Colectivo Crisis

Well, unfortunately after more than two months travelling to various countries around the world (some first world and some third world), today it ended up happening to ME... I got robbed on the colectivo (public bus)... My camera ended up getting stolen from right under my nose, so therefore I want to let everyone know that I won´t be able to post pictures on my blog for a few days until I figure out what I am going to do... I am going to buy another one, probably when I get to Brazil, but it might not be for a few days so hang tight... I want everyone to know that I AM OK although I feel very violated... Let me tell you all briefly what happened!!! I arrived back at the port in Buenos Aires at about 12:45pm from Uruguay and I went to take bus #152 to my friend´s apartment... I had my backpack in the front of me but unfortunately I had my camera hanging down to the left side of me so that it wasn´t pushing against my stomach from the weight of my backpack... All of a sudden I looked down and I felt my camera pouch and it was completely empty... Of course I got all worked up and went off on this woman standing next to me who ended up getting off at the next stop, and I pushed her as she was getting off the bus... At that point I told the bus driver to stop and I went up to her and yelled at her even more and I told her to open her bag... She wouldn´t open it and she said let´s go to the police... We went to a supermarket where there are security guards but no police and they said that they couldn´t look in her bag and that we had to go to the police... She ended up opening her bag for me to see but of course nothing was in it since she was the one who suggested that we go to see the police... To this minute I still don´t know if it was her or if she was in on it or if it was her at all, and I now know that I will NEVER know, but I still feel like my space was violated and now most of the pictures are gone.... Sorry, but this means that you won´t get to see too many pictures of Buenos Aires, Argentina or of Colonia, Uruguay when I get home!!! Just the ones that are already on my blog... I hope that you understand the situation and how it happened!!! Thank God I still have the two other chips that I have already used and the chip in the camera that was stolen only had 300 pictures on it more or less and I had already downloaded some of them onto my friends computer, but it´s more the act of it happening to me than anything else... I am so happy that my friend, Carol, was here to talk to and to calm me down, but it is still VERY upsetting for me... I will let you know when everything is resolved but hang tight for now...... Despite my camera being stolen, Buenos Aires is still an absolutely amazing city and soooooooo beautiful... It just has some thiefs like any other city in the world although they´re much more common in this part of the world unfortunately!!! Wish me luck with the rest of my travels!!! :)

COLONIA DE SACRAMENTO, URUGUAY

On Tuesday, I took the fast ferry from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Colonia de Sacramento, Uruguay... Based on advice from my friend in Buenos Aires, she told me that I only really needed a day or even just a few hours in Colonia, so I decided to only come for the night instead of two nights... It's a very beautiful town with stones making up most of the roads and sidewalks and it's right on the Rio de la Plata which separates Argentina and Uruguay, so it allows for some beautiful views... I walked around and went to the Barrio Historico and the Plaza Mayor and some parks (some with fountains), which were absolutely beautiful!!! I happened to make friends with some of the dogs around town so I was followed for some time by them as well so I didn't feel COMPLETELY alone... Hehehe!!! I am about to take the ferry back to Buenos Aires to spend my last two days there before heading to Brazil on Friday... South America is AMAZING!!!

Tango Show and Night Out in Buenos Aires

Although it was raining and has been raining for a few days now, we worked up enough courage to go to a Tango Show and then out to a club called Living until the wee hours of the morning... It was a lot of fun and I managed to get some culture in by listening to Tango music, which is the main dance and music of Argentina... The people who went out were Carol, Diego, Juan, Paola, and me!!! Buenos Aires is an absolutely amazing city and so beautiful... Last night I went to bed at about 6am!!! No wonder why I slept until about 2:30pm today!!! Hehehe!!! I'll post more pictures of the actual city soon!!!

Flight Drama

On Friday, I woke up early to take the bus from Los Heroes bus stop (about 2 blocks from my hostel) to go to the airport... I got to the airport and checked in and they told me that my flight to Buenos Aires was going to leave from Gate 17... All was fine until all of a sudden the gate was changed to Gate 20... The departure time was fast approaching and there still was no plane to be seen at the gate... They were giving us information as they received it but then I looked up on the screen at the gate and it said that the flight had been CANCELLED!!!!! Everyone got in line to get their tickets changed for the next flight... When I got up to the front of the line I asked what had happened and why the flight had been cancelled and they said that there was a strike in Argentina, so all of the flights that were supposed to leave Argentina couldn't leave... All of the flights that were already in Santiago could fly out, so I ended up getting onto flight LA 443 that was said to leave at 2:30pm, but that flight was also delayed until 2:50pm but at least the plane was there so I had hope that it was going to leave... I was supposed to meet my friend in Buenos Aires in a particular area of the city (not at the airport) at 6:30pm, so I was starting to get a little bit worried... I called her when I got to the airport and got my luggage, and we decided that she was going to come to my hostel to meet me there... I took a taxi from the airport to the hostel and she was there waiting for me... Despite a long day of airports for not a long flight (only 1 1/2 hours), it turned out to have a happy ending!!!!

My Last Night in Santiago, Chile

My last night in Santiago, Chile was a big party... I met three Brazilian guys at breakfast at the hostel on Thursday morning, and then they went to do their thing during the day and I went to explore the city on my own... I came back to the hostel at night and then went to get something quick to eat and was planning on just coming back to the hostel to relax since I had to get up fairly early on Friday morning to go to the airport.... When I came back to the hostel, they were in the lobby and invited me to go with them to explore more of the city, so of course I accepted their offer and went with them... They knew a guy who was Brazilian but lives in Santiago now, so he took us around the city in his car... Since it was my last night, and we all know that Brazlians LOVE to party, they wanted to throw me a little bit of a party as my send off so we got some Cacique Rum and some Coke at the Super Market and came back to the hostel to get the party started... I ended up going to sleep at about 3am!!!! GREAT PARTY!!! It was a great time, and I really hope to keep in contact with them because they were all very nice guys and also gave me some tips on Brazil!!! :)

SANTIAGO, CHILE

The day before yesterday, I flew from Auckland, New Zealand to Santiago, Chile arriving yesterday because of the time differnce... It was a long trip although it didn't feel that long because I had a very nice Colombian woman sitting next to me who lives in Brisbane, Australia and was going home to visit her family... I also talked to a guy from Bolivia as we were waiting in line in Auckland to get on the flight because he commented on the patches on my backpack referring to how many places I have travelled to... As everyone knows, I am a friendly person and was smiling to everyone I made eye contact with, so as I was waiting to get on the bus to take me into town to my hostel, a Mexican guy, Javier, came up to me smiling and we started talking... He also happened to be sitting directly behind me on the flight... He didn't know where to buy the tickets for the bus, so I told him where he had to go to buy them... He was just going to be in Santiago for one night before flying up to Mexico (he's from Veracruz) to visit his family since he is now living in Sydney, Australia... He ended up staying at the same hostel as I am, so we went out to check out the city last night, which was lots of fun to do together since neither one of us had ever been to Chile before much less to Santiago!!! Then I woke up today and had breakfast at the hostel, which is included as well as the internet in the cost of the room, and walked around the city since tomorrow I fly to Buenos Aires to see Carol!!!!!!!!! I'll be back in Santiago at the end of May, most likely, hopefully experiencing Chile with Keilah and Jenny!!!!!!! :)

Santiago, Chile Immigration--NO PROBLEM!!!

Throughout the days prior to arriving in South America (Chile being the first stop), I was comtemplating what I was going to tell Chilean Immigration when I presented my Italian passport to them with no stamps in it... I came up with a plan to just explain that I was going to be using it because it was easier in South America since Italians don´t need visas to enter these countries and Americans DO need visas to enter Brazil... Well, I didn´t need to explain any of that to them because they just opened it up, asked me how long I was going to be in Chile for, took my entry form, and STAMPED my passport............ On top of not only having zero problems getting into South America with my Italian passport, I also saved myself $100USD that Americans have to pay to the Chileans upon entering the country........ GO ME!!! Hehehe!!! THERE WAS NOT EVEN THE SLIGHTEST BIT OF A PROBLEM!!!!!!!!!!! No more stresses!!!!!!!!! :)

Times Zones

As I am in yet another time zone (the same as Boston), I thought that I should keep track of the different time changes from Boston!!!

England: 5 hours ahead
Sweden: 6 hours ahead
Dubai: Before Day Lights Savings Time- 9 hours ahead, After Day Lights Savings Time- 8 hours ahead
India: 10 1/2 hours ahead
Hong Kong: 12 hours ahead
Japan: 13 hours ahead
Australia: 14 hours ahead
New Zealand: 16 hours ahead
Chile: Same time as Boston
Argentina: 1 hour ahead
Uruguay: 1 hour ahead
Brazil: 1 hour ahead
Mexico: 1 hour behind

Wow!!! I think that I got them all!!! Crazy to think that I have been in so many different time zones... Now that I am in Chile, at least I am in the same time zone as Boston but not for long............ :)

Smelly People

I know that some people make fun of me because sometimes I take more than one shower a day or I load on the perfume, but at least I smell good... Hehehe!!! Both on the bus on the way down to Rotorua and on the way back, I was stuck sitting either next to or near people who smelled!!!!! It was kind of unbearable at times when you are sitting in front of a guy for four hours who smells like he just bathed himself in a chimney or next to a woman who smelled like she didn't take a shower or at least didn't put on deodarant... I managed to get through the trip by just tuning into my iPod and "trying" to sleep... :)

Hostels and Observations in/of New Zealand

As I arrived at the YHA Auckland City on Thursday, April 12th, I was confronted with the fact that I had reserved or they made the mistake of booking me in a double room which was NZ$68... Obviously I could not afford that and I didn't want to pay that for all the nights that I was in New Zealand, but I had no choice for Thursday night as there were no dorm rooms available... It actually turned out to be GREAT because I was beginning to forget what it was like to have a room of my own and much less a double bed ALL TO MYSELF... Hehehe!!! I switched to a dorm room with 4 beds for the second night and then I went to Rotorua... In Rotorua, I stayed at a hostel that was pretty much in the center of town (a little outside), and when I got to the room, there was no one else in it, so I jumped for joy, but a little too soon... When I came back from walking around the town, there were three other girls who had checked in but who were only there for one night because they were doing the Kiwi Experience Tour which is a bus tour that tours both the North and the South islands... So the next two nights that I was in Rotorua, I had the room once again ALL TO MYSELF!!!! It's nice to have a room that you pay about $20 a night for and to have no roommates...

One major observation that I have had of New Zealand as a whole is that there are many Asians and Indians here... I noticed that on the first day when I walked down the street from my hostel only to find Asian restaurants which were all very cheap... The next day when I walked around the city a little more, I noticed that there are also a lot of Indian restaurants and these restaurants also appeared when I was in Rotorua... I have now checked out of my hostel in Auckland and have a few hours to kill before I take the Airbus to the airport to fly to the next continent on my journey, which is SOUTH AMERICA............. Santiago, Chile is my first stop in South America!!! CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!

ROTORUA, NEW ZEALAND!!!

Rotorua has been a great cultural experience in many aspects!!! It is a very beautiful, small town about 4 hours south of Auckland and is known for its thermal spas and Maori culture... On Sunday, I went to Kuirau Park which is full of thermal spa areas and is just in front of the hostel where I am staying... Then on Sunday night, I went to the Maori evening, which took place at the Maori Village (about 15 minutes from town) to see how the indigenous people once lived and who still are around today... The evening consisted of a walk down to the river where the Maori people paddled down in an old wooden canoe, a concert and explanation of the culture and tatoos that are all over their bodies, and a dinner that they spent about 3 hours cooking in the ground... It was a great cultural experience and I had a great time and met some more GREAT people!!! On Tuesday, I go back to Auckland and then on Wednesday, I fly to CHILE!!!! Off to travel to yet another continent!!! :)

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND!!!

Auckland is another amazing city!!! I pretty much only had time to walk around the city a few times and go to see a few of the sights that were recommended by the Lonely Planet... I went to the Minus 5 Degrees Bar, which is literally a bar where everything is made of ice (the bar, the sculptures inside, the glasses, etc.) except for the ceiling and the floor... When you get to the bar, you pay an entrance fee, and they give you all of the clothing to keep you warm inside... You are only allowed to be inside for a maximum of 30 minutes or else you will FREEZE....... Hehehe!!! The cold was nothing for me, though, since I grew up in Boston..... :) On Friday night I went to the Sky Tower, which is about 192 meters high or something like that... I swear that I felt like I was going to have a heart attack as we were going up in the elevator and you could look down to see how high we were getting... It was VERY high, but a great experience and a major sight of the city!!! They also have sky falls that you can pay extra to do, but I chose NOT to do that!!! :)

Suspicious Suspect!!!!!!!!!!!!

Soooooooooooooooooo, apparently I look like a suspicious suspect to airport security and immigration in Australia and New Zealand... First, when I first got to Australia on March 30th, I kept on getting stopped by airport personnel asking me various questions and then as I left Sydney this morning, I was stopped again... As I went through security, this woman asked me to come with her and she asked me to read this laminated piece of paper that explained that I had been "randomly" chosen for them to do an extra search of my carry on bag as well as my person!!! Both this woman and another man worked jointly to do the search of me!!! If I didn't allow them to do the search then I wouldn't have been able to board the plane... That was just the beginning!!! Then when I was going through immigration in Auckland this afternoon, the immigration officer saw that I had been to a few countries in the past 30 days so asked me if I had a return ticket for her to take a look at... I then pulled out my massive round the world ticket which she flipped through, and realized that I WASN'T planning on staying to work in New Zealand... At least not RIGHT NOW!!!!! :) Quite a day with security and immigration in this AMAZING part of the world!!! Hopefully South America will see that I am innocent and choose someone else to do the search on!!! Hehehe!!!

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

Wow!!!!!!!!! Sydney is another ABSOLUTELY AMAZING city!!! I arrived here on Monday morning after flying overnight from Darwin and wasn't able to check into my hostel until about 2pm, so I walked down the street to the cliff walk which goes from Coogie along the water to Bondi Beach... I am staying at the Bondi Beachouse Youth Hostel which is right up the hill from Bondi Beach and has the most amazing view from the rooftop terrace... I ended up running into, Krishna, the guy that I met on the snorkeling and dive cruise in Cairns, at my hostel, so we ended up going out to dinner on Monday night since he was heading back to Canada on Tuesday... On Tuesday, I woke up and took the bus into the city and went on the City Sightseeing Tour, which was great... After that I ended up taking the ferry, which has the most amazing views of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, over to Manly Beach... Today I woke up early and tried to go on the full day surf lesson tour, but I wasn't able to get on it since it was full, so I took a 2 hour lesson from 11am to 1pm down at Bondi Beach, which was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much fun!!!!!!!!!! I actually got up on the board quite a few times, which was my GOAL, so at least I accomplished that!!!!!!!!!! Tomorrow I head to New Zealand to continue on my AMAZING adventure around the world!!! :)

DARWIN, AUSTRALIA

WISHING EVERYONE A HAPPY EASTER FROM DARWIN, AUSTRALIA!!! I am wrapping up my time here in Darwin, and it is a beautiful place, but as we figured, there is not much to see... The only real thing to see is the Kakadu National Park, but I would need a little longer to be able to go and see that since it's a bit outside of Darwin... I did go and see the Aquascene which is where they feed fish bread on the shore and I also went to see the Botanic Gardens... It has been BEAUTIFUL weather and HOT, so I have been sitting by the pool at the hostel a lot working on my tan (which is looking QUITE GOOD) and will again this afternoon as my flight isn't until 1:30am... I'm getting picked up at 11:15pm by the airport shuttle...... Hope that everyone has a great Easter!!! It seems like they have been celebrating it for days or even weeks here in Aussie land!!!!! :)

Tsunami Scare!!!

I know that this blog entry is a bit late, but I still wanted to put it on my blog as part of my Cairns experience... On Monday there was an anouncement at the hostel saying something, but I didn't quite hear what it was until later in the day, since I was still half asleep, when everyone was talking about it... There was a Tsunami scare!!! I gather that there was an earthquake under water at the Solomon Islands which is right off of the east coast of Australia, just where I am now!!! They thought that it might make landfall but they weren't quite sure when so they wanted to warn everyone ahead of time... When it did make landfall, the waves weren't nearly as high as they thought they might be, but it could have been another Tsunami... I overheard some people saying that the waves might have only been about 9 feet high... In case anyone cares, I just want to let you all know that I am alright!!! Hehehe!!!!

CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA--The Rainforest, Daintree River, and Cape Tribulation

Another amazing day in Australia!!! Yesterday, I went on a Rainforest tour that included a cruise across the Daintree River trying to spot Crocs (we only spotted a baby one in the woods), a walk in the rainforest, lunch, feeding Kangaroos, a swim in the Daintree River, tropical fruit tasting, Cape Tribulation views, and a Daintree Ice Cream (made of real fruit) on the way home... It was such an amazing day... One funny thing was that there was a frisky kangaroo who wanted to try to eat anything and everything, so when I leaned down to get in a picture with it, he decided that he wanted to see how I tasted too... I just felt a slight nip and pulled away... Nothing major, but it was funny!!!!!!!! The fruits were absolutely delicious and fruits that you definitely wouldn't find in New England...... When I got back, I went with one of my hostel roommates to buy some pasta to make some dinner at the hostel... She is doing a similar trip to the one that I am doing... She is from England and doing her gap year between high school and college... Pretty brave to be doing a trip around the world that young... She's great!!! Off to Darwin this evening!!!!!!!