Well, I´ve made it to Florianopolis and it´s wonderful. The beaches, the water, the food, the women, they´re all amazing! This place really is paradise. I don´t have much time to write today because I´m going to be going diving soon, but last night we went to a samba party on the beach and had a blast. This was the perfect remedy to being in Buenos Aires for so long.
Archive for December, 2008
Buses in the US get a bad rap. The biggest company is Greyhound, and their buses are the worst of the worst. Only the dregs of society take those things. Heck, a guy got his head off in Canada riding one! He wasn’t bothering anyone, just sleeping, and some whacko cut his head off! No thank you, Greyhound.
Down here in Argentina and Brazil, the buses have fully reclining or mostly reclining beds, food and drinks served, and movies to watch. I took a 16 hour bus from Buenos Aires to Iguazu and slept like a baby! Absolutely no complaints from me. The company was Via Bariloche if you’re interested, and I’d definitely ride with them again. I’m going to have to try all the other bus companies around South America!
My hostel in Iguazu is a nice little pad. Only had to walk 2 blocks from the bus station, and the staff have been nothing but friendly. Tomorrow I’m going to check out the entire falls area in the park on my own, then the day after that I’m doing a jungle excursion that has waterfall repelling and plenty of hiking! I love exploring!
Well, the time of departure is almost upon me! In just two days I’m off to Brazil for a two week vacation, through Iguazu and Florianópolis! The next update you see should have pictures similar to this:
Snorkeling, surfing, seafood, and sun. Can’t wait to get out in that beautiful water and recharge my batteries. Every time I get close to a new place to travel I get giddy!
Man, Brazil sure didn’t want to make it easy for me to visit! The process of getting a visa for an American down here in Buenos Aires is pretty complicated. You have to buy and show proof when you’ll enter and exit Brazil before you have your visa, which means you have to buy those bus or plane tickets before you even know if you’ll be allowed into the country. I find that a bit backwards.
The second caveat that is pretty irksome is the fact that the visa from Argentina (which is the same price as the one in the US) is only good for 90 days, as compared to 5 years. Utter bollocks if you ask me. But, all things considered, a trip to Brazil is still a trip to Brazil.
Make the most of it!
The second stage of my trip to Brazil is going to be a week on the beaches of Florianopolis, learning how to surf and eating seafood until I keel over. I’m a huge fan of shrimp in any form, and a friend of mine from Twitter has recommended a couple of places tha I should visit.
I’ve never had the chance to learn how to surf back home, just snowboarding, so I want to get up to at least a passable level while I’m there. Can’t wait!
First stage of my expedition into Brazil is going to start with Iguazu, naturally. And there’s a hostel there named after Peter Pan, so I didn’t really have a choice but to book my bed there. Who can resist sleeping in a place named after someone who never wanted to grow up?
You can check them out here, and if you’re there around the time of December 16-18th, I’ll see you there!
In about three weeks I’ll be venturing into Brazil for the first time! I’ve got my itinerary all planned out, and it looks like the best beach cities I’ll be hitting are Rio and Florianopolis. I’m hoping to spend at least three or four days in each place. Hopefully it won’t be too far into the beginning of high season that the beaches will be swamped.
I’m also really excited about trying to learn to surf! I’m an avid snowboarder and I’ve heard it’s tough to learn after snowboarding for a long time, so I’m looking forward to a challenge. Florianopolis is supposed to have some amazing surfing, so I’ll keep you guys posted.
Beaches of Brazil 