I am operating on about 1 hour of sleep right now, and I'm also ill. I'm quite astounded that I can function, however it was all worth it. :-D
I left Montevideo yesterday around 7pm on the Buquebus ferry. It was a nice city, but the other hostelites were not overly warm, so I was definitely ready to say goodbye. In line for check-in at the ferry terminal I met Marcel, originally from Germany but living in Chicago. We chatted most of the three hour ferry ride to Buenos Aires, then exchanged information in hopes of meeting up later. Unfortunately, Marcel was sicker than I am, so the rendezvous was not to be.
However, when I arrived at the hostel around 10, it was quite full of people. I made fast friends with a really great group of four Australians who were planning to got out. It being my last night, I didn't want to miss out, so we cabbed over to a place called Pacha around 130am (I will not miss the hours that Argentinians go out). The place is right on the coast and is enormous. It was packed, but the line moved fast and the alcohol was inexpensive. The biggest downside was the ladies room, where the line was always long and I had to pay for toilet paper. Wtf. We drank and danced and had a great time until about 6am and, with the sun coming up, we headed back to the hostel. Once there I think we talked until 9am or so, then I passed out until the maid came in to tell everyone it was time to check out. Ouch.
After a quick shower, I headed out to the San Telmo market to spend the rest of my pesos on some last minute shopping. I have no pictures from last night or today, but the past 14 hours were definitely some of the most memorable of this trip. Buenos Aires is a great city.
I exchanged Facebook information with most of the people I hit it off with, so I really hope to keep in touch, and perhaps visit them someday in their countries and vise versa.
My flight is at 11pm tonight, and I arrive home around noon on Monday. I can't wait to sleep in my own bed and start my new job!
I don't really have any profound reflections on the trip, but overall I had an excellent time and I'm very glad I decided to take the plunge into solo travel. Next, I hope to go to Ireland for an outdoorsy hiking trip. Anyone care to join? If not, no worries... I can mostly speak the language there :)
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Just what the doctor ordered
Last night I ventured out alone for the first time after dark. I took a cab even though it was not a far walk, just to be safe. I didn't bring a purse, stuck some extra cash in my bra, and just kept my phone and other cash in my pockets (plus my passport copy and credit card in my cash belt). You can never be too careful!
Anyway, so I decided to try out the Irish Pub and I'm very happy that I did (no pictures because I didn't want to bring my camera). A band was playing American covers, mostly from the era of The Beatles. I don't think I've mentioned yet, but South America, or at least Argentina and Uruguay, absolutely LOVE them. You'll see a photo below of a bar called Los Beatles that I saw today. It's THAT popular.
The lead singer of the band was an older gentleman who came over and said hello. His English was decent and he explained that the band was him and his sons. He wrote down his information so I could become a fan on Facebook. I will :)
I also met a nice Uruguayan guy name Christian. He bought me a beer and we chatted for quite awhile. He does similar work to what I do, so we at least had a common topic to fall back on. The music was enjoyable, though made me chuckle occasionally because a Spanish accent on Norwegian Wood is a bit funny. As I was getting ready to leave, around 1am, a group of three Marines came in. They work at the American embassy, each at a different time on their year long tours. They were all very nice and we chatted briefly but my cold was really getting to me so I had to leave. Christian helped me find a cab and I made my way home to bed, where I took a healthy dose of drugs and slept my first 8 hours since I started this trip.
Today has been very mellow. I'm rather out of energy for wandering around taking pictures. I went back down toward the Mercado del Puerto, where I purchased an inexpensive mate cup and straw, to remind me of the experience, then walked a bit down by the harbor. I decided to take a taxi to the Palatio Legislavito (where government happens) because I had heard there were tours. I didn't however consider that it's Saturday, so the place was very empty. Turned out not to be the greatest area either, although there was a police officer stationed by the building. I simply did a lap of the building, took a bunch of photos, then hailed another cab and headed back to the hostel.
My plan now is to just hang here in the beautiful weather until about 5pm, when I will make my way to the harbor to catch my ferry back to Buenos Aires. If there are people around to go out with tonight, I may do one last hoorah, but if not I'll have no problem with heading to bed early. Tomorrow I will spend the remainder of my pesos at the San Telmo market, then head to the airport!
Anyway, so I decided to try out the Irish Pub and I'm very happy that I did (no pictures because I didn't want to bring my camera). A band was playing American covers, mostly from the era of The Beatles. I don't think I've mentioned yet, but South America, or at least Argentina and Uruguay, absolutely LOVE them. You'll see a photo below of a bar called Los Beatles that I saw today. It's THAT popular.
The lead singer of the band was an older gentleman who came over and said hello. His English was decent and he explained that the band was him and his sons. He wrote down his information so I could become a fan on Facebook. I will :)
I also met a nice Uruguayan guy name Christian. He bought me a beer and we chatted for quite awhile. He does similar work to what I do, so we at least had a common topic to fall back on. The music was enjoyable, though made me chuckle occasionally because a Spanish accent on Norwegian Wood is a bit funny. As I was getting ready to leave, around 1am, a group of three Marines came in. They work at the American embassy, each at a different time on their year long tours. They were all very nice and we chatted briefly but my cold was really getting to me so I had to leave. Christian helped me find a cab and I made my way home to bed, where I took a healthy dose of drugs and slept my first 8 hours since I started this trip.
Today has been very mellow. I'm rather out of energy for wandering around taking pictures. I went back down toward the Mercado del Puerto, where I purchased an inexpensive mate cup and straw, to remind me of the experience, then walked a bit down by the harbor. I decided to take a taxi to the Palatio Legislavito (where government happens) because I had heard there were tours. I didn't however consider that it's Saturday, so the place was very empty. Turned out not to be the greatest area either, although there was a police officer stationed by the building. I simply did a lap of the building, took a bunch of photos, then hailed another cab and headed back to the hostel.
My plan now is to just hang here in the beautiful weather until about 5pm, when I will make my way to the harbor to catch my ferry back to Buenos Aires. If there are people around to go out with tonight, I may do one last hoorah, but if not I'll have no problem with heading to bed early. Tomorrow I will spend the remainder of my pesos at the San Telmo market, then head to the airport!
Friday, November 30, 2012
Exhaustion
So I'm fairly certain I am getting sick. My throat hurts and I'm stuffy. I haven't been sleeping well the past few nights so I tried to nap today with no luck. That's okay though because tonight, drugs :)
So I finally got to try mate (ma-tay), the South American loose tea that EVERYONE drinks. One of the guys, Mathias, who works here at the hostel, sat down with our group last night and introduced us to the ritual. There is a specific way you fill the mate (cup) with loose tea, a particular way you pour the water, a specific metal straw with a filter on the bottom that you drink from, and a courtesy to passing it around. You also do not say gracias when you return the cup to the host, because that implies you do not want more (unless of course you don't want more). We had a lovely time sitting around and learning something of Uruguayan culture, and I am muy feliz that I got to experience it.
Mathias and his girlfriend also took myself and my new Montreal and French friends out to the bars last night. We went to the more modern downtown area, very close to the Uruguayan world trade center. The area was much more modern and looked like any north American or European city. We ran into some other Americans here for work, and had a wonderful time sharing stories and laughing. One of my favorite nights of this trip. No pictures though since I didn't want to lose my camera.
Today it rained all morning. First bad weather of the trip. As this was my only full day in Montevideo, I didn't want to miss anything, so I went ahead and rented a bike and headed out in the downpour. I'm glad I did, as about 30-45 minutes into my ride, the rain stopped, and after another hour, the skies cleared. I ended up sweaty and exhausted, but was spared a sunburn thanks to multiple sunscreen applications.
I biked a total of 14 miles along the Rambla (coastal road). I took a lot of pictures and stopped at a large mall for lunch. At 7 miles I turned around. Less then a half-mile later I was walking my bike over a curb (no ramped at the intersections here!) and the wheel some how got whacked out of alignment. Basically the wheel was rubbing against metal my whole ride back. On top of that, the left brake didn't work, and the chain kept falling off. One of the times this happened, a nice guy stopped and helped me out it back. By the end, I was dirty, sweaty and exhausted, but I had a fantastic ride overall. And as a bonus, I didn't have to pay for the rental because of the issues :)
Tonight I am planning to go to the Irish pub and listen to a band that apparently plays American covers. Should be a good time. Also, I met a group of men at the hostel who play in a South American American Football league, for Argentina. They are here to play a game tomorrow against the Uruguayan team. I may try to go, as I think that would be a fun experience and I can't make a futbol game here.
My friends from last night left this morning, and most people here came as a pair, so I'm hoping some new folks show up tonight. If not I'll be taking a taxi to the pub, and maybe make friends there :). Just 2 days left til I'm on my way home!
Pictures of the hostel (which is awesome), dinner last night (gnocchi), drinking mate, and my day today:
So I finally got to try mate (ma-tay), the South American loose tea that EVERYONE drinks. One of the guys, Mathias, who works here at the hostel, sat down with our group last night and introduced us to the ritual. There is a specific way you fill the mate (cup) with loose tea, a particular way you pour the water, a specific metal straw with a filter on the bottom that you drink from, and a courtesy to passing it around. You also do not say gracias when you return the cup to the host, because that implies you do not want more (unless of course you don't want more). We had a lovely time sitting around and learning something of Uruguayan culture, and I am muy feliz that I got to experience it.
Mathias and his girlfriend also took myself and my new Montreal and French friends out to the bars last night. We went to the more modern downtown area, very close to the Uruguayan world trade center. The area was much more modern and looked like any north American or European city. We ran into some other Americans here for work, and had a wonderful time sharing stories and laughing. One of my favorite nights of this trip. No pictures though since I didn't want to lose my camera.
Today it rained all morning. First bad weather of the trip. As this was my only full day in Montevideo, I didn't want to miss anything, so I went ahead and rented a bike and headed out in the downpour. I'm glad I did, as about 30-45 minutes into my ride, the rain stopped, and after another hour, the skies cleared. I ended up sweaty and exhausted, but was spared a sunburn thanks to multiple sunscreen applications.
I biked a total of 14 miles along the Rambla (coastal road). I took a lot of pictures and stopped at a large mall for lunch. At 7 miles I turned around. Less then a half-mile later I was walking my bike over a curb (no ramped at the intersections here!) and the wheel some how got whacked out of alignment. Basically the wheel was rubbing against metal my whole ride back. On top of that, the left brake didn't work, and the chain kept falling off. One of the times this happened, a nice guy stopped and helped me out it back. By the end, I was dirty, sweaty and exhausted, but I had a fantastic ride overall. And as a bonus, I didn't have to pay for the rental because of the issues :)
Tonight I am planning to go to the Irish pub and listen to a band that apparently plays American covers. Should be a good time. Also, I met a group of men at the hostel who play in a South American American Football league, for Argentina. They are here to play a game tomorrow against the Uruguayan team. I may try to go, as I think that would be a fun experience and I can't make a futbol game here.
My friends from last night left this morning, and most people here came as a pair, so I'm hoping some new folks show up tonight. If not I'll be taking a taxi to the pub, and maybe make friends there :). Just 2 days left til I'm on my way home!
Pictures of the hostel (which is awesome), dinner last night (gnocchi), drinking mate, and my day today:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)