Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Saved by a cheese and mustard sandwich

                 So I´m going a little out of order here and am going to write about Iguazu Falls before the Carnaval post. I´m in Puerto Iguazu, Argentina right now. Wanted to write a quick update (will add pics later) to say we´re all alive and happy in case any of yall saw news of the recent accident at Iguazu Falls. So yesterday the girls and I went to Igauzu Falls on the Argentian side and purchased a ticket for a boat ride. The boat rides are very common; they leave every 20 minutes and run all day. Almost all the travelers I talked to that went to the falls said they did a boat ride and that it was a blast. So we hiked around the falls, which are spectacular-one of the most beautiful things I´ve ever seen in my life-and decided to sit down and eat our cheese sandwiches before going on our boat ride. As we are walking towards the area where you get on the boat we hear sirens and are pushed aside by firemen carrying stretchers. Some people tells us that one of the boats has flipped and that all boat rides are cancelled for the rest of the day. We hiked around and saw helicopters and rescue boats-people being pulled from the water. It was really scary to think that if we hadnt decided to eat our cheese sandwiches before the boat ride that could have very easily been us. I have since found out that 2 people died both American tourists and one of them was a 25 year old American girl, which hit pretty close to home. I am sad for those families. I know the title of this blog is silly and catchy but in all seriousness want to give a shout out to all friends and family to say I love and appreciate you! I´m safe and very happy to be doing what I´m doing and weird shit (sorry mom) can happen anywhere.
                          Before Iguazu falls Argentina we saw the falls from the Brazilian side and it was just as stunning. There are less actual waterfalls but I think you can see more of them because you get a panoramic view of the falls on the Argentian side. While looking at the falls a butterfly landed on my hand and hung out there for a while-there were also several rainbows almost hugging the waterfalls it was very magical.  Will post pictures when I can. Headed today to Uruguay to see some beaches before it turns into Fall weather. Sending you all love, sunshine, rainbows and butterflies!!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

oh sweet January River you never cease to amaze me

Rio de Janiero (aka January River in English) was a surprisingly beautiful and warm city. We did a lot of good beach time, ate great fresh fruit and did some dancing for pre-carnaval. Oh guest blogger Diane Spitzfaden is going to finish my Rio post for me (aka Im being really lazy and copying and pasting her Rio post onto my blog with her permission of course. All the writing is hers but Im adding in the pictures and captions). Look forward to guest blogger Carly coming up in a few weeks to blog about Carnaval in Salvador.
So in the words of Diane:
             We got into Rio after a day a half bus ride and instantly fell in love with the city. So many people had warned us about getting robbed and to be super careful because it could be a super sketchy place. We experienced none of that. It is a large city so of course we were cautious but it was such a lively, beautiful and exciting place I could have stayed much longer.
We checked into a really great hostel and ended up spending 10 days there. We were in a friendly neighborhood called Catete that is next to the infamous Copacabana. (We geekily sang that song almost everyday) On our first days there we went to the beaches, walked around and got familar with the city. People in Brasil are just prettier than most. The beaches were white sand and clear blue water. It was a great atmosphere of the city being all around you as you relaxed on the beach. The waves were huge and we got worked several times. You had to swim out past the breaking point, but once you got out there it was so nice to swim in the ocean. We also went to Ipanema beach where the ´rich, beautiful and young´ go (according to our book). It was just down from Copacabana but it was much livelier. Tons of people playing soccer, running, sunbathing, and swimming. The waves were quite bigger there and we watched some surfers and swimmers have a go at it.
      

Guest Blogger Diane sippin her coconut at the beach

Ipanema Beach
    In the city there is tons of street art and it makes the whole thing look so much better. I love how a picture can turn decrepit buildings into works of art. There are famous staircases that we visited by a man named Selaron in a part of town called Santa Teresa. This artist has traveled all over the world and wanted to make his neighborhood more beautiful with art. He started decorating this staircase with tiles and for the past 21 years has continued to re-work it. He has a house right there next to his art and he is out most days talking and working on it. You can send a tile and he will add it into his art. It was an unreal experience. I felt so much joy seeing all this beauty around me done by one man who wanted to improve his city. We decided we are making one to send to him.

Brigid with the artist who tiled the beautiful staircase
Group shot in front of the stairs


Escaleras de Selaron-Beautiful tiled stairs


Enough said


Cool street art in Rio


More cool street art


Love the street art

             We attempted to find a National Park that was supposed to have waterfalls but we got a little lost and ended up at a Botanical Garden in the middle of the city. It was a happy detour and we spent the day walking around and enjoying all the exquisite flowers.
         


Can you see who´s up there? It´s Jesus. This is the view of him from the Botanical Gardens.

Beautiful trees in the Botanical Gardens

                        Rio is the place of Samba dancing so of course we had to experience it! Lapa is another part of town within walking distance of our hostel where the parties happen. We went to a great Samba club and got to watch a live band and some awesome dancers. Everyone tried to teach us, but it´s more difficult than it looks. I ended up just kicking my feet really fast and getting lots of laughs at my attempts. We have yet to master it but we add in our own style with it and it is looking much better! We went to Lapa a few times while we stayed in Rio. Every Friday they shut down the streets and have these huge parties. It was unbelievable how many people were there. It was fantastic! Before we left we had the amazing opportunity to watch some of the Samba schools practice their parades for free. During Carnival, Rio is know to have the most amazing parades, floats, costumes and dancers. However, it´s ridiculously expensive to see them so we were super pumped to get to watch a bit for free! We went to this stadium street (imagine a long road with stadium seating for at least half a mile on each side) to watch the show. There are two ´groups´ in these parades. The people who pay to walk in the parade wearing a specific shirt that they decorate and alter and then the costumed dancers. They play tons of music that everyone knows by heart. One of the guys told us that they start playing the songs about a month before Carnival so that the whole city can sing along. It was astonishing to hear thousands of people singing the same song. They were all so happy and everyone was in the best mood. It was a collective great time had by all. The costumed dancers could Samba so fast you couldn´t even see their feet moving! I was blown away by how dazzling they were in their sparkling outfits. We all wanted to immediately start taking lessons, move to Brasil and be one of those people. Even the men were extraodinary dancers.
                  Victoria, one of Jodi´s college friends, came on our last two days there and we showed her the beach and around town. We ate the tastiest sushi I have ever had and then took the 27 hour bus up to Salvador for Carnival!!!
At the Sambadrone watching Samba practice

Samba practice

Brazil: Huge Country, tiny bathing suits

Due to the encouraging and subtle urgings from various friends and family members to update my blog I´m finally sitting down to update you on all our Brazilian adventures.

BONITO
After Santa Cuz Bolivia we headed towards Bonito Brazil. A Brazilian recommended Bonito to us while we were in La Paz and so we decided to include it on our route. We never got the dudes name or saw him again in La Paz. Three weeks later on our train from Santa Cruz to the border he sat in the seat behind us-weird-its a very small traveling world. To get to Bonito it took a short 19 hour train ride, 2 city bus rides, a 10 hour bus ride and a 30 min walk uphill before we made it to our hostel in Bonito. The 10 hour bus ride was supposed to take 6 hours but our bus got stuck in the mud (its still rainy season) and so I had to push the bus out of the mud. See below.
No but a really a tractor came and pulled us out of the mud not one but 2 times and we had to take an alternate route. When you´re not in a hurry it doesn´t matter too much if you got in at 8 or 12, we were pretty amused by the bus swirling around in the mud.
               We finally made it to our hostel and took the next day to relax at the pool. After that we rented bikes and biked to banheario del sol. The people at the bike rental place laughed at us and told us usually people don´t bike there because it´s so far. We didn´t listen to them and decided to do it anyways thinking it would be a fun and cheap way to see the countryside. After an hour and a half of biking up hills in the blazing sun and we still werent there yet I figured out why they laughed at us and told us not to do it. But we made it anyways and really felt like we deserved to relax once we got there. It was so beautiful, there was a swimming hole full of big fish, small waterfalls, a zipline and parrots. Very Garden of Eden-esque. We had a great day there swimming, eating lunch and ziplining into the water. We got our first exposure to the Brazilian bathing suit. For the women, no matter your size or age it´s a small bikini top with even smaller bottoms-covering your buttcrack is optional. But you know what these people can pull it off here-partly because there are an unusual amount of attractive people here and partly because even the not so typically attractive people wear that small swimsuit with confidence. Men wear speedos or really small and tight boy shorts. You go Brazilians, we need more of that confidence about showing off our bodies no matter how big or old they are in the US.
             We were not too excited about biking back but we made it. On the way back we passed a group of cows that started running alongside of our bikes-it was hilarious and made me wish I had my boots and cowboy hat on. Bonito was beautiful (hence the name bonito) and I would love to come back when I had more time and money to do some of the pricier snorkeling, caving, waterfall repelling tour. After a few days in Bonito we were off to Rio for some beach time. Rio post coming soon. (will update in the next day or so-so check back, it will not be another 6 weeks I promise)

The fishies in the swimming hole at banheario de sol.

Pretty Parrot!! Its claws are digging into my shouler but I´m trying to look like I´m really happy

Biking to banheario del sol.

Rockin some cheerleader moves on the zipline.