Rio Di Janeiro, Brasil March 10-19
First Impressions:
There are absolutely no modern buildings in Rio, all the architecture seems to be frozen in the early part of the 20th century, when Rio was said to be in it´s prime. There´s a famous saying about Rio... ¨Rio, the city of the future... and always will be.¨ The Copacabana Palace directly in the heart of Copa Beach is the iconic shrine of the golden years, what I would consider the Raffles Hotel of Rio, really impressive place.
Some Highlights:
A morning run across the entire stretch of Copa Beach and back. I had forgotten how incredible and rewarding a nice morning jog on the beach can be. Definitely the highlight of my time in Rio (is that weird?)
Day Trip to Cabo Frio (Cold Cape) fishing and empanadas on the beach.
Local football match Flamenco v Tigres at the largest stadium in the world (capacity over 200,000 pax).
Savoring the local liquor Cacacha at the popular Academia d´Cacacha. Indulging in the Tagines of Brasil, Carne Assadas (steak sandwiches) at the well-known and award winning Cervantes Restaurant, their speciality sandwich adds some pineapples slices for a nice little twist.
The last day in Rio, Phil, Chris and I took a 7min helicopter ride (first time in a chopper for all three of us) ¨Sir your aircraft is ready.¨ YES. The trip gave us some dreamy views of Copa Beach and Sugar Loaf Mountain and quite the arresting aerial view of the impressive Corcavado (Christ d´Redeemer).
After spending a week in our rented apartment in Rio we were forced to move to a hostel because the apartment had been reserved for our last day by another party. We had to move to Copa Hostel, which was the opposite of a fantastic experience. Not only was it expensive, but the room we slept in bedded 12 other dudes all wet from the beaches and stinking of carne assadas and meat sweats. Basically it was like sleeping in a poorly ventilated men´s locker room for 20 dollars. Not good value. After crying ourselves to sleep we were ready to leave Rio for the BA.
Dieting Challenge. 9 Days in Rio had put a lot of meat and beer into our systems and we were feeling.... I wouldn´t say worthless, but close to that.. more like we needed to possibly move in a healthier direction in terms of eating habits and general lifestyle. After weighing ourselves at the luggage counter (oh yea we´re those guys), we recorded our respective weights and set weight targets for the next few weeks/months. My plan is to go on a wine and water diet for the rest of the trip: cutting soda and beer out of my diet as well as moderating my eating habits, avoiding bread and white carbs as much as possible and no ice cream (so sad). Also making bolder attempts to exercise (HA HA HA) running or being active whenever possible, hostel room pushups/situps. Having it be sort of competitive makes the diet a bit more entertaining as well.
Argentina Highlights (Buenos Aires, Mendoza and the outskirts near the Chilean border)
BA is great. It´s like Europe but instead of getting slaughtered by the Euro, we are eating four course meals with steak and wine for the cheap cheap. So yeah, basically to sum up BA: we ate a lot of really tasty steaks, enjoyed the Malbecs and the area we were staying in San Telmo was young and lively. I think it´s safe to say, minus the sleeping arrangement (another sauna of a room) we all enjoyed BA.
Mendoza is also great. After a 14hr comfortable ride on a double decker cama bus (seats are like business class seats on airplanes) which included a dinner stop, we arrived in Mendoza. Known for its vineyards and outdoor activities.. we immediately jumped into a 1/2 day bike tour of the vineyards, learned about the aging process of wines and how to properly taste vinos. We also celebrated Phil´s birthday in Mendoza. Nothing like a nice pleasant lunch at the popular Anna bistro and then winning big at the casino (twice) before making our triumphant return to Anna´s bistro for dinner to splurge our dirty casino winnings on gazpacho, carpaccio, goat cheese crostinis, tapas, steaks, desserts and vino tintos.. all free courtesy of Sheraton Casino Mendoza! The next morning we awoke pregant with energy (even with only 1-2hrs of sleep) to head up the mountains to Posterillos for a half day of white water rafting (3o dollars/each good value) on some t3 rapids. We were lucky to have an affable, down to earth Canadian Danny as our rafting guide who really made the day worth it.
After our afternoon of rafting, we camped out nearby in Posterillos at a hippie haven, run by Paco, a pretty ¨righteous dude.¨Upon setting up camp we came across a group of hippies threading some bracelets that they were planning on selling. Very authentic hippies, not hippie-crites (get it? haha). Anyways, camped out and it was great, rained on our tents in the middle of the night, but it wasn´t too bad. Took a 7am bus to Puento de Inca (Inca Bridge) about 2hrs away. Glorified truck stop with a bizzare natural bridge as one of the main tourist attractions. But a few kms away is the base of Aconcagua (tallest peak outside of Asia). Walked around some lagoons and took some photos at the base. We were already over 3000 meters up in the Andes and the summit of Aconcagua is about 6800m. Quite breathtaking scenery.
At 5pm we took a minibus over the border into Santiago (about 3hrs) evading the 130 dollar visa for Americans that you are charged upon arriving at the airport. Spending only a few hours in the Santiago bus station we boarded another bus, but this time for a total travel time of 25 hours. YES! After watching the Hot Chick and Jerry Maguire in Spanish, two Nicolas Cage including Bangkok Dangerous (probably the best movie ever made) we arrived at our planned destination of Iquique, Chile. Iquique is known for its sand dunes and Free Zone shopping center (duty free equivalent). Also, there´s a lot of Chinese people in Iquique, so we had some medicore Chinese food for lunch, but were able to utilize our Mandarin language which was nice. The afternoon was spent ¨shredding¨some ¨righteous¨ sand dunes with some rented sand boards. Interesting experience, afternoon well spent. Heading next to Arica, the border town before Peru, but probably going to roam the Free Zone shopping mall beforehand. woo
So it´s been about a week since we made our informal dieting pledges:
-1/2 day bike tour of the vineyards. YES
-No soda, except one sip from Chris´pepsi at a truck stop near the Andes Mt Range by the border of Chile. YES
-I´ve probably had a total of 4 bottles of beer. not too bad.
-Ate steak practically everyday in Argentina and gorged ourselves one night after winning big at the casino in Mendoza. NO
-But haven´t been ordering fries with my steaks. YES Generally sticking to the diet, let´s see if I´ll actually see some results. More to come in the coming weeks! hahaha
First Impressions:
There are absolutely no modern buildings in Rio, all the architecture seems to be frozen in the early part of the 20th century, when Rio was said to be in it´s prime. There´s a famous saying about Rio... ¨Rio, the city of the future... and always will be.¨ The Copacabana Palace directly in the heart of Copa Beach is the iconic shrine of the golden years, what I would consider the Raffles Hotel of Rio, really impressive place.
Some Highlights:
A morning run across the entire stretch of Copa Beach and back. I had forgotten how incredible and rewarding a nice morning jog on the beach can be. Definitely the highlight of my time in Rio (is that weird?)
Day Trip to Cabo Frio (Cold Cape) fishing and empanadas on the beach.
Local football match Flamenco v Tigres at the largest stadium in the world (capacity over 200,000 pax).
Savoring the local liquor Cacacha at the popular Academia d´Cacacha. Indulging in the Tagines of Brasil, Carne Assadas (steak sandwiches) at the well-known and award winning Cervantes Restaurant, their speciality sandwich adds some pineapples slices for a nice little twist.
The last day in Rio, Phil, Chris and I took a 7min helicopter ride (first time in a chopper for all three of us) ¨Sir your aircraft is ready.¨ YES. The trip gave us some dreamy views of Copa Beach and Sugar Loaf Mountain and quite the arresting aerial view of the impressive Corcavado (Christ d´Redeemer).
After spending a week in our rented apartment in Rio we were forced to move to a hostel because the apartment had been reserved for our last day by another party. We had to move to Copa Hostel, which was the opposite of a fantastic experience. Not only was it expensive, but the room we slept in bedded 12 other dudes all wet from the beaches and stinking of carne assadas and meat sweats. Basically it was like sleeping in a poorly ventilated men´s locker room for 20 dollars. Not good value. After crying ourselves to sleep we were ready to leave Rio for the BA.
Dieting Challenge. 9 Days in Rio had put a lot of meat and beer into our systems and we were feeling.... I wouldn´t say worthless, but close to that.. more like we needed to possibly move in a healthier direction in terms of eating habits and general lifestyle. After weighing ourselves at the luggage counter (oh yea we´re those guys), we recorded our respective weights and set weight targets for the next few weeks/months. My plan is to go on a wine and water diet for the rest of the trip: cutting soda and beer out of my diet as well as moderating my eating habits, avoiding bread and white carbs as much as possible and no ice cream (so sad). Also making bolder attempts to exercise (HA HA HA) running or being active whenever possible, hostel room pushups/situps. Having it be sort of competitive makes the diet a bit more entertaining as well.
Argentina Highlights (Buenos Aires, Mendoza and the outskirts near the Chilean border)
BA is great. It´s like Europe but instead of getting slaughtered by the Euro, we are eating four course meals with steak and wine for the cheap cheap. So yeah, basically to sum up BA: we ate a lot of really tasty steaks, enjoyed the Malbecs and the area we were staying in San Telmo was young and lively. I think it´s safe to say, minus the sleeping arrangement (another sauna of a room) we all enjoyed BA.
Mendoza is also great. After a 14hr comfortable ride on a double decker cama bus (seats are like business class seats on airplanes) which included a dinner stop, we arrived in Mendoza. Known for its vineyards and outdoor activities.. we immediately jumped into a 1/2 day bike tour of the vineyards, learned about the aging process of wines and how to properly taste vinos. We also celebrated Phil´s birthday in Mendoza. Nothing like a nice pleasant lunch at the popular Anna bistro and then winning big at the casino (twice) before making our triumphant return to Anna´s bistro for dinner to splurge our dirty casino winnings on gazpacho, carpaccio, goat cheese crostinis, tapas, steaks, desserts and vino tintos.. all free courtesy of Sheraton Casino Mendoza! The next morning we awoke pregant with energy (even with only 1-2hrs of sleep) to head up the mountains to Posterillos for a half day of white water rafting (3o dollars/each good value) on some t3 rapids. We were lucky to have an affable, down to earth Canadian Danny as our rafting guide who really made the day worth it.
After our afternoon of rafting, we camped out nearby in Posterillos at a hippie haven, run by Paco, a pretty ¨righteous dude.¨Upon setting up camp we came across a group of hippies threading some bracelets that they were planning on selling. Very authentic hippies, not hippie-crites (get it? haha). Anyways, camped out and it was great, rained on our tents in the middle of the night, but it wasn´t too bad. Took a 7am bus to Puento de Inca (Inca Bridge) about 2hrs away. Glorified truck stop with a bizzare natural bridge as one of the main tourist attractions. But a few kms away is the base of Aconcagua (tallest peak outside of Asia). Walked around some lagoons and took some photos at the base. We were already over 3000 meters up in the Andes and the summit of Aconcagua is about 6800m. Quite breathtaking scenery.
At 5pm we took a minibus over the border into Santiago (about 3hrs) evading the 130 dollar visa for Americans that you are charged upon arriving at the airport. Spending only a few hours in the Santiago bus station we boarded another bus, but this time for a total travel time of 25 hours. YES! After watching the Hot Chick and Jerry Maguire in Spanish, two Nicolas Cage including Bangkok Dangerous (probably the best movie ever made) we arrived at our planned destination of Iquique, Chile. Iquique is known for its sand dunes and Free Zone shopping center (duty free equivalent). Also, there´s a lot of Chinese people in Iquique, so we had some medicore Chinese food for lunch, but were able to utilize our Mandarin language which was nice. The afternoon was spent ¨shredding¨some ¨righteous¨ sand dunes with some rented sand boards. Interesting experience, afternoon well spent. Heading next to Arica, the border town before Peru, but probably going to roam the Free Zone shopping mall beforehand. woo
So it´s been about a week since we made our informal dieting pledges:
-1/2 day bike tour of the vineyards. YES
-No soda, except one sip from Chris´pepsi at a truck stop near the Andes Mt Range by the border of Chile. YES
-I´ve probably had a total of 4 bottles of beer. not too bad.
-Ate steak practically everyday in Argentina and gorged ourselves one night after winning big at the casino in Mendoza. NO
-But haven´t been ordering fries with my steaks. YES Generally sticking to the diet, let´s see if I´ll actually see some results. More to come in the coming weeks! hahaha
1 comment:
You're the only guys that could find a way to get fat while backpacking.
Chris- I'm in Philly right now and it's time for you to come back. I'm staring at your apartment from Kim's couch.
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