Copa, Copacabana

Hello and a happy new year viewers!
Local time as I sit here in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, is 2pm on the 31st. Currently I am sitting on the balcony of our 12th story room enjoying my first beer of the day.
On Boxing Day my bus set off on the 20 hour journey from Florianopolis to Rio. Bus journeys in Brazil proved to be quite different to that of Argentina. Most obviously the Argentinian buses never stopped, while in Brazil we regularly stopped for toilet and food breaks. Another notable difference is the frequency of breakdowns in the middle of the night, of which I experienced twice on the way to Rio. One of the breakdowns occurred right on dark, and it was about two hours before we hit the road again. Credit to the bus driver has to be given for only being about half an hour late after a two hour break.
The next few days I spent doing very little with myself other than walking up and down beaches drinking caipirinhas. I think I need to learn how to ask for a little less sugar in my caipirinhas, and Shara may need to learn how to ask for a little less alcohol.

Caipirinhas are sweet

Caipirinhas are strong

On Saturday nights, the place to go is a district of Rio called Lapa. Once we got there the feeling of the place was electric. Thousands of people lined the streets and filled the nightclubs. We got to Lapa at about eleven o'clock, and sat down to have some pizza and a drink. The people watching here is incredible, you have drum groups walking the streets with inescapable rhythms, there are people dancing samba for hours on end, and street stalls selling caipirinhas. I found that the street was much more enjoyable than actually being in any of the clubs, and a whole lot cheaper, so we enjoyed the warm night air, caipirinha in hand. One of the best parts about the Brazilian nightlife is that there is absolutely no shortage of alcohol, yet there doesn't seem to be any people completely wasted like you would find in any city in Australia on any weekend. I don't usually complain about Australia's binge drinking culture, but it does become clear as a problem in need of addressing once you see how other places can do it so much better.

Cocktails in Ipanema

Other nights have been spent making our way through cocktail menus, eating food that doesn't really compare in quality to other places I've been, and plenty of charades to understand people.
Yesterday we set out to reach the top of Corcovado to see Christ the Redeemer. With our infinite wisdom, we decided it would be a great idea to walk up the mountain in the 34 degree heat instead of taking one of the minivans. Shara, who was sitting in Coventry in England (4 Degrees) less than a week ago, wasn't confident she'd make it to the top. A few other mates and I convinced her she'd be fine, and we set off up the road, trying our hardest to stay out of the way of the vans. Soon after, our water had run out and it was proving a more difficult climb than we may have envisioned. A bit further up the road we were a man down. The combination of the heat, little food, and generally living on a diet of vodka had got to Shara, and she was forced to turn back.

The trooper pushing on

How I looked when I eventually made it to the top

At the top, the views of the city and beach were incredible, it was a clear day and they are rare. The view of big guy wasn't as impressive as I thought it may be. I definitely like the view of him better from a long way away, cause its then that you get a picture of how massive it really is.

'Stand and Smile' number 2

Tonight Shara and I will catch up with some people I met in Buneos Aires before heading back to Copacabana beach for midnight and for some time after I'm sure. Two million people on that beach shall be quite the experience

Did I find a 12-pack of beer for R$2.69???

Try to look a little more chuffed next time Zac

Another Day, Another Beach In Floripa

 Merry Christmas Readers!
Hopefully every Christmas was filled with laughter and family and bon-bon hats and an eagerness for the Boxing Day test match to start.
Over the last week I endured the very round about travel that I have previously mentioned, and finally wound up in Florianopolis, Brazil.
For quite some time now, I have been fairly ready to hurry up and see some water, the kind that spreads over sand as opposed to the kind that falls multiple stories.
I arrived in Floripa mid-morning Monday and was in no state to try to find my way to the hostel via public transport, so I swiftly paid too much to get a taxi. I was meeting Cheryl, my friend from university, at the hostel. It was about 11 o'clock so I decided to have a half hour nap until 2. When I woke up Cheryl was patiently awaiting my arrival at the hostel.

I think I'm saying "This is where my nipples were before the sun burnt them off"

The first beach was praia Mole, it was very similar to most beaches found in Australia. The next day we went to Barra da Lagoa, this beach is much more exciting. Many restaurant owners with their shop-fronts on the beach are all competing for your attention and your business, and any you choose can supply beautiful seafood and muito cerveja. When you've finished at the restaurants, and you find a spot on the beach, there is now way you'll ever go hungry, thirsty, or without a cheap woven bracelet. It was a great day at a great beach, even if it is heavily touristy.
Christmas Eve in Brazil seems to be celebrated by the peculiar act of hurling fire crackers over neighbours' fences. It looks like great fun for everyone involved... Over the last few days there hasn't five minutes without a fire cracker or two exploding in the yard. Those cheeky neighbour really love Christmas!

Cheryl's glorious attempt at a selfie

Today (Christmas Day) was a day to relax, because sometimes those big beaches are hard work you know? We caught a series of buses to a beach called praia Campeche, there is an island off the coast of this beach that has a small bar and restaurant. This is where I spent the whole day, drinking beer, and then caipirinha, which is a cocktail like a mojito with a local liquor. The island was beautiful and there would have only been maybe one hundred people on this long stretch of sand. The beer was cold, the cocktails strong, the seafood fresh, and the bill light. Perfecto.
Christmas dinner was spent with a group of Dutch travellers, and consisted of some gourmet snags, a salad, bread and butter, and fruit salad. All the men then ventured to the kitchen and proceeded to perform a miracle, we did the washing up! The females were perplexed, and thought the moment needed to be captured on camera.

The island we spent Christmas day indulging ourselves on

Good spot for some prawns and a beer I reckon

Yep... This is livin

I'm standing in the water

I'm laying down in the water

Tomorrow I embark on another 20 hour neck- breaking bus ride to Rio de Janeiro! I will spend the next (insert number of days here) in Rio including a week and New Year's Eve!
Until next time Amigos!

I wish I could grow that moustache...

On The Road: BA to Iguazu

  Morning viewers!
According to my pageview map I have gained followers from Australia, UK, USA, Germany, Malaysia and Argentina. I reckon that's pretty cool. Hopefully the Argentinians don't think what I'm saying about their country is bullshit, cause it may well be!

Hopefully this post will be a bit more of a gallery, because too many people have told you step by step what they did when they travelled. And there is no point just being the next guy to bang on about how amazing the nightlife is, and how epic the falls are (although it is, and they are).

The town supply of drinking water. Rose Garden, Palermo Soho.

Saturday night was my last night in Buenos Aires, apart from a short stop over to catch a flight next week. After the routine slab of steak had been demolished, this time with a big helping of cheddar melted on top, a few new friends and I headed to a club called Terazzas. This club holds approximately 10,000 people and my guess is that is was at capacity. The place has about 15 bars, seven dance floors including an outside one that was about the size of my primary school oval. The night went surprisingly quickly and before I knew it, it was 8 in the morning and we were being ushered out.

There's an inch-thick steak under that melted cheddar. There's a potato under that inch-thick sour cream.

The bus from Buenos Aires to Puerto Iguazu was about twenty hours all up and I think that's all I have to say about that.

Venturing to the Argentinian side of the falls today was a confusing mix of taxis trying to rip me off and local buses with seemingly no intent to miss pot holes in the road or wait until you're actually on the bus to take off. I think the road rules here suit me, there is little order and it is all very chaotic, but I have only seen one incident so far. Even it could be put down to the global fact that women are bad drivers.

It's thirsty work swimming, luckily the guy in the Quilmes hut kept me hydrated.

Once I got there, it was mind-bogglingly epic. It took all the brain power I could muster to fathom the amount of water there was gushing over a cliff, while simultaneously trying to bury the irrational urges to jump the rails. But... I sit here writing this all in one piece, so my will power must be strong. I walked along the path that goes down to the lower side of the falls. In my opinion, watching the water come at you gives you so much more appreciation for the shear power. It is definitely the place to spend the majority of your time at the falls, after you check out the top.

Always gotta remember where you came from. My first 'Stand and Smile'

My personal favourite way to view the falls, although only around the smaller ones. 

The second biggest spray I've ever had, behind my under 16s footy coach.

The next few days will see me doing a lot of travel due to bad organisation by my part. Next stop will be Florianopolis on the south coast of Brazil. I am spending Christmas there with a friend before heading to Rio. I am eagerly anticipating the beach!

No Place Like Buenos Aires

Hello Readers!

Since last update, I think it has been five days. Those five days have been some of the most tiring, challenging, and uncomfortable, of my whole life. They've also been some of the best of my life! 

After I got over the little jetlag I had, I bought a beer, and so far I think that was the best decision I've made. It seems like if you have a beer in your hand here, you are instantly approachable, and people will talk and talk. Talking to locals, Portenos, is how I have spent most of my time, it is fantastic. My Spanish is very limited, but it usually just involves a lot of 'que es esto?' and 'como se dice?' then they talk and talk, and I smile and say si. 

Sunday sees the biggest market in Buenos Aires. It was along a cobblestone street called Defensa. It is called that because when the English invaded Argentina, the men were busy fighting the Spanish, and the women hung out of the windows on La Defensa and poured boiling water and dropped stones on the heads of the English soldiers. 

The market sold anything you'd imagine being sold at a market, and it was all cheap! Far and away the best part was the street music, on every corner there was someone or a small group of people playing their instruments. I found myself sitting and listening to the music for hours on end. I lost track of the time on multiple occasions and before I knew it they were all packing up and leaving. I ended up spending more money on cd's than anything else. I got home and put the cd in my computer, the music was still incredible, but it had understandably lost a lot of its energy. 

A band called Tio. Rocking the house down.

After having hours to drink deep the Buenos Aires culture, it was time to drink deep the beer. Since sunday night it has been a blur of bondiolas (a greasy 'delicacy'), beer, steak, smoky nightclubs and a vampire-like fear of sunlight.  The nightlife is frantic, all week long, and it is addictive. I wouldn't say that I'm a massive nightclub fan at home, but right now I can't get enough! 

Yesterday was a big celebration in Buenos Aires, it was called 30 anos democracia. There were big statues of Eva Peron and they worship her. I sat all day and ate helados, a type of ice cream. As I was walking back to the hostel, a large group of people wearing all white and carrying flags walked by, and I managed to get caught up in the whole thing and ended up walking a few kilometres off route with a bunch of euphoric argentinians. I think it was then that I realised how passionate these people are. Anything that they care for, they have a passion that they will uphold for ever. I told a guy they are very passionate, and in his broken English, he told me 'yes yes! Passion not ration!' It sums them up beautifully.

The crowd that eventually engulfed me. Despite the rainbow flag, I'm 98% sure it wasn't a gay parade.

Bondiola and Quilmes. I have the main food groups covered in my diet.

Over the last few nights, I have been hanging out mostly with Australians (and Israelis), more specifically Melbourne, more specifically, the Monash area.  Thats why you fly to the other side of the world, to hang out with blokes from Mount Waverley! In saying that, it has been great fun, and they have all these videos of themselves kicking a footy in iconic places, which appeals to my very easy-to-please/tragically-Australian sense of humour.

Well, its beer o'clock I think, actually its five past. 

Good Morning from Buenos Aires!

Hello! I made it! Almost hiccup free.
At the check in desk in Melbourne I was informed about a fee of US$100 that I was meant to have proof of paying in order to board the plane. It’s a ‘reciprocity fee’, which is basically the Argentinian government ‘reciprocating’ to the Australian government making their residents pay to enter Australia. As I went to board the connection flight in Dubai, there was an old couple looking very worried and fumbling around with an iPhone. They spoke to each other in a different language which I didn’t get a chance to try and identify, when the man must have seen my Australian passport, and came to ask if I could help him pay his and his wife’s reciprocity fee. They had Australian passports, but very limited English, so I’m still unclear as to how they got to Dubai on the same flight as me without having paid it. Anyway… I proceeded to be handed both passports, all kinds of information like email address and residential addresses, and credit cards. And after not too long we had the fees paid and we all boarded the plane... on last call.

When I was leaving Melbourne, I had some serious nerves that I didn’t think I was going to have. I’m usually not too phased and fairly laid back, but it just crept up on me a bit. Then I thought how I must have looked to the old couple, a traveler who knows what he’s doing without a worry, someone who is laid back enough to wait until the last call to help out. I suppose there’s nothing like helping others, and getting something right was a nerve settler.

While I was on the flight, the old couple came and found me. We chatted for quite sometime, dodging the food carts and seatbelt signs. Turns out they are Buenos Aires natives (beats me why they had to pay now) and they are coming back to go to the man’s mother’s funeral. They are staying at his brother’s place in Buenos Aires and I have been invited to join them for dinner one night, such good networking!

I also ran into them at Buenos Aires airport and they were very helpful in informing me which bus I should get on to get to my hostel. The man also stressed to me that it was important to look after yourself first and that it was sometimes dangerous in BA to help strangers, I know this is true but it still felt like funny advice from someone who had just relied on a stranger stopping to help, and may otherwise still be in Dubai.

So this is my first full day in Buenos Aires, I've come to the realisation that my packing wasn't quite up to scratch so I need to go and get some luxuries, or necessities, which ever way you look at a towel and a water bottle... and pesos.

Welcome!

First of all, to the non-Bloggers who are reading, get on it! It's a great way to document anything from your smallest thoughts to three month trips around South America. Coincidently (or not) that is exactly what I will be using this blog for.

Ok, now, Hi!

I'm Zac, I am a 20 year old science student from Mooroopna, Victoria. I now live in Melbourne and have done for almost a year now, whilst going to Monash Uni. The old combination of footy, mates and beer usually gets me by. Not to sell myself short or anything but that is a fairly concise wrap up of me.

The main reason for setting up this blog is a three month trip to South America that I am about to embark on. I plan on posting on here semi-regularly for two main reasons. The first being so Mum and Dad can have piece of mind that I am still in one piece as of time of posting. The second reason being so in the future I can nostalgically look back, teary-eyed, at places I'd rather be/things I'd rather be doing, and waste time that might better be spent doing the unimportant stuff like studying for chemistry exams and what not. 

Anyway, feel free to follow along and leave comments and stuff!

Can grow a beard...