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buenos_aires It is big, beautiful, smoggy, alive and sooo full of energy. It is often referred to as the Paris of South America, but I think it is the New York of South America, partly as I've never been to Paris, but mostly because I Heart NY!

BsAs is crazy hot, and as I said smoggy, but that didn't affect my love for her. The tree-lined streets, European (I believe 18th century) architecture, julliette balconies as far as the eye could see. Monuments on every corner, outdoor shops, parks, people and most importantly men, beautiful ones! Frickin Fabulous. They say god made Rio on the 7th day, I disagree he made BsAs. I really can't say enough about it, I don't know what it is, it is just a feeling. I feel like I am absorbing some kind of energy here that I can't compare to any other. It is relaxed but chaotic. It is fast paced but people seemed to enjoy the moment. It is is perfect. Ok enough gushing about BsAs, on to what I did. First day I took a crappy sitting on a bus city tour. Saw all the monuments from the window of the bus. We did get out in a colourful (literally) little area called La Boca. Wandered for about 1/2 hour got back in the bus and went back to the hotel. Although it was a lot of sitting on a bus I got a good idea where I want to head back to.

Evening was spent at a typical Argentinian buffet, similar to a Brazilian but they don't bring you the meat. It was called Siga La Vacca meaning 'Follow the Cow', and for $11 you get a full dinner buffet a bottle of wine and dessert. We were there until about midnight, I really enjoyed it, not just the food but the company, everyone was in good spirits at the same time, it was nice.

The next day I wandered the city, started with a group of us and we slowly lost and gained and sometimes wandered alone. We went to Rigoletta to see some monuments up close, the churches and the cemetery where Eva Peron is buried. That was not what I expected, it was all cement, no grass just mausoleums. I really liked it there, felt Serene, at peace, it was a good experience.

In the evening a group of us went to a Tango show. It was a tango lesson, dinner and show. Not exactly my cup of tea, but Guava, Sponge and Heffe made it fun. I drooped Sponge trying to dip her and giggled as fat old ladies pushed around their husbands. The food was really nice as was the wine, thanks Heffe, and of course the company.

Montevideo

Location: Montevideo

Day two in Montevideo I went to visit my father's cousin who lives here. Turned out his cousin was 85 and her daughter who I thought was the original cousin was about 55 or something. Anyway, she picked me up - the young one, Cousin T :-) took me around town but mostly to her house. There I was lucky enough to get bitten by her dog, eat a half raw chicken, and meet every neighbour or street person she knew. It was interesting to say the least. A bit stressful to be honest as interesting as she was (which she was) she was also very negative. So, that being said I'll move on.

In the evening I was able to get back to the hotel on time to meet everyone before dinner. I wasn't that hungry and a bit cranky so I tried to drink my dinner to cheer me up. After a few drinks we went to a club. This time a who lot of us.. Me, Sponge, Guava, Heffe, Maharani, Kat and Faye.. We danced to 80's music all night again. Yeah, mood lifted.

Today I just ran around Montevideo trying to see what I missed the day before... kind of did a drive by with cousin T. This afternoon we took a bus to Colonia , a cute little Colonial Village on the waters edge of Uraguay. The Picture below is in Colonia, my attempt at Ocean's 11 I call it Scarpino's 5.

Tomorrow Buenos Aries.

Salto to Montevideo

Location: Montevideo, Uruguay

After Iguassu we took a night bus to Salto, Uruguay... I would provide a link, but there is nothing to see there. Before I get into that I must tell you that I have given a nick name to Ria. I now call her Guava, like the fruit. For those who don't know, you cannot bring fruit across borders in South America due to disease and bugs etc... so when we crossed the boarder (in a taxi) Guava kanivingly opened her bag and pulled out a Guava. I burst into laughter as she was telling the Portuguese cab driver she smuggled in fruit, her face was priceless.

So back to Salto. Turns out the only thing to do is go to the Thermal Spas. On a rainy day it sounded good and for $5 USD haw bad can it be? lol.. well pretty bad. Myself, Sponge, Guava, Carolina & Faye were basically at a spa that consisted of many indoor and outdoor pools with hot water in them. There were some showers and sauna's too... but we basically spent 5 hours hoping from one scess pool to the next. The highlight of the day was wandering around outside of the spa trying to find a place to eat. We voted to have Carolina fetch us some food, but she set us straight and told us we were not in a Democracy, it was a Monarchy and she was the Queen. We then nick named her Maharani (Hindi for Queen of the Queens). Other then the spa and a nice dinner Salto was pretty dull.

Today we arrived in the capital city of Uraguay, Montevideo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montevideo . We didn't get here until 7:00 pm, so we basically went straight to dinner. Afterward Guava, Maharani and I went out for a drink. We had some fun chats, my favourite being the story Maharani told us about dating a guy who was soooo hot, he looked like Robin Williams. I laughed my ass off until Guava corrected her and let her know she meant Robbie Williams. Still funny. After a few drinks we felt like dancing so we went to a bar on the main strip, listened and dance to 80s music for a few hours before bed.

Three Days in Iguassu

Location: Foz de Iguassu, Brazil/Argentina


Monday we arrived after overnight bus in Iguassu Falls, Brazil. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguazu_Falls. We got here quite early freshened up and voted to go over to Paraguay to do some electronics shopping. I wasn't in the market for anything, but I figured I would go for the trip. Had to walk over the border for a few reasons, 1) it was faster and 2) Canadians need a visa that I didn't have to go to Paraguay. Walking over and looking a bit Latin was an advantage that day. We had an early evening, buffet dinner, and some wine by the pool.

Tuesday we had a full day at the falls on the Argentinian side. There are about 125 falls I believe, not sure how they count them, but that's what I hear. The views were breathtaking, honestly words can't describe their beauty. We had to do a few small treks to each view point, all bridges over the water and the highlight was the biggest waterfall the Devil's Throat. We got to go right up close. In the afternoon we had a short jeep tour through the rain forest and had a speed boat ride through the rapids and under the falls. We got as close as we could to the Devil's Throat without going under it, but we did go under some smaller ones. We laughed and screamed and got soaking wet.

Our long but super relaxing day was followed by dinner and drinks. I think everyone got drunk that night. We hooked up with some other travellers and attempted to try every cocktail on the menu. I think the only one who was successful was Sponge and she felt it the next day that's for sure.

Today we saw the Brazilian side of the falls. As most were tired and/or hungover there wasn't much talking but the views again were magnificent.

Paraty

Location: Paraty, Brazil

After Pervert Paradise we headed to Paraty (not Party like I thought, Par-a-tay) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parati . We arrived here on the 10th around 3 pm to another nice hotel with a mini-bar and a pool! Backpacking my ass! The afternoon was spent just getting acquainted with the town. I found it really confusing for some reason, I know me Rand McNally got lost and often. The evening was quite, had Thai for dinner a few drinks and getting to know our new tour leader Freddy, he seems awesome.

Yesterday we did a jeep excursion which included a misleading walk along the beach, it should have been described as barefoot rock climbing, and that was the easy part because once in a while the tide would come in over the rocks that we were standing on. The beach we hiked to was called Trinadad Beach, it was worth the 'hard' work. It wasn't actually hard, but I prefer to add a little drama. We sat and enjoyed the sun for a few hours and then were off to see some falls, which were water dribbles really. We walked over them on a swing bridge, fun stuff and watched as some dared to go into the cold water. Down the river there was a young man rock surfing down the falls. It was awesome! Some girls, Kat and Sponge went down on their bums. I would have but I didn't feel like being cold and wet on the way home. The last part of our tour was a visit to a Caipira Distillery where they make the booze that goes into our Caiporinia's. I got a cinimon flavoured bottle that tastes like Christmas.

That evening Stevo, Ria, Carolina, Stacey, Freddy and I went out dancing until the wee hours of the morning. As usualy Steve and I were the last home, he had to drag me off the dance floor at 5 am, I didn't wnat the fun to end. The next day it was time to say fairwell to Steve he was off to the doctor in Lima. Had a great night but legs felt like jello the next day, totally worth it. The next day was also when I was given my nick name - Crazy.

Booze Cruise

Location: Ilha Grande

Today I was coerced into going on a 'Booze Cruise'. Some of the girls I've met, Ria, Jen, Kat & I sat on the fence (literally for Ria) about going on a 10:00 am booze cruise, and not because of the drinking in the morning, but because it looked like it was going to rain. Stevo saw the fence sitting and came over to drag us on the boat. Thank you Stevo!

The boat left at 10:30 am, as soon as 11:00 hit the sun came out and the weather was beautiful. We docked in a place called Green Bay, swam, snorkeled, drank Caiporinia's (lime, sugar & a rum like alcohol) all around had fun. I did manage to embarrass myself, which is expected, getting back into the boat after swimming my bikini bottom got caught in the ladder and I mooned all the swimmers left behind. That wasn't the worst part. The more I struggled to get out, the worse it got, my front, my back, my everything was out and I didn't know what to cover. After what seemed like an eternity of struggling the boat captain HOT captain, Netto came over and unhooked me. At this point I collapsed to the ground in embarrassment and laughter. The rest of the day we continued eating, drinking, swimming and dancing. We anchored by a few beaches, had some great swims and good laughs. I came up with my first nick-name and it went to Jen, now Sponge Bob, she is so cute and excitable and it reminded me of Sponge Bob. By the end I was ready to go home though as booze and boats are only good for so long.

In the evening the girls wanted to go back to the same bar/restaurant that we have now become regulars at. We had dinner, but the girls still felt drunk and wanted to go to bed. A few stayed out and had some drinks on the beach but as usual they quickly tapered away. By the time the bar closed the only ones left were me and yep Stevo. We weren't ready to go home at this point so we went back to our regular spot and banged on the steel doors to see if we could go in, being as the owner had a thing for me he let us in. Unfortunately said owner, who I now call Pervy McHorny was coming on to me much too strong. He kept trying to get me to stay with him, telling me it was a rare opportunity, once in a lifetime in fact. I laughed and pretty much said "For you, I can bang any 50 year old". He didn't like that too much but it didn't stop his persistence. I have now named Ilha Grande Pervert Paridise, as he is not alone. I made Steve chug his last beer as I did mine and we got out of there. That last beer, likely as it was drunk in 30 seconds went straight to our heads, we ended up stumbling back to the posada (hotel) waking up some dogs who in turn woke up our fellow travellers. They may not have known it then, but I guess they do now. Sorry Sponge :-)

Parrot Head

Location: Ilha Grande

Today some girls too many to name and I decided to take a hike through the mountains up to 'Parrot Head' (see mountain peak in pic). The hike ended up not getting us to the top of Parrot Head but around it to the beach on the other side. It was a 2.5 hour hike but we were told when we got there a boat would be available to take us back to where we came from. The water unfortunately was still rough and the boat was not there to take us back, I can't say I was overly disappointed, not in a rush to get back on a barf barge. So the only way back to town was through the mountain again. We enjoyed the ocean and beach for an hour or so and headed back round the mountain. I went the long way browsed the streets before getting back to my hut and taking a long warm shower.

In the evening we had dinner, seafood, on the beach. Drinks of course followed dinner, such is the case when on vacation. Everyone seemed to have fun getting to know each other a little better. Most left before 1:00 am but left standing was me and Stevo of course. He told me some crazy stories, all that I have written down so I don't forget them. We had a few more drinks and stumbled home just after 2:00 am.

Ilha Grande

Location: Ilah Grande, Brazil http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilha_Grande .

Two hours on a bus, Two plus of the longest hours of my life on a boat... or more accurately the 'Barf Barge' (right) on route to Ilah Grande. What a frickin adventure, I'm still a bit traumatized to speak of said boat ride. Missing the 'luxurious' ferry had to take a barely floating, miniature boat that had a capacity of 25 with 50 people aboard. 'The weather started getting rough and the tiny ship was tossed' yes and then people started tossing their cookies, or spaghetti as the case was for little boy with the face of a man. I was now not only concerned for my life as the boat was often on a 45 degree angle, but I was trying to avoid getting puked on. Trying hard not to make the boy feel worse I looked the other way, but as the waters got more violent and the vomit a like I attempted to run to the front of the boat. I say attempted as I only made it half way, fell on an elder lady and broke some eggs. As the boat calmed down for a moment I tried again to get up, but the old bag I fell on wouldn't let go of my ruck-sack ... we had a bit of a tug-of-war, I won, and finally made my way to the front of the boat to stand and breath fresh air. What I didn't notice thank goodness was that the lady next to the old bag was actually throwing up into a see-through plastic bag for everyone to see. Just as I thought the excitement was over there was a mad rush to the back of the boat. The captain and skipper were throwing ropes overboard and screaming bloody murder. I thought this was it, my final moments were going to be in the shaky waters of Brazil. I was mistaken though, we were actually rescuing another boat. AH!

Such an ordeal could not have ended as perfectly as it did. Although it was pouring rain the island was such of a Paradise that I cannot describe. Small, quaint, precious. The accommodations were the same, small wooden huts hidden in the trees. For dinner we ate at a restaurant/bar the name of which I can't remember, nothing special, but good food, conversation and fabulous drinks. I was introduced to a Caiporoska (your fruit of choice with vodka & sugar) and I loved it. Yum!

I got acquainted with Stevo (gap tour leader), poor guy was mugged in Rio and in a coma for 3 days before I met him in Rio. Turns out he is a bit of a party animal, more so then me believe it or not.

Although today was mostly a travel day it was still pretty eventful. I have so far loved my time here, only complaint is that I'm going to bed early... it's only 1:00 am. Oh and the weather isn't that great, but it's only day 2 :-)

Rio De Janeiro

Location: Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

Hola Everyone!

It is now the more exciting part of my trip, that being South America. As mentioned previously I started my journey in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Upon arrival I was greeted by a taxi driver. Yes I had a man with a sign waiting for me, how exciting! Regardless of the excitement I almost fell asleep on the way to the hotel. I know I can't sleep for 3 days and now I am fighting sleep when I get to Brazil. Bugger F@&K! Anyway, once I got to my hotel I booked a tour for the afternoon and took a quick nap. Guess what I couldn't sleep, but I did rest.

I did a tour of the city that took me through Rio and then to the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain. We only stopped a few times, the first stop was at San Sebastian Cathedral, the patron saint of Rio who happens to be Italian. The Cathedral is beautiful, looks like a pyramid, I've never seen a church like it. Our next stop was Sugar Loaf Mountain, from the top of which you can see all of Rio. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugarloaf_Mountain,_Brazil I took cable cars up to the top of it, but you can climb it. Some highlights were the views of Christ the King, the statue at the top of the city; Copacabana Beach (pictured above) where there is currently a beach soccer tournament going on, and Rio... all of RIO!

For dinner I went to a Brazilian Buffet, perfect for a carny like me, it's basically a buffet but the kicker is the bring meat to your table, 27 kinds of it, on sticks! Yum! Either way the food was good and now it is finally time for bed.

Airport or Adult Entertainment Facility?

Location: Miami International Airport

So the flight was fine, nothing fun to report. There was no sleep and a good amount of turbulence, by good amount I mean bad, too much. I made it though and now I'm in the airport. I have a few hours to kill here, I was going to venture out of the airport but it has become and quite interesting so I have decided to stay.

For example while shopping (the airport is my favourite place to shop) I found a portable 'massager' that was shaped like.. well a long really thick pen kinda thing if you get my drift. The funniest part was the caption on the box which said 'The perfect travel sized massager, shaped to pin point your pain.' RIGHT! I wanted to take a picture, but I thought I would get in trouble or at least dirty looks.

Incident number two: I just walked by a man blatantly watching porn on his laptop in the middle of the airport lounge. I decided to sit next to said man and watch the 'Boob Tube' so to speak. lol. No I didn't, I am actually sitting across from porn guy giggling to myself. I guess that doesn't make me look much better, does it.

Incident number three: I am calling this 'The Man with the Erection', surprisingly, not the man watching porn or porn guy as I called him. Still at the airport, the happiest place on earth in my opinion, proves itself to me, yet again. I just watched a couple re-unite and it was touching. Unfortunately, I was sitting and they were standing so their (specifically his) crotch was at my eye level. This of course is how my innocent eyes gazed upon his erection. At first I thought he actually had something in his pocket, but then I noticed, as I couldn't release my eyes, that it changed in a fashion that only an erection would (would not wood ha ha... now I'm giggling again)

Anyway, it is now 6 pm I still have time to kill and all I want to do is sleep, but not sure where I can :-)

Bon Voyage Toronto

Location: American Airlines Flight 1011

Where do I start? I know, the beginning should be obvious, start the journal when I get to my destination, this trip being South America starting in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Well I would normally disagree and begin somewhere between the airport and the plane ride. Today I am going to start even earlier, I am going to begin with the day before my journey. You may not see why it relevant, but it has effective my entire day.

So let us begin. I decided it would be wise not, yes not, sleep before my trip. My logic was that it was a 20 hour journey and I wanted to sleep the entire way so I would arrive well rested, fresh and ready for new adventures when I arrived in Rio. So my last night myself and the gang LS, DC, RM & I went out until 6 am! I went home and finished packing then tried to wake up LS at 9:00 so she could drive me to the airport. She did manage to wake up and successfully get me to my plane on time. Her journey home on the other hand was a story in itself... but her story to tell not mine. Looking forward to sleeping on the plane I had no coffee and no energy providing substance at all. That didn't matter, 'cause I didn't sleep, not yet, not one wink.

Despite my lack of sleep I am enjoying my day at the Miami International Airport It started with my chipper self going through US customs explaining to the customs officer that I was going to South America, by myself, for fun. Apparently this was odd, or he thought I was transporting some illegal narcotics because ... well here is our conversation.
Officer: Where are you travelling to today?
Marisa: South America, starting in Brazil.
O: What for?
M: Fun
O: Fun? Do you know anyone there?
M: Nope
O: Why Brazil?
M: For fun.
O: Who are you travelling with?
M: No one... just me.
O: Why?
M: For fun. (sticking to my story)
O: What do you do?
M: I'm a Real Estate Agent.
O: Do you Speak Portuguese?
M: No
O: Good luck.... (he gestures that I am done and I begin to walk away) oh and have FUN.
So I thought this was funny before I wrote it (could have been the lack of sleep), now not as funny, but I am choosing to leave that in.