TravelStream™ news feed for member kennymulryan on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/kennymulryan en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 18 Aug 2008 07:25:58 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1217952960/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1217952960/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1217952960/tpod.html Mon, 18 Aug 2008 07:25:58 -0400 Kenny´s South American travels from Quito,Ecuador to Rio, Brazil

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Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

On Thursday we arrived at our final destination, Rio, after a 4 hour bus journey from Parati. The weather was beautiful so we immediately got a taxi to the famous Copacabana beach. The beach was excellent, very clean with strong waves set against the backdrop of Rio's skyscrappers. That night we went out in Lapa, the famous nightclub district of Rio. Went to two clubs which were pretty good, but not many out on a Thurs night.

The next day we went to Rio's 2 most famous sites, the Suger Loaf Mountain and the Christ the Redeemer statue. The views over Rio from both were incredible, you could see all the beaches and the whole city. On Saturday we just walked the beaches and went to a football match in the evening in the famous Maracana stadium, which used to be the biggest in the world with a capacity of 210,000, its holds about 110,000 now and is where Brazil play their home games. We went to see Flamingo, the best supported team in Rio, play Atletico. The atmosphere in the stadium was electric, best i've ever experienced. Flamingo scored with 10 min to go to win 1-0 and the place went nuts, huge flags, flares, drums everything..Was brilliant to have experienced Brazilians enjoying their national sport.

On the last day of the trip, Sunday, we did a Favela(Shantytown) tour in Rio's biggest slum in which 200,000 people live. We got a moterbike ride to the top of the Favela and then walked down through the middle of it with our guide who lived there. The poverty of the people was shocking, houses were tiny, streets were dirty and narrow with rubbish everywhere and open sewers on the streets. However the people were very friendly. The Favela's are controlled by drug lords and we saw one guarding the entrance to one street holding a machine gun in open view of everyone. Over 20% of Rio's population live in Favela's and was fascinating to get a brief insight into their lives.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1217964600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1217964600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1217964600/tpod.html Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:40:48 -0400 Kenny´s South American travels from Quito,Ecuador to Rio, Brazil

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Parati, State of Santa Catarina, Brazil

On Tuesday we left Sao Paulo to take a 6 hour bus journey to Parati. Parati is an old Portugese colonial town and is a world heritage site famous for its architecture and its cobbelstone streets that are flooded every full moon and high tide to wash them. It is on the Atlantic ocean and was a regular port stop for pirates, it was also only accessible by boat until 1952!!

The first evening we arrived we just took a stroll around the town and went down to the beaches. It really is a beautiful town with most of the old streets pedestrianised, it reminded me a lot of Hvar island in Croatia. The second day we did a four hour boat journey to the islands around the town. Unfortunately the weather was cloudy in the morning but thankfully the sun soon came out. The boat was very comfortable with sun decks and the sceanry was amazing. We stopped at some incredible beaches, golden white sand with forest in the background, where there were very few people and we got to swim ashore. We also stopped in the ocean to dive off the boat and go snorkelling. A wonderful end to the trip before we headed to Rio de Janeiro.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1217808000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1217808000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1217808000/tpod.html Mon, 04 Aug 2008 20:25:32 -0400 Kenny´s South American travels from Quito,Ecuador to Rio, Brazil

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Sao Paulo, Brazil

After finishing the Argentina tour of Iguazu Falls we took a nine hour night bus to Curitiba. Curitiba has a population of approx 1.3 million people and is a very nice city although there is little of interest to tourists. We only stayed there one night and continued on our journey to Sao Paulo.

We arrived in Sao Paulo on Sunday at 3pm and immediately got a taxi to the football stadium as we were going to see Sao Paulo play against a team from Rio de Janeiro in the Brazilian league. Sao Paulo currently lie 4th in the league and their home stadium has a capacity of 80,000 people. Tickets into the match were very cheap, only 20 Reals(approx 8 euro) for a good seat. The stadium was pretty empty as the weather was poor and it rained heavily before the match and the stadium has no roof. Thankfully it only rained once during the game. The atmosphere in the stadium was electric, the local supporters had huge drums and were singing and dancing for literally the full 90 min. Sao Paulo won the match 4-0 and incredibly their goalkeeper scored 2 of the goals!!!He scored from a free-kick and a penalty and hit the crossbar with another free-kick. His goals tally for this season is now at 8!!! The standard was also pretty good but the players had a lot more space and time than you would see in the Premership. When Sao Paulo were winning 3-0 their players really started showboating and the skills were amazing with every touch bringing a huge cheer from the crowd. It was a great evening and hopefully will get to see another game in Rio.

When we went back to the hotel we decided to go for a few drinks. We quickly realised that we were in the gay street of Sao Paulo and all the bars were packed. There were also loads of very obvious transvestites around. We had one drink in a gay bar, decided that was enough and got a taxi to a Japanese karoke bar!! When that closed at 1am we decided to go for more drinks but the only bars open at that time were the gay bars!! We got two taxis back and the drivers decided to have a race across Sao Paulo to see which arrived first. Traffic lights were mostly ignored and when we did stop windows were rolled down to insult each other, was great craic. A very interesting night by all accounts!!

The next day we did a walking tour of Sao Paulo. The city is huge, the 5th biggest in the world with a population of approx 20 million. It also has a reputation as quite a dangerous city and many parks are no go areas. We saw the cathedral and the main shopping plaza. Unfortunately because it was Monday all the museums were closed as was the snake farm outside the city. We decided to go to the "Edificio Italia" one of the largest buildings in Sao Paulo. The view from the 42nd floor from where we had a drink was amazing. The city sprawled out in front of us as far as the eye could see, dotted throughout with tall skyscrappers. We stayed there while the sun set and watched as the city descended into darkness. Was a great experience to see the whole city and to appreciate the sheer size of it.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1217530080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1217530080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1217530080/tpod.html Sat, 02 Aug 2008 15:08:24 -0400 Kenny´s South American travels from Quito,Ecuador to Rio, Brazil

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Foz de Iguacu, State of Parana, Brazil

On Thursday we began our tour of the Brazilian side of Iguazu Falls. It was about a half hour drive to the falls, the first thing we heard when we stepped out of the bus was the sound of the water crashing from the falls. The first viewing of the falls simply takes your breath away, its a stunning sight, several different waterfalls descending from huge heights to the water below creating a huge spray. We were quite lucky as it had rained all the previous day so the force of the water was very strong. The falls continue for at least a mile with up to 250 different waterfalls. We walked along the walkways getting stunning panoramic views of the falls. There was also viewing platforms close to some of the falls where you can get soaked from the spray of the water and look down as the water falls over the edge. The entire walk takes nearly two hours and each time you think you have seen the most impressive fall another one appears around the corner. The best waterfall is saved for last as the trail ends at the famous "Devil´s Throat" where several falls come together to create a huge volume of water. The spray is so intense it rises above the falls and one cannot see the river below.

On Friday we went to the Argentinian side of Iguazu. We had to get our passports stamped to get into the country. The first thing we did was get a twenty minute truck ride throught he forest(Iguazu is situated in a huge national park). We then decided to do the speedboat ride which took us right up to the falls and even under some of them. We got absolutely soaked and the force of the water under the falls was incredible. The trip lasted about 20 min and was brilliant, you could really appreciate the height of the falls from the river looking up. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the various pathways close to the falls. Brazil offers the best panoramic views of the falls but all of the falls are on the Argentina side. The walkways bring you under the falls and looking over them and offers stunning views from all different angles. Again "Devil´s Throat" was the highlight with the walkway looking right over the falls. We ended the trip around 5pm and both days were undoubtably one of the highlights of South America, a definate must see..
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1217192880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1217192880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1217192880/tpod.html Fri, 01 Aug 2008 17:16:50 -0400 Kenny´s South American travels from Quito,Ecuador to Rio, Brazil

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Asuncion, Paraguay

On Sunday we left Benito and got a private bus to Ponta Pora on the Brazil/Paraguay border. We stayed the night there and the next day we got our passports stamped out of Brazil and into Paraguay. Our destination was Asuncion, the capital city of Paraguay and apparantly the cheapest city in South America. It was also meant to be excellent for duty-free shopping.

As it turns out it was neither, the shops were expensive and the markets were crap!! There was not much else to do or see there except for Heroes Square and the shanty town located right beside the brand new government buildings.

On Wednesday we left Paraguay and got stamped back into Brazil. Our destination was Foz de Iguazu which was going to be our base for visiting the famous Iguazu Falls over the next two days
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1216743480/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1216743480/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1216743480/tpod.html Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:24:13 -0400 Kenny´s South American travels from Quito,Ecuador to Rio, Brazil

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Pantanal, State of Parana, Brazil

On Tuesday we left Corumba to begin our Pantanal trip. We took a private bus for an hour an a half to reach our base in the Pantanal. The accommadation was nice, but basic. The first thing two of us did was go for a swim in the river, the guide assured us that it was safe despite the fact that there was Caimen(a smaller version of an alligator) and Piranha`s in the river. Was very apprehensive getting into the water, had to swim about 500 metres between the two piers. All was going well until about 50 metres from the end we saw a Caiman on the bank less than 10 metres away. That wasn`t too bad until it started moving down the bank and disappeared under the water. I am a poor swimmer but I covered those 50 metres in world record time!!!

In the afternoon we went fishing for Piranha`s of the pier with wooden poles. Our efforts were very pathetic, I managed to catch 3 Piranha`s and 2 other types of tiny fish in about an hour and used up nearly half a cow as bait!! The Piranha`s were much smaller than I expected but they have incredibly sharp teeth. Our fishing was interrupted by a storm which brought very heavy rain for about 2 hours. After the rain we went for a walk around the area and saw loads of fireflies and the worlds biggest rodent. We got to taste the fish we caught as part of dinner, the Piranha was pretty horrible and full of bones!!

The next day we took a bus 22km to go horse riding. Along the way we saw many different types of birds, including a tucan, wild pigs, wild deer and a pond full of Caimans and fish. The horse riding was really good, went through woods, swamps, water and farmland. The last ten minutes two of us got to go full gallop on the horses through water and swamp, was brilliant, got soaked and a very sore arse but was worth it! After the horses we went for a walk around the area seeing monkeys and more birds. Had to go bare-footed as we went through very dirty swamps with the water up to our knees. That night I also got a bit of a shock when I got up to go to the toilet atound 4am, a frog had swam up through our toilet and was still in the bowl. I was quite certain that he would leap out, it was the most nervous pee of my life!!

The last day we got a boat ride down the river for two hours, again we saw loads of Caimans and birds, but much of the same so was a bit boring!! That afternoon we left the Pantanal and got a three hour journey by private bus to Benito along incredibly bumpy roads. Overall it was an excellent experience, especially seeing wildlife that you cannot see anywhere else in the world
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1216569660/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1216569660/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1216569660/tpod.html Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:07:14 -0400 Kenny´s South American travels from Quito,Ecuador to Rio, Brazil

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Santa Cruz, Bolivia

On Sunday we left Sucre and flew to Santa Cruz. Unfortunately by the time we arrived nearly everything had shut except for the supermarket. However we did manage to get to climb up the bell tower of the cathedral to get excellent views over the city. Also there was a big Peruvian festival in the main square so saw many of their traditional dances performed.

The next day we took another flight to Puerto Suarez on the Bolivian-Brazilian border. The flights were ok, much better than what I expected from Bolivian airlines, although the planes were at least 30 years old. We got a taxi to the Bolivian border and had to bride the guards 10 Bolivianos(1 euro approx) each to get them to stamp our passports to leave the country!!

That evening we stayed in Corumba in Brazil which was our base for the Pantanal excursion beginning the next day. Very small town, not much to do or see. Weather was very very hot and had a nice pool in the hostel.

Was glad to have survived Boliva without getting sick, most people get some sort of food poisoning there. The country as a whole is very poor and very cheap for travellers. The highlights are definately Death Road, the Salt Plains and the mines at Potosi although there is long distances between each one. However it is a country definately worth visiting if you have the time
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1216917840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1216917840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1216917840/tpod.html Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:00:37 -0400 Kenny´s South American travels from Quito,Ecuador to Rio, Brazil

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Bonito, State of Maranhao, Brazil

After leaving the Pantanal we arrived in Benito. Benito is a small town in the middle of nowhere in Southern Brazil, which is famous for its Snorkelling and cave diving. On Friday(July 25th) we did the snorkelling in the Rio de Prata which apparantly is amongst the best in the world. It took us about an hour to get to the base from the hostel, nine of us were doing the trip. We then got in our wet suits which were to keep us afloat so we would not have to swim which might frighten the fish away, the rivers current would carry us downstream. We had to walk 40 min in our wetsuits through a forest to get to the river which was a bit surreal, along the way we saw monkeys.

When we arrived at the river we had 10 min practise in a shallow area of the pool. We then proceeded downriver for over an hour. The feeling was brilliant just floating along the fish inches from your face, some of them were bloody huge and there were loads of them!! We also got to briefly go through rapids and saw little volcanic bubbles at the bottom of the river. We also saw a Caiman and monkeys along the way and the whole thing was excellent, would highly recommend it although it is pretty expensive, but you also get a superb buffet lunch!!

The next day we went to a private resort beside a river. Got meat in the supermarket for a big BBQ for lunch as well. The resort was amazing, crystal clear water, diving boards, waterfalls and a zip-line which was great craic. We spent the whole day there, they also had facilities to play beach volleyball and soccer and had an area for monkeys and also a huge bull you could get up on. Was a brilliant relaxing day and the weather was beautiful as well
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1216390980/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1216390980/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1216390980/tpod.html Sun, 20 Jul 2008 10:32:41 -0400 Kenny´s South American travels from Quito,Ecuador to Rio, Brazil

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Sucre, Bolivia

On Friday we arrived in Sucre, the official capital of Bolivia, after a three hour bus journey from Potosi. Sucre is by far the most beautiful city in Bolivia largely due to the fact that all the buildings are white and by law have to be whitewashed at least once a year earning Sucre the title of "the white city of the Americas".

There are not a huge amount of tourist attractions in Sucre, just a few museums and the obligitary cathedral. We were only staying there until Sunday afternoon when we get a flight to Santa Cruz. On Saturday I just visited the view point above the city and chilled out in the park for a few hours. We had the option of doing extra excursions but we had most of the activities done elsewhere.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1216236840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1216236840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kennymulryan/1/1216236840/tpod.html Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:56:40 -0400 Kenny´s South American travels from Quito,Ecuador to Rio, Brazil

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Potosi, Bolivia

After a six hour bus journey from Uyuni we arrived in Potosi. Potosi is famous for its silver mines which were discovered in 1545 and soon became the biggest silver mines the world has ever seen. Potosi, which is the highest city in the world, became the richest and biggest city in the Spanish Empire. The Spanish used local Indians and later African slaves to work in the mines. The miners worked in appalling conditions and it is estimated that up to 9 million people have died in the mines. Today the mines are still in operation and the conditions of the workers have improved little. The life expectancy of a worker is 45 years and boys as young as 13 are still working in the mines.

We began our tour at 9am by getting our safety helmet, torch and mining suit. We then went to the miners market where we bought presents for the miners, including coca leaves, a 96% alcoholic drink, food and dynamite. The dynamite was widely available to buy in the market and only cost 10 bolivianos(approx 1 euro!!).

Upon arrival in the mines we were told the history of the mines by our tour guide johnny. We then got a demonstration on how to prepare the dynamite and set it alight. I had bought dynamite for myself and got to go up the mountain and light it. It had a 45 sec. delay so had plenty of time to get back down the mountain before it exploded, still moved pretty quick though!!

After this we did an hour an a half tour of the mines. This involved going several levels underground in very tight spaces and we had to crawl through tunnels and go up ladders. We met some of the miners and saw the conditions in which they work which are truely inhuman. They still use very primative methods and we could hear explosions going off in different parts of the mine which wasn`t very reassuring!! The dust in the mines was pretty bad and none of the miners wore any form of mouth protection resulting in many lung diseases. We also got to see the God he miners worship which looks like the devil. Every Friday the miners would offer gifts to this God in hope of finding more minerals in the mine.

Overall the experience was a real eye opener to see that people still have to work in these horrible conditions and the poverty that they experience. After the short period of time in the mines we were very happy to see daylight again and yet these miners work 12 hour days in the mines 5 days a week. It definately makes you appreciate what you have..
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