CarrieBaldwin

Friday, April 2, 2010

Iguazu Falls, Argentina

The Devil's Throat

Up close and personal with the falls... loud, wet, and apparently perfect place for a rainbow!

Monday after classes and touring BA with my friends (and a scary allergic reaction to something in my salad which turned me totally BEAT RED, made my heart race, made me super hot and gave me a head ache and massive red rash on my stomach and legs) we boarded our supposed-to-be 18 hour bus to Iguazu falls (very Northern Argentina, on border to Brasil)and 23.5 hours later arrived there! We upgraded to the "cama suites" (cama=bed) which served great food, the beds reclined all the way, and they gave us 4 different kinds of booze! We had a great time and slept for most of the trip... although we were a bit disappointed to be arriving to late, so we checked into our hostel and just planned on seeing the falls the next day.

Up and at'em super early, we got on the 3rd bus from Puerto Iguazu to the national park where the falls are, and spent 3 hours in traffic and eventually turned back because there were protests at the opening to the park from workers who were demanding more pay... not sure where the workers were from, but it was quite the fiasco there that day and no one was able to go into the park all day. Unfortunately, there is nothing to do in Puerto Iguazu - and even the futbol match the guys were excited to watch wasn't coming through on the tv due to crappy cable, so most of the day was pretty much a wash. At one point we considered going to the Brasil side (literally like 2 miles away) but the visa office at the Brasilian consulate wasn't open, and I had heard mixed things about entering the country for the day just in the national park, so we didn't risk it and just had good food and siesta time for the day... planning to get up super early the next day to see the falls in the morning in time to catch my bus back to BA at 4pm.

The next day we woke up at 6am to be the first in the park and walked around for hours looking at all of the falls. It was incredible and truly breathtaking! there are some 300+ falls, and they are about 80 m high and about 2,700 meters in diameter, although they form a half-circle. The pictures don't do it justice, but there isn't much more to say.... other than check out the pics! They're on some list for being a natural wonder of the world, but they aren't one of the official "seven wonders of the world" although they are a World Heritage Site. After the falls I boarded my bus back to BA and although I wasn't in the "cama suite" I managed through the 19 hour bus ride back to BA ok.

Two Sister's waterfall

Iguazu Falls (Argentina side)

23.5 hour bus trip there - they better serve free booze! :)

Buenos Aires, Argentina (week 1)

After a major annoyance with Delta airlines and a day spent in Atlanta, I finally made it to Buenos Aires on Tuesday morning, just one day behind schedule. I am renting a room (and by room I mean twin bed in the living room) in a 1 bedroom apartment with two sister from Chile. They have lived in BA for 3 years. The eldest (24) is studying design and engaged to a guy from LA, and the youngest (19) is studying architecture. They are both very nice and obviously speak Spanish so that is very helpful for me! My Spanish teacher (Hernan), who I was referred to from Kate's cousin who lives in BA with her Chilean hubby (her name is Corrie) met me for a delicious first dinner that night. We shared a big plate with a hunk o' meat (great steak!), sweet potatoes, grilled veggies, patatas fritas (french fries), cheese, and other various goodies. That and a shared bottle of Malbec made me very happy! I started my Spanish classes the next morning, and spent the next couple of days walking around the city getting my bearings and doing odds and ends like studying and grocery shopping. Thursday a friend of Marisa's, Kevin, met up with me to help me buy a phone since he lives in the area - then we met up with two of my friends whom I met traveling in New Zealand, from England, and went out to another wonderful dinner with tasty local wine. We went out to a chill outside bar afterwards and met some of his friends in BA. I spent the weekend with my two friends walking around BA, seeing the sights, and eating the BA food and drinking the BA drinks! On Saturday we went out with a girl I met while in Vietnam, Florencia, and her friends in BA. Usually we go to dinner around 11:00-11:30, have drinks until 2 or 3 and THEN go to the club, because if you go any sooner, you are a big huge loser apparently :) So we went to the club for her friend's birthday around 3:00am and made it home around 6:30am. I was definitely not used to this night life, and therefore slept in the following day until about 3pm :)

BA is a great city though - lots of parques and plazas - tons of different neighborhoods and what not with different things unique about each area. It's a massive city, didn't realize how huge it is, 11 million people live in 'greater' BA (vs. 8.3 million in greater NYC). That's a lot of people!!!

Monday, March 22, 2010

Fiji !

Bula Fiji!!! (Hello Fiji!)

I realize this is a bit belated, but some people have requested me to update Fiji on my blog although the pics are all on facebook - so here I am! I spent 6 nights in Fiji, one on the main land to make my way to the Yasawa Islands (closest to Nadi, cheaper, more backpacker type bungalow-resorts) and one on the way back before my flight, and the 4 in between were spent on 3 different islands. I ran into someone I met on my bus from NZ in the airport, and we met up with someone from Holland and England, and did the islands together. All were beautiful and relaxing, and everything I expected out of it and more. The food was awesome, people were so happy and wonderful, and the scenery was just perfect. All days were pretty much the same; eating, talking, sleeping, swimming, sun bathing, reading in hammock, snorkeling, diving, kayaking, kava ceremony, eating, napping, drinking, chatting, sleeping, repeat. It was an incredible time, and it was so hard to leave. I really want to make it back to this country one day, but it was the perfect part of my journey to end my trip on.

delicious lunch on Octopus

Octopus

sunset on Octopus

snorkeling on Manta Ray Island

Sunset Octopus

tropical drinks at the beach party on Octopus

enjoying the sun, pool, and ocean on Octopus

exploring Octopus island

one last jumping pic :)

yet another kava ceremony - on Manta Ray island

local cultural performance - Manta Ray

diving in Fiji

best shower ever

Octopus beach

Blue Lagoon - awesome beach

Blue Lagoon

Bure on Manta Ray Island

Snorkeling on Manta Ray

view of other islands on the ferry to our island

sunset on Manta Ray

relaxing in the water with some fijian beers... this is the life!!! xo

Monday, February 15, 2010

Kiwi Experience Comes to an End

Queenstown Traffic Jam

en route to Milford Sound

Milford Sound

02.10.10: All day trip to Milford Sound. Weather wasn't great but I can still see why it's named as one of the 10 most beautiful places in the world. Got back in time for dinner with my friends at Fergburger - awesome burgers! had last night out with the crew around Queenstown.

02.11.10: Queenstown-Christchurch - glorious 7 hours on the bus (remember no iPod/iPhone either = awesome) but I met a nice group of people from Canada and England so I had some entertainment to get me through the ride. Happy to do some laundry and get stuff together while in Christchurch. Had a few drinks with people from the bus in the hostel bar for the night.

Milford Sound

Last night together... not happy

Lake Pukaki

02.12.10: Christchurch to Kaikoura - marine life capital of NZ. lots of people did swimming with dolphins or whale watching, but I was happy enough with my wild penguin sightings on the drive in (no pics but was so excited to see them on the beach!!) so just chilled out for the day, napped and what not and hung out with people from the bus at the hostel for an early, low key night.

02.13.10: Christchurch to Picton for ferry to Wellington - played cards and such on the ferry over to Wellington, and met up with my friend Lindsay whom I met in Hanoi, Vietnam. We met up for apps and drinks at a cute place on the water and caught up about the end of our travels. Then she had me and a bunch of people from the bus over to her flat where she had a bunch of her kiwi friends over for wine. Headed out and enjoyed the Saturday night Wellington night life. Enjoyed it a bit too much as my 7:45 bus the next day was not fun!

Lake Pukaki

Kaikoura

meeting up with Lindsay in Wellington!

02.14.10: Taupo - lake Taupo was very pretty, I didn't partake in any activities as they all cost about $100 each, I was bummed not to do anything but just walked around the town a bit and enjoyed the beach and the sunshine. Watched Sweet Home Alabama and had some cheap wine with friends from the bus and in bed early!

02.15.10: Auckland - drove through Rototura (which has the most thermal activitity in NZ and top 3 sites in the world, but didn't get to experience the hot bubbling mud, but saw the steam from it from the bus :) ) arrived into Auckland in time to bop around and check out the city a bit. No one has good things to say about the city so a friend and I decided to hit up the only IMAX theater in NZ and see Avatar before it's out of theaters. I really enjoyed it and am enjoying a relaxing evening for my last night in NZ. Off to Fiji tomorrow and still undecided as to whether I'll hit the islands on my own or follow through with the Fiji Experience I had previously booked. Looking forward to sunshine and relaxation though (has as if I have a stressful life warranting a need for relaxation... still looking forward to it though!)