I have so much time on my hands that I have added two clocks to the bottom of my blog. If you scroll right to the very bottom of this page you will find one clock showing Australian time, and another showing the time here in Buenos Aires.
Useful? You tell me.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Buenos Aires
I quickly recovered from my hitch hiking experience although I was walking gingerly for a few days, and now I'm starting to see why people love this city so much.
The first few nights were spent in a hostel right in the middle of the city. On a busy street where street vendors come out at night to try and sell their home made creations. There are places like this all over South America. I can't remember the exact order I've done everything in so I'll just do a list.
Just a quick update on the drum situation: I've found a few here that weren't quite what I wanted but a guy who hand makes them is going to bring a few to next Sundays market and I might buy one then.
The original plan of staying here for a month in an apartment is no longer. I looked at renting rooms, but slow responses from landlords and higher prices mean a hostel is as good value, plus I'm not tied down to being here any longer than I want to be. I've found a great, small, cheap hostel in an awesome spot and already really like it here. Having met some new friends here and also having caught up with other mates I can see myself staying a few weeks. I'm trying to organise Spanish lessons for next week but I'm told they're cheaper and better in Peru so maybe I'll stay longer there.
All the best.
Tom
The first few nights were spent in a hostel right in the middle of the city. On a busy street where street vendors come out at night to try and sell their home made creations. There are places like this all over South America. I can't remember the exact order I've done everything in so I'll just do a list.
- I visited the Boca Juniors Stadium. It's pretty huge for just one team but it's like a religion to most people over here. It's hard to get tickets to games because there are just so many members. We watched Argentina play Venezuela on TV the other night... It was a whitewash of course but to see Messi playing and Maradona coaching was pretty cool. We're going to try and get tickets to see Boca play this weekend.
- I went to Camonito La Boca, the suburb of Buenos Aires with the brightly coloured houses. It's very touristy, but having rode a bike there I can tick it of my list of things to do, as well as:
- Drink Yerba Mate (pronounced mar-tay). Basically you put a special straw in a special cup, traditionally a hollowed out gourd, fill it with tea leaves from the yerba mate plant, and then use a thermos to keep refilling it until you're done. This is a long process, normally over hours and has a similar effect to coffee. I'm looking for a mate cup to buy as my souvenir of this city.
- I visited the San Telmo antiques market. San Telmo is a great little suburb of BA and every Sunday loads of people converge to dispose of their trash and treasure, hopefully making some coin in the process.
- And I've tried the steak. Beleive the hype, it tastes amazing and is ridiculously cheap(Try $3 to $5AUD for a 400g tenderloin). We went to a grill house and ordered a platter of meat between three of us... I've never had better tasting beef, and so tender! They gave us steak knives to use but blunt butter knives would have sufficed. Tick that one off the list as well.
Just a quick update on the drum situation: I've found a few here that weren't quite what I wanted but a guy who hand makes them is going to bring a few to next Sundays market and I might buy one then.
The original plan of staying here for a month in an apartment is no longer. I looked at renting rooms, but slow responses from landlords and higher prices mean a hostel is as good value, plus I'm not tied down to being here any longer than I want to be. I've found a great, small, cheap hostel in an awesome spot and already really like it here. Having met some new friends here and also having caught up with other mates I can see myself staying a few weeks. I'm trying to organise Spanish lessons for next week but I'm told they're cheaper and better in Peru so maybe I'll stay longer there.
All the best.
Tom
Monday, March 23, 2009
The Santa Rosa Experience
Yesterday I set off from Mendoza for Buenos Aires having only had two hours of sleep. A quick lunch with friends John and Hannah and then I hopped on a bus to San Martin, a small town a few kilometres out of Mendoza. I asked at the petrol station how to get to route 7, the main route to Buenos Aires and a nice local drove me there in the back of his ute. It turns out that the road is actually a freeway, not the best for hitch hiking, and not many people were keen on giving a funny looking foreigner a lift.
The signs started at 999km to Buenos Aires and by the time it was dark I had only reached 965km. I had travelled not even 35km and about 25km of that was on foot. I considered setting up ´camp´ a little way off the freeway but then I had seen a sign a few k´s back telling me that Santa Rosa was only 14km away. I kept walking and found a petrol station. The attendant informed me I wouldn´t be able to get a taxi so I had a quick water break and kept walking. As it turned out, the sign meant that it was 14km to the Santa Rosa exit, not the town itself. I was seriously considering setting up camp when the petrol station attendant drove past, recognised me and offered me a lift. I got in, only too happy to be able to sit down and he drove me to what he said was the city centre.
I got out of the car and found that I was being stared at by everyone in the town. It was 10pm at this stage. I wrote down the name of the hostel and asked around until I found out that it was a further 2okm down the road. A friendly local offered to take me along with him on the bus as he lived there and could take me straight to the hostel. I apprehensively accepted his offer, and after an interesting bus ride and more stares we arrived at the hostel, who turned me away. I was introduced to another local, Fabian, who seemed to know everyone in town and asked around until he found a room for me. The people had been great so far, so I accepted and ended up staying the night with a working class Argentinian man who lived by himself in a tiny house.
The dinner he offered me was a sliced meat something like mortadella, and biscuits. I stayed in a surprisingly comfortable double bed, clinging to my backpack and had to flush the toilet with a bucket of water - no shower to be seen. In the morning (6am as he had to go to work) I paid him 40 pesos and he took me to the bus stop and saw me off. I managed to get from Santa Rosa, the town that I had stayed in, to La Paz (Argentina), and from La Paz to San Luis where I am now sitting in an internet cafe. My shoulders and legs are aching, my feet are blistered and I´m tired.
Needless to say I have booked a bus for the rest of my journey to Buenos Aires and won´t be hitch hiking again in a hurry.
The signs started at 999km to Buenos Aires and by the time it was dark I had only reached 965km. I had travelled not even 35km and about 25km of that was on foot. I considered setting up ´camp´ a little way off the freeway but then I had seen a sign a few k´s back telling me that Santa Rosa was only 14km away. I kept walking and found a petrol station. The attendant informed me I wouldn´t be able to get a taxi so I had a quick water break and kept walking. As it turned out, the sign meant that it was 14km to the Santa Rosa exit, not the town itself. I was seriously considering setting up camp when the petrol station attendant drove past, recognised me and offered me a lift. I got in, only too happy to be able to sit down and he drove me to what he said was the city centre.
I got out of the car and found that I was being stared at by everyone in the town. It was 10pm at this stage. I wrote down the name of the hostel and asked around until I found out that it was a further 2okm down the road. A friendly local offered to take me along with him on the bus as he lived there and could take me straight to the hostel. I apprehensively accepted his offer, and after an interesting bus ride and more stares we arrived at the hostel, who turned me away. I was introduced to another local, Fabian, who seemed to know everyone in town and asked around until he found a room for me. The people had been great so far, so I accepted and ended up staying the night with a working class Argentinian man who lived by himself in a tiny house.
The dinner he offered me was a sliced meat something like mortadella, and biscuits. I stayed in a surprisingly comfortable double bed, clinging to my backpack and had to flush the toilet with a bucket of water - no shower to be seen. In the morning (6am as he had to go to work) I paid him 40 pesos and he took me to the bus stop and saw me off. I managed to get from Santa Rosa, the town that I had stayed in, to La Paz (Argentina), and from La Paz to San Luis where I am now sitting in an internet cafe. My shoulders and legs are aching, my feet are blistered and I´m tired.
Needless to say I have booked a bus for the rest of my journey to Buenos Aires and won´t be hitch hiking again in a hurry.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Íf you wanna drink like a viking, you gotta stay hydrated!´
So Mendoza has been super cool fun. St Pat´s day at the Irish pub was insanely fun, I came home with my face painted green. Most of the people here don´t go out til about 1am and stay out til 6 or 7. Joe and I parted ways and I met some other cool cats who I have been hanging out with. The name of this blog is a quote from an American, Shane from Boston who we naturally just called Boston. He was a massive unit who could drink anyone under the table and he turned up at the pub with a two litre bottle of water. Another memorable quote is when a Swedish guy described one of the local beers as tasting like ´llama piss´. For $1AUD for a litre, it could be camel piss and it wouldn´t really matter.
The other day myself, John and a couple of Mexican girls went to the Mendoza wineries on rented bikes, which was great fun. The wine was the best I´ve tasted and by the end of the day we were a little wobbly on our bikes. The next day five of us went down to the lake with two blow up mattresses. What eventuated has been aptly titled ´The Floating Incident´.
Basically there were five of us (Myself, an American, a Pom, and two Swedes) lying over two mattresses which created a sort of raft. We paddled for a good half hour, our flip flops tied together and in tow behind us, before making our way over to the rowing club and restaurant to appease some intrigued locals. They quickly informed us that the club had called the police as you´re not supposed to swim in that particular lake and we made a quick exit. We were sitting at a bar by the lake and toasting to our success when the cops finally drove by.
Today some others are off to the wineries and we´re having a barbecue at the hostel. We´re all parting ways tomorrow, I will be off to Buenos Aires.
The weather here is still amazing and I´m excited to get to BA. Hope all is well in Australia... I heard something about naked photos of Pauline Hanson? That´s something I´m glad I missed. The Tigers line up against the Blues on Thursday. All I can say is get ready for another big disappointment Carlton fans, this is the year of the tiger.
Tom
The other day myself, John and a couple of Mexican girls went to the Mendoza wineries on rented bikes, which was great fun. The wine was the best I´ve tasted and by the end of the day we were a little wobbly on our bikes. The next day five of us went down to the lake with two blow up mattresses. What eventuated has been aptly titled ´The Floating Incident´.
Basically there were five of us (Myself, an American, a Pom, and two Swedes) lying over two mattresses which created a sort of raft. We paddled for a good half hour, our flip flops tied together and in tow behind us, before making our way over to the rowing club and restaurant to appease some intrigued locals. They quickly informed us that the club had called the police as you´re not supposed to swim in that particular lake and we made a quick exit. We were sitting at a bar by the lake and toasting to our success when the cops finally drove by.
Today some others are off to the wineries and we´re having a barbecue at the hostel. We´re all parting ways tomorrow, I will be off to Buenos Aires.
The weather here is still amazing and I´m excited to get to BA. Hope all is well in Australia... I heard something about naked photos of Pauline Hanson? That´s something I´m glad I missed. The Tigers line up against the Blues on Thursday. All I can say is get ready for another big disappointment Carlton fans, this is the year of the tiger.
Tom
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Mendoza
Yesterday I said my goodbyes at the hostel, swapped some email addresses and headed to the bus terminal to catch a bus to Mendoza, Argentina. I was able to find one that left in 10min of me getting there and cost roughly $18AUD. The buses here are fantastic. You have loads of space and the seats recline pretty much to the point of being a bed.
Driving through the Andes was amazing. It´s such a different landscape to anything I´ve seen before. The rocky mountain passes and tight bends where trucks have to wait for the bus to pass before cornering themselves. They have tunnels next to steep mountain faces so the rocks don´t fall onto the road.
I was sitting next to a Peruvian guy who had to ask me how to fill out his border crossing form. I struggled too but we worked it out with the help of my phrase book. It was interesting to note that he was using a cheap film camera. Something I haven´t seen in Australia since the nineties.
I met an American guy, Joe, at the bus terminal in Mendoza and we found a hostel together. He looks like a pot smoker so we get harrassed every time we walk down the street if we wanna buy drugs. It´s kinda funny. We ate out last night, had pasta (gnocchi but spelled noquis), dessert and beers for about $12AUD each.
I immediately liked Argentina better than Chile, the people are friendlier, more helpful and more relaxed I think too. They have some beautiful parks here where people just sit around and chill out for ages. The hostel we are staying in is cool but the rooms are tiny. I won´t stay there longer than tonight I think.
The plan now is to check out the city for a bit, find a cheap tent somewhere and hitch hike to Buenos Aires. Like I mentioned, everyone thats done it says it´s quite easy and safe. Especially in Argentina.
I have had a development with uploading photos so with any luck I´ll be able to put some up within the next few days. The internet is either free or cheap here which is great.
I feel the need to mention: I couldn´t find thongs anywhere in Santiago. I went to about ten shoe stores and none of them had any, let alone size 11 which is rare here as the people have small feet. I ended up finding a little Brazillian store which had a full range of genuine havainas and in my size. Stoked.
My next purchase will be a small african drum of some sort. I found a couple in Santiago that were quite expensive. And the Chileans don´t like to bargain so much. I am yet to find one here but I think I´ll get the first one I see... I want one to take around and play in the parks.
OK Hope everyone is well back home and that it´s not too cold... We have had consistently awesome weather here so far.
Tom
Driving through the Andes was amazing. It´s such a different landscape to anything I´ve seen before. The rocky mountain passes and tight bends where trucks have to wait for the bus to pass before cornering themselves. They have tunnels next to steep mountain faces so the rocks don´t fall onto the road.
I was sitting next to a Peruvian guy who had to ask me how to fill out his border crossing form. I struggled too but we worked it out with the help of my phrase book. It was interesting to note that he was using a cheap film camera. Something I haven´t seen in Australia since the nineties.
I met an American guy, Joe, at the bus terminal in Mendoza and we found a hostel together. He looks like a pot smoker so we get harrassed every time we walk down the street if we wanna buy drugs. It´s kinda funny. We ate out last night, had pasta (gnocchi but spelled noquis), dessert and beers for about $12AUD each.
I immediately liked Argentina better than Chile, the people are friendlier, more helpful and more relaxed I think too. They have some beautiful parks here where people just sit around and chill out for ages. The hostel we are staying in is cool but the rooms are tiny. I won´t stay there longer than tonight I think.
The plan now is to check out the city for a bit, find a cheap tent somewhere and hitch hike to Buenos Aires. Like I mentioned, everyone thats done it says it´s quite easy and safe. Especially in Argentina.
I have had a development with uploading photos so with any luck I´ll be able to put some up within the next few days. The internet is either free or cheap here which is great.
I feel the need to mention: I couldn´t find thongs anywhere in Santiago. I went to about ten shoe stores and none of them had any, let alone size 11 which is rare here as the people have small feet. I ended up finding a little Brazillian store which had a full range of genuine havainas and in my size. Stoked.
My next purchase will be a small african drum of some sort. I found a couple in Santiago that were quite expensive. And the Chileans don´t like to bargain so much. I am yet to find one here but I think I´ll get the first one I see... I want one to take around and play in the parks.
OK Hope everyone is well back home and that it´s not too cold... We have had consistently awesome weather here so far.
Tom
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Santiago Es...
So I have been at Bella Vista Hostel in Santiago a little longer than expected now... But because I like it here. There are cool people here. Germans, Spaniards, Americans, Canadians, Australians and even some Norwegian guys that I might be heading to Mendoza with on Monday.
Everyone here seems to have the same purpose: Learn Spanish, see all of the big cities and have some rough experiences in smaller towns, while spending as little money as possible. Here they buy beer buy the litre and share it in small glasses. I have yet to try the national drink, Pisco, but maybe I will tomorrow...
I met a cool guy from Oregon, USA, who is riding his bike from Southern Chile all the way back up through Mexico and the US back to his home. I'd like to try something like that one day. I have photos but am struggling to work out how I'll put them on the internet... The computers aren't so great here.
The plan now is to catch a bus to Mendoza, stay a few days and then hitch hike to Buenos Aires. I have met several people who have hitched and they all tell me it's easy and quite safe.
For the moment though I am living slowly. Reading my Jeffrey Archer book while sunbaking on the roof of the hostel, with a view of San Cristobel only a few hundred metres away. I can't wait to get out and see Argentina and some small towns... Experience some culture. Learn some more Spanish.
Saludos!
PS I love getting emails from home.
Everyone here seems to have the same purpose: Learn Spanish, see all of the big cities and have some rough experiences in smaller towns, while spending as little money as possible. Here they buy beer buy the litre and share it in small glasses. I have yet to try the national drink, Pisco, but maybe I will tomorrow...
I met a cool guy from Oregon, USA, who is riding his bike from Southern Chile all the way back up through Mexico and the US back to his home. I'd like to try something like that one day. I have photos but am struggling to work out how I'll put them on the internet... The computers aren't so great here.
The plan now is to catch a bus to Mendoza, stay a few days and then hitch hike to Buenos Aires. I have met several people who have hitched and they all tell me it's easy and quite safe.
For the moment though I am living slowly. Reading my Jeffrey Archer book while sunbaking on the roof of the hostel, with a view of San Cristobel only a few hundred metres away. I can't wait to get out and see Argentina and some small towns... Experience some culture. Learn some more Spanish.
Saludos!
PS I love getting emails from home.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Bella Vista
I have now moved on from my host family´s house to a hostel in Bella Vista, which is the arty bohemian sort of neighbourhood here. It was sad to leave them (and free food and accommodation) but I needed to meet some people to travel to Argentina with. I am going to Mendoza first, so I´m looking to stay here another two noghts or so, then catch a bus.
Yesterday Miguel and I went to a place called San Cristobal, which is a big hill right in the middle of the city (they have three of them) with a great big statue of the Virgin Mary on top. They call it the statue of immaculate conception. I got a sweet photo of me in front of that which I´ll put on here hopefully tomorrow or the next day.
Miguel then took me to a great little bar in the city where we had drinks called Terre Moto (Earthquake). The drink was pretty much just a big cup of wine with some sort of red liquer and ice cream on top. I felt pretty drunk after that, then we had empenadas. Empenadas are the Chilean equivalent of a Four and Twenty pie. We also shared some beer. We worked out where to meet today as Miguel wanted to show me more of the city, then I returned to the hostel and promptly fell asleep, even sleeping through breakfast this morning... Which is why I must now go and find some lunch (Empenada and beer maybe?).
Tom
Yesterday Miguel and I went to a place called San Cristobal, which is a big hill right in the middle of the city (they have three of them) with a great big statue of the Virgin Mary on top. They call it the statue of immaculate conception. I got a sweet photo of me in front of that which I´ll put on here hopefully tomorrow or the next day.
Miguel then took me to a great little bar in the city where we had drinks called Terre Moto (Earthquake). The drink was pretty much just a big cup of wine with some sort of red liquer and ice cream on top. I felt pretty drunk after that, then we had empenadas. Empenadas are the Chilean equivalent of a Four and Twenty pie. We also shared some beer. We worked out where to meet today as Miguel wanted to show me more of the city, then I returned to the hostel and promptly fell asleep, even sleeping through breakfast this morning... Which is why I must now go and find some lunch (Empenada and beer maybe?).
Tom
Monday, March 9, 2009
Santiago Is.
I arrived at my host´s house, Miguel, yesterday and was very grateful for the meal that his mother put on. Chicken and rice never tasted so good! I lay my head down for a nap at 5.30pm and didn´t wake til 9am this morning.
I had my first shower since the day before I left Australia, and had a breakfast of cereal, eggs, fruit and coffee! Miguel showed me the city today, helped me get an adapter for my Australian plugs (it cost 370 Pesos, roughly 50 Australian Cents.. And they told me Chile was going to be expensive??) and we visited the cemetery. The cemetry had everyone from past presidents to virtually unmarked graves covered in rubbish. Some graves were just bones, in a small box, in a wall with hundreds of other people. I have some great photos which I will post when I have more time on a computer.
Like the cemetery, the city itself has a great contrast between how the rich live compared to the poor. I have seen some mansions here, but on the way into town from the airport there were slums, shanties that house entire families.
We are now using free internet in the library at Miguel´s University, looking for details of a gathering of couch surfers in the city tonight, where we can sample some fine Chilean beer and wine, which is of the highest quality!!!
I had my first shower since the day before I left Australia, and had a breakfast of cereal, eggs, fruit and coffee! Miguel showed me the city today, helped me get an adapter for my Australian plugs (it cost 370 Pesos, roughly 50 Australian Cents.. And they told me Chile was going to be expensive??) and we visited the cemetery. The cemetry had everyone from past presidents to virtually unmarked graves covered in rubbish. Some graves were just bones, in a small box, in a wall with hundreds of other people. I have some great photos which I will post when I have more time on a computer.
Like the cemetery, the city itself has a great contrast between how the rich live compared to the poor. I have seen some mansions here, but on the way into town from the airport there were slums, shanties that house entire families.
We are now using free internet in the library at Miguel´s University, looking for details of a gathering of couch surfers in the city tonight, where we can sample some fine Chilean beer and wine, which is of the highest quality!!!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
First Day!
I have arrived in Santiago after two arduous flights. The flight from Melbourne to Sydney was easy as I had no one sitting next to me and it only took one hour... The flight from Sydney to Santiago via Auckland wasn´t much chop. It was long and the seats were cramped. I was sitting next to a Chilean girl who had been living in Adelaide who helped me through the airport and into the city... The taxi driver tried to rip me off as soon as she got out of the taxi. I shut him down. Good one Tom.
Currently sitting in a super dodgy internet cafe... The ´@´ button doesn´t work on this keyboard so I have to copy and paste it every time I wanna use it. Crazy.
I forgot to write down the address of my accommodation which is why I´m here, so I better go find it now.
Wish me luck!!!
Currently sitting in a super dodgy internet cafe... The ´@´ button doesn´t work on this keyboard so I have to copy and paste it every time I wanna use it. Crazy.
I forgot to write down the address of my accommodation which is why I´m here, so I better go find it now.
Wish me luck!!!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
4 Days Til Departure - Expenses To Date
When I finish writing this I am going to go and start packing my backpack. I still need to make copies of my important documents, write a list of people I need to send postcards to and things like that... I thought it would be interesting and helpful for anyone else planning their trip to see what I have had to spend money on so far.
Vaccinations
Vaccinations
- Initial Consultation $20 (courtesy of a $60 medicare rebate)
- Yellow Fever Vaccine $110
- Typhoid and Hepatitis A Vaccine $60
- Three rounds of Hepatitis B Vaccine $84 ($28 x three injections)
Gear
- Backpack - 55L Black Wolf $210
- Accessories $0 - I either had them already or received them as presents.
Other
- Flight $2100
- Passport $200
- Travel Insurance - Basic cover, no excess $170
- First week of accommodation $0 - Free through couchsurfing.com
- 3kg of the finest Australian heroin... I mean Vegemite. $4500AUD - to be made back with interest from sales in Colombia.
Thanks to everyone that has helped me financially with the trip!
Tom
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