Chris and I have embraced all things tourist in Ushuaia and we’ve included 4x4ing across a pristine lake, kicking up exhaust and fumes, onto our list. Whenever I read about the environmentally friendly tourist activities around the world, 4x4ing is at the bottom of the list, along with ATVs, human trafficking, and poaching. But we’re in a spot where, to quote an English guy on our trip, “they haven’t quite destroyed it to the level we have back home” so 4x4ing is embraced.
We left the hostel at 8:40am with an Australian couple that were staying in the same dorm as us, and joined an English couple, and Austrian teacher, and an older Australian woman who had completed her Antarctic cruise the day before. Our guide was Sebastian, an Argentinean from Mendoza who looked a lot like the English actor Jude Law, which made my trip more enjoyable. We were in a 2007 Land Rover, and four of us were crammed in the back seat, two seats together on each side, facing in. About 20 minutes into the drive, Chris’ back had a spasm due to the uncomfortable seats.
Our first stop was a husky breeding farm. The company (Nunatak) breeds sled dogs for competitions and tourist activities and there were a bunch. The puppies (up to one year old) were caged and the older dogs were tied up outside. They probably could have used some more room to run around, but they had great views and live better than 95% of the dogs I have seen in South America.
After the dog farm, we started the off roading. Logging is a huge industry in Ushuaia with big companies still cutting down trees. They have to keep 40% of the forests available on their land each year that they harvest the trees. So there are tons of trails cut by the companies and we took one down to the largest lake in the region, Lago Fagnano. Which, when pronounced by our guide Sebastian, sounded like Lake Funyun. Lake Funyun is HUGE and cuts between Argentina and Chile. There is a lot of trout fishing in the area and you can pay big bucks for a private area. Sebastian said they were fishing next to Arnold Schwarzenegger one year; the Austrian in our group was impressed.
Anyway, the off roading was good. I didn’t get car sick which is a miracle because I usually do. I bumped my head and knees a bunch and no seat belt was available so we were all jostled around. The goal was the tilt the truck to almost a 45 degree angle and I think that goal was met a few times. We headed down into the lake and drove on that for awhile too. Our truck was new and didn’t have a snorkel so we couldn’t go deep but one of the other trucks (there were three in our group) went out far.
We stopped for lunch, which in Argentina lasts about three hours. They piled a ton of meat (sausage and steak) onto a BBQ and there was wine, salad, bread, and dessert. A family of red foxes lived near the BBQ site and we quickly found out why, as some of the group from Buenos Aires began feeding the foxes. I hate it when people feed wild animals and we asked them to stop but they wouldn’t. Our guide said this was the mentality of most Argentineans on vacation… they don’t leave behind only footprints and take only pictures.
After the lunch, we went to another part of the lake for canoeing. Chris’ back was really bothering him but he was a trooper and went with me around the lake. It was flat which made me happy, because I didn’t want to tip over in that cold cold water. I like it out here because you don’t have to sign a bunch of “I promise I won’t sue you if I get hurt” forms. We were asked if we knew how to canoe, we said that we guessed we did, and then we were put in canoes. Everyone made it out OK and I appreciate the lack of safety restraints here.
After the canoeing, we off roaded some more. We went on part of the old Trans American highway that ran from Alaska to Ushuaia. The road is hardcore; very steep, dusty, and unpaved. Buses and trucks used to road until the 1970’s when the government was tired of too many people dying on the road and shut it down. If I was on a bus on that road, I would get out and walk. It was another 45 minutes back into town on the nice new paved road and the whole trip cost us $220 pesos, which is appox. $73 US… a fair price for lunch, canoes, and off-roading.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
On Pronunciation
Living in the United States, running into people from foreign countries, and traveling abroad, one comes into contact with different accents all of the time. In the United States alone, we’ve managed to bend and twist the English language into all sorts of dialects, from Texan, Southern, New York, Eastern, Northeastern, Midwestern, West Coast, etc. Throw in English, Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian accents, and things can get confusing. Add in slang and you’ve got a headache.
Last night at dinner I had to explain to an English couple, who had traveled through California and Nevada and Arizona for the past three months, what the word ‘gnarly’ meant. And if you really have to sit down and explain it and think about the word, it’s a hard one to define.
Anyway, the accents don’t stop with English, and Spanish is a whole new problem for me. In school, I guess I learned Mexican Spanish, and I learned that the double L is pronounced like a Y sound. “What’s your name”, or Como se llama, is pronounced, Como se YAMA. But, in Argentina, that apparently wasn’t acceptable and all double L’s are pronounced with a SHZ sound. Como se llama turns into Como se SHZAMA. When Chris and I were trying to get to Rio Gallegos, we were convinced everyone was stupid and trying to send us to a town called Rio Gashzegos. We kept telling them we didn’t want to go there and wanted Rio Gallegos, they must have thought we were the idiots.
Today, we took a boat trip through the Beagle Channel on a boat called the Tango. It was a small boat, with two crew members and approx. 10 tourists on board. There was a large Argentinean family, two Japanese guys, and myself and Chris. When one of the Argentine men asked Chris his name (como se SHZAMA), Chris just stared at him. It took us a good 45 seconds to figure out what the guy was saying and that’s a really easy basic question, we actually know that one!
Later on, the son of the Argentine man asked one of the Japanese tourists how old he was. He answered first in Spanish (trente y dos – which is 32) and the kid looked confused so he told him in English, “I surty two.” The kid just got up and walked away. Thank god I can pronounce my TH’s.
Last night at dinner I had to explain to an English couple, who had traveled through California and Nevada and Arizona for the past three months, what the word ‘gnarly’ meant. And if you really have to sit down and explain it and think about the word, it’s a hard one to define.
Anyway, the accents don’t stop with English, and Spanish is a whole new problem for me. In school, I guess I learned Mexican Spanish, and I learned that the double L is pronounced like a Y sound. “What’s your name”, or Como se llama, is pronounced, Como se YAMA. But, in Argentina, that apparently wasn’t acceptable and all double L’s are pronounced with a SHZ sound. Como se llama turns into Como se SHZAMA. When Chris and I were trying to get to Rio Gallegos, we were convinced everyone was stupid and trying to send us to a town called Rio Gashzegos. We kept telling them we didn’t want to go there and wanted Rio Gallegos, they must have thought we were the idiots.
Today, we took a boat trip through the Beagle Channel on a boat called the Tango. It was a small boat, with two crew members and approx. 10 tourists on board. There was a large Argentinean family, two Japanese guys, and myself and Chris. When one of the Argentine men asked Chris his name (como se SHZAMA), Chris just stared at him. It took us a good 45 seconds to figure out what the guy was saying and that’s a really easy basic question, we actually know that one!
Later on, the son of the Argentine man asked one of the Japanese tourists how old he was. He answered first in Spanish (trente y dos – which is 32) and the kid looked confused so he told him in English, “I surty two.” The kid just got up and walked away. Thank god I can pronounce my TH’s.
The search for Bandit
At the beginning of this trip, I told Chris we needed a dog sidekick to make the South American adventure complete. The dog would be a scrappy and cute little thing, we could tie a bandana jauntily around his neck, and his name would be Bandit. Bandit would get a leash fashioned out of rope, and follow us merrily throughout the continent, having wonderful adventures.
But almost immediately, I realized the Bandit fantasy could never be a reality. Eventually, Bandit would have to be left behind because Bandit would not be welcomed on buses, planes, in hotels, and most especially, the USA. There would be tears. Possibly a scene where I try to make him leave and he doesn’t understand, and he keeps following, and I have to say, “Go! Go away Bandit!” and then I have to throw a rock and he skitters off, completely sad and hurt and confused. That would never work.
But the idea of Bandit is still alive and well, probably because I have been traveling through the Land of the Stray Dog. They are everywhere. Big packs of mangy, wormy, hungry, and mean stray dogs. I walk by packs of them and curse my doctor in Hawaii for not insisting on me getting a rabies shot. These dogs would literally kill most dogs in the US, and they are definitely not Bandit material. I would get a serious disease if I adopted my Bandit off the street.
The only potential Bandit candidates are already owned by other people who obviously love and care for their dogs, and I can’t take one of those (although there were two beagles on a leash on Buenos Aires that I seriously considered stealing). So I am left with the strays. Bob Barker would have a field day out here; the need to spay and neuter your pets is at an all time high in Brazil and Argentina.
Some parents tell their children there are hungry children in China and/or Africa to get them to eat their dinner. If your dog could understand you, I think telling your dog you will send it to Argentina if it is naughty, would make it behave. This place is hardcore for dogs.
So my Bandit is yet to be found, but I will continue to be on a look out. Today we went to a husky breeding facility, and there were several possible Bandits. Then, one kissed me near my mouth and I was afraid I had contracted worms, and that ruined it for me.
The search for Bandit continues…
But almost immediately, I realized the Bandit fantasy could never be a reality. Eventually, Bandit would have to be left behind because Bandit would not be welcomed on buses, planes, in hotels, and most especially, the USA. There would be tears. Possibly a scene where I try to make him leave and he doesn’t understand, and he keeps following, and I have to say, “Go! Go away Bandit!” and then I have to throw a rock and he skitters off, completely sad and hurt and confused. That would never work.
But the idea of Bandit is still alive and well, probably because I have been traveling through the Land of the Stray Dog. They are everywhere. Big packs of mangy, wormy, hungry, and mean stray dogs. I walk by packs of them and curse my doctor in Hawaii for not insisting on me getting a rabies shot. These dogs would literally kill most dogs in the US, and they are definitely not Bandit material. I would get a serious disease if I adopted my Bandit off the street.
The only potential Bandit candidates are already owned by other people who obviously love and care for their dogs, and I can’t take one of those (although there were two beagles on a leash on Buenos Aires that I seriously considered stealing). So I am left with the strays. Bob Barker would have a field day out here; the need to spay and neuter your pets is at an all time high in Brazil and Argentina.
Some parents tell their children there are hungry children in China and/or Africa to get them to eat their dinner. If your dog could understand you, I think telling your dog you will send it to Argentina if it is naughty, would make it behave. This place is hardcore for dogs.
So my Bandit is yet to be found, but I will continue to be on a look out. Today we went to a husky breeding facility, and there were several possible Bandits. Then, one kissed me near my mouth and I was afraid I had contracted worms, and that ruined it for me.
The search for Bandit continues…
Tierra del Fuego National Park
On our second day in Ushuaia, we went to Tierra del Fuego National Park. The bus was supposed to pick us up at 11 am, but they said they were going to be a little more like 11:15. Then they said they would be a little later than that. At about 12:20 the lady at our hostel went next door and talked her friend into giving us (Stefani, me, a German couple, and an Australian named John) a ride. We thought that she was going to take us all the way to the park. Just as we were going to leave our bus showed up, but we decided to take the free ride instead. We soon found out that our free ride was only going to town so we could pay for another bus.
We talked to one company that was asking for too much money. Then the Germans struck up a deal with another company. They were very insistent on getting a specific bus. The driver assured us we would get the good bus and then collected everyone’s money and we waited for more passengers. When it was time to go, the driver ushered everyone towards the crappy bus and the German dude kind of flipped out. His arguments were in vain, though, and we were soon on our way. The driver promised the good bus for our return trip.
We got to the park and made a 1 km hike down a dirt road to the waterfront. There we had a quick lunch and headed off down the trail. There were beautiful views of the mountains, forest and bay. We couldn´t have asked for better weather. As for wildlife, we saw geese, woodpeckers and rabbits, but unfortunately, no sasquatch. The park and the surrounding area would be a great place to camp. This is partly due to the lack of large animals and partly due to the picturesque setting. It was an enjoyable hike, but made us realize quickly that we need to get in better shape before Machu Picchu. That will be a much more difficult trek and at a much higher altitude.
After the hike we found the bus that was supposed to take us back to town. It was not the good one they had promised After sitting in the van for about twenty minutes waiting for our driver to have a Pepsi and a couple of smokes we were on our way. Unfortunately this van had no AC and filled up with the dust kicked up from the buses and vans in front of us. That didn’t last too long because the van broke down after about five minutes. Another five or ten minutes later and we were finally on the bus they had promised us to begin with and on our way back to the hostel.
We talked to one company that was asking for too much money. Then the Germans struck up a deal with another company. They were very insistent on getting a specific bus. The driver assured us we would get the good bus and then collected everyone’s money and we waited for more passengers. When it was time to go, the driver ushered everyone towards the crappy bus and the German dude kind of flipped out. His arguments were in vain, though, and we were soon on our way. The driver promised the good bus for our return trip.
We got to the park and made a 1 km hike down a dirt road to the waterfront. There we had a quick lunch and headed off down the trail. There were beautiful views of the mountains, forest and bay. We couldn´t have asked for better weather. As for wildlife, we saw geese, woodpeckers and rabbits, but unfortunately, no sasquatch. The park and the surrounding area would be a great place to camp. This is partly due to the lack of large animals and partly due to the picturesque setting. It was an enjoyable hike, but made us realize quickly that we need to get in better shape before Machu Picchu. That will be a much more difficult trek and at a much higher altitude.
After the hike we found the bus that was supposed to take us back to town. It was not the good one they had promised After sitting in the van for about twenty minutes waiting for our driver to have a Pepsi and a couple of smokes we were on our way. Unfortunately this van had no AC and filled up with the dust kicked up from the buses and vans in front of us. That didn’t last too long because the van broke down after about five minutes. Another five or ten minutes later and we were finally on the bus they had promised us to begin with and on our way back to the hostel.
At the end of the world
Chris and I have been in Ushuaia, Argentina since Saturday. They call it Fin del Mundo (end of the world) because it is the southernmost city in the world. I think Fin del Mundo means End of the Internet. We are sitting on several posts and hundreds of photos that we want to upload to this site, but wifi is not working anywhere. I am currently in an intenet cafe with the slllloooooowest connection ever. So when we finally get somewhere with a decent connection, please expect a ton of posts and pics.
In the meantime, I´ll try and fill you in as best I can. We were supposed to get to Ushuaia Friday night but our airline was striking. Aerolineas Argentinas is infamous down here for being an awful airline, but they´re pretty much the only airline and the government keeps giving them money and prohibiting any competition so they´re still the only airline. They put us up in a hotel in Rio Gallegos (which was nice) and we even had our own bathroom, a first since staying with Mara in Rio. It´s such a treat not to shower with flip flops on. The flight left the following morning (a few hours delayed) and then we arrived to Ushuaia.
It´s very pretty down here. The town is in harbor, in the Beagle Channel. The Pacific Ocean is to the right, the Atlantic to the left, with Cape Horn over some mountains to the right. Lots to nature things to do here and of course, lots of boats to Antarctica. We came here with the intention of cruising to Antarctica last minute but the last minute deals were still too expensive. The cheapest that is available for a 10 day cruise with stops along the Antarctic peninsula, is $4000 US per person. That is almost half of our budget, so we just couldn´t do it. It´s a bummer, and $4000 will probably be the cheapest cruise to Antarctica I will ever see in my life, but still not cheap enough.
While we´ve been here, we gone into full tourist mode. We hiked a trail in the national park along some lakes. We went on a 4x4 trip through the mountains and lakes, and today, we went on a three hour boat tour through the Beagle Channel, complete with sea lions, birds, penguins, and free hot chocolate and beer. Chris has written in depth about the first two trips, so hopefully we can post that soon. Stupid wifi. I liked the boat trip today. It was cold on the water, but the environmental restrictions here aren´t all that strict so we got to get really close to all of the wildlife and tromp all over an island. That was fun. And this trip was the cheap one and didn´t go to the island with the penguins on it, but on our way back, we saw lots of them swimming in the channel looking for fish. I told Chris I can now buy some sort of penguin souvenir that clogs the stores here because I actually saw a penguin up close. Maybe I´ll strap a big stuffed one to my backpack, but probably not.
We tried to book a scuba trip with dry suits for the Beagle Channel, but it ended up costing even more than it does to dive in Hawaii, so we skipped it. I think we´ll try and get back north on the coast to Argentina to a town called Puerto Madryn that is known for diving. They still have penguins up there but it is a lot warmer.
We sat down last night and mapped out the next 6 cities we want to visit and have a bit of a plan. On Friday morning, we are taking a 12 hour bus ride to Puerto Natales, Chile. It´s just north of Punta Arenas, Chile and still in Patagonia. There is a huge glacier there, and then we´ll continue on to El Calafate, Argentina which is near their galcier national park. Lots of nature in my future. Hmph.
Our hostel in Ushuaia is called La Posta and it´s a good one. Very clean and quiet with several kitchens. I´ve been making dinner the past few nights to cut down on costs and to give us a break from Ham Fest 2008. People say Argentina is known for beef, but I think it really goes ham, cheese, sugar, and then beef. Breakfast always consists of sugary pastries with carmel in the middle, some sort of sugar based cracker, and tea with sugar. Lunch and dinner are variations of ham and cheese, with the occasional egg thrown in. I´m glad I´m not eating vegetarian right now because it would be frustrating.
Speaking of eating, I´ve managed to do it too much and not work out and I am getting out of shape... to put it nicely. Last night I started doing some basic exercises, and hopefully I keep up with it because I don´t want to go back to the states 50 pounds heavier.
Anyway, that´s my update. You´ll get hit with a bunch of entries and photos when we get back to a place with a better internet connection. I´m sorry you have to wait a bit for the pictures because it really is stunning out here.
In the meantime, I´ll try and fill you in as best I can. We were supposed to get to Ushuaia Friday night but our airline was striking. Aerolineas Argentinas is infamous down here for being an awful airline, but they´re pretty much the only airline and the government keeps giving them money and prohibiting any competition so they´re still the only airline. They put us up in a hotel in Rio Gallegos (which was nice) and we even had our own bathroom, a first since staying with Mara in Rio. It´s such a treat not to shower with flip flops on. The flight left the following morning (a few hours delayed) and then we arrived to Ushuaia.
It´s very pretty down here. The town is in harbor, in the Beagle Channel. The Pacific Ocean is to the right, the Atlantic to the left, with Cape Horn over some mountains to the right. Lots to nature things to do here and of course, lots of boats to Antarctica. We came here with the intention of cruising to Antarctica last minute but the last minute deals were still too expensive. The cheapest that is available for a 10 day cruise with stops along the Antarctic peninsula, is $4000 US per person. That is almost half of our budget, so we just couldn´t do it. It´s a bummer, and $4000 will probably be the cheapest cruise to Antarctica I will ever see in my life, but still not cheap enough.
While we´ve been here, we gone into full tourist mode. We hiked a trail in the national park along some lakes. We went on a 4x4 trip through the mountains and lakes, and today, we went on a three hour boat tour through the Beagle Channel, complete with sea lions, birds, penguins, and free hot chocolate and beer. Chris has written in depth about the first two trips, so hopefully we can post that soon. Stupid wifi. I liked the boat trip today. It was cold on the water, but the environmental restrictions here aren´t all that strict so we got to get really close to all of the wildlife and tromp all over an island. That was fun. And this trip was the cheap one and didn´t go to the island with the penguins on it, but on our way back, we saw lots of them swimming in the channel looking for fish. I told Chris I can now buy some sort of penguin souvenir that clogs the stores here because I actually saw a penguin up close. Maybe I´ll strap a big stuffed one to my backpack, but probably not.
We tried to book a scuba trip with dry suits for the Beagle Channel, but it ended up costing even more than it does to dive in Hawaii, so we skipped it. I think we´ll try and get back north on the coast to Argentina to a town called Puerto Madryn that is known for diving. They still have penguins up there but it is a lot warmer.
We sat down last night and mapped out the next 6 cities we want to visit and have a bit of a plan. On Friday morning, we are taking a 12 hour bus ride to Puerto Natales, Chile. It´s just north of Punta Arenas, Chile and still in Patagonia. There is a huge glacier there, and then we´ll continue on to El Calafate, Argentina which is near their galcier national park. Lots of nature in my future. Hmph.
Our hostel in Ushuaia is called La Posta and it´s a good one. Very clean and quiet with several kitchens. I´ve been making dinner the past few nights to cut down on costs and to give us a break from Ham Fest 2008. People say Argentina is known for beef, but I think it really goes ham, cheese, sugar, and then beef. Breakfast always consists of sugary pastries with carmel in the middle, some sort of sugar based cracker, and tea with sugar. Lunch and dinner are variations of ham and cheese, with the occasional egg thrown in. I´m glad I´m not eating vegetarian right now because it would be frustrating.
Speaking of eating, I´ve managed to do it too much and not work out and I am getting out of shape... to put it nicely. Last night I started doing some basic exercises, and hopefully I keep up with it because I don´t want to go back to the states 50 pounds heavier.
Anyway, that´s my update. You´ll get hit with a bunch of entries and photos when we get back to a place with a better internet connection. I´m sorry you have to wait a bit for the pictures because it really is stunning out here.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
I was robbed.
I’m currently in Rio Gallegos after a 36+ hour bus ride from Buenos Aires. I told my dad it reminds me of Barstow, California, and I was happy about that. If you’ve ever been to Barstow, you know it’s nothing to be happy about. But this town has 79,000 people in it (according to Chris’ guide book) and the last two cities we’ve been in have had 12 million each. So it’s just nice to be somewhere smaller and the old downtown has wide sidewalks and funky stores and the people are nice. And it reminds me of Barstow because it’s dusty, ugly, kind of dirty, but not nearly as hot… which is good.
Anyway, I was robbed at the bus station in Buenos Aires about 10 minutes before our bus left. The buses are not assigned a platform and you are given 10 platforms to watch for your bus. We were given platforms 4 through 14 to watch for our bus. When your bus arrives, you need to check your bags and find you seat ASAP, as the bus tries to leave 10 minutes after it arrives. Combine that with not knowing much Spanish things can get busy and stressful.
Chris sent me out to find our bus and while I was gone, he was approached by a guy who told him he had a bunch of stains and gunk all over his back (well, the guy motioned this as he spoke no English). When I came back, there was a lot of activity; the guy was handing me toilet paper pieces to clean up Chris, pointing at the ceiling to indicate the stuff was dripping from up there, and diverting our attention while his buddy grabbed my smaller travel backpack. I’ve read about this scam countless times and realized about 40 seconds too late that it was happening to us. I am usually SO careful and the fact that I was taken on this stupid scam makes me so sick and angry at the same time.
When I realized the pack was gone, both guys were long gone and our bus was about ready to leave. The bus operators spoke little English, but managed to let me know that they’d leave me if I tried to go and file a police report. So I had 36+ plus hours on a bus to cry, think about what I’d done, and get angry.
We arrived to Rio Gallegos this morning and I started damage control as much as I could. I did not lose my passport, money (minus $40 US), or my credit cards or bank card, digital camera, or iPods. That was a good thing. The pack that was stolen was my daypack and filled with the things I needed for the immediate 36 hours on the bus: I lost clothes, a jacket, headphones, journals and books, a stuff sack, a down blanket, two pairs of expensive sunglasses, toiletries, pills, jewelry, etc. So I called USAA (whom I keep my renters insurance with) and claimed my items. I have a $500 deductible so I won’t see much back, but every bit helps. I still don’t have a police report (to get my money from the insurance folks), but I spoke with the federal police today, and I can either claim it sometime when/if I return to Buenos Aires, or claim that I lost everything in Rio Gallegos. Surprisingly, USAA is cool with the latter choice, so Chris and I will contact the local police here tomorrow and say I “lost” my backpack in Rio Gallegos.
I also put a credit fraud alert on my accounts through the three credit agencies. I don’t think they got my SSN# when they robbed me, but they got a file that contained photo copies of my passport and some medical information that may have had my SSN# in it so I wanted to be safe. I also changed all of my online passwords.
I hate that this happened and I hate that it makes me look at everyone with distrust now. This stuff happens all over the world, and it can happen to anyone, I guess I’m just mad that I let it happen to me.
Otherwise, we’re fine. We FINALLY have a clean hostel with a clean bathroom which is awesome. This town is nice and tomorrow night we fly to Ushuaia and will hopefully get a cruise to Antarctica. So things could be a whole lot worse. Chris’ daypack had his laptop, passport, credit cards, and all of his money in it. If any bag from our four had to be stolen, mine was the best. I don’t look forward to repurchasing certain things and I’m very upset I lost certain things (including all of my jewelry and my immunization card) but at least we’re safe and fine. I will have my new immunization card mailed to my parents who can send it to my friend who works at the US embassy in Paraguay. We'll be going there eventually and think that is the safest route for mail down here.
Next post will be much happier.
Ps – to Uncle Bruce, thanks for the beer fund money… we’ll be using it tonight!
Anyway, I was robbed at the bus station in Buenos Aires about 10 minutes before our bus left. The buses are not assigned a platform and you are given 10 platforms to watch for your bus. We were given platforms 4 through 14 to watch for our bus. When your bus arrives, you need to check your bags and find you seat ASAP, as the bus tries to leave 10 minutes after it arrives. Combine that with not knowing much Spanish things can get busy and stressful.
Chris sent me out to find our bus and while I was gone, he was approached by a guy who told him he had a bunch of stains and gunk all over his back (well, the guy motioned this as he spoke no English). When I came back, there was a lot of activity; the guy was handing me toilet paper pieces to clean up Chris, pointing at the ceiling to indicate the stuff was dripping from up there, and diverting our attention while his buddy grabbed my smaller travel backpack. I’ve read about this scam countless times and realized about 40 seconds too late that it was happening to us. I am usually SO careful and the fact that I was taken on this stupid scam makes me so sick and angry at the same time.
When I realized the pack was gone, both guys were long gone and our bus was about ready to leave. The bus operators spoke little English, but managed to let me know that they’d leave me if I tried to go and file a police report. So I had 36+ plus hours on a bus to cry, think about what I’d done, and get angry.
We arrived to Rio Gallegos this morning and I started damage control as much as I could. I did not lose my passport, money (minus $40 US), or my credit cards or bank card, digital camera, or iPods. That was a good thing. The pack that was stolen was my daypack and filled with the things I needed for the immediate 36 hours on the bus: I lost clothes, a jacket, headphones, journals and books, a stuff sack, a down blanket, two pairs of expensive sunglasses, toiletries, pills, jewelry, etc. So I called USAA (whom I keep my renters insurance with) and claimed my items. I have a $500 deductible so I won’t see much back, but every bit helps. I still don’t have a police report (to get my money from the insurance folks), but I spoke with the federal police today, and I can either claim it sometime when/if I return to Buenos Aires, or claim that I lost everything in Rio Gallegos. Surprisingly, USAA is cool with the latter choice, so Chris and I will contact the local police here tomorrow and say I “lost” my backpack in Rio Gallegos.
I also put a credit fraud alert on my accounts through the three credit agencies. I don’t think they got my SSN# when they robbed me, but they got a file that contained photo copies of my passport and some medical information that may have had my SSN# in it so I wanted to be safe. I also changed all of my online passwords.
I hate that this happened and I hate that it makes me look at everyone with distrust now. This stuff happens all over the world, and it can happen to anyone, I guess I’m just mad that I let it happen to me.
Otherwise, we’re fine. We FINALLY have a clean hostel with a clean bathroom which is awesome. This town is nice and tomorrow night we fly to Ushuaia and will hopefully get a cruise to Antarctica. So things could be a whole lot worse. Chris’ daypack had his laptop, passport, credit cards, and all of his money in it. If any bag from our four had to be stolen, mine was the best. I don’t look forward to repurchasing certain things and I’m very upset I lost certain things (including all of my jewelry and my immunization card) but at least we’re safe and fine. I will have my new immunization card mailed to my parents who can send it to my friend who works at the US embassy in Paraguay. We'll be going there eventually and think that is the safest route for mail down here.
Next post will be much happier.
Ps – to Uncle Bruce, thanks for the beer fund money… we’ll be using it tonight!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Our last day in BA... I made a rhyme
I´m at an internet cafe with a crazy Spanish keyboard so if some strange stuff starts to pop up on this post, like ñ, ^`, ¿, etc. please ignore it.
Chris and I are still in Buenos Aires, and we leave tonight by bus for Rio Gallegos. It´s a 36 hour trip, we leave at 8pm tonight and we had to be out of our hostel at 10a today, so we´ll be showerless for a long time. I feel like Steve Martin in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles where he tells the guy, "I´ve been wearing the same underwear since Tuesday." That will literally be us on Thursday. Gross.
When we arrived in Buenos Aires, we had booked a hostel ahead of time in the center of town which is conveniently named Centro. Centro is packed, noisy, hot, and dirty. I was not a fan. Our hostel wasn´t much better, they messed up our reservations, so the first night we stayed in a six bed dorm with bunkbeds and no AC. The women´s shower would not drain, and the towels smelled like powdered cheese. We were walking through the neighborhood of San Telmo, and I saw a hostel that I liked. We did not ask to see the rooms, and I based my opinion solely on the fact that this hostel was painted pretty on the inside. Next time, we need to look at the rooms and bathrooms and I need to not judge things based on pink paint. Our new hostel was noisy, packed, a smokers haven, dirty, and no AC anywhere. The bathrooms were even dirtier (an almost impossible feat) and there was never any toilet paper. But the towels didn´t stink and I had a full length mirror in our room... I´ll give it that much. So I am looking forward to a new hostel in Rio Gallegos, hopefully not as crappy.
Yesterday, Chris and I walked through the neighborhood of Palermo. This is the good neighborhood where a couple of people told me to stay, if we make it back here, I will def. do that. We tried to get to the Evita Museum but they were closed on Mondays so we briefly strolled through the botanic gardens, peered at some walrus at the zoo through a fence, and then had drinks and snacks. Basically, a lot of our sightseeing revolves around drinks and snacks and I´m 100% OK with that.
My gayification of Chris continues, as last night I made him go to a super touristy tango show. It was fun, but a lot like going to a luau in Hawaii, you just know it´s so fake and overpriced. Chris wanted to write about that so I won´t steal his thunder. We couldn´t really take pictures, but I´ll get what I can up shortly on our Photos page.
As for Buenos Aires, I leave having learned some new things. Here they are in no particular order...
1. Tortillas and Omelettes are pretty much the same thing. They both have the same ingredients, but the tortilla version comes perfectly circular right our of the pan, and the omelette version comes a little messy and thinner. Both are delicious.
2. Pedestrians DO NOT and NEVER WILL have the right of way. Even after the green walking man pops up on the light to tell you to cross, people peer timidly out for the cars running lights. When it is clear, they dash out, almost like deer trying to cross a highway in the middle of the night.
3. When my schedule is adjusted accordingly, I am totally fine with eating dinner at 10pm or later.
4. After less than 3 weeks of travelling, I already hate all of my clothes.
5. Girls here are currently wearing the bright color-white outfit. It´s usually a green top with white pants or shorts or a skirt, paired with green shoes and a green handbag. Sometimes the white and green switch spots with the top becoming white and the pants becoming green, but it´s pretty much the same thing. Tuesday must be purple and white day as Chris and I saw that a bunch today. It was pink and white day on Saturday.
6. The people here are generally nice and very patient with you when you butcher their language and try to communicate via bad Spanish.
7. Chris´ new love is for the Empanada. A piece of dough folded in half, stuffed with a variety of meats and cheeses, and baked in an oven. He´s obsessed, although he´s already obsessed with other folded foods like wraps, sub sandwiches, and calzones so he says it´s not a big deal.
And that´s about it. The spell check isn´t working so I apologize. We will write more soon and we will soon be in the southernmost city in the world. Good times!
Chris and I are still in Buenos Aires, and we leave tonight by bus for Rio Gallegos. It´s a 36 hour trip, we leave at 8pm tonight and we had to be out of our hostel at 10a today, so we´ll be showerless for a long time. I feel like Steve Martin in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles where he tells the guy, "I´ve been wearing the same underwear since Tuesday." That will literally be us on Thursday. Gross.
When we arrived in Buenos Aires, we had booked a hostel ahead of time in the center of town which is conveniently named Centro. Centro is packed, noisy, hot, and dirty. I was not a fan. Our hostel wasn´t much better, they messed up our reservations, so the first night we stayed in a six bed dorm with bunkbeds and no AC. The women´s shower would not drain, and the towels smelled like powdered cheese. We were walking through the neighborhood of San Telmo, and I saw a hostel that I liked. We did not ask to see the rooms, and I based my opinion solely on the fact that this hostel was painted pretty on the inside. Next time, we need to look at the rooms and bathrooms and I need to not judge things based on pink paint. Our new hostel was noisy, packed, a smokers haven, dirty, and no AC anywhere. The bathrooms were even dirtier (an almost impossible feat) and there was never any toilet paper. But the towels didn´t stink and I had a full length mirror in our room... I´ll give it that much. So I am looking forward to a new hostel in Rio Gallegos, hopefully not as crappy.
Yesterday, Chris and I walked through the neighborhood of Palermo. This is the good neighborhood where a couple of people told me to stay, if we make it back here, I will def. do that. We tried to get to the Evita Museum but they were closed on Mondays so we briefly strolled through the botanic gardens, peered at some walrus at the zoo through a fence, and then had drinks and snacks. Basically, a lot of our sightseeing revolves around drinks and snacks and I´m 100% OK with that.
My gayification of Chris continues, as last night I made him go to a super touristy tango show. It was fun, but a lot like going to a luau in Hawaii, you just know it´s so fake and overpriced. Chris wanted to write about that so I won´t steal his thunder. We couldn´t really take pictures, but I´ll get what I can up shortly on our Photos page.
As for Buenos Aires, I leave having learned some new things. Here they are in no particular order...
1. Tortillas and Omelettes are pretty much the same thing. They both have the same ingredients, but the tortilla version comes perfectly circular right our of the pan, and the omelette version comes a little messy and thinner. Both are delicious.
2. Pedestrians DO NOT and NEVER WILL have the right of way. Even after the green walking man pops up on the light to tell you to cross, people peer timidly out for the cars running lights. When it is clear, they dash out, almost like deer trying to cross a highway in the middle of the night.
3. When my schedule is adjusted accordingly, I am totally fine with eating dinner at 10pm or later.
4. After less than 3 weeks of travelling, I already hate all of my clothes.
5. Girls here are currently wearing the bright color-white outfit. It´s usually a green top with white pants or shorts or a skirt, paired with green shoes and a green handbag. Sometimes the white and green switch spots with the top becoming white and the pants becoming green, but it´s pretty much the same thing. Tuesday must be purple and white day as Chris and I saw that a bunch today. It was pink and white day on Saturday.
6. The people here are generally nice and very patient with you when you butcher their language and try to communicate via bad Spanish.
7. Chris´ new love is for the Empanada. A piece of dough folded in half, stuffed with a variety of meats and cheeses, and baked in an oven. He´s obsessed, although he´s already obsessed with other folded foods like wraps, sub sandwiches, and calzones so he says it´s not a big deal.
And that´s about it. The spell check isn´t working so I apologize. We will write more soon and we will soon be in the southernmost city in the world. Good times!
Saturday, February 16, 2008
We´re back. Woot.
Yes! We’re alive, we made it. I’m sorry this blog/website hasn’t been updated this week, but our wireless connection in the hostel has been down since we arrived to Buenos Aires. When we do have access to the internet, we’ve been frantically trying to book bus tickets, hostels, and plane tickets. So here’s the summary:
We left Rio on Tuesday, February 12th for our 42 hour bus ride. It actually turned into a 46 hour bus ride as our air conditioning broke, there was some traffic, one wicked accident involving a bridge and a beat up car with some blood, and some idiots on our bus from Israel couldn’t figure out how to work customs leaving Brazil. It was a loooong trip, but it was OK. The seats reclined almost all of the way down and it was definitely better spending that much time on a bus instead of a plane. They played movies but kept the volume low and the subtitles were in Spanish so missed out on that, but really, King Arthur with Clive Owen is a crap movie anyway. We would stop at random times and play the guessing game as to whether or not we were stopping for food, a bathroom break, or gas… no one ever seemed to say anything so there were a lot of questions to the people who could speak Portuguese and English or Spanish and English. There was never a last call to get on the bus so it was important to know exactly when you needed to be on the bus or they would leave you. We went through the interior of Brazil and Argentina and parts looked like Florida to me, and some parts like California. It was pretty. So far, it seems like Argentina is a lot cleaner than Brazil, and I’ve seen a lot less poverty.
Chris and I want to get to Ushuia as soon as possible. It’s the southernmost city in the world and that’s where some cruises for Antarctica leave. We want to get there and see if we can hop on a last minute cruise. But this is the high season and flights and buses have been booked for months and combine that with limited internet access, Chris and I have spent a lot of time walking to airline offices and bus stations throughout Buenos Aires. The best we could do was to get a bus ticket to Rio Gallegos which is about 250K from Ushuia. It’s a 36 (!!!!) hour trip and we will arrive this Thursday. After that, we will take a plane to Ushuia on Friday night. We have a hostel booked in Rio Gallegos and that’s as far as we’ve gotten. But it’s a start.
As for Buenos Aires, I really enjoy the city. We haven’t gone to the tango shows yet or done a ton of sightseeing, but it’s easy to get around (I love their subway system), it’s a lot easier to communicate via Spanish, and it’s a lot cheaper than Rio. Today Chris and I went to a part of town called Recoleta, and it houses a cemetery where all of the fancy pants people are buried. Allegedly, Evita is buried there but we couldn’t find her. I will post some pics soon. Tonight we’re doing a Buenos Aires pub crawl. It’s in a part of town called San Telmo that houses all of the artists and bohemian crowd. I’m sure it will be all Australians and English kids from hostels but it will be good to meet some other people. I need to get ready so I’ll write more soon!
We left Rio on Tuesday, February 12th for our 42 hour bus ride. It actually turned into a 46 hour bus ride as our air conditioning broke, there was some traffic, one wicked accident involving a bridge and a beat up car with some blood, and some idiots on our bus from Israel couldn’t figure out how to work customs leaving Brazil. It was a loooong trip, but it was OK. The seats reclined almost all of the way down and it was definitely better spending that much time on a bus instead of a plane. They played movies but kept the volume low and the subtitles were in Spanish so missed out on that, but really, King Arthur with Clive Owen is a crap movie anyway. We would stop at random times and play the guessing game as to whether or not we were stopping for food, a bathroom break, or gas… no one ever seemed to say anything so there were a lot of questions to the people who could speak Portuguese and English or Spanish and English. There was never a last call to get on the bus so it was important to know exactly when you needed to be on the bus or they would leave you. We went through the interior of Brazil and Argentina and parts looked like Florida to me, and some parts like California. It was pretty. So far, it seems like Argentina is a lot cleaner than Brazil, and I’ve seen a lot less poverty.
Chris and I want to get to Ushuia as soon as possible. It’s the southernmost city in the world and that’s where some cruises for Antarctica leave. We want to get there and see if we can hop on a last minute cruise. But this is the high season and flights and buses have been booked for months and combine that with limited internet access, Chris and I have spent a lot of time walking to airline offices and bus stations throughout Buenos Aires. The best we could do was to get a bus ticket to Rio Gallegos which is about 250K from Ushuia. It’s a 36 (!!!!) hour trip and we will arrive this Thursday. After that, we will take a plane to Ushuia on Friday night. We have a hostel booked in Rio Gallegos and that’s as far as we’ve gotten. But it’s a start.
As for Buenos Aires, I really enjoy the city. We haven’t gone to the tango shows yet or done a ton of sightseeing, but it’s easy to get around (I love their subway system), it’s a lot easier to communicate via Spanish, and it’s a lot cheaper than Rio. Today Chris and I went to a part of town called Recoleta, and it houses a cemetery where all of the fancy pants people are buried. Allegedly, Evita is buried there but we couldn’t find her. I will post some pics soon. Tonight we’re doing a Buenos Aires pub crawl. It’s in a part of town called San Telmo that houses all of the artists and bohemian crowd. I’m sure it will be all Australians and English kids from hostels but it will be good to meet some other people. I need to get ready so I’ll write more soon!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Buenos Aires bound
After almost two weeks in Rio, Chris and I are off the Buenos Aires... Argentina (for those of you who didn't pay attention in Geography class). We wanted to leave earlier, but the plane tickets were too expensive, and the bus tickets were sold out until Tuesday. Mara and Rodrigo were nice enough to let us stay even longer so that was great. It was so invaluable to have them to take us around and translate for us and tell us where to go and where not to go... and that was just in the bus station. We're going to be screwed in Buenos Aires.
Our bus tickets to Buenos Aires were 230 reais (about $140) and that gets us a 42 (!!!!!) hour bus ride. Forty two hours! But our seats recline all the way and once we get into Argentina, they feed us. But not until then, which is weird. I think they're punishing their people for leaving the country and rewarding them for returning, plus I hear they kinda hate Brazilians.
We have hostel booked for our first night in BA. When we get there, we want to get a bus ticket ASAP to the southernmost tip of Argentina, to a town called Ushuia. There, we hope to get a last minute cruise to Antarctica on the cheap. Apparently, it's the high season down to southern Argentina right now, so getting a bus ticket to Ushuia might be difficult. But we'll do our best.
Now I just need to switch gears in my head and stop spitting out sentence fragments in Portuguese and spit out fragments in Spanish. Good times. There is much packing to be done and we're leaving behind a bunch of stuff at Mara's place as we totally overpacked.
Chris also needs to stop fighting me and get out and buy a sunga before we go. A sunga is the tiny teeny bathing suit worn by all the men here, it's like a speedo without the bikini cut. When Rodrigo's brother Rafeal had lunch with us a few days ago he was shocked to find out that that type of bathing suit is considered a bit gay in the USA. He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that in some countries, tiny bits of lycra stretched over a dude isn't considered masculine. He was seriously upset. Anyway, we have things to get to, wish us luck on the 42 hours in a bus. Yikes!
Our bus tickets to Buenos Aires were 230 reais (about $140) and that gets us a 42 (!!!!!) hour bus ride. Forty two hours! But our seats recline all the way and once we get into Argentina, they feed us. But not until then, which is weird. I think they're punishing their people for leaving the country and rewarding them for returning, plus I hear they kinda hate Brazilians.
We have hostel booked for our first night in BA. When we get there, we want to get a bus ticket ASAP to the southernmost tip of Argentina, to a town called Ushuia. There, we hope to get a last minute cruise to Antarctica on the cheap. Apparently, it's the high season down to southern Argentina right now, so getting a bus ticket to Ushuia might be difficult. But we'll do our best.
Now I just need to switch gears in my head and stop spitting out sentence fragments in Portuguese and spit out fragments in Spanish. Good times. There is much packing to be done and we're leaving behind a bunch of stuff at Mara's place as we totally overpacked.
Chris also needs to stop fighting me and get out and buy a sunga before we go. A sunga is the tiny teeny bathing suit worn by all the men here, it's like a speedo without the bikini cut. When Rodrigo's brother Rafeal had lunch with us a few days ago he was shocked to find out that that type of bathing suit is considered a bit gay in the USA. He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that in some countries, tiny bits of lycra stretched over a dude isn't considered masculine. He was seriously upset. Anyway, we have things to get to, wish us luck on the 42 hours in a bus. Yikes!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
First Brazilian Soccer Game
The day after we arrived in Rio, we went to see Botafogo and Vasco play soccer. Rodrigo and his brother Rafael are die-hard Botafogo fans, so we were all cheering for Botafogo.
Soccer here is BIG TIME and it is very different from soccer in the US and sporting events there in general. Marcanã Stadium in its current state holds about 70,000 people. It held around 100,000 prior to being remodeled with bucket seats instead of bleachers. There are no assigned seats. It is all general admission, except for maybe a couple of sections where celebrities and famous people might sit. As you enter the stadium, you are directed to one half of the seating depending on which team you are cheering for. This is to cut down on the fights.
Once we were at our seats, there was a sort of minor league game going on out on the field. These are mostly high school aged kids trying to break out of the Favela’s by making it as soccer players. They play hard and even though the crowd is much smaller for these games, it is still pretty intense with all of the chanting and cheering. Botafogo won the first game.
By the time the main event started the stadium had filled in quite a bit more and the crowd was getting excited. This was just a regular season game and the closest I can compare the energy I felt in this stadium is to that of the NCAA national championship game I went to at the Rose Bowl in 2002. It was insane. All over the stadium, from little kids to senior citizens, everyone is chanting and yelling. When someone gets hurt on the other team, you don’t sit quietly hoping they are all right and cheer for them when they get up. Instead, you celebrate and talk smack to them. Imagine you are laying on the field with a torn ACL and 30,000 are calling you a pussy and telling you to get off the field so the game can finish. I don’t necessarily condone happiness in someone getting hurt, but I can think of a few people I wouldn’t be sorry to see go down for the count. I certainly wouldn’t think it crass to boo someone for wearing a Patriots jersey into Colts territory, even if said person was a little girl. She shouldn’t have even been allowed into the dome with that thing. I digress.
There are various cheering blocks for either side. They wave flags and lead chants and generally appear to try and incite chaos. No one will try and tell you to sit down if you are standing up and yelling for your team, and you definitely won’t be told to wait for a break in the action before you cross in front of people to get to your seat. If you are in someone’s way for too long, you will probably just be pushed aside.
All over the stadium people were waving sparklers throughout the game and it was perfectly acceptable. Try bringing a box of those into an NFL game.
Probably the best part about Brazilian soccer was the pace of the game. If it gets to slow, the crowd starts yelling at the players to go faster. Apparently, when tens of thousands of crazed South Americans tell you to do something…you do it. It makes for an exciting game.
The highlight was a Botafogo victory on a penalty kick score with only a couple of minutes left in the game. I’m hooked and I look forward to more games on this trip.
Soccer here is BIG TIME and it is very different from soccer in the US and sporting events there in general. Marcanã Stadium in its current state holds about 70,000 people. It held around 100,000 prior to being remodeled with bucket seats instead of bleachers. There are no assigned seats. It is all general admission, except for maybe a couple of sections where celebrities and famous people might sit. As you enter the stadium, you are directed to one half of the seating depending on which team you are cheering for. This is to cut down on the fights.
Once we were at our seats, there was a sort of minor league game going on out on the field. These are mostly high school aged kids trying to break out of the Favela’s by making it as soccer players. They play hard and even though the crowd is much smaller for these games, it is still pretty intense with all of the chanting and cheering. Botafogo won the first game.
By the time the main event started the stadium had filled in quite a bit more and the crowd was getting excited. This was just a regular season game and the closest I can compare the energy I felt in this stadium is to that of the NCAA national championship game I went to at the Rose Bowl in 2002. It was insane. All over the stadium, from little kids to senior citizens, everyone is chanting and yelling. When someone gets hurt on the other team, you don’t sit quietly hoping they are all right and cheer for them when they get up. Instead, you celebrate and talk smack to them. Imagine you are laying on the field with a torn ACL and 30,000 are calling you a pussy and telling you to get off the field so the game can finish. I don’t necessarily condone happiness in someone getting hurt, but I can think of a few people I wouldn’t be sorry to see go down for the count. I certainly wouldn’t think it crass to boo someone for wearing a Patriots jersey into Colts territory, even if said person was a little girl. She shouldn’t have even been allowed into the dome with that thing. I digress.
There are various cheering blocks for either side. They wave flags and lead chants and generally appear to try and incite chaos. No one will try and tell you to sit down if you are standing up and yelling for your team, and you definitely won’t be told to wait for a break in the action before you cross in front of people to get to your seat. If you are in someone’s way for too long, you will probably just be pushed aside.
All over the stadium people were waving sparklers throughout the game and it was perfectly acceptable. Try bringing a box of those into an NFL game.
Probably the best part about Brazilian soccer was the pace of the game. If it gets to slow, the crowd starts yelling at the players to go faster. Apparently, when tens of thousands of crazed South Americans tell you to do something…you do it. It makes for an exciting game.
The highlight was a Botafogo victory on a penalty kick score with only a couple of minutes left in the game. I’m hooked and I look forward to more games on this trip.
With Death Flu Over, Laziness Contributes to Blog with no Clear Thesis
After partying the first few days in Rio and being sick for a while after that, I didn’t get much up on the blog. So now I am going to cram everything I wanted to say into one post. Of course, I have forgotten most of it by now, but here goes…
I almost missed my flight out of Denver after the gate attendant informed everyone that there was a delay and it would be a good time to “check out the local eateries.” I got a sandwich and a beer at the restaurant right next to the gate and fifteen minutes later, upon the urging of Stef’s sister Denise, went to check the status of my flight. After rounding the corner out of the restaurant, I heard last call for boarding. I was not happy about the gate attendant’s advice of getting some food, but I made it and after what seemed like an eternity later, I was in Rio.
We’ve been very fortunate to have a nice place to stay and great hosts in Rio. Rodrigo and Mara have gone out of their way to see to it that we have had a great time. Everything would be at least ten times as difficult without someone to cart us around and translate between Portuguese and English. Portuguese looks a lot like Spanish, but the pronunciation doesn’t seem anywhere close to me. Combine that with the Carioca accent and the fact that I don’t even speak Spanish and I’m clueless as soon as the Portuguese starts flowing.
All in all Brazil has been great so far. There are many beautiful people, although I think proportionally, there are just as many in Hawaii, maybe more so. The beach is great. You can buy beer, snacks, all kinds of other useless crap and rent chairs and umbrellas for pretty cheap. You don’t have to look too far to see people having a good time and you don’t have to try too hard to have one yourself.
I almost missed my flight out of Denver after the gate attendant informed everyone that there was a delay and it would be a good time to “check out the local eateries.” I got a sandwich and a beer at the restaurant right next to the gate and fifteen minutes later, upon the urging of Stef’s sister Denise, went to check the status of my flight. After rounding the corner out of the restaurant, I heard last call for boarding. I was not happy about the gate attendant’s advice of getting some food, but I made it and after what seemed like an eternity later, I was in Rio.
We’ve been very fortunate to have a nice place to stay and great hosts in Rio. Rodrigo and Mara have gone out of their way to see to it that we have had a great time. Everything would be at least ten times as difficult without someone to cart us around and translate between Portuguese and English. Portuguese looks a lot like Spanish, but the pronunciation doesn’t seem anywhere close to me. Combine that with the Carioca accent and the fact that I don’t even speak Spanish and I’m clueless as soon as the Portuguese starts flowing.
All in all Brazil has been great so far. There are many beautiful people, although I think proportionally, there are just as many in Hawaii, maybe more so. The beach is great. You can buy beer, snacks, all kinds of other useless crap and rent chairs and umbrellas for pretty cheap. You don’t have to look too far to see people having a good time and you don’t have to try too hard to have one yourself.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Estefani
My mom’s maiden name is Stefani and she pronounced it like you would a first name, a.k.a. Stephanie. So when it came time for their first born to come along, my dad suggested that they name it Stefani if it was a girl. My mom thought it was weird because she only thought of it as a last name, but I guess they couldn’t agree on anything better, and when I came along, I came along as Stefani.
Besides a brief spell at the age of four when I wanted to change my name to Crystal, or possibly Cinderella, I was fine with Stefani. But the spelling of Stefani was a whole different deal. Even typing Stefani right now on the computer, I get an angry little pointy red line underneath each Stefani, telling me I am wrong. And I’m not wrong! Everyone else is wrong. I’ve gone through the majority of my life spelling my name to people the following way…
“S. t. e. f… F. f. Yeah, no P-H. F. a. n. i. no e. No e. NO E!”
And most of the time, it comes back as Stephanie.
Later on I could say, “It’s spelled like Gwen from No Doubt.” And most people between the ages of 13 and 40 would know what I was talking about, spell it correctly, and then want to call me “Stefahnee”. It didn’t help that I use that same pronunciation on the air, so I’m probably perpetuating the whole thing.
But for my whole life, it has been spelled wrong on checks, birthday cards, awards, junk mail, regular mail, documents from work and school, etc. Nowadays, I just don’t say anything, but when I see it, it just irks me a little bit. So imagine my glee when Mara took me to a laundromat in Leblon two days ago and I dropped off my clothes, grabbed the receipt, and shining back at me, written on the receipt by a woman who speaks zero English, was “Estefani”! OK, so there was an E at the beginning but it is a very common name down here and they pronounce it “Eh-schtefani” which is close enough for me. Kind of spices it up a bit.
Yesterday, I walked down the street to get Favorite Snack #2 in Rio, which is a sushi hand roll from a place called Koni. Favorite Snack #1 in Rio (if you were curious) is a cheese and banana sandwich with cinnamon (don’t knock it till you try it) from the corner juice and sandwich stands.
Anyway, I like to order the sushi hand rolls because most of the ingredients are easy for me to understand, and I can order things that mention tempura and crème cheese. I told them I wanted it ‘to go’ (para viajem) and the counter girl asked me, “Su nome?”. I stared at her blankly. Again, she asks, “Su nome?” Again, I stare. This happens a few times.
Finally, another waitress walks over, and asks me in a tone you usually reserve for the mentally handicapped, “What. Is. Your. Name.?”
Oh my god! I know the answer to this one! And I proudly blurt out, “Eh-schtefani!”
Everyone seems very pleased, or at least I pretend that they do, and the counter girl quickly hands me a receipt that says, “Estefani”. I love it.
Besides a brief spell at the age of four when I wanted to change my name to Crystal, or possibly Cinderella, I was fine with Stefani. But the spelling of Stefani was a whole different deal. Even typing Stefani right now on the computer, I get an angry little pointy red line underneath each Stefani, telling me I am wrong. And I’m not wrong! Everyone else is wrong. I’ve gone through the majority of my life spelling my name to people the following way…
“S. t. e. f… F. f. Yeah, no P-H. F. a. n. i. no e. No e. NO E!”
And most of the time, it comes back as Stephanie.
Later on I could say, “It’s spelled like Gwen from No Doubt.” And most people between the ages of 13 and 40 would know what I was talking about, spell it correctly, and then want to call me “Stefahnee”. It didn’t help that I use that same pronunciation on the air, so I’m probably perpetuating the whole thing.
But for my whole life, it has been spelled wrong on checks, birthday cards, awards, junk mail, regular mail, documents from work and school, etc. Nowadays, I just don’t say anything, but when I see it, it just irks me a little bit. So imagine my glee when Mara took me to a laundromat in Leblon two days ago and I dropped off my clothes, grabbed the receipt, and shining back at me, written on the receipt by a woman who speaks zero English, was “Estefani”! OK, so there was an E at the beginning but it is a very common name down here and they pronounce it “Eh-schtefani” which is close enough for me. Kind of spices it up a bit.
Yesterday, I walked down the street to get Favorite Snack #2 in Rio, which is a sushi hand roll from a place called Koni. Favorite Snack #1 in Rio (if you were curious) is a cheese and banana sandwich with cinnamon (don’t knock it till you try it) from the corner juice and sandwich stands.
Anyway, I like to order the sushi hand rolls because most of the ingredients are easy for me to understand, and I can order things that mention tempura and crème cheese. I told them I wanted it ‘to go’ (para viajem) and the counter girl asked me, “Su nome?”. I stared at her blankly. Again, she asks, “Su nome?” Again, I stare. This happens a few times.
Finally, another waitress walks over, and asks me in a tone you usually reserve for the mentally handicapped, “What. Is. Your. Name.?”
Oh my god! I know the answer to this one! And I proudly blurt out, “Eh-schtefani!”
Everyone seems very pleased, or at least I pretend that they do, and the counter girl quickly hands me a receipt that says, “Estefani”. I love it.
My Sweet Bunda
From the book How to Be a Carioca: the Alternative Guide for the Tourist in Rio by Priscilla Ann Goslin;
“Bunda [‘boon dah]: derriere.”
Bunda is my new favorite word I have learned this week in Rio. I like the way it sounds: booooooooondah! It’s fun.
Everyone is all about the bunda in Rio. Little tiny flat bottoms are not in style here and I don’t think they’ve been in style for centuries, so all of the ladies are pretty much guaranteed an ample behind. But being given an ample behind is no excuse to have a big fat behind. I think these ladies must be queens of the squat, the lunge, and the leg press. The result is an army of firm, round, bouncy bottoms bounding through the beach contained usually by a small bit of Lycra shoved in the crack. But don’t get me wrong, not all butts are worthy of the bunda title, there are still plenty that are simply fat and flabby and chunky… and still crammed into the tiny Lycra bottoms. [shudder]
Bunda can only be used to compliment a bottom, so you can never say;
“Ew! Look at the size of that bunda! There’s hail damage!”
But you can say;
“Look at that juicy bunda!”
With the full on love affair in Rio for all things American, combined with dirt cheap plastic surgery, the bundas are now accompanied by big, round silicone boobies. It’s like you get the bunda coming and going. And the way these girls walk and ooze their sex all over the place, is amazing. While Chris was waiting for my plane in the airport, he had plenty of time to be greeted by bouncing bits. He later asked me, “How do they walk and bounce like that all the time?” I told him with years of practice. He then asked me if Sir Mix-A-Lot ever visited Rio. I told him that I hoped so.
I think the word bunda needs to be embraced on an international level and I encourage everyone to start using it on a regular basis. I want it to go global and the best way to get a word to the masses is to give it to an American rapper/hip hopper to use. Plus I think the word bunda would lend itself nicely to a club song, especially combined with the thump thump of some bass and thrown together with some spiced up salsa. So to the Will.I.Ams, Wycelfs, and annoying Sean Kingstons of the world, I ask you to get on board the bunda bus and spread it worldwide. And give me a cut of the royalties.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Brazilian Death Flu
Chris has spent approx. half of this trip in the clutches of some sort of illness. He had a high fever for a day and a half, and was pretty out of it, and today he's better but still weak with a bunch of snot stuck in his nose and chest. In a brighter note, he has gotten to test several new (to us) over the counter drugs that seem to be helping him. My new favorite is Targifor C which is like a super shot of Airborne. It is a tablet that you drop into water and it gives you vitamin C and some enzymes that are supposed to boost your metabolism and immune system. Who knows if it really works but it makes me feel like I'm at least doing something.
In my random health news I had to get about seven stitches removed from my back today. A friend of a friend was a medical doctor for several years and is now a teacher at a high school in Sao Paolo. He offered to get them out this morning but didn't cut the knot correctly and tried to pull a knot up under my skin and it got stuck. Afraid of doing more damage, he backed out, and Mara and Rodrigo took me to the pharmacist down the street. There, they called a nurse that does in home visits. Twenty minutes later he was at their apartment. Mara and Rodrigo translated and everyone kind of gathered around and poked and disinfected and discussed. It's weird when you're the one being talked about but you have no idea what anyone is saying. So I laid there and he said I could do whatever I wanted except cry, because that would make it hurt. I guess I got a funny nurse. But he quickly took it out with little to no pain and said there was no damage with the knot getting stuck in my skin. He cleaned everything up and I have to keep a bandaid on it for the next day. So no drama and mom (if you're reading this) everything is OK and I'm fine! The visit cost 15 reais (about $9) which was way less than my former $17 copay with Kaiser in Honolulu and way better because he came to the house.
I took a long walk on the beach today and Chris slept. He's starting to perk up and I won't have to leave him behind and pick up a newer, younger, and faster model which is nice. :-)
In my random health news I had to get about seven stitches removed from my back today. A friend of a friend was a medical doctor for several years and is now a teacher at a high school in Sao Paolo. He offered to get them out this morning but didn't cut the knot correctly and tried to pull a knot up under my skin and it got stuck. Afraid of doing more damage, he backed out, and Mara and Rodrigo took me to the pharmacist down the street. There, they called a nurse that does in home visits. Twenty minutes later he was at their apartment. Mara and Rodrigo translated and everyone kind of gathered around and poked and disinfected and discussed. It's weird when you're the one being talked about but you have no idea what anyone is saying. So I laid there and he said I could do whatever I wanted except cry, because that would make it hurt. I guess I got a funny nurse. But he quickly took it out with little to no pain and said there was no damage with the knot getting stuck in my skin. He cleaned everything up and I have to keep a bandaid on it for the next day. So no drama and mom (if you're reading this) everything is OK and I'm fine! The visit cost 15 reais (about $9) which was way less than my former $17 copay with Kaiser in Honolulu and way better because he came to the house.
I took a long walk on the beach today and Chris slept. He's starting to perk up and I won't have to leave him behind and pick up a newer, younger, and faster model which is nice. :-)
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Carnaval!
On a rainy Sunday night Chris, Mara, Rodrigo, Brandon and myself took a taxi to the Sambodrome in Centro in Rio. The Sambodrome is a big outdoor row of bleachers built specifically for the samba schools to parade through at Carnaval. Each school is a group of 5,000 people who spend the year building floats and costumes, working on a theme, and practicing dances and songs. They get exactly one hour and twenty minutes to parade the quarter mile through the Sambodrome, if they go over or under on time, they have points deducted. The groups are judged on how well they sing and dance, their creativity, their timing, and ther floats. Each group us allowed to have eight floats. Regular people can pay money to dance in the parades with costumes and famous people get to ride on the floats. It's amazing how much time and effort goes into each school.
The whole thing starts around 11pm and goes until after 5 in the morning. It's a two night deal with about 6 or 7 schools competing each night. On Wednesday they will announce the seven finalists and then next Saturday they will all do it again.
Walking into the Sambodrome, was crazy. Mara and Rodrigo kept us gringos hidden and got tickets from the scalpers. We paid 40 reas each (about $25) and our seats were far up, but you could see everything. Going into the Sambodrome was packed, wet, dirty, people with bits and pieces of their costumes all over the place, floats being taken down, stray dogs running around, kids selling beer, and a general happiness. Everyone dances around and cheers for their favorite school. I highly recommend this experience... Chris thought it may be better than the Indy 500, although he'll probably deny that now.
I've posted the pics here and tried to explain the certain themes and floats. Unfortinatly, we were far away so you can't see all the detail, but it was still great.
Chris is sick today with a flu or cold or something so he's laying low. It's still cloudy but I think I'll go to the beach at Ipanema.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Brazeeeeeeel la la la la la la la laaaaaaaaa.
I wanted to check in quickly and let everyone know that we made it to Rio. We arrived on Friday afternoon on seperate flights but managed to meet up at the airport hungry, stinky, and tired. We are staying with my friend Mara in a neighborhood called Leblon in Rio and it's great to have people let us tag along, while they speak Portuguese and we loiter in the background.
This is my third time to Rio and my first time for Carnival. Chris did Marti Gras in New Orleans but has never been to Rio so we are balancing each other out nicely.
The first night, we went out with Mara and her fiance Rodrigo. He is from Rio and they are set to get married in April. We went to Rodo Skol which basically means Wheel of Beer. Skol is a brand of beer and they sponsor this giant Ferris Wheel in Ipanema (another neighborhood in Rio). So we rode the ferris wheel, had some Skol, and got caught in some wicked rain.
Yesterday, we slept in until noon (lazy!) and Chris and I walked along the beach in the afternoon. I love the beaches here because they are long and clean and have little kiosks every hundred feet or so that sell beer, fresh coconuts, and snacks. There are also people selling corn on the cob and sandwiches and shrimp on a stick. You can rent chairs at the beach and have people bring you water and food, but we didn't have time for that. In the afternoon, Chris, Mara, Rodrigo, his brother Rafael, Brandon (an American that lives in Sao Paolo that came up for Carnival), and myself went to a soccer game at Maracana. It's the largest soccer stadium in South America and we saw two teams from Rio; Vasco and Botafogo. Rodrigo and his brother Rafael love Botafogo so we sat on that side and cheered for them. Chris wants to tell you about that, so I'm off to shower and get ready for a Bloco in Ipanema. A bloco is a block party in celebration of Carnival. This particular bloco is known for cross dressing gay men... Chris is super pumped. :-)
This is my third time to Rio and my first time for Carnival. Chris did Marti Gras in New Orleans but has never been to Rio so we are balancing each other out nicely.
The first night, we went out with Mara and her fiance Rodrigo. He is from Rio and they are set to get married in April. We went to Rodo Skol which basically means Wheel of Beer. Skol is a brand of beer and they sponsor this giant Ferris Wheel in Ipanema (another neighborhood in Rio). So we rode the ferris wheel, had some Skol, and got caught in some wicked rain.
Yesterday, we slept in until noon (lazy!) and Chris and I walked along the beach in the afternoon. I love the beaches here because they are long and clean and have little kiosks every hundred feet or so that sell beer, fresh coconuts, and snacks. There are also people selling corn on the cob and sandwiches and shrimp on a stick. You can rent chairs at the beach and have people bring you water and food, but we didn't have time for that. In the afternoon, Chris, Mara, Rodrigo, his brother Rafael, Brandon (an American that lives in Sao Paolo that came up for Carnival), and myself went to a soccer game at Maracana. It's the largest soccer stadium in South America and we saw two teams from Rio; Vasco and Botafogo. Rodrigo and his brother Rafael love Botafogo so we sat on that side and cheered for them. Chris wants to tell you about that, so I'm off to shower and get ready for a Bloco in Ipanema. A bloco is a block party in celebration of Carnival. This particular bloco is known for cross dressing gay men... Chris is super pumped. :-)
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