Ok. So where do I begin? Let me start by saying that you will probably think that I´ve made this all up! I´m prepared to take a polygraph...honest.
Here we go!
After just 4 hours sleep we started our day in Puerto Iguazu. This is the most northern part of Argentina. It´s like a finger of Argentina with Paraguay and Brazil on either side. It´s hot. Flippen hot. Was 40 degrees today and this didn~t help us. When you hear what we got ourselves into you~ll understand that a mild Cape Town day may have served us better. I imagine that the inside of a jail cell could have been really bad today. So glad it didn~t come to that.
Now....we paid stink loads of money to get all the way up here. Why? Well, because some of the most beautiful waterfalls in the world are here. Iguazu falls. Google it. We only have 1 full day here. One.
We left our dump of a hostel. Yuck.... and headed to the bus station to catch a bus to our next nights stay in a nice hotel. We´ve looked forward to this one so hooray for us. 1st, tomorrow is the start of the easter holidays and the petrol stations are going to be closed, so about 50 cars and 20 motorbikes are queueing for petrol. We manageto get to the bus station and we told the busses aren~t running to Iguazu national park today because a group of protesters have blocked it off. They want salary increases. Don~t we all? They haven´t had an increase in 16 years apparently. Blood leaves our faces. I thought of stabbing the lady in the eye with my finger, but the security guard at the gate looks like he takes steriods.
You can take a taxi to your hotel, but then you may as well stay there cause you~re not getting into the park. The protesters are hitting the authorities where it hurts. Prevent access to the biggest tourist attraction, right at the start of the school holidays. We will NOT be stopped. We are taxied to the hotel. We store our bags and are told that it~s just our bad luck that the park is closed. Luck schmuck. We find out how much a taxi will cost to get to the Park. Ouch...THAT much. We scout the restaurant of the hotel during breakfast time. Laura shouts out:who wants to share a taxi to the Park??? A few volunteers, but less when we tell them why. others don~t know about the protest action. Only 1 girl agrees. She´ll bring her crazy cousin. Craaaazzeee. 4 in the taxi, and 3 km later we hit the traffic jam. We don~t move. I~m figiting alot and its VERY VERY hot.
Roumors are travelling about what is going on. Some say the park is closed for the day because the protesters have blocked the road and are toi-toi-ing. Others say the park is open but no-one is allowed in. We tell the taxi driver to give our money back. We´re walking thanks!! We walk and walk and pass people that are now sleeping in their cars, lying under trees on the side of the road and many are angry and agitiated. Buses from the fancy hotels in the Park are getting people to behind the protesters and the protesters are allowing them out to the waiting busses, but no-one is allowed in. NO-ONE! They are dancing and beating drums and blowing whistles and singing. Throwing papers. Cosato would be proud. The 4 of us walk right up to the protesters and start to find an english speaker. None. We get out the phrase book and we get this info: They want more money and they will squeeze government til they comply. Laura tries to win them over by turning on the tears. And the Oscar goes to...... 1 man puts his arm around her. He says he can~t do anything. Democrasy is in action. We get the crazy idea: Let´s join the protest action and maybe they will feel our solidarity and let us through. Crazy cousin Nadine says in broken spanish what we want. The TV news arrives. The people lift the barrier, and in a friendly tone invite us to join them. Who are these youngsters? What are they doing? I take drum sticks and start a beat. drummers, singers, dancers and whistle blowers start to join in with my beat. Laura is dancing. Nadine is on the big bass drum and Nakeesha is dancing like a crazy woman. People are starting to take pictures. I break the drum sticks. Its VERY VERY hot. The protest is very peaceful. Africa can learn something.
We do this for 1 hour. We then try to negotiate our way in. Look, we support your cause, now honour our wishes. NO. I start to dance. Laura starts a little shimmy. People are angry. So are we. We came all this way, now let us in. 30 minutes go by. It´s very very hot. I~m low on water.
We dance a bit more. I~m feeling faint. The police arrive. I try to blend into a tree. I start to smell trouble. Or thats me. It´s HOT.
It´s 10:30. They say they will let people in at 3pm, no 4pm. We better not try any thing funny. Laura gets out the Phrase book and pieces together a sentence explaining we only have 1 day to see the Falls before we head home and it´s cost us ALOT. 1 guy, Michael, takes pity on us. He has a plan. a sneaky plan to sneak us in through the jungle. I~m worried about ticks. Ok, we agree to the sneaking -in idea. The 4 of us follow hin into the thicket. Down a slope, over a thorn bush. 100 meters. We´re around the protesters. We sneak onto the road. We start to run. 1 other tourist follows us. We are IN!!!!
Hundreds tried, only 5 succeeded. Now, what do we do. A car comes past and it~s a Brazillian lady and her English husband. They are rich and staying at the Arabella Sherriton and they think we´re brave. We are. They will give us a lift and we get all the way into the park. for free nogal and they take us with them to the 5 Star hotel. I´m not sure if I~m still dreaming or what. I~m kinda shaken up but WE MADE IT!!!
What a day, what an experience. We saw the falls, we took a train around the park, we took a speed boat to under the waterfalls and got soaked. We have the DVD to prove it We ate dodgy hot dogs and we drank lots of water. A blog like this can~t even begin to tell how amazing the falls are. What a day. Just had a buffet dinner at our hotel. The first real meal in almost 2 weeks. What a day. We are safe, we are exhausted and we feel like some of the great explorers have nothing on us. We rock! I~ve SO felt God´s hand in today. I never really felt afraid and I felt inspired by what I saw today. Today has been the pinnacle of our South American adventure.
Wanna see our pics?
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
mozzies, siestas, and the best ice cream in the world
Ooh, ooh, what´s going on? Got keyboard withdrawels, AND, this keyboard doesn´t work so lekker. The A key and the S key are on summer vacation and may be back later. So I hope you like reading with minimal vowels!
Since telling you about my neandethal behaviour on the banks of the Rio del Plato it´s been a mixed bag of a time, here in Uruguay. Excitedly we set sail for a new country only to be SOOOOO disappointed when we arrived. Some random guy, on some random travel site, waxed on lyrically about how special and quiant Montevideo is, but from what I experienced, it was like a really big Woodstock...before they started making it look a little less like a slum. Yuck! The busses continue to give me a special feeling, so I´ll always wax on about them....I´ve decided that the bus I´m going to buy will be red!
We bussed to The Green Hostel. 3 sandal wearing, tree hugging men decided to open a hostel. They eat whole wheat bread and keep all their batteries in a plastic bottle, don´t like smoking and frown upon the use of plastic packets. All I can say is: Could some women please help these guys with decor. There´s only so much you can do with white paint and a black felt tip pen. Really guys. It was like sleeping in someones garage, with a big window. Cold concrete, no plaster, and lots of white paint. We walked around a bit, got lost 3 times, got saved 3 times by random English speaking strangers and eventually got ´home´ to sleep and then we set off to the sea side villiage of Piriapolis.
All I can say is ´bring it´!!!! This place is special! Quiet sea side town, km´s of white beaches, lots of sea food, and cheap wine. Let´s stay for 3 nights!! I think we will...
So I¨ve still got the taste of calamari and wine in my mouth as I type, a memory card full of sun set pics and a bit of sadness in my heart because we leave here in the morning. Ahead lies a 4 hour journey across the sea, back to Argentina, and then an overnight bus trek to the most northern part of Argenitina clled Puerto Iguazu. 1 of the natural wonders of South America. Waterfalls upon waterfalls. Better be good or someones getting a wedgie!!
Time is running out on this trip, but taking great solace from the fact that most of you are going to work in a few hours and I´m going to bed and then I´m going to do alot of other cool stuff and you´re behind your desk, and we´re not and that´s all very groovy!
So, compared to last week, the past few days have been very calm and much needed. I got stres in the big city. I could have head butted a kindegarden kid or 2, I was so highly strung. I wasn´t made for 6 lane highway, cowboy, craziness!! I slept on the beach this afternoon...and yesterday afternoon. I´ve even changed colour a bit, and Laura has gone a bit red (she´s thrilled!!!). I´ve made a huge fire, and we´ve eaten the best ice cream on earth, and seen the most amazing sun sets, AND, we´ve been eaten by mosquitos. Sprayed all over with ´peacefull sleep´, burned a gross green mozzie coil and plugged in a mozzie pad AND still the buggers got us. These okes are hard core. Don´t want dengue fever. You get the runs and forget your name!!
I´ve never walked as much as we´ve walked the last 9 days...IN MY LIFE. Add a 20 KG pack on your back.....exactly! I can do 2 push ups with my fully loaded back pack on my back...cool hey??!! I might enter iron man. Laura´s pack is smaller so she can´t brag or anything. I´m the guy so I get to whine about how heavy my pack is...she´s got to prep for labour and stuff like that, so this is toughening her up. It´s like a favour, of sorts!!
I´m thinking about when I´m back home and we have to wake up the time we´re usually going to bed here. mmm
Time for bed. Will be in touch again. Hopefully we won´t set anything on fire, or head butt sonmeones kid.
Enjoy work...hee hee
Brad (Laura´s doing her hair....go figure!!!)
Since telling you about my neandethal behaviour on the banks of the Rio del Plato it´s been a mixed bag of a time, here in Uruguay. Excitedly we set sail for a new country only to be SOOOOO disappointed when we arrived. Some random guy, on some random travel site, waxed on lyrically about how special and quiant Montevideo is, but from what I experienced, it was like a really big Woodstock...before they started making it look a little less like a slum. Yuck! The busses continue to give me a special feeling, so I´ll always wax on about them....I´ve decided that the bus I´m going to buy will be red!
We bussed to The Green Hostel. 3 sandal wearing, tree hugging men decided to open a hostel. They eat whole wheat bread and keep all their batteries in a plastic bottle, don´t like smoking and frown upon the use of plastic packets. All I can say is: Could some women please help these guys with decor. There´s only so much you can do with white paint and a black felt tip pen. Really guys. It was like sleeping in someones garage, with a big window. Cold concrete, no plaster, and lots of white paint. We walked around a bit, got lost 3 times, got saved 3 times by random English speaking strangers and eventually got ´home´ to sleep and then we set off to the sea side villiage of Piriapolis.
All I can say is ´bring it´!!!! This place is special! Quiet sea side town, km´s of white beaches, lots of sea food, and cheap wine. Let´s stay for 3 nights!! I think we will...
So I¨ve still got the taste of calamari and wine in my mouth as I type, a memory card full of sun set pics and a bit of sadness in my heart because we leave here in the morning. Ahead lies a 4 hour journey across the sea, back to Argentina, and then an overnight bus trek to the most northern part of Argenitina clled Puerto Iguazu. 1 of the natural wonders of South America. Waterfalls upon waterfalls. Better be good or someones getting a wedgie!!
Time is running out on this trip, but taking great solace from the fact that most of you are going to work in a few hours and I´m going to bed and then I´m going to do alot of other cool stuff and you´re behind your desk, and we´re not and that´s all very groovy!
So, compared to last week, the past few days have been very calm and much needed. I got stres in the big city. I could have head butted a kindegarden kid or 2, I was so highly strung. I wasn´t made for 6 lane highway, cowboy, craziness!! I slept on the beach this afternoon...and yesterday afternoon. I´ve even changed colour a bit, and Laura has gone a bit red (she´s thrilled!!!). I´ve made a huge fire, and we´ve eaten the best ice cream on earth, and seen the most amazing sun sets, AND, we´ve been eaten by mosquitos. Sprayed all over with ´peacefull sleep´, burned a gross green mozzie coil and plugged in a mozzie pad AND still the buggers got us. These okes are hard core. Don´t want dengue fever. You get the runs and forget your name!!
I´ve never walked as much as we´ve walked the last 9 days...IN MY LIFE. Add a 20 KG pack on your back.....exactly! I can do 2 push ups with my fully loaded back pack on my back...cool hey??!! I might enter iron man. Laura´s pack is smaller so she can´t brag or anything. I´m the guy so I get to whine about how heavy my pack is...she´s got to prep for labour and stuff like that, so this is toughening her up. It´s like a favour, of sorts!!
I´m thinking about when I´m back home and we have to wake up the time we´re usually going to bed here. mmm
Time for bed. Will be in touch again. Hopefully we won´t set anything on fire, or head butt sonmeones kid.
Enjoy work...hee hee
Brad (Laura´s doing her hair....go figure!!!)
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Sore knees and bonzai trees
The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plains; and in Argenitina, it falls on our heads! At least for only 1 day and now it´s over and we can get on with things. Like walking a gazillion...yes, a gazillion kilometers. I think we walked more yesterday than the boers did making their way to the Vaal.
Pallermo and Recolletta. That´s where we conquered the sidewalks. From Museums that wouldn´t let us in, to others where we couldn´t find our way out! From Evita´s tomb to the Japanese gardens where I had to beg for change so we could get on the bus home ( the bus conductor doesn´t want my paper money) to a smoothie place run by a John Cleese look-a-like. A pretty good day I´d say. We tried to take pictures of cars in the car museum, but they had employed someone from the Gestapo who threatened to call the president of Argentina if I didn´t put my camera away! I´m assuming that´s what she was trying to say. Something about a telephone. I googled a pic of Argies president and she´s a good looking older woman so maybe I should have kept my camera rolling!
We are doing the tourist thing and we´re having a blast. I am loving busses and now, I´m loving ferries too. I´m not going to bore you with details but we´re done with Buenos Aires for now and soaked up the sounds and smells...oh yes, and the sights, and not slept nearly enough and now it´s time to go! We wil be back though....we will be back. That 750g steak needs to be tamed and I know a guy....
So this morning we were up really early (not hard when the local municipal dude cleans the gutters with his leaf blower at 6am) and we poured a huge breakfast down our gullets in 7 minutes flat and then got a taxi to the ferry station to cross over the Rio de la Plata in to Uruguay. Taxi drivers are on a death wish I tell you and they tried to take us along with them this moring. Good grief! Then, when we were off loaded at the port with what felt like 48 bags, we realised we didn´t have Laura´s camera bag. I THROW down by bags, and start sprinting up the road, in rush hour traffic, waving my arms like a crazy person, shouting and grunting and trying to stop the taxi. He stopped and I tried to motion to him to open the boot. He pulled over and opened the boot. Empty!! About 429 thoughts are running through my head. Not 1 makes sense and we start to have a mini English freakout on the pavement with the locals looking at the bonkers bus-lovers, wondering how we could possibly host a World Cup if we can´t even look after a bag! We were in dispair.
Then, the taxi pulls up next to us, Magnum PI has a big smile on face and lifts up...LAURA´s CAMERA BAG!!! I said thank you about 56 times, promised to name all my children after him and tattoo his mothers name on my forehead, I was so happy. Now....off to customs.....the fun hadn´t even started yet!!! Now; if you need to unpack the entire contents of your bag all over the counter in full view of the rest of South America, at least have someone who knows what they´re looking for, search the bag. Mr Bean also rocked up and he reconned that if he can make me put my bag throught the x-ray machine 99 times, he´d have a rip roaring story to tell his friends at the braai on Friday night. And so it began. The word ´victorionox´was thrown around alot and I assumed they thought I had a knife packed in with my delicates. I did not. But, when everything is unpacked and they can´t find anything, they must obviously assume I´m trying to hide something I shouldn´t and the next policeman arrives. 3 men and and that lady from Cheers were trying to find out what could be in my bag that I could use to take over their country. After all. backpackers can´t be trusted. ´´Plancha!!´´ This was what they started to chant next. I thought a chinaman had a flat tyre but it seems I was the 1 with a plancha. An iron. this is what they wanted. Our tiny travel iron that had survived the war and made it´s way in our bags. A little, collapsable iron. A darn useful little thing when you´ve got creases in your clothes. Not so useful when it gets you into trouble with the law.
So the huge ferry ride over here was not so eventful and Laura, Brad and the little travel iron arrived in uruguay 3 hours later!! We walked to our Guest house and we are loving the peace and quiet of this little beach town called Colonia. Sea, sun, locals on scooters and golf carts. Yes, you can ride around this town in a golf cart if you want to!! We picked a scooter, and it was like Taiwan days all over again!! AWESOME!
We are glad to be away from noise and pollution and it´s a quiet little garden haven that will be our home for the next 2 days before we head into central uruguay.
Will keep you posted!
til later
Brad and Laura
Pallermo and Recolletta. That´s where we conquered the sidewalks. From Museums that wouldn´t let us in, to others where we couldn´t find our way out! From Evita´s tomb to the Japanese gardens where I had to beg for change so we could get on the bus home ( the bus conductor doesn´t want my paper money) to a smoothie place run by a John Cleese look-a-like. A pretty good day I´d say. We tried to take pictures of cars in the car museum, but they had employed someone from the Gestapo who threatened to call the president of Argentina if I didn´t put my camera away! I´m assuming that´s what she was trying to say. Something about a telephone. I googled a pic of Argies president and she´s a good looking older woman so maybe I should have kept my camera rolling!
We are doing the tourist thing and we´re having a blast. I am loving busses and now, I´m loving ferries too. I´m not going to bore you with details but we´re done with Buenos Aires for now and soaked up the sounds and smells...oh yes, and the sights, and not slept nearly enough and now it´s time to go! We wil be back though....we will be back. That 750g steak needs to be tamed and I know a guy....
So this morning we were up really early (not hard when the local municipal dude cleans the gutters with his leaf blower at 6am) and we poured a huge breakfast down our gullets in 7 minutes flat and then got a taxi to the ferry station to cross over the Rio de la Plata in to Uruguay. Taxi drivers are on a death wish I tell you and they tried to take us along with them this moring. Good grief! Then, when we were off loaded at the port with what felt like 48 bags, we realised we didn´t have Laura´s camera bag. I THROW down by bags, and start sprinting up the road, in rush hour traffic, waving my arms like a crazy person, shouting and grunting and trying to stop the taxi. He stopped and I tried to motion to him to open the boot. He pulled over and opened the boot. Empty!! About 429 thoughts are running through my head. Not 1 makes sense and we start to have a mini English freakout on the pavement with the locals looking at the bonkers bus-lovers, wondering how we could possibly host a World Cup if we can´t even look after a bag! We were in dispair.
Then, the taxi pulls up next to us, Magnum PI has a big smile on face and lifts up...LAURA´s CAMERA BAG!!! I said thank you about 56 times, promised to name all my children after him and tattoo his mothers name on my forehead, I was so happy. Now....off to customs.....the fun hadn´t even started yet!!! Now; if you need to unpack the entire contents of your bag all over the counter in full view of the rest of South America, at least have someone who knows what they´re looking for, search the bag. Mr Bean also rocked up and he reconned that if he can make me put my bag throught the x-ray machine 99 times, he´d have a rip roaring story to tell his friends at the braai on Friday night. And so it began. The word ´victorionox´was thrown around alot and I assumed they thought I had a knife packed in with my delicates. I did not. But, when everything is unpacked and they can´t find anything, they must obviously assume I´m trying to hide something I shouldn´t and the next policeman arrives. 3 men and and that lady from Cheers were trying to find out what could be in my bag that I could use to take over their country. After all. backpackers can´t be trusted. ´´Plancha!!´´ This was what they started to chant next. I thought a chinaman had a flat tyre but it seems I was the 1 with a plancha. An iron. this is what they wanted. Our tiny travel iron that had survived the war and made it´s way in our bags. A little, collapsable iron. A darn useful little thing when you´ve got creases in your clothes. Not so useful when it gets you into trouble with the law.
So the huge ferry ride over here was not so eventful and Laura, Brad and the little travel iron arrived in uruguay 3 hours later!! We walked to our Guest house and we are loving the peace and quiet of this little beach town called Colonia. Sea, sun, locals on scooters and golf carts. Yes, you can ride around this town in a golf cart if you want to!! We picked a scooter, and it was like Taiwan days all over again!! AWESOME!
We are glad to be away from noise and pollution and it´s a quiet little garden haven that will be our home for the next 2 days before we head into central uruguay.
Will keep you posted!
til later
Brad and Laura
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Close your eyes Brad, here´s another guy selling dodgy magazines...
So Laura said I should write today´s post. If I want. I want.
The days in this place, seem to drag on, and when you´ve got plans to soak up a completely different culture in just a short time, this is good. Very good. It´s been 6 years since I´ve understood very little thats been said around me, and it makes for interesting times now that it´s come around again! I´ve got to this computer without being arrested so, so far so good!
Walking and walking and walking. My legs can tell the story, but wow was it worth every step over the broken cobble streets of Buenos Aires! Colourfully painted building and the drab black outfits of the Tango dancers were the contrast that best captures yesterday´s experience. Para pam pam paaaam pam, ta ra pam paaam pam..Hold me back, here I go again with my fancy tango steps!!!!
Ok, so I can´t dance for toffee, but after seeing half of the South American population do it over the last 2 days, I ´ll know if its the genuin tango when I see it...perhaps!
Camanito in La Boca. Tango, tango tango, football football football, and no public toilets. Nice!
Someone tried to sell me a ticket for todays Boca Juniors football game at the stadium. Um, no thanks. On TV they seem to set the stadiums on fire, and I only have a few changes of clothes with me, so I´ll take a skip. Aparently you get respect by saying ´Lionel Messi´everywhere you go. He IS good and the locals love him. They love Maradonna too, but he´s fat and owes the tax man so he gets less points from me. Did consider buying an Argentinian football shirt with a 10 on it, but thought I´d rather bye a bib with the flag on it for someones baby. I´d hate to be headbutted by a Brazillian supporter in Cape Town in June. Babies are more resiliant. Ole!!
So we were having lunch at a restaurant in La Boca and the ´free´ tango show is going on about 1 meter from my glass of still mineral water. We happen to be seated at the table next to 3 ladies that were on our flight from Jo´burg, which was strange. Thought I´d add that in so you can make the mental picture. It´s a nice picture. Better than the 1 where they drag me from my chair, right up onto the stage and start to involve me in the tango show!! Laura, get the video camera!!! I hope she leaves on the lens cover!!
Ok, so they didn´t make me dance, but they made me do some other stuff I´ll tell my kids about one day, and I´ll tell you too if you like. I had to strike some pose (amid the cheering of the rest of the restaurant) and then do some fancy foot work and then shout something in Spanish. I hope I said it right. Don´t want a slap from someones mother. It all seemed to have gone well because the applause got quite loud. Then they put an unlit cigarette in my mouth and some guy with greasy long hair had some traditional instrument (ok, so it was a rope with a wooden ball at the end) which he swung around in a very impressive way, in front of my face until it hit the butt out of my mouth. The people cheered again. I don´t know if it was for Mr Greasy´s antics or because I didn´t cry. I´ll review the recorded evidence later.
So now, its a new day, I love busses and I hope the rain stops soon. I want to go on another bus. I might buy a bus. A red one.
So now, it´s planning the week ahead; how to get by, spending as little money as possible (we have a tiiiiiight budget); and thoughts about whether or not my general health will improve. I´m NEVER getting a cortisone injection again. Ever. I feel like rubbish, but I´m keeping the attitude good. Keeping the chin up. Glass half full, an´ all that jazz. Please keep us in your prayers.
Have now spent 3 pesos and all the vowels I had left for the day, so I better go. Wow, an hour goes by quickly!!
Love from Laura and I, and we´ll keep you posted as to what other crazy thing I get us into. Oh, yes, did I tell you that I like busses?
The days in this place, seem to drag on, and when you´ve got plans to soak up a completely different culture in just a short time, this is good. Very good. It´s been 6 years since I´ve understood very little thats been said around me, and it makes for interesting times now that it´s come around again! I´ve got to this computer without being arrested so, so far so good!
Walking and walking and walking. My legs can tell the story, but wow was it worth every step over the broken cobble streets of Buenos Aires! Colourfully painted building and the drab black outfits of the Tango dancers were the contrast that best captures yesterday´s experience. Para pam pam paaaam pam, ta ra pam paaam pam..Hold me back, here I go again with my fancy tango steps!!!!
Ok, so I can´t dance for toffee, but after seeing half of the South American population do it over the last 2 days, I ´ll know if its the genuin tango when I see it...perhaps!
Camanito in La Boca. Tango, tango tango, football football football, and no public toilets. Nice!
Someone tried to sell me a ticket for todays Boca Juniors football game at the stadium. Um, no thanks. On TV they seem to set the stadiums on fire, and I only have a few changes of clothes with me, so I´ll take a skip. Aparently you get respect by saying ´Lionel Messi´everywhere you go. He IS good and the locals love him. They love Maradonna too, but he´s fat and owes the tax man so he gets less points from me. Did consider buying an Argentinian football shirt with a 10 on it, but thought I´d rather bye a bib with the flag on it for someones baby. I´d hate to be headbutted by a Brazillian supporter in Cape Town in June. Babies are more resiliant. Ole!!
So we were having lunch at a restaurant in La Boca and the ´free´ tango show is going on about 1 meter from my glass of still mineral water. We happen to be seated at the table next to 3 ladies that were on our flight from Jo´burg, which was strange. Thought I´d add that in so you can make the mental picture. It´s a nice picture. Better than the 1 where they drag me from my chair, right up onto the stage and start to involve me in the tango show!! Laura, get the video camera!!! I hope she leaves on the lens cover!!
Ok, so they didn´t make me dance, but they made me do some other stuff I´ll tell my kids about one day, and I´ll tell you too if you like. I had to strike some pose (amid the cheering of the rest of the restaurant) and then do some fancy foot work and then shout something in Spanish. I hope I said it right. Don´t want a slap from someones mother. It all seemed to have gone well because the applause got quite loud. Then they put an unlit cigarette in my mouth and some guy with greasy long hair had some traditional instrument (ok, so it was a rope with a wooden ball at the end) which he swung around in a very impressive way, in front of my face until it hit the butt out of my mouth. The people cheered again. I don´t know if it was for Mr Greasy´s antics or because I didn´t cry. I´ll review the recorded evidence later.
So now, its a new day, I love busses and I hope the rain stops soon. I want to go on another bus. I might buy a bus. A red one.
So now, it´s planning the week ahead; how to get by, spending as little money as possible (we have a tiiiiiight budget); and thoughts about whether or not my general health will improve. I´m NEVER getting a cortisone injection again. Ever. I feel like rubbish, but I´m keeping the attitude good. Keeping the chin up. Glass half full, an´ all that jazz. Please keep us in your prayers.
Have now spent 3 pesos and all the vowels I had left for the day, so I better go. Wow, an hour goes by quickly!!
Love from Laura and I, and we´ll keep you posted as to what other crazy thing I get us into. Oh, yes, did I tell you that I like busses?
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Culture Shock!!!
Hi guys
We arrived safely- let me tell you all about it so far...
We woke up yesterday morning - Friday 19th March - at 3am, got dressed, and headed off to the airport where we got our luggage wrapped and then stood in the queue to check-in. I had really hoped that since we were there so early we could secure some emergency exit seats but unfortunately the person that checked us in said they were already taken. After a quick latte with my folks at good old Mugg ´n Bean it was time to head through to board our flight to JHB.
Much to our delight as we boarded the plane we discovered that we had been bumped up to Business Class - what a great start to our day!!! I´ve never flown Business Class before and it was nice to drink out of a glass and eat off proper cultery - nevermind the big comfy seats and a copy of the Cape Times. We were blessed again with the most spectacular sunrise which which watched as we flew - our Father was blessing us big time!
Once in JHB we had to make our way to the correct terminal and get through passport control etc. We couldn´t seem to find our terminal so ended up doing a bit of a tour of OR Tambo but eventually found it. They´ve become real strict about hand-luggage and my hand luggage was 2 kgs overweight but then I just took out my camera and travel guides and it was fine - got to pack them straight back in again so don´t quite know what the point of that was.
We boarded the plane that would take us to Buenos Aires and I must say I was disappointed with the plane. It´s one of the really old Boeing´s so for example there were no on demand movies - just a few old screens that came down from the ceiling of the plane so had to strain to see anything. Movies showing were ¨The Fantastic Mr Fox¨ which I managed to sleep though as it was a bit odd, ¨Wolverine¨ which I actually enjoyed, ¨Alvin and the Chipmunks¨ which I slept through, and finally ¨The Blind Side¨ which was great. Our seats were situated in the very last row of the plane. We initially thought that this was bad as we didn´t think we could recline our seats but soon discovered that we could, it also enabled us to stand and stretch regularly and we were right at the food and refreshments which means we were first to get when it came out!!!
All in all the flight was okay, managed to get about 3hours of shut eye and we landed at about 3¨45pm - the buttons on this keyboard are not working properly so I´m having to use the ¨ key instead of a colon - sorry. The brackets are also not working. We went through immigration quickly and hassle-free and then got our luggage, changed some money and went out to find our transfer. I searched around until I discovered ¨Laura Kirsten x1¨ written on a piece of paper and stuck to a pole. It seems they didn´t know about Brad - ha, ha - even though I´d given them our full names and details. Then it was so odd, we went to stand by the girl that called us and she looked so awkward and confused because her paper said x1 and now there were 2 of us. She was standing with about 3 other people and they were having a huge conversation about this now in Spanish. They couldn´t speak English and we couldn´t speak Spanish so it was quite entertaining. They made a phonecall and then we just stood and waited, and waited. Finally she said to come with her. We made our way outside and stood at the drop-n-go spot. We waited and waited and the girl kept checking her watch and then glancing at us. I sensed that the driver was late and that she didn´t know how to communicate this with us. Finally the driver arrived and we packed our luggage in the boot and off we went. Now this was quite an entertaining trip. He couldn´t really speak English and we can´t speak Spanish but he decided he was going to have a conversation with us nevertheless. I decided it was now or never so whipped out my phrasebook and had a go. It was funny but he appreciated my attempts and I think we managed to understand each other every now and then. Brad was also engaging in this and we were having a good giggle. Reminded us so much of being in Taiwan. The driver was talking and talking and he kept swaying over from lane to lane as his attention was clearly on our conversation and not the road. There were times when we were actually driving straddling two lanes!!!
We arrived at our Hostel, Ayres Portenos, in San Telmo. It´s okay - they definitely made it look much better than it really does on the internet. We have a double room at the end of the 3rd floor right by the kitchen and bathroom. It has big doors that open out to a balcony which overlooks the street. Very basic - let me repeat - VERY basic. Just a bed a table and two chairs. This is the one hostel where we don´t have a private bathroom and have to use a shared bathroom. The bathrooms are also quite old - think of the bathrooms at a campsite and you´ll get the idea.
We needed to make contact with my folks back home to let them know we´d arrived safely. Unfortunately the telephone´s at the hostel are not working and we had to head out to find telephones that we could use. The lady at the front desk of the hostel gave us some cryptic directions and we headed off. Our first adventure out onto the streets of Buenos Aires! We were met with strange sights and smells. Again it reminded us of Taiwan. We were taken aback by the number of old cars - not vintage but old and dilapidated - as well as the garbage lying on the pavements. We thing that made the directions so cryptic was that we didn´t actually know what we were looking for. But true to her directions we discovered an internet cafe with telephones and were able to make our call back home. Quite pricey R22 for a 2 minute conversation!!!
We decided that since we were already out we´d take a stroll through the streets to see what we could discover - it was already about 5pm by this time. The streets are lined with old worn down cobble stones and are narrow lined with tall, narrow, colonial buildings. Old buildings with quaint shops. There were stationary stores and little mom-n-pop stores which reminded us of Taiwan. Then there were little designer boutique stores - which reminded us a bit of Stellenbosch. We also discovered plenty of Antique stores. We ended up at a plaza which was surrounded but little restaurants and side-walk cafes as well as some live entertainment. We realised that it was actually a good time to get something to eat as it was dinner time but then came the challenge of finding out what was available and of course what it would cost. Each of the restuarant has representatives standing in the square, handing out promotional pamphlets, and trying to convince you to come and eat at their restuarant - reminders of Vietnam. The only problem was we couldn´t really understand what they were saying and felt really awkward because we couldn´t come to a decision. One guy showed us the menu and the prices were quite high. We told him we´d come back and then he brought out another menu with cheaper items - it had some English on it too - so we decided to take the plunge. We took a seat at a nearby table.
There were some street performers who came to do the tango and it was very entertaining. I must say that seeing it in real is certainly an experience not to miss. Most impressive. When we initially headed out to find the telephones we didn´t realise we´d end up going out for dinner at the same time and I had left my camera at the hostel. I was so sorry as I could have taken the most fantastic photos of them dancing. At that point I decided my camera will accompany me everywhere for the rest of the trip.I couldn´t believe how little the lady was wearing though - let´s just say you have to be SUPER-confident to wear that outfit while standing still, nevermind while you´re being flung around into all sorts of positions! It was a bit awkward though because afterwards she came around with a hat to a few selected people - and we were of her selected few - to ask for a donation. We were so caught off-guard and felt so uncomfortable because we had no idea what would be an appropriate amount and we also didn´t have any small change, only bigger notes. So we had to act all dumb and try tell her we´d give later. Eventually someone came to take our order and with the help of my phrasebook we ordered what we understood was a sandwhich.
When our sandwich arrived it wasn´t quite as we´d expected. It was basically a piece of fillet in between what looked like two rather large communion wafers -lol!!! And a generous portion of french-fries accompanied it. Now if you know Brad and I you´ll know we´re rather healthy eaters and so stuffing our faces with meat and french fries wasn´t exactly appetizing. But it was a meal and we were grateful just to be able to order it. Something very strange happened shortly after our food arrived. These two little boys - I´d say around 8 or 9 years old - came to stand next to the table and were speaking broken English telling me they want some of my food. I was so shocked I didn´t quite know what to say. Luckily Brad came to his senses and started telling them off, just then the waiter arrived and told them to go away. I was trying to figure out what the story was. Were they street kids¿ - sorry the question mark sign isn´t working on this keyboard so I´m going to have to use ¿ instead. I can easily identify street kids in South Africa but realised that everyone looks the same here to me and I first thought they must be someone´s kids who are just darn naughty running around the plaza. But then I took a closer look and saw that the one boys shirt was a bit torn. Still don´t know what the story was.
We made our way back to our hostel, and were VERY tired by this time so decided to shower and head to bed early. By 11pm we were in bed and realised that we´d been awake for exactly 24hours. The night did however not quite turn out as we´d planned. Sleep was regularly interrupted by people using the kitchen to wash their stuff and loud laughing, talking and partying from the people in hostel. This carred on until just before 6am. We had heard that the people in Argentina only come alive at about 10pm and night and party until the sun comes up. Turns out this is very true. So what we had hoped would be a restful evening was anything but that. We´re going to see if they can´t move us to a different room or find alternative accommodation because I don´t think we can do this for another 2 nights. Not if we want to be sane enough to enjoy the days ahead.
Brad is still not feeling so great. For those of you who didn´t know, Brad went for an injection last week which was special cortisone cocktail injection to sort out his hayfever and allergies. Brad has the unfortunate ability of being one of those ¨one in a million¨ cases and turned out to have every single side effect of the injection. One of them is that his esophegus won´t close properly. This means that everything that he eats keeps making it´s way back up giving him terrible gastric reflux. The poor guy has been suffering with this now for the last week. Also it kept him awake most of last week so he REALLY needs sleep and between all the packing, flying, and hostel noise last night he hasn´t been able to get nearly enough. Please keep praying he´ll experience a full recovery so that he won´t be robbed of any of the joy of this trip.
We decided to get up at around 6:30am - hey I just found the colon sign, it´s another key with a totally different symbol - as it was pointless laying in bed anymore and come type this update. Time to get going though - need to plan the day ahead and see if we can do something about our accommodation problem.
Till laters!!!!
Adios
We arrived safely- let me tell you all about it so far...
We woke up yesterday morning - Friday 19th March - at 3am, got dressed, and headed off to the airport where we got our luggage wrapped and then stood in the queue to check-in. I had really hoped that since we were there so early we could secure some emergency exit seats but unfortunately the person that checked us in said they were already taken. After a quick latte with my folks at good old Mugg ´n Bean it was time to head through to board our flight to JHB.
Much to our delight as we boarded the plane we discovered that we had been bumped up to Business Class - what a great start to our day!!! I´ve never flown Business Class before and it was nice to drink out of a glass and eat off proper cultery - nevermind the big comfy seats and a copy of the Cape Times. We were blessed again with the most spectacular sunrise which which watched as we flew - our Father was blessing us big time!
Once in JHB we had to make our way to the correct terminal and get through passport control etc. We couldn´t seem to find our terminal so ended up doing a bit of a tour of OR Tambo but eventually found it. They´ve become real strict about hand-luggage and my hand luggage was 2 kgs overweight but then I just took out my camera and travel guides and it was fine - got to pack them straight back in again so don´t quite know what the point of that was.
We boarded the plane that would take us to Buenos Aires and I must say I was disappointed with the plane. It´s one of the really old Boeing´s so for example there were no on demand movies - just a few old screens that came down from the ceiling of the plane so had to strain to see anything. Movies showing were ¨The Fantastic Mr Fox¨ which I managed to sleep though as it was a bit odd, ¨Wolverine¨ which I actually enjoyed, ¨Alvin and the Chipmunks¨ which I slept through, and finally ¨The Blind Side¨ which was great. Our seats were situated in the very last row of the plane. We initially thought that this was bad as we didn´t think we could recline our seats but soon discovered that we could, it also enabled us to stand and stretch regularly and we were right at the food and refreshments which means we were first to get when it came out!!!
All in all the flight was okay, managed to get about 3hours of shut eye and we landed at about 3¨45pm - the buttons on this keyboard are not working properly so I´m having to use the ¨ key instead of a colon - sorry. The brackets are also not working. We went through immigration quickly and hassle-free and then got our luggage, changed some money and went out to find our transfer. I searched around until I discovered ¨Laura Kirsten x1¨ written on a piece of paper and stuck to a pole. It seems they didn´t know about Brad - ha, ha - even though I´d given them our full names and details. Then it was so odd, we went to stand by the girl that called us and she looked so awkward and confused because her paper said x1 and now there were 2 of us. She was standing with about 3 other people and they were having a huge conversation about this now in Spanish. They couldn´t speak English and we couldn´t speak Spanish so it was quite entertaining. They made a phonecall and then we just stood and waited, and waited. Finally she said to come with her. We made our way outside and stood at the drop-n-go spot. We waited and waited and the girl kept checking her watch and then glancing at us. I sensed that the driver was late and that she didn´t know how to communicate this with us. Finally the driver arrived and we packed our luggage in the boot and off we went. Now this was quite an entertaining trip. He couldn´t really speak English and we can´t speak Spanish but he decided he was going to have a conversation with us nevertheless. I decided it was now or never so whipped out my phrasebook and had a go. It was funny but he appreciated my attempts and I think we managed to understand each other every now and then. Brad was also engaging in this and we were having a good giggle. Reminded us so much of being in Taiwan. The driver was talking and talking and he kept swaying over from lane to lane as his attention was clearly on our conversation and not the road. There were times when we were actually driving straddling two lanes!!!
We arrived at our Hostel, Ayres Portenos, in San Telmo. It´s okay - they definitely made it look much better than it really does on the internet. We have a double room at the end of the 3rd floor right by the kitchen and bathroom. It has big doors that open out to a balcony which overlooks the street. Very basic - let me repeat - VERY basic. Just a bed a table and two chairs. This is the one hostel where we don´t have a private bathroom and have to use a shared bathroom. The bathrooms are also quite old - think of the bathrooms at a campsite and you´ll get the idea.
We needed to make contact with my folks back home to let them know we´d arrived safely. Unfortunately the telephone´s at the hostel are not working and we had to head out to find telephones that we could use. The lady at the front desk of the hostel gave us some cryptic directions and we headed off. Our first adventure out onto the streets of Buenos Aires! We were met with strange sights and smells. Again it reminded us of Taiwan. We were taken aback by the number of old cars - not vintage but old and dilapidated - as well as the garbage lying on the pavements. We thing that made the directions so cryptic was that we didn´t actually know what we were looking for. But true to her directions we discovered an internet cafe with telephones and were able to make our call back home. Quite pricey R22 for a 2 minute conversation!!!
We decided that since we were already out we´d take a stroll through the streets to see what we could discover - it was already about 5pm by this time. The streets are lined with old worn down cobble stones and are narrow lined with tall, narrow, colonial buildings. Old buildings with quaint shops. There were stationary stores and little mom-n-pop stores which reminded us of Taiwan. Then there were little designer boutique stores - which reminded us a bit of Stellenbosch. We also discovered plenty of Antique stores. We ended up at a plaza which was surrounded but little restaurants and side-walk cafes as well as some live entertainment. We realised that it was actually a good time to get something to eat as it was dinner time but then came the challenge of finding out what was available and of course what it would cost. Each of the restuarant has representatives standing in the square, handing out promotional pamphlets, and trying to convince you to come and eat at their restuarant - reminders of Vietnam. The only problem was we couldn´t really understand what they were saying and felt really awkward because we couldn´t come to a decision. One guy showed us the menu and the prices were quite high. We told him we´d come back and then he brought out another menu with cheaper items - it had some English on it too - so we decided to take the plunge. We took a seat at a nearby table.
There were some street performers who came to do the tango and it was very entertaining. I must say that seeing it in real is certainly an experience not to miss. Most impressive. When we initially headed out to find the telephones we didn´t realise we´d end up going out for dinner at the same time and I had left my camera at the hostel. I was so sorry as I could have taken the most fantastic photos of them dancing. At that point I decided my camera will accompany me everywhere for the rest of the trip.I couldn´t believe how little the lady was wearing though - let´s just say you have to be SUPER-confident to wear that outfit while standing still, nevermind while you´re being flung around into all sorts of positions! It was a bit awkward though because afterwards she came around with a hat to a few selected people - and we were of her selected few - to ask for a donation. We were so caught off-guard and felt so uncomfortable because we had no idea what would be an appropriate amount and we also didn´t have any small change, only bigger notes. So we had to act all dumb and try tell her we´d give later. Eventually someone came to take our order and with the help of my phrasebook we ordered what we understood was a sandwhich.
When our sandwich arrived it wasn´t quite as we´d expected. It was basically a piece of fillet in between what looked like two rather large communion wafers -lol!!! And a generous portion of french-fries accompanied it. Now if you know Brad and I you´ll know we´re rather healthy eaters and so stuffing our faces with meat and french fries wasn´t exactly appetizing. But it was a meal and we were grateful just to be able to order it. Something very strange happened shortly after our food arrived. These two little boys - I´d say around 8 or 9 years old - came to stand next to the table and were speaking broken English telling me they want some of my food. I was so shocked I didn´t quite know what to say. Luckily Brad came to his senses and started telling them off, just then the waiter arrived and told them to go away. I was trying to figure out what the story was. Were they street kids¿ - sorry the question mark sign isn´t working on this keyboard so I´m going to have to use ¿ instead. I can easily identify street kids in South Africa but realised that everyone looks the same here to me and I first thought they must be someone´s kids who are just darn naughty running around the plaza. But then I took a closer look and saw that the one boys shirt was a bit torn. Still don´t know what the story was.
We made our way back to our hostel, and were VERY tired by this time so decided to shower and head to bed early. By 11pm we were in bed and realised that we´d been awake for exactly 24hours. The night did however not quite turn out as we´d planned. Sleep was regularly interrupted by people using the kitchen to wash their stuff and loud laughing, talking and partying from the people in hostel. This carred on until just before 6am. We had heard that the people in Argentina only come alive at about 10pm and night and party until the sun comes up. Turns out this is very true. So what we had hoped would be a restful evening was anything but that. We´re going to see if they can´t move us to a different room or find alternative accommodation because I don´t think we can do this for another 2 nights. Not if we want to be sane enough to enjoy the days ahead.
Brad is still not feeling so great. For those of you who didn´t know, Brad went for an injection last week which was special cortisone cocktail injection to sort out his hayfever and allergies. Brad has the unfortunate ability of being one of those ¨one in a million¨ cases and turned out to have every single side effect of the injection. One of them is that his esophegus won´t close properly. This means that everything that he eats keeps making it´s way back up giving him terrible gastric reflux. The poor guy has been suffering with this now for the last week. Also it kept him awake most of last week so he REALLY needs sleep and between all the packing, flying, and hostel noise last night he hasn´t been able to get nearly enough. Please keep praying he´ll experience a full recovery so that he won´t be robbed of any of the joy of this trip.
We decided to get up at around 6:30am - hey I just found the colon sign, it´s another key with a totally different symbol - as it was pointless laying in bed anymore and come type this update. Time to get going though - need to plan the day ahead and see if we can do something about our accommodation problem.
Till laters!!!!
Adios
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
The Pack
It is now 1:10am Thursday morning and we have basically finished packing. Brad went to bed about 2 hours ago and I'm still running around doing all my things. At the moment I'm checking my memory cards to clear them for my camera.
I can't believe we're actually going overseas. It just doesn't feel real at all. The wierd thing is I'm not excited or anything - feels so surreal. Certainly must have something to do with the way I've been caught up at work trying to get through everything that needs to get done before I go on leave. I'm wondering when exactly the reality will set in. Only on Friday morning as we check in? Or maybe only once we've boarded the plane and getting ready for take off. Will have to see...
I'm a walking zombie at the moment so best I get to bed because there are still 2 sleepies standing between me and the vacation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)