Things are beginning to become clearer now. Being organised and NOT leaving things up to the last minuet has it’s meritt.
Been FRANTICALLY trying to organise intricate flights with local Brazilian travel agents using my Portuguese 10 word vocabulary, and a series of tiring games of charades… Think i need another bottle of pirate rum (I’ll explain later..)..
…Currently in a little town called Olinda, near Recife (pronounced Hecefe), – you know.., “Linda” in Portuguese means Beautiful.. But what the locals think is beautiful, can sometimes leave plenty to the imagination.. Olinda is a very historic and cute little place, everything is about a million years old, but has had some incredibly bright paint slapped on top of the crumbling walls etc.. It’s really very cute – very arty, if that’s what you’re into.
Flying back to Salvador this arvo to go to an island for a few days for more much needed relaxing – supposedly there are sea turtles, whales and dolphins to swim with.. – GAWD DAMN it’s tough..
Been planning Central America for April, (after the Inca Trail and Galapagos Islands to finish off in South America) .. Active Volcanoes, cheap Scuba Diving, Mayan ruins, the Worlds second largest Reef (after The Great Barrier Reef in Aus.), .. – and will be making some special trips to the Caribbean just to taste it a bit.. Really not enough time in the year..!!
The Language barrier here has been kinda interesting.. So far been getting by with hand gestures and now have a killer Portuguese Vocab of about 10 words.. Feel so rude and stupid not being able to converse. But on the bright side, I should be really good at Charades by the time I’m home..
(more photos soon.. . )
Well It’s a miracle that I survived the last 7 days.. Carnival week was unrelenting. Everywhere you turned in Rio was just crazy with people and music and general mayhem. There were street parties that mingled with overspill from every club, bar and restaurant. The beaches were a litter of people, stalls and stands selling everything you couldn’t possibly need at 4.00am (along with some stuff you did need at 4am such as some of the strongest and cheapest drinks I think I’ve ever tasted, and assorted “food” stuffs that tasted incredibly good at that time of night) – along with pumping music which varied in style as you progressed along the beaches.
The samba clubs, most of which could hold around 50 patrons, spilled and echoed around the streets all night till past sun up. These were a real treat as the music was an incredible experience – I just wish i could Samba… On the last night of Carnival, a few of us from the hostel managed to skip about a kilometer of cuing to get into a club where the winning Samba school from the Carnival Parade were playing.. There was about a 50 piece band playing on stage, and it was amazing how energetic it all was. Unfortunately I had to exit and find a cab back to the hostel early (around 4.30am) to shower, change and get on a plane to Salvador at 7.00am, which, in many ways, was a hard thing to do.
Somehow I avoided getting overly sick from the street food consumed, perhaps it was neutralised by all the strong alcohol and beers drunk. I later heard the delicious hot dog thingies that were covered in everything you could possibly think of, were appropriately named ‘Garbage’ by some of the locals… Gawd damn they tasted good but 
I also sampled a number of traditional Brazilian meals in restaurants (mostly not too sure what i was eating, but i think a few of the dishes involved hoofs & snouts etc etc.. Interesting to try once I guess.
In between all the partying, I still managed to do a number of touristy things and take lots of photos.. (some I’ve uploaded already, so go check ‘em out – but it takes forever so more to come later). Some of the highlights were Sugar loaf Mountain, The Statue of the Christ, seeing a football match at the famous Maraçana Stadium and a beautiful hang glide over Rio.
What an amazing city Rio is. Such a beautiful place, yet so dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. Luckily i managed to stay out of trouble, even met a local who claimed he killed some people.. Really nice guy apart from that, and strangely we got on really well and hung out at one of the beach parties for a number of hours..
So I’m now in a little beach town in Salvador recovering from the whole experience of Carnival in Rio. Feels like I could sleep for a month or two.
I’m planing a few bus trips over the next couple of days to find some nice beach spots up the coast, and then my next major adventure will be in Peru for the Inca Trail on the 20th of March.
Check back over the next few days – I’ll try get more photos up for you all to see..
Ok, well the 7 flights over 50 consecutive hours nearly killed me. By the last flight i was not in the mood for small talk and i think my mind & body was starting to shut down.. The ‘vodka & dark chocolate, substituted by a few dodgy airline meals’ diet was probably not the best for long distance travel, and by the last leg, i only just made it to the cattle class toilet before spewing up three times.. All before take-off =(.
What should have been 2 nice clean direct flights turned out to be a a bit more painful than i first anticipated.. It was obvious that it was going to suck a bit to start with, but i hadn’t really thought it through.
So whilst sifting through customs in my second last stop over, I had this funny thought ” it’s a miracle I’ve made it this far, i wonder how my luggage is travelling?” – I hadn’t seen it since LAX where the nice attendant helped out by checking it through to my final destination. Unfortunately between the 4 different airlines somehow it went on it’s own vacation.. Lucky lucky bags.
I would highly recommend to anyone NOT to take the slightly cheaper option brought to you by your local ‘join the dots’ travel planner – or at least maybe think about breaking the trip up for some rest stops etc..
Well – I´m now in Equador airport – hEy ¿¿??¡¡¡ You´d all just Loooove these wHacKey Equadorian Keyboards.. they can do all kinda cool and CwAzY SymBols.. ç¿
Damn itñs a struggle not to collapse right now.. been travelling for around 35hours with a Litre of cheap cheap Vodka (almost cheaper than a Litre of water =) and a block of chocolate. Normally this would be a good thing but i just had to be escorted from the hariport to get cash out to buy sum food stuffs – as no one accepts cards, and everything´s in USD here..
Really nice of the Equadorian airport staff to help out, it certainly wouldn´t have happenen in LAX.. (oh and there´s hardcore millitaria everywhere here, so i stuck pretty close to the nice staff member.. )..
Anyway, gotta go sort out my next series of flights.. – I should (with continued luck) reach Rio by 9am tomorrow morning..
Emergency Hotel Weiner Cooking.
Ok, here’s a new series for Homelessfuk that will hopefully make all of our lifes a little bit easier and more plesant while surviving in the wider world..
I think the photos speak for themselves, but if you need any advice, please don’t hesistate to ask away..
(One quick tip, try adding a coffee filter for that extra smooth meaty flavour.. – And I’d suggest take out coffee in the morning.. )
Hi hi..,..,
Just thought I’d write & let you know what’s been happening .. Feels like my brain’s gone into some kind of shock for now, and it feels better getting some of it out..
Things have been really GREAT so far.. It’s been go go go since i started, and now I’m really looking forward to a break and a bit of a Holiday.. Been skiing every day for what, 7-8 days straight now and it’s starting to be a bit of a burden.. Oh listen to me… Tough. So far, We’ve Skied; Mt Baldy, Red Mountain, White Water Mountain, and Fernie Resort.. (Soo tough – Tomorrow, we’re off to Ski Kimberly Resort, Then off to Banff to ski around there (Lake Louise, Sunshine etc), then will also probably go to Powder Springs, and Maybe Whistler if we get time (oh, how do we do it all..?)..
Been at Fernie for the last 3 nights (tonight is our last..), and we have this great self contained apartment.. Unfortunately, never in my life, have I slept on a more uncomfortable sofa bed.. After one night of agony, I decided that the floor was the best option.. Better.. Which is saying something..
Bloody SORE from skiing hard – Sooo many double black runs (grins).. No bad (ok, permanent) stacks, a few bruises, but that’s about it so far (touching wood..). Been eating like a horse (as you do at the snow), and Rob is making sure we are getting the most out of it all.. He’s CRAZY when he gets on skis.. Yeh, MUCH worse than me..
Bought some new Skis in Vancouver.. Atomic Metron MX’s (yeh, I don’t know what that means either,.) But apparently they’re hot.. Got them for a bargain.. Reduced from $1400 to $500. Ok, if you wanna get technical, and caught up in nancy pancy details, converted that probably goes more like $700AUD, but they would have gone for around $1500 in Oz.. They already look rather second hand, but they are really great, and are serving me well thus far..
Money is rather thin in the snow, and it’s quite amazing how easy it is to spend.. The A$ isn’t all that great either at the Mo..
I sore my first Ice Hockey Match this afternoon in down-town Fernie.. It was quite amazing.. but left halfway through as the Quarters are 20mins long, then they break for 15 mins in between, AND they stop the clock if someone farts.. It seems a game lasts about five hours..
A highlight for me was when a player stopped mid play and skated off the ice with his hand over his face. His team mates then pointed to the ice, and the reff. proceeded to use his hockey stick to usher the players teeff off to the side =) (bloody funny.. literally..).
Already got some leads for work later in the year as at this rate, I’ll either be TRULY homeless, back in Australia real soon, or extremely broke.. So possible options include Vancouver, IT Contract work, and i’ve spoken to the nice people at Ram’s Head Inn @ Red Resort, and voiced my interest in helping out there.. So all good so far – Wanna come stay with me if I’m running a lodge at the end of the year..?
Speaking of work, I had to do a “Boarder Run” the other day.. Ok, not as dramatic or nearly exciting as it sounds (Mind you, another friend of mine has “recommended” that i do a xtreem games style boarder run in South America with some of the locals, which i’ll probably be giving a miss on.. He also recommended there was a nice gaol to say in in the area.. Some people have strange ideals of fun, eh..?). Um, where was i?? Yuh, I had to cross the boarder the other day, as I bloody forgot to get my Work Visa stamped when i entered the country in Vancouver.. Let me tell you, those boarder police don’t like a joke much.. ( I tried a few out on them before realising it was futile). I did joke (actually, not sure if it was a joke or not now thinking about it) with Rob and Belinda on the way to the boarder that I’ll see them in 15 years… All good, the nice surly officer stamped my passport, and I’m still free to come and go as i please..
..I got an email back with instructions on how to get to where i’m staying in Salvador in Brazil the other day (the next leg of my journey).. Holy CRAP. I can’t even pronounce the address..!! It doesn’t even LOOK like a bloody address.. Thankfully., I’ve got a few emergency phone numbers to call which were attached with the address, however, they all state clearly “No English”, except one, that says, ” some English, sometimes”.
Soo, looking forward to Brazil, Rio, Carnival, Salvador and everything.. Not looking forward to the two drooling days of flights to get down to Rio..
I’ve booked my Inca Trail Hike in Peru, and by chance, I met some people in Vancouver who’s daughter runs or works for a Galapagos Island tour Company – which i believe will be quite expensive but BLOODY WORTH IT.. Then I’ll be recovering from that in the Bahamas afterwards..
I’ve been feeling, i guess, prematurely home-sick the last two or three days, missing all my friends and family HEAPS.
I was told a story today about how Bill Gates forked out $10 Billion recently to immunise the whole of Africa against a shite-load of diseases. — This made me stop and realise that this is my choice, and GAWD DAMN I’m one lucky bastard.. So i stopped feeling so depressed and miserable, and started to smile again..
It’s all a perspective thing i guess – sometimes hard to see what you have and the value of it all when you actually have choices and things that we take for granted in a first world.
Well.. – here I am in my first stop, Canada… It’s been a really long lead-up to this moment and now I’m really smiling.
I’m currently writing from Red Mountain Resort in Canada (British Columbia), which has been my first chance to actually stop for a second and reflect on ALL that has brought me here..
We (*Rob, Bel & I) hired a car in Vancouver, and after a couple of parking fines, a red-light ticket -the parking fines are real cheap by the way , and a few wrong turns, we finally arrived at Red Mountain around 5pm today (these time zones are doing my head in..&$#%). We are staying at Ram’s Head Inn for a few days.. The place is great and feels really cosy, but that’s not why were here.. We will be out tomorrow first thing for some fresh powder. It’s been absolutely dumping snow here, the drive up was amazing (check for photos next week) and speaking to the locals, they say the snow’s now the best it’s been for a while. Can’t wait..!!
Last night we stayed in this tiny town called Osoyoos (i think it’s pronounced Oh-soo-yerse, but with a Canadian accent). The drive from Vancouver took over 9 hours, and we HAD to stop and buy new skis etc.. so we did it over two days. Earlier today, we ripped up this tiny little Ski Resort close to Osoyoos, called Mt Baldy. It was totally awesome, the best snow I’ve seen for ages– and really cheap at $38 for a days lift pass (compared to $87 in Australia’s major resorts).
For me, the fact that I don’t have to live, breathe, and BE work for an extended extended period of time is so fantastic in itself, it brings an instant smile and feeling of relief to my face and mind. Possibly the first totally stress-free feeling I’ve had for as long as I can remember.. 8-)..
I am totally looking forward to the year ahead now; previously I’ve not had the head-space to actually appreciate what’s now reality.
Life has so much white noise. I’m working on changing that – going to be focusing on what’s truly important.. (still not 100% sure what that is, but I’ll have a damn good go at figuring it out – without the interruptions of responsibility..)..
I’d just like to make a special note on my new-found dislike (ok, hate) for the way the United States makes all travellers feel like criminals, even those who choose NOT to travel to the US and are just transferring.
Maybe I’m taking it the wrong way, but in my mind, getting finger printed, having your mug shot taken and being made to take your shoes off whilst surrounded by bullet-proofed surly US officers, SHOULD be reserved for those who actually commit a crime. As far as I know, I’ve done nothing illegal (nor any other passenger who was “Processed” by the US in Honolulu that early morning). I have a seriously bad after-taste in my mouth from the experience. Think I’ll be boycotting the US as much as possible from now on.
Copyright Homelessfuk 2012
