This is the blog/travel journal for Chris & Joanne Reilly from Glasgow, Scotland. After quitting our jobs and selling our house, we plan to travel around the globe for the next year.

Monday, March 21, 2005

The Avenues and Alleyways

Now spent a week in Buenos Aires at a gentle pace. In Rio we spent most of our time on buses here it has been Shanks pony. It feels like we've walked at least 100 miles but it has been a lot milder and very comfortable to walk in.

The first thing you notice about Buenos Aires is the massive 20 lane avenues and how European it feels. BA doesn´t have the instantly recognisable tourist attractions of other major cities: The Eiffel Tower, Christo Redentor, Statue of Liberty, etc. But the city is so large there are hundreds of things to see and do.

Some nights you can walk for miles and can´t even find a pub...there are loads of cafes/restaurants but they are all very bright and you know how Chris likes them to be dark and dingy!! Chris did manage to find a pub to his liking - The Gibraltar, which could be Rab Ha´s if you squint your eyes slightly. It also managed to sell great food just like Rab´s and the music wasn´t bad either (Belle & Sebastian and Boards of Canada).

Sights we´ve seen are the building where Eva Peron (Evita) waved to the crowds, an English Tower (which was donated to the Argentinians from the British in the early part of the 20th Century to celebrate their independence), the Boca district with it´s colourful façades and street tango!!

We also managed to meet up with Larissa, a Canadian mining engineer who has been based in Oz for the last five years, for a few drinks (a friend of Elizabeth now in Sydney). We then arranged to meet up for St Patrick´s day with a few Irish friends (Emma and Clodagh) she had met on her travels. We heard of a street party and made our way through thousands of revellers to find out we couldn´t get into any of the pubs and we should have just bought some beer to drink in the street. Everyone was in good spirits and it looked as though the party could have gone on for hours (well at least until the thunderstorm). We bailed out in desparate need of a drink and headed to another part of the city by taxi. We managed to get a taxi with all five of us. Chris in the front with the 4 girls in the back. The taxi driver wanted to know how he managed to have 4 girls, all Chris said was 'Soy Estupendo' (I am great!!).

Got to the bar before the thunderstorm started and managed to move inside as the wind picked up! The heavens opened and people scattered in all different directions as we sipped on our drinks and toasted St Patrick (no green beer this year Lynne & David).

The weather was fine the next day and managed to get the 5 of us tickets for the Boca v Independiente game after queueing for an hour. Hopefully not as traumatic as the game at the Maraçana. We also went to an exhibition of photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson. Chris had just managed to miss seeing this in Berlin so was happy to catch this here.

Went on a pub crawl of the San Telmo Barrio but only managed to get to two pubs....it wasn´t as messy as you think...we had just left it a little late to get into some. Started off at BA Rab Ha´s (The Gibraltar) where after a pint we decided on a bottle of Red (maybe not too great a start for a pub crawl!) but the spring rolls were excellent!! Pub numero dos - Territorio where we ate picadas (bread, cheese and cured meats mmmmmmm delicious!) and listened to Nick Cave on vinyl! We also sat and watched a very dapper looking Don Corleone having dinner on his own. We thought he looked like mobster before he confirmed our suspicions when we saw he was reading a gun magazine (the give away was the HUGE gun on the front cover). There seems to be a magazine for all pursuits (both legal and non legal) available at every corner of the city. After looking for two other pubs (both closed) we headed back for our night cap in the Gibraltar.

Went to the Recoleta Cemetery where Eva Peron is buried alongside all the rich and infamous ex-inhabitants of BA. The tombs were very elaborate and the coffins had expensive wood and were very ornate. It looked like a huge cemetery on the map but the tombs were crammed together and several family tombs went deep underground.

Sunday afternoon met up with the girls for the big Boca v Independiente game. Jumped in a taxi to the game but we were let out at the wrong side. Barriers galore....yes come through here....no go back the way you came....30 mins later after a 5 min climb we were in the stadium in our seats 2 mins before kick off!! 95% of the crowd were Boca fans but the Independient fans were not far above us! The crowd never stopped singing throughout the game accompanied with their drums and brass band - how they managed to get this through security we´ll never know. Our hearts were in our mouths several times when we saw fans climbing over 10 feet fences at the third tier to put out their flags or just to dance their way along! Again Chris says the game wasn´t up to Celtic´s usual standards but the atmosphere made up for it and Boca won 2-1.

All 5 of us headed through the crowds (after waiting 20 mins to get out)to San Telmo where we had a few drinks and a lovely meal. Eventually got home at 12.30am to pack for our journey to Uraguay....more of this later.

To sum up BA....great food, HUGE steaks, good atmosphere and great for walking.

Monday, March 14, 2005

The Rise and Falls

Headed by bus from Rio to Foz Du Igazu.....22 hours on a bus we were both looking forward to this not!(At least it was one night´s less accommodation).

The bus stopped at least 10 times and we could have chopped off a couple of hours if the stops hadn´t taken place - we were an hour late in getting in. Both of us managed a little sleep. Arrived on Tuesday 08th March.

Decided to start slumming it a bit now and booked a hostel in Foz itself (the nicer one was booked up!!). So it was about a tenner for a double room with it´s own shower - you didn´t think we try the dorms now did you!! The sheets were a bit thin but other than that there was free (but very slow) internet access and they sold a big beer (660ml) for 75p who could want for more.

Headed off downtown in the blistering heat just below 40 deg cent and found that the main avenue (Av Brazil) was being dug up....not just the pavements but the road as well from one end of the avenue to another (and we thought that our roadworks were bad!)

On Wednesday decided to head to the Igazu falls. Got off the bus and started to walk along the path....was a little bit disappointed but they saved the best to last....when you rounded the final corner you saw huge falls which were absolutely amazing!! We were soaked to the skin and having a great laugh. We saw some racoons but Chris doesn´t think that they were! Headed back to the hotel as it was scorching and then walked the full length of the dug up Avenue Brazil.

We were trying to decide whether or not to stay another night and what other attractions there were to see when Chris spotted that we were in fact in close proximity to one of the seven modern wonders of the world....so we had to stay and see this. On Thursday we waited 45 mins for a bus (after having the name of the bus written down by the bloke on the front desk). We then asked a bus driver did he go to the Itiapu Dam - he nodded....there had been at least one of these buses every five minutes!!

We got there at 12 only to find out that you could only do set tours at 8,9,10 and then 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Spoke to an English couple who were also staying at the Hostel....what a laugh that was they arrived just after 11.

We decided that instead of waiting we would head into Paraguay which was just over the border....well it is another country and we just couldn´t resist it....So 45 mins later we get a bus back to the hostel for our passports and then another over the border to Paraguay (we didn´t even need the passports!). Guess what the main street in was completely dug up with red clay and dust everywhere.

We had a wander (again in the blistering heat it was well over 40 deg) and Chris was followed by people selling sports socks, lighters, the massaging headbrush which they held to your back and macaroon bars. It felt like the barras but much, much hotter. After buying headphones and finding no cafes we decided to head back on the bus which meant we only spent 1 hours 30 mins there!! It took us at least an hour to get back home on the bus and then another 30mins walk as the bus went to a different route. All in all a dead worthwhile journey - well we laughed anyway.

The food was ok in Foz - nothing brilliant and we often had a few cheap beers at the hostel. Spoke to the English couple who we met at the dam and an Irish guy who was on our bus on the way up from Rio. He told us that the Argentinian side of the falls was the best and we had heard this also from other folks.....several beers later we headed to bed.

Left for the dam the next day - what a hugh disappointment. You saw a video presentation about the dam which is the biggest in the world and provides both Brazil with 40% and Paraguay with 90% of their electricity. You then went on a bus and were allowed to go out at one point and take pictures of this masterpiece of concrete and steel....Back on the bus we went for a tour of the rest of the site including the top of the dam....just when we thought the bus was going to stop it turned around and back we went! We thought you´d get a look inside to see the turbines but no, no back to base we went! The tour was free but majorly disappointing.

Both of us decided to head to Puerto Igazu to see the Argentinian side of the falls.

After we reached the other side I wandered to find us somewhere to sleep....poor Spanish much gesturing later I had us booked in a wee place with clean sheets and at only seven quid a night who could complain. We headed out into 46 deg heat and found somewhere for food and to try and cool down. The Puerto Igazu is a wee sleepy village/town with a Sunday feel all day everyday.

Internet is cheap and fast and food has been great.

On Saturday went to the Argentina side of the falls...We couldn´t believe it!
What a fantastic time....the Brazil side was nothing in comparison to this. We walked for miles and saw some amazing sites. We also did a boat ride under the falls and were completely soaked at one point I felt as though someone had knocked me for six when we got under them fortunately we had rope handles. We saw a lizard pick up a frog with speed lightning and then eat it, a humming bird which we were not quick enough to get photos of and lots of birds (we don´t know their names but we´ll call them Senga and Daphne for the moment). We were in the park for over 8 hours and could have stayed for longer but we were getting too hot and our feet hurt!

Our final day after packing we decided to head off to a point where you can see Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay all at once. The walk didn´t look that long and we had several hours to kill so we started to wander. Chris felt a spit of rain the next thing there was a hugh bang right above us (it sounded like a shotgun) and I almost had a heart attack. The electric cable above us had gone with a huge spark - fortunately nothing fell onto us). The wind picked up huge amounts of dust were being blown about and the rain came from no where. It was bouncing!! We took some shelter and when it dropped to a drizzle continued our walk to the frontier point. The rain started to lash down and there was thunder for about ten minutes. We could just about see the Brazil side but no chance of seeing Paraguay due to the mist. Waited to see whether it would lift, but it didn´t so we got a bus back into town.
Spent the next couple of hours hiding in an internet cafe out of the rain - luckily it stopped for 10 mins or so whilst we struggled to the bus station with our bags (this was after us shipping some clothes to Houston as we had brought way too much stuff).

Return of the long bus journey....20 hours to Buenos Aires. We couldn´t believe this journey. Paid to have better seats which went back into a bed. Three English films, food including wine, blankets, pillows, breakfast and whisky before sundown....it was great. We both managed a decent sleep and arrived over an hour early.

Booking accommodation part 2.
Phoned a hotel - did not speak any English and managed to book a double room for 7 nights at 7.50 pounds (yes that is UK pounds). I´m only just glad that they had a room! Room is basic but clean.

Will write about our time in Buenos Aires early next week.

Joanne & Chris

Tuesday, March 08, 2005

Rain, Shine, Sand and Song


At the moment we are in Foz Du Igaçu (on the border between Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina) but more of that later.

We had a wonderful time in Rio even although it took us a few days to warm up due to the non stop rain. Things started to get better on Thursday night when we headed to the Galitos Grill bar and had a lovely chicken before heading to a few bars. We ended up in a bar called Emporio where the music wasn´t bad apart from the occasional Jethro Tull. Many people say Brazil is a backward country, but I think this is due to their leading department store being C & A, Skol lager being the top selling drink and Jethro Tull turning up too frequently.

The next day we headed to the Maracana stadium to see if we could get tickets for a game, after over an hour on the bus we found out you could only buy tickets on the day of the game. So we headed into Centro (the business district) to have a wander and looked at a couple of churches.

It started to brighten up so we headed to Copacobana and walked along the beach to Ipanema stopping off for a beer on the way. That night we headed to the New Natural Restaurant which was a bit like having your dinner in Grassroots in Woodlands Road (you veggies would love it!). The other difference was that you paid your food by weight that´t the food bye the way not my weight otherwise our budget would be out for at least a month!

We then went onto a pub crawl in Ipanema where we drank in many pubs and ended up back in the Emporio. I noticed a guy who looked like Albert Hammond Junior III from the Strokes or whatever he is called. Later on he sat next to us with his girlfriend Lana and his friend Patricia. After talking to him about bands he was chuffed to learn that we came from the same city as Franz Ferdinand and Belle and Sebastian, as they were two of his favourite bands. The Emporio soon turned into a full blown Indie disco and we soon had too many drinks. We had a great night thanks to help by all of them being able to speak fluently in English.

Boy did we suffer the next day and it took us until after lunch to get it together. Late afternoon as the weather had picked up we decided to head to Christ the Redeemer. The famous statue of Jesus which stands high above Rio. The small train takes about 20 minutes to get to the peak but it´s well worth when you get to the top. The Statue is gigantic when you are up close, from the beaches you are left a little dissapointed looking up, but up close the statue is immense and with views over the sprawling metropolis. We took lots of photos so hopefully we can get some up on this page once we connect up the camera to the PC. We stayed up top until the sun set (well until it got dark - we didn´t actually see the sun).

Later that night back in Ipanema we headed to a grill reastuarant called Carretao Churrascania, the place was really swanky inside and a bit more upmarket that the other places we had been in. Ipanema is the rich area of Rio and at times at night it reminded me and Joanne of the SoHo district in New York with the high buildings, Yellow taxis and the busy Cafe culture. You selected your side orders from a fancy buffet cart, which contained many varied and wonderful delicacies. Once back at your table, waiters wander from table to table with large spikes which have had beautiful cuts of meat which have been roasted. The meat was truly brilliant and by the time we left we almost rolled back to out hotel.

The next morning was the first morning we woke up to blue skys.. so we headed straight to Sugar Loaf mountain. Again like Christ the Redeemer it´s difficult to describe these beautiful landmarks and views in my limited vocabulary. You take two cable cars to get to the peak (i´m sure Joanne turned another colour of Grey on these) but the cable cars where quite modern and whizzed up to the peak in no time. At the top we had great views over the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema and all the outlying districts to the north.

After getting our bus tickets for our next destination (Foz de Igacu) we headed to the beaches along with everyone else in Rio it seemed like. The beautiful white sands where mobbed with families, people playing football & volleyball, Samaba bands and the beautiful people topping up their tans. They also close the road infront of the beach, so the road is full of stalls selling wonderful smelling food and tacky trinkets and people are sailing past on skateboards, bikes and rollerblades. It´s just a pity we had only one day to really see the sunny side of Rio.

We then headed to the Maracana to hopefully see the Flamengo Vs Botafogo (local derby). We were told to go two hours before the game to get a good chance to get tickes and to avoid most of the traffic and to get a chance of the safest tickets. We got to the ground at 5:30 thinking it was a 8:00 Kick off but we soon realised with the crowds and the mobs round the ticket booths that it was a 6:00 KO. We had been warned many times before heading to Rio about how unsavoury some of the residents could be and we know of a friend who was robbed at gun point a few months back, so as we waited in the swaying crowd to get to the ticket booth was the first time we felt ill at ease since arriving, too many of the locals had too many Skols. By the time we got to the front there were no Cameira tickets left (Safe ones) all they had left where Geral...so we took two we could really aruge at 70p a ticket...

As we made our way to the turnstiles I was stopped by some guy who pointed to my Celtic top and said "AAAaahh I like the Celtic AAAhh Very Good... you guys are Catholics" with my stuttering Portugese I tried to explain how Celtic where an inclusive club with many supporters from all walks of life, but he was away before I got the second word out.

As we got in the stadium a policeman asked me who we were supporting so we plumped for Botafogo as Flamego´s badge is similar to the Rangers crest...so we headed into the Geral section which is just a shallow enclusre that runs round the pitch.. with all the possiblities of missiles and stuff coming from above.. Just at kick off a fight kicked not far from us and they sent in the police dogs.. a few minutes later an ambulance drove onto the terracing and the threw a young guy in the back who looked like he had been stabbed...it was quiet after that.

The game was ok..lots of diving and yellow cards... but what made the game really great was the fanatical crowds. When the teams scored firecrackers, Flares, massive banners all over the place... but my favourite was the largin coffin in Flamengo colours that was held up when Botafogo scored.... The game finished 2-2 but the atmosphere was the stand out for us...

After the game we headed back to Ipanema and had a few drinks when we bumped into Patricia and Lana again...it was good to round off out time in Rio with our new friends.

To sum up our week in Rio... we had a great time and the natural beauty of the place is stunning and the people are so friendly..

We´ve also noticed that there are many unwritten rules in Rio

1) All children under the age of 18 must do their best to hinder traffic in anyway they can, the best examples of this was the kids who dragged the large wheely bin into the middle of the road and two climbed on top and then one on top of the other shoulders and started juggling when their other mate would go round the stopped cars with a hat...another example of this was the kick boxing kid who would get a girl to stand in the middle of the road with a plastic bottle of water on her head and he would run around a bit before high kicking the bottle into the air....

2) All girls under the age of 30 must wear unfeasibly high shoes, jeans that look if they have been painted on and bra´s two sizes to small (Vinny, Davie & Gary - If your still having problems booking a weekend away ... get onto Sleazy Jet and see if Rio is one of their new routes - It´s only 60p for large cold beer )

3)Rio has also signed up to the international unwritten law of Taxi Drivers - Where every last one of them will try to rip you off at every opportunity

P.S. Rio´s bus´s are brilliant for 30p you can go anywhere in the City... they might shake the bones a bit but the have more character than a smelly taxi any day

To sum it up we had a brilliant time in Rio

Thursday, March 03, 2005

Anywhere We go We take the Weather With Us !!!

It´s now our 2nd day in Rio, any yes you´ve guessed its not stopped Raining..

The flight over wasn´t too bad, I managed to get a sleep for a change (well about 6 hours) and Joanne just got a few power naps in. The Hotels is quite good and just half a block from Ipanema beach (high waves and low cloud today).. Quite a laid back feel so far... maybe the rain keeps most people indoors.

That´s why we are in an internet cafe and not sunning ourselves on the beach

Once we have some interesting stories we will post again

Bye for now

Chris & Joanne
(This trip doesn´t feel real yet)

Tuesday, March 01, 2005

Last day in Glasgow


Last day in Glasgow for a while and I think someone is making sure we don't have second thoughts about going

It's cold, with Sleety Snow (the type that soaks you through like fine rain)
We then wait over 30 minutes for the Bus to the doctors for a final appointment with the nurse... when we get there they have no note of our appointment... great another 30 minute wait...

I have also given up on any more changes to the website due to time constraints, this means that there won't be anymore fantasy football updates on the site.. (Andy Griffin will e-mail updates for all who it may concern)

Well just a few hours before we fly out, so speak to you all soon and keep in touch

Chris