TravelStream™ news feed for member paulandlin on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/paulandlin en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 19 Nov 2007 10:35:20 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paulandlin/buzz_lightyear/1184097540/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paulandlin/buzz_lightyear/1184097540/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paulandlin/buzz_lightyear/1184097540/tpod.html Mon, 19 Nov 2007 10:35:20 -0500 Around the world in 365 days or whatever it takes!

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Salvador, Brazil

We had nearly resigned ourselves to the fact that we wouldn't get to Salvador and in the end we spent a whole month there! We are nearing the end of our trip and so are very short on money - we decided best thing to do would be stay somewhere for a month so we aren't spending money on bus fares. We headed straight for Barra the beachside suburb where we found an okay hostel. That afternoon we walked the seafront looking for an apartment to rent for the month. We ended up getting a great little studio for €14 a night and moved in the next day.

Our time in Salvador was spent lying on the beach or by the pool at the apartments. We were lucky to have a pool as most beaches are badly polluted - you don't know what will float past you next!!

We did go into the city centre a couple of times to see the sights. Paul had a quick Capoeira (Martial Art and Dance combo) lesson in the Pelourinho. Everyday we saw guys practising Capoeira on the beach across from our apartment. It was cool watching dads teaching their 3 year olds the moves on the beach. 80% of the population are of African descent and it was such a treat to see the Bahian ladies in their traditional dress.

There are millions of artists selling their paintings all over the city centre - some were absolutely amazing - ensure you keep some money to get at least one although you will want more.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paulandlin/buzz_lightyear/1183406100/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paulandlin/buzz_lightyear/1183406100/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paulandlin/buzz_lightyear/1183406100/tpod.html Thu, 26 Jul 2007 19:15:51 -0400 Around the world in 365 days or whatever it takes!

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Pantanal, Brazil

Booked a 4 day Pantanal Tour with Ecological Expeditions, 250RS (100 euro) - camping either sleeping in a hammock or tent. The Pantanal is the worlds largest wetlands about half the size of France. We had heard alot of bad stories about Pantanal tours in general and were not expecting too much from the tour which resulted in us having a great time.

Day 1 woke up to 2 blue macaws screaming the place down and 3 Toucans at the campsite. There was 5 in our group (3 of us and Mossy & Olivia a great Irish couple) and we spent the morning and afternoon walking through the wetlands looking for wildlife. We did well too. We saw a few deer, coatis, howler monkeys, capybara, armadillos, giant otters, caiman and an unbelieveable amount of birds including a pair of red & green macaws more blue ones and the 3 type of kingfishers found in the pantanal. That night we had a few beers by the campfire.

Day 2 Up at 5am got a great sunrise on our way to go horse-riding. This was great fun, not good for seeing wildlife but good for a laugh. Tanya aksed for a small horse and ended up on a pony that nearly had to swim through the water!!! After this we had a few hours lazing around in hammocks and then spent the afternoon piranha fishing. Such a laugh, we were using beef as bait. They are nasty ugly vicious little creatures. We caught a load between us and loads more had to go back in as they were only babies. Tanya found us a giant anteater today too - luckily for our guide because he couldn´t seem to find us one. what a crazy looking animal. We did a night safari on the way back which was basically the drive back to the camp with a spotlight on top of the jeep. An ocelot ran right in front of the jeep, just seen the tail end running into the bushes. pretty cool.

Day 3 We went on a boat trip up the river. This is the best way to see birds and we saw loads. We also saw another giant otter and lots more caiman. Paul and Mossy braved the river and went swimming with the gators and piranha which is perfectly safe - or so they tell you....

We enjoyed the tour even if we didn´t get a jaguar or puma you´d have to be much deeper in the wetlands for that and be very lucky.

Had to say goodbye to Tanya here too she´s off to Colombia to go trekking and we´re off to the beach to laze about for a month.
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Brasilia, Brazil

Arrived into Brasilia at 4pm hoping to get a bus straight away to Salvador. No such luck!! the earliest bus we can get was 2 days later. Fantastic we´re stuck in the most expensive city in Brasil and theres nothing to see or do. There was no tourist information at the bus station so we end up going to a Lonely Planet recommended guesthouse - Cury Solar. Really friendly welcome and great family - it would want to be it cost 28 euros a night!!!

We did enjoy the rest from travelling though and we had a nice roast chicken we got a the supermarket....yummy....
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Buenos Aires, Argentina

xx
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paulandlin/buzz_lightyear/1183146120/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paulandlin/buzz_lightyear/1183146120/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paulandlin/buzz_lightyear/1183146120/tpod.html Wed, 25 Jul 2007 21:17:53 -0400 Around the world in 365 days or whatever it takes!

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Puerto Iguasu, Argentina

We hit Iguasu Falls on Paul´s 30th birthday. Its cloudy as we leave Puerto Iguasu but as we arrive to the park the blue sky breaks through as if to help with the photos (which it does perfectly). This is a place that you need to see to believe. The widest waterfall on earth its the most perfect we have ever seen. Its spectacular!! The main area is called the Devils Throat. Wow!! So much water crashing down at the same time, it creates its own cloud above.

From there we stroll through the park. Hungry coatis (big furry racoons) are running around everywhere robbing sandwiches off the tourists. There are different sized waterfalls all around. Words just can´t describe this place, not even videos do it justice. We spend the whole day going from one fall to another getting more amazed and drenched doing it.

That night the 3 of us had a huge dinner a mixed grill (steak, chicken, pork, black pudding, lamb, sheeps hearts) and lots of vino to wash it all down. Then we headed to a bar that was celebrating being open 3 years. There was a camera crew there filming and they found out it was Pauls 30th too so they all sang happy birthday in Spanish and gave us a few free cans. COOL.

Sad to leave Argentina - its been so good from start to finish and we didn´t even get right down to the far south - can only imagine how good it is down there.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paulandlin/buzz_lightyear/1182454620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paulandlin/buzz_lightyear/1182454620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paulandlin/buzz_lightyear/1182454620/tpod.html Wed, 25 Jul 2007 21:10:06 -0400 Around the world in 365 days or whatever it takes!

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Mendoza, Argentina

We arrive into Mendoza a day after Tanya and arrange our wine tour for the next day. Mendoza is the wine capital of Argentina and everyone we have met who has been here recommended the bike tour. Basically you hire a bike for the day and cycle around various vineyards sampling their vino. Great way to spend a day! You get tipsy at one winery then cycle to the next, avoiding cars and buses on the road. By the time you get there you´re sober again and ready for another glass or three. Our favourite was Vino del Cerno, probably because they gave you full glasses instead of little tasters.

Needless to say we went home with a bottle of red and a bottle of vodka & orange which we polished off by 6pm the next day. Not much else to report from Mendoza which looked pretty ugly after being in Bariloche. The ski season had just started but with our budget already strained to the limit we had to say no.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paulandlin/buzz_lightyear/1181665440/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paulandlin/buzz_lightyear/1181665440/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paulandlin/buzz_lightyear/1181665440/tpod.html Wed, 25 Jul 2007 18:07:12 -0400 Around the world in 365 days or whatever it takes!

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Bariloche, Argentina

We headed west and back to the Andes. Wow they look so much better when they are covered in powdery snow. We were hoping to get a couple of days on the slopes - we ended up getting 5 days up there!! We spent way too much money but it was worth every penny.

The season only began on 16th so we had to hang around Bariloche for a few days before we got on the skis and the board. Bariloche is a really nice town, lots of lovely restaurants, both cheap and expensive. The amount of steak we are eating at this stage is way out of hand!!! The town is famous for its chocolate shops and there is a different maker on every corner. Also lots of designer ski gear shops and souvenier shops. During summer there are lots of treks and walks you can do in the surrounding mountains and parks but in winter alot of the routes are closed and skiing is the main activity.

As it was only the start of the season the conditions could have been better, but we made the most of it. A ski pass was 200 pesos (50 euro) for 3 days and ski/board rental was 35/40 pesos, we had to rent trousers too which cost 15 pesos a day. It did add up but we still think it was great value. We had such a laugh especially on the last day as it was mid week and much quieter, we even had some of the runs to ourselves in the morning. There are alot of off-piste areas which looked really good - unfortunately we´re no-where near good enough for them yet.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paulandlin/buzz_lightyear/1181424720/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paulandlin/buzz_lightyear/1181424720/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paulandlin/buzz_lightyear/1181424720/tpod.html Thu, 21 Jun 2007 12:21:56 -0400 Around the world in 365 days or whatever it takes!

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Puerto Madryn, Argentina

21 hours later we arrive in Puerto Madryn, bus was quite comfy for a change. We are here to see Southern Right Whales, neither of us has ever been whale watching so its another first. Tanya had seen them in New Zealand but was up for it anyway.

We booked a full-day tour to Peninsula Valdes. The whale watching was in the morning, we had to wait about 15 minutes at the port before we boarded the boat so we walked over to some cliffs to see if we could spot any whales from there. Within minutes we saw one a good bit away come flying head-first out of the water four times in a row!!!! We were really lucky as the group the day before didn't see that at all. Then we got on the boat and straight away there were whales within a few feet of us. Even though they are huge ugly mammals it was a beautiful sight. The rest of the day was spent visiting sealion and elephant seal colonies. We saw a few skunks, maras, guanacos and rheas. There are no Orcas this time of year unfortunately - this is the place where they storm the beach to get sealion pups. We'll have to come back for that. We got a sensational Patagonian sunset that evening - looked like flames in the sky.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paulandlin/buzz_lightyear/1181077620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paulandlin/buzz_lightyear/1181077620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paulandlin/buzz_lightyear/1181077620/tpod.html Thu, 21 Jun 2007 11:33:58 -0400 Around the world in 365 days or whatever it takes!

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Buenos Aires, Argentina

We have a new travelling companion for as long as she can put up with us. Tanya (our buddy from home) met us in Buenos Aires. We stayed in a cheap hostel which turned out to be an hours walk into the centre! Good exercise but we won't be staying there next time. We only spent three nights in Buenos Aires and plan to stay a few more nights on the trip back up north.

Our first day was spent trying to get tickets for the second-leg semi-final of the Copa Libertadores. It was at Boca Juniors home ground and they were 3-1 down from the first leg so it was set to be a great fight. We got tickets that night through a tour group as we couldn't get them at the ticket office. We ended up in the terraces with the die-hard fans and had a great night. An hour before the team even came out the fans were going mental - they really are passionate about their team. The match was delayed by an hour because of fog but nothing shut the fans up they were hopping for the whole time. We learnt a few chants too and did alot of jumping around. Boca won 3-0 on the night and went through to the final - the fans sang the whole way out of the stadium. So lucky to be in Buenos Aires to witness it - it was MENTAL!!!

The other two days we strolled around the centre of town, its a really nice city. Great food too we indulged in a few steaks. We didn't go out and party at all - but Tanya did enough partying for the three of us anyway. We'll see the remainder of the sights when we come back, this was all about the footie!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paulandlin/buzz_lightyear/1180472220/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paulandlin/buzz_lightyear/1180472220/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/paulandlin/buzz_lightyear/1180472220/tpod.html Fri, 08 Jun 2007 17:44:21 -0400 Around the world in 365 days or whatever it takes!

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Pisco - Lima, Peru

We stoped off in Pisco on the way back to Lima for a few days. The main reason was to visit the Ballestas Islands. They are known as the poor mans Galapagos. Theres a huge amount of Pelicans, Boobys, Humbolt Penguins and Sea lions on the islands. One thing that stands out is the smell of birdcrap. Its MINGIN!!!!! But it is an amazing sight. Thousands of birds perched on the rocks, combined with the ones flying over and around you.
There is so much guano (crap), that in the mid 19th century it became Peru's principal export.

Other than that it was back up to Lima before we hit Argentina.
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