South American Diaries, Part I: The Headache of Border Crossings
I typed this up while on my South American trip last year, and forgot about it completely until I discovered it on my netbook a few weeks ago. It was fairly verbose, so I broke it up into two sections. Here’s Part I! ——— January 5, 2012 It’s been awhile since I’ve traveled solo, and my boots are dusty. When I returned from last jaunt overseas, my mind was sharp and I was up for the next challenge, whether it be logistical, mental, or physical. Tonight, I find myself in Puerto Iguazu, still recovering after a busy 5 days in Rio do Janeiro spent visiting with some great friends whom I haven’t seen in over a year. I’m staying in a hostel called Timbdo Posada, a quiet place around the corner from the bus station. The vibe is good – a comfortable place with an open-air kitchen; it’s a warm summer’s night with a cerveja (in January! I still get giddy about this. Such a Northern Hemisphere-ian). My mind is winding down and I’m trying to regain my composure after a day of adventure of the silly, stupid, and breathtaking varieties. Both Jim (my Australian friend) and I were pressed for time on our respective trips, but decided to make a quick jaunt to Iguazu Falls. After a nearly 2 hour delayed departure from Rio de Janeiro, we arrived in Foz do Iguacu around 5:30p — too late to really do anything at the Falls. So, we sauntered around town, did some research, and came to a consensus that the Argentine side of the Falls the following morning would be the way to go. What’s so silly about that, you may ask? Border crossings. The process seemed simple enough: ask the bus driver to stop at the border to get an exit stamp, get back on the bus, and continue on your merry way to the Falls. What we ended up having to do was more like this: – Wait 10 minutes to catch bus headed to Argentina. ($4 Reals) -Get off bus at Brazil side of border crossing. Wait 20 minutes to get through the line for exit stamp. -Catch another bus, 10 minutes later, heading to Argentina. ($2AR) -Get off the bus, wait 15 minutes for entry stamp in Argentina. (Entry stamp at border crossing = Free! As opposed to flying into Buenos Aires, which will incur a $135 visa fee for Americans). -Ride bus to Puerto Iguazu for 15-20 minutes. -Arrive at bus depot in Puerto Iguazu. Buy another bus ticket headed to Iguazu Falls, almost get scammed by the guy selling the tickets and almost get...
Rio de Janeiro to Buenos Aires: 2 Week Itinerary
Beginning in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and departing from Buenos Aires, Argentina is a common route tread by travelers, and it’s a fairly manageable itinerary if you have 14-16 days. Personally, I wish I’d had an extra week (at least) to explore Uruguay a little more, but if two weeks is all you can get, it’s better to take it than not…and I did! Rio de Janeiro: 4 days Four days in Rio will give you just enough time to take in the sights, and get a little bit of a feel for the city. You can check out Sugar Loaf Mountain, Ipanema Beach, Copacabana, Lapa (for nightlife), and, you must must eat Brazilian barbecue. (Carretão is a good, relatively inexpensive Brazilian barbecue chain). And then, of course, there’s the Cristo Redentor. Rio de Janeiro Tourist Tip: If you’re going to see Christ the Redeemer up close, especially in high tourist season, go as early as you can – which is 8AM. There are two reasons for doing this: 1. The line to take the train up to the Redeemer is a LOT shorter, if nonexistent. Since the statue is at the very top of Corcovado mountain, tourist access is only achieved by sending trolley cars up the mountain – a journey that takes about 20 minutes, and seating on these trains is limited. When you buy a ticket, you’re given a ticket for the train’s next departure time, which can be backed up for 2 hours or longer if you wait to go later in the day. 2. Jesus’ head is shrouded in clouds and smog by noon. If you wait too long, you won’t be able to get a good picture of/with Jesus, since his head will likely disappear into the afternoon clouds that roll through on a daily basis (in summertime, at least). Where We Stayed: We rented a flat two blocks off Copacabana Beach, which was a perfect central location to several of Rio’s neighborhoods and the perfect spot for New Year’s Eve. Try airbnb to find similar flats. Getting From Rio de Janeiro to Iguazu Falls: 1 day Flying directly from Rio de Janeiro to Puerto Iguazú, Argentina isn’t a cheap flight, as it’s an international flight. It’s less expensive to either take a bus or fly domestically from Rio to Foz do Iguaçu, and then crossing the land border into Puerto Iguazú, Argentina. A note about buying domestic flights in Brazil: Without a CPF ID number (Brazilian ID number), you’ll have a heck of a time trying to book a fairly priced domestic flight within Brazil. I ended up having to get my Brazilian friend to buy the ticket, and then pay her back – but internet research tells me...
A Tale of Two New Year’s Eves
It was a low-key New Year’s Eve this year. Gunner was in town, my roommate made some awesome shrimp, we drank a little bit of Fireball, and stayed home. When my phone alarm finally went off at midnight, I think we all breathed a sigh of relief, like a bunch of old folks – we could go to sleep. What a contrast from how I’d rang in the New Year in 2012, in Rio de Janeiro. Since I never did a proper post…here are the highlights! The Brazilian New Year’s Eve Traditions Brazilians wear white on New Year’s Eve (oops). This was problematic for me, as I’d only brought 5 shirts with me (curse my minimalistic approach to packing!). Fortunately, Raquel came prepared, and had a few extra white shirts in her arsenal. While I get that white represents purity, peace, and a fresh start for the New Year – it did rain for the first part of the evening. Yikes! Lentils bring good luck. Lentils is one the several dishes prepared for a traditional Brazilian New Year’s Eve, and it is believed that the eating of the lentils will bring good luck and prosperity in the New Year. Caipirinhas are the drink of choice. In the hours preceding midnight, my glass was refilled numerous times… it’s a stiff drink, too. Watching the Fireworks – From an AMAZING Condo Right at midnight, from several barges off the shore of Copacabana beach, an amazing 20-minute show of fireworks takes place. Raquel’s friend’s family own a prestigious condo, with the best possible view of the fireworks you could want (especially when it’s raining!). It was like watching the ball drop from a penthouse in Times Square – simply surreal. And, the fireworks were incredible. This crummy little video doesn’t do it justice: Getting Squashed for David Guetta The Rio De Janeiro NYE festivities include a free concert on Copacabana beach, and David Guetta was performing. 500,000 people were trying to get to the stage, and as we forced our way through the densest crowd, more than once I felt my internal organs being crushed. As an American where police and security are always in supply at any kind of public gathering, I was amazed at the lack of any kind of legal presence and the high morale of everyone in the crowd. Raquel said it was a testament to the Brazilian spirit. Stickers on Strangers + Taking Photos… = Stickerbombing? One of Jim’s travel gags is to bring a slew of stickers, and leave them on random objects. Usually, those objects are stationary. While we enjoyed the music of David Guetta, we were...
Making Saints Fans in Buenos Aires
I love travelling. I also love the New Orleans Saints. My fandom from the Saints has grown with every year that I’ve dated Gunner, a New Orleans native and avid Saints fan. I’d become an even BIGGER Saints fan after watching them from the 2nd row in the endzone when they played the Titans in Nashville last season. I was officially hooked. From then on out, I had to watch every play, every game. And so, when I was traveling around South America just as the playoffs for the 2011-2012 season were starting, I wasn’t going to let a little thing like a difference in the earth’s hemisphere prevent me from watching the Saints whoop the Lions. (Let’s get one thing straight, ordinarily I do NOT plan my evenings in exotic places around TV schedules). Fortunately, Hostel Estoril in Buenos Aires had cable TV. They also had the Latin American version of ESPN. They also had several potential Saints fans. It was a Saturday night in Buenos Aires, so I did what any other 25 year old American girl would do. I claimed ownership of the common room, opened a beer, and turned on the NFL game. The room had been empty at first, but slowly, one or two bored patrons of the Hostel Estoril drifted in, eyeing the television curiously. “It’s football!” I explained innocently/excitedly/stupidly once or twice before remembering futbol meant something else to the rest of the world. After awhile, quite a crowd formed, mostly composed of soccer fans who were willing to give the NFL a shot. Israelis, Canadians, and Brazilians were cheering for Drew Brees, even if they didn’t have a clue who he was, or why they were cheering for him. And I was quite proud, especially when the Saints won in the end. (Only to go on and lose the following week and then get plagued by bounty allegations…but we won’t talk about that.) “American Football” night at the Hostel Estoril ended up being a success....
Adventures in Uruguay
With 6 full days in Buenos Aires, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to dart across the Riviere de la Plata and spend a day exploring Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. Uruguay is, in all honestly, a country I knew nothing about, nor did I ever imagine I’d visit. After wandering around the town for a few hours and with only an hour before our ferry was scheduled to depart, we decided we wanted to venture to an area just outside of town, to see the Plaza de Torros, a now abandoned bullring built in the early 1900’s. We could’ve flagged a taxi, or rented a scooter, as so many other daytrippers had done and were buzzing all over town. But I’m always bent on the cheapest way of doing things, as is Trista. And so, with only an hour left in Uruguay, we opted to wait for the public bus, which we didn’t expect should take very long. After ten minutes with no bus, I started looking agitatedly at my watch – our minutes left in Uruguay were ticking by. I never ride public transportation in Nashville- ever– so in my mind, buses should magically appear every 5 minutes. When that didn’t happen, my anxiety grew. As a lover of foreign architecture, I really wanted to see the Plaza de Torros – but I didn’t want to get stuck in Uruguay with nothing but my passport. I saw a bus appear over the horizon. I lept from the bench excitedly, completely ignoring the bus number. I wanted to get on it simply because at least it was going somewhere, but the old Uruguayan woman also waiting at our stop wagged her finger at me. I took a deep breath and sat back down. Finally, the old public bus bearing the correct number came bumbling up the hill, creaking to a slow stop in front of us. We ambled to the back of the bus, where we were met by stares from locals. Tourists must use the scooters, evidently. As the bus sputtered down the road, taking us further and further out of town, I looked at the neighborhoods, dingy with Latin American spirit from years of dirt kicking up off the dusty road. Traffic lights were nonexistent, street signs were rusty from years of rain and wind, making it impossible for us to follow along on our map. It was the real Uruguay, not polished for tourist eyes. After a good 15 minute ride, the bus stopped at the Plaza del Torros, and we took in the bizarre sight of a Coliseum set in the middle of a quiet neighborhood. Much to our dismay,...
Travelling, just not Writing…
I don’t think I could be a full-on travel blogger. At least, not the sort that blogs WHILE she travels. I have a large amount of respect for those who do, since I don’t know when they find the time to do so! My days have been crammed with sight-seeing, dinners, and in the evenings, I’ll do research on where else I should go, or I’ll throw back a beer with an old friend or get to know my new hostel roommates, and send a few texts back home to update the troops, and sometimes I’ll Skype with Gunner and then it’s time for sleep. There are numerous posts in my brain I’d love to share, but I don’t see it happening while I’m in transit. I’m a rambler and somewhat of an over-corrector, which is a bad combination when you are trying to sketch a decent post out in under half an hour. But, I will say this: Our America to the South is under-rated. Brazil captured my heart, Iguazu Falls is the place we hope exists when we envision undiscovered frontiers, and Buenos Aires deserves a place alongside most European cities. It’s remarkable here, for reasons I hope to share once I’m home and dreaming of returning. And heck, it’s 90 degrees in January! Much love, and Happy New Year from the Paris of the South!,...
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I'm Laryssa, and when I'm not working in film or television, I'm attempting to travel -- or I'm here, providing resources for working in film or travel. Read more Elsewhere on the internets
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