Road Trip

Tomorrow we are heading out of Bariloche on a road trip across the country in Patagonia. We have rented a car for 1 week and will be camping in National parks along the way. If we don't post for a week or so you'll know why. We'll put away technology for short time and enjoy natures calling. We'll report back and have lots of photos to share when we return.
Our planned route is;
Bariloche to Parque National Los Alceres
Head east to Punta Tombo to see the Penguins
Head north to Puerto Madryn to see sea lions, seals, penguins and if we're lucky, whales!
Head back west towards Bariloche to camp in nearby National parks.
Hasta Luego chicos!

The road to Patagonia

The start of our 22 hour bus to Bariloche, Argentina in the Lake District of Patagonia.

Breakfast of champions! Bread, cookies, crackers, and of course, dulce de leche (creamed milk spread) that is served with every meal and desert in South America. Our nightly dinner included a bread roll with dulce de leche (think cinnamon bun) oh but wait, it gets better! In the middle of the roll, cheese and ham. Right, did I mention that every meal also comes with ham? They find a way to put it into to everything whether it works or not. 

BTW-I saved this fruit cup from Shawn's dinner the night before to add some nutrition;)

At least we still received the Whiskey, cerveza and champagne before bed!

A far cry from the hustle and bustle of BA. The 237 road to Bariloche, Patagonia. Pretty amazing.

Buenos Aires...and all that jazz

We arrived into Buenos Aires some 17 hours later from our departure from Puerto Iguazu in Brazil. After we grabbed our bags and stretched out our legs, we headed to the tourist info booth in the station to grab a map of the city in order to find our way to the hostel. All I could think of was food&shower! The girl at the tourist desk also handed us a booklet and explained that it was the International Jazz Festival for the next 5 days. What luck! We found the subway, got off at the right station, walked the wrong way, decided to grab lunch, than walked back the RIGHT way and found our hostel for the night. After one night, we thought the grass would be greener elsewhere and decided to change hostels to one closer to the centre. That night, after arriving back to the hostel from a great dinner and free jazz concert (La Jam) in the old part of town, we noticed a large crowd of young people lined up next door to our hostel entrance. Turns out it was an all night club that started at 1am Im guessing?-and went till 7am-again I'm guessing? Our room was conveniently located facing the street where hundreds of club going teens partied till the early hours of the morning-as many young Buenos Airians do! Needless to say, that was our last night there and we moved far from the centre!

 La Tractienda Club where 700 or so jazz fans (us included) packed in to see Gillispi and friends jam for a few hours. Start time: 11:30pm. Did I mention that everything starts late here?

Heather happy after finding the 3rd and best hostel in Buenos Aires. 

We've arrived at appropriately named Chill House. 

We like the location of the Chill House Hostel and the vibe so much better and ended up staying 3 more nights! Everyday we walked somewhere between 5-8 hours steady. Our feet and legs need a break so we are actually looking forward to another 20+ hours bus ride-lol. Although one thing we are really diggin' in this place is the $5 bottles wine! Helps with all the walking;)

Heather makes decisions on vino while Shawn tours the cerveza aisle. We also purchased some fresh bread, cheeses and olives to compliment our selections;)

Here are some photos of some of the places we visited while in Buenos Aires.

 Subways in Buenos Aires

Sunday antiques market at San Telmo-an old section of BA.  

The vendors continued down Rua Defensia for over a mile!

A must needed stop at a great little pizza shop in the heart of the San Telmo market. Walking over 2km+30C deserves a pint or two!

Heeeello Argentina!

We crossed the boarder Tuesday with a tour guide and a van full of other tourist. The crossing between Brazil and Argentina was by far the easiest boarder crossing we have every encountered.
We booked a guided tour to see the Argentina side of Iguazu falls, mainly because it would have cost us the same price to do it ourselves. Except, the tour guide took care of all the documentation at the boarder and dropped us off at the end of the day at the bus station in Puerto Iguazu, Argentina to catch our bus to Buenos Aires. Pretty sweet deal we thought.
The guide took in all 13 of our passports on both sides of the boarder while we sat in the van and waited. Kinda weird that the boarder officials wouldn't want to see us in person and verify our passports but hey, South America for ya?!
The Argentinian side of Iguazu falls was a completely different experience than the Brazil side. The Brazilian side gives you a spectacular overview of the 275 waterfalls, while the Argentinian side throws you right in, quite literally. Check out our photos and video to see what I mean;)

Our adventures in a boat!

Over Devils Throat

At the end of the day we were dropped off at the bus station for our 17 hour bus to Buenos Aires.
Seats that turned into beds, blankets and pillows, meals, and oh, did I mention Whisky, beer and champagne all before bed! Now that's a bus!

Iguazu Falls Brazil & Argentina

Day 1 - Foz de Iguazu, Brazil visit
Day 2 - Porto Iguazu, Argentina side

Walking over the falls - Foz de Iguazu, Brazil

From the Brazilian size, we had a fantastic overview.

Back at the hostel, we cool down with some refreshing Caipirinhas' by the pool:)

Three boarders where the rivers meet.

Tonight off to Buenos Aires, Argentina on a 20 hr bus! Whoot whoot!

Rio Hostels x3

For a better overview of Rio, we decided to move around a little more. We chose three hostels in 4 days in the districts of Botafoga, Leblon and Santa Teresa. All so different we felt like we were in a different city every couple of days! Highly recommended;)

This was the walk up to our third hostel (Casa 579) in Cosme Velho near Santa Teresa. There was another (unexpected) uphill 20 minute walk after this set of stairs. Maps! 

The staff were very impressed:)

We went to visit Christ the Redeemer on the Brazilain holiday...(above)

 Let's just say we paid for the transportation up the hill and as soon as we could, back down again. We only saw Christ from this distance. (below)

Our walk through Lapa and Santa Teresa. Yup, We saw Rio's most famous steps (Escadaria de Selaron) and a burnt out VW bug.

View from Casa 579. Hostel #3

Rio de Janeiro - City of sun, samba, and saints

Our arrival into Rio de Janeiro at 10pm, after our relaxing island stay was anything but. BUT, sometimes all the planning and organizing wouldn't prepare you for the unexpected events. Let me explain...

Rio is know for its (packed) white sand beaches, surrounded by gorgeous landscapes and plenty of beach-bronzed Brazilian bodies BUT it does have its share of crime and violence. So one must be very cautious...especially at night-which is when we arrived. Our entry into Rio brought on a heightened alertness for the both of us, me especially reading too many warnings and cautions in the guide book. So as we arrived into Rio, everything (and I mean E V E R Y THING) was covered in gang tags. I'm not talking about the beautiful graffiti you will see in the photos, which we also saw plenty of, we're talking marked territory on signs, bridges, concrete fenced walls, houses, high-rise apt, cars...We definitely felt we were out of comfort zone as we arrived at the largest bus terminal in South America. 

BUT...

View from Sugarloaf looking onto Rio 

Christo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) who sits arms outstretched atop Rio, was definitely looking out for us this night. After stepping off the bus, we must have looked a little unsure of our next move because a young girl we travelled with all the way from the island, asked us (in English) where we were going. When we told her Botafogo (a district in Rio) she said "I live there, close by to where you are going, we could split a cab if you like?" Surprised with our luck or Christo himself, we eagerly agreed to take up her offer and opt out on the city bus we were advised not to take. It was more our lack of funds arriving into Rio that made us opt out of the taxi:( As it turned out, she was a student, studied in Ireland for 5 years near Cork where Shawn's relatives are from, and came back to Rio for more schooling. We were given lots of info and tips on the taxi ride to Botofoga and she even paid most of the fare knowing we didn't have enough Reales left. Her kindness and generosity instantly gave us a different impression of Rio than what we rode in on!

Cable car to/from top!

 

On top of Sugarloaf looking over the famous Copacabana Beach

Graffiti art in Rio de Janeiro

Brazilian steak house in Leblon, RdJ 

mmmmmeat!

Ipanema Beach

Copacabana Beach panarama

Copacabana beach with Sugarloaf to the right. 

On the ferry back from our island get-a-way with a little more vitamin D in our bodies. Maybe a little more than we should have?

On our way to Rio de Janeiro. Let the adventures begin!

Our 2hr hike (one way) to one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever set foot on. Sand so white and fine it squeaked!

Paradise found!

So many beaches, so little time...

While Shawn tries out his crab catching skills on the beach, this guy pops out of the trees 1 foot away from Shawn's face. Did I mention how much he likes monkeys? (Not!). Just ask him his experience in Costa Rica-lol. Shawn's weapon of defence here? A cracker...good one!

Lost Connection

Being on an island means our wifi connection is a little iffy. For those of you we were hoping to connect with (Face Time, Skype, etc) it may have to wait till Rio in a few days. Hopefully then too, we will be able to post some more of of photos, etc for everyone;) Somehow I managed to post on Facebook? Guess there's always a connection for the important things lol.

Brazilian Beaches - Paradise found

After leaving São Paulo on a 7 hours bus ride to Paraty, we arrived at 11pm in the pouring rain. Finding our hostel was easy. We asked a guy a the bus station for a taxi to the hostel and he nicely told us it was just around the corner and we could walk it. Apparently not all backpackers are so lucky 'cause some taxis actually drive them to the hostel but not before they drive them around town first! Yikes.
We spend the next day chillin' at the hostel as the rains still came down but managed to see the beautiful colonial town complete with cobble stone streets, quaint shops and great little restaurants in the later afternoon when the clouds began to roll away. When they did, wow, look out white boys! Muy caliente!
Pablo, our welcoming host at the hostel, made a feast of a breakfast every morning for the guests-so we stayed the extra night;) The next day we hopped on the bus again (only 2 1/2hrs) to catch a ferry (1 1/2hrs) to Ilha Grande. Yes, you guessed it, an island. Whoot whoot!
Ilha Grande is Brazil's most famous island just 2 1/2 hrs south of Rio de Janeiro. It has 192 beaches and most say, some of the best beaches in Brazil. I'm sold:) Looks like we may stay longer than we intended...

Parachee

Ilha Grande

São Paulo, Brazil - The Concrete Jungle

Hello All,
We arrived in São Paulo Brazil yesterday after a very exhausting flight from Toronto (with a 5 hour connection in New York). Unfortunately, Shawn didn't sleep very much on the 9 hour flight with a screaming child just a few rows up:(
We landed early morning, very groggy, and wanting to find our hostel as quickly as possible. After a few hour nap at the hostel, we ventured out on a walking tour of São Paulo. To sum it up, São Paulo is a very large concrete jungle! The guide book says "a monster" and I would have to agree. Big, busy, full of traffic and people everywhere you venture, and lots and lots of skyscrapers-everywhere! This IS what you would expect in a city of 19 million and South Americas largest capital. São Paulo is, however full of great museums, restaurants and shopping-if thats your thing... I'm looking for a beach. Lets face it, Brazil is known for its beaches and thats why WE ARE HERE! So off we go-to the beach.
Paraty (pronounced par-a-CHEE) - here we come!

     Views of São Paulo (above)

Enjoying Caipirinha and Coxinah @ Veloso Bar (below)

Caipirinha, Brazil's national cocktail that is made with the cachaca, muddled lime and sugar.

 Coxinha (Portuguese: [koˈʃĩɲɐ], little chicken thigh) is a popular food in many countries in South America. The drumstick is a Brazilian snack originally from São Paulo, but also common in Portugal, and based on dough made with wheat flour and chicken broth, which is filled with spiced chicken meat. The filling consists of chicken, and tomato sauce, onion, parsley and scallions (and occasionalcatupiry cheese), that is coated in wheat flour – variants including potato or manioc are also commonly sold – batter, and deep fried. It is shaped to roughly resemble a chicken leg.

YUMMY!

Welcome to our travel blog!

The day is finally here. We are sitting at the airport waiting for our first flight on our world trip. Brazil-here we come!
It been a few VERY hectic weeks for us. Selling our home in London, ON, travelling to Florida for paintball World Cup (and also Heather to Vancouver), coming back from Florida to pack our house and move in 4 days (then finding out we needed visas for Brazil-'stress'), moving all our worldly possessions to 3 locations, and saying many many farewells to friends and family. There are so many of you we wanted to see before we left and wish we had more time (never something we seem to have enough of these days). We are hoping to change all that-hence the move, world trip and relocation plan-lol.
We are very excited to be venturing on this trip-of-a-lifetime together. We hope to connect and share our stories and photos with many of you. Please join us here at otnadventures.blogspot.ca to follow our journey around the world.
Cheers
Shawn & Heather Henderson

Packing

Packing for the first leg of our trip (South America) in moms living room. Arla (our fur baby) supervises. Now, how are we going to fit all our camping gear?!?!?