Sean´s Shenanigans: August 2005

Kiwi Land

Here in Auckland at the moment. Took a 14 hours flight from Buenos Aires to here last nite. From being 4 hours behind Ireland, I am now 11 hours ahead - I lost Saturday!

Got a bit of hassle at the airport. When I went up to the desk, the immigration guy said I looked nervous. I replied "why would I be?", and then he asked me to hold my hands out. Well, after the session I went on for the last week in Buenos Aires, lets just say they weren't very steady! I told him I was on the beer for a while and he asked my what type, what brand and all this other stupid stuff. He then said that the machine wasn't locating my visa and that I had to go to the special immigration section, but to to get my bags first. While I was waiting for my bags, a sniffer dog was brought up to only me and the guy next to me. Thoughts of something being planted came to mind. After waiting about 40 minutes outside the immigration section, a guy came out, said everything was ok and that I could go.

Its a bit of a shock arriving here. Prices are pretty high and the fact that i've being in the spanish speaking world for 9 months makes hearing English strange.

I'm off to buy a box of Weetabix now.

New Zealand

Capital: Wellington
Currency: New Zealand Dollar
Exchange Rate: €1 = $ 1.77
Time Zone: GMT + 12
Population: 4m

Recopa

Went to the South American Recopa last nite, its their version of the European Super Cup. Boca Juniors were playing Once Caldas of Colombia (last years Copa Liberadores Champions). There were 45,000 fans in the stadium known as ‘La Bombonera’ (the Chocolate Box). There were fireworks before the game and the atmosphere was great. I think it got to Once, as they lost three goals in the first 17 mins. Boca then took the foot of the pedal and Once eventually pulled on back. The game finished 3-1. A second leg is to be played in Colombia.

Sunday Football

Went to the local derby between San Lorenzo and Independiente here in Buenos Aires yesterday. The game ended in a 1-1 draw. The hostel here were doing a tour there for ARG$80, but I went myself and ended up paying ARG$45 for a ticket. I found myself wedged in the away terrace with the Independiente fans. The game was pretty much a sell out with thirty to forty thousand fans. There was barely standing room there; all the fans seem to do is chant and jump for the whole game! At half-time, all the fans around me sat down and proceeded to skin up joints.

Unfortunately, Boca Juniors were playing away at the weekend, but they are playing a Southamerican Recopa match against Once Caldas of Colombia on Wednesday night. From what I hear, its the Southamerican version of the UEFA cup, but I not sure how big a game it is.

Buenos Aires

Arrived here in Buenos Aires this morning after spending the last three nights on buses. I took an Argentinian bus to here from Foz de Iguazu in Brazil at 2pm yesterday. You get much more for your money on Argeninian buses. For the same price as a normal Brazilian bus, you can buy a seat on a Coche Cama (sleeper bus) in Argentina. There are only three seats in each row and they recline pretty far back. Also included was a meal in a restaurant and an airline-type breakfast on board.

In total it took me R$265 (€90) , three buses, and 42 hours (onboard), to get here from Rio. The direct bus from Rio to here would have costed R$300.

Brazilian Food

In Brazil there are a few basic options for the backpacker:

One is an All-You-Can-Eat buffet which costs about R$5 depending of the quality, you are allowed one/two orders of meat you can eat as much as you want from the rest of the buffet.
Churrasco, All-You-Can-Eat buffet and Meat. Different types of meat are cooked on skewers and waiters bring the meat on the skewer t your table; if you want some, they cut from the skewer to your place. The waiters come around every few minutes with different meats (e.g. chicken, beef, pork, chicken hearts, sausages, ...)
Per Kilo - You fill your plate with food from the buffet and they weight it. Each 100g costs between R$0.79 and up depending on the quality.

Curitiba

Here in the city of Curitiba at the moment. Took a 14 hour bus trip to here last night. Tonite, I will take another night bus to Ciudad del Este in Paraguay. The bus there was R$63, while the bus to Foz de Iguazu was R$83, even though we pass through Foz to get to Cuidad del Este? Not sure about the visa situation. The last time I passed through, they told me they didn't want to see me again. If they leave me in, I may get a flight to Buenos Aires, otherwise is about 20 hours in another overnight bus - god help the person sitting alongside me!

Sugar Loaf

Visted Pao de Acucar (Sugar Loaf Mountain) and Copacabana beach yesterday. Had to take a cable car up and down Pao de Acucar. The views from there were pretty nice. Its the hill in the distance to the right of Christ in the picture.

Off to Ipanema beach this afternoon. Going to go to the bus station tonite and get a bus to somewhere in the south.

Rio De Janeiro

Been here in Rio for the last few days. The last few nights and days have been pretty hectic on the socialising scene :)

Visited Christ the Redeemer today. It costs R$30 to get up the hill (taxi/tram) so we decided to walk. Having been pretty dehydrated from the night before, the fact that we brought no water with us didn't help matters. After two hours we reached the top and practically spent all the money we saved on drinks rehydrating ourselves!

If I thought the rest of Brazil was expensive, this place is another step up! It must be the most expensive city in South America. A night in a 12 bed dorm costs €14.

Visited Copacabana beach on Friday. The picture tells its own story - I think the white brings out the rest of the colours well!

Flights Sorted

I got my flights sorted yesterday. I cancelled my LAN Chile flights from Buenos Aires to Santiago to Auckland, I will hopefully get about $1300 refunded to me within the next few weeks. I then booked a direct flight from Buenos Aires to Auckland with Aerolineas Argentina for just under $1000. The flight leaves Buenos Aires at 11:59pm on August 26th (strange time), and arrives in Auckland on August 28th. The money I saved is badly needed here in Brazil! I felt a bit sorry for LAN, I visited 3 offices, they called me 3 times, and replied to about 15 of my emails - then I go and cancel the flights!

Today I visited Ayrton Senna's grave and it took me 5 hours to walk back to the city centre. Tomorrow, hopefully I'm off to Rio.

A Day at the Races

Went to the Sao Paulo races at the Jockey Club Hipodromo yesterday. Entry was free - which is always a good start. Not sure if I had any winners because I had to leave early to go to the Morumbi Stadium to see Sao Paulo FC play Goias in the Brazilian Championship.

The stadium holds 80,000 spectators but due to the team's bad season, there were only about 7,000 there last night. Sao Paulo lost 1-0, having a man sent off (unjustly I might add) midway through the first half! The loss has put Sao Paulo into the bottom three, just weeks after winning the Copa Liberatores; the South American version of the Champions League. The fact that their cily rivals, Corinthians, are leading the league doesn't help matters. The entry fee to the match was about 4 euros.

Bus Trip to Sao Paulo

Arrived here in Sao Paulo this morning. My bus trip did not like up to my expectations - no free food.

Ciudad del Este, Paraguay has shops that sell a lot of cheap (read

mostly stolen) consumer goods, especially electronic goods. After thirty minutes on our bus, we were stopped at a customs checkpoint. A large bag was being given special attention and the owner had to open it for the customs officers. As the whole bus watched he produced over 25 CD-ROM drives, mice and other computer equipment. There must have been over at grand's worth there. After arguing for a time, he just left the stuff there and came back on the bus. A lot of money down the drain and I'm sure all the equipment was passed on to the relevant departments!

Coming to towards the outskirts of Sao Paulo (its the worlds third largest city with 17m people in the greater metropolitian area), the bus driver came down and sat alongside me. With his small frame, he didn't encroach on my space or certainly didn't snore loudly at all!!

Iguaza Falls

Visited Iguazu Falls yesterday. The falls can be visited from both Brazil and Argentina with the Argentine side being the better option as there are more trails. The Brazilian side apparently gives a better overall view. I choose to vistit the Argentine size and took a tour from here (Foz) as it saved me having to get stamped in and out of both countries and replaced six bus trips with two. The falls were quite a sight and I spent the whole day there leaving at 6pm to return back here to Foz.

Leaving here this afternoon for Sao Paulo. The bus ride takes 16 hours and cost 111 Reals (37 euros), which is the most i've spent on a bus ride in a long long time! If you are reading Michael O'Leary, ever think of entering the Latin America airline market?

I'm off now to buy an lasagna and cook it in the only electrical appliance that works in the "hostel" - a microwave.

Foz de Iguazu

Here in Foz de Iguazu, Brazil at the moment. Vistited the Itaipu Dam this morning. They give a free tour there. Th place is pretty spectacular - the largest scheme in the world. After returning to Ciudad del Este, I packed my things, ate one more sausage (they are great in Paraguay) and headed for the border. The border officials form Paraguay gave me some hassle - apparently Irish people DO need a visa for Paraguay. I don't know. I told him what can you do and eventually he stamped me out. Decided to walk to Foz. Not the brightest idea in the world -> 32 degrees, 7km, and two hours later I arrived at my hotel about a stone lighter. The hotel isn't finished yet, so only paying 20 reals a night (3 reals to the euro), it also has a semi complete swimming pool. Other places here are dearer - Brazil is dearer!

Brazil

Capital: Brasilia
Currency: Real
Exchange Rate: €1 = R$ 2.85
Time Zone: GMT - 3
Population: 186m

More Brazil Info

So I'm a Nazi now!

Well according to Mary Hilda Cavanagh of Kilkenny County Council I am. That land is rightfully ours! I have the father sharpening the pitch fork for me and I'll be back for the fight.

Why would Waterford City Council need to govern over Waterford City. Kilkenny have shown us in the past how high Waterford is on their agenda - Waterford to Dublin road anyone??

Ciudad del Este

Here in east Paraguay at the moment. Going to visit Itaipu dam tomorrow morning and then maybe off to Foz de Iguacu, Brazil tomorrow afternoon.

Electric Showers - Latin America Style

Before I came to Latin America, an offer of an electric shower would be warmly welcomed, especially in those places with cold climates. However, whereas my idea of an electric shower is something akin to a Triton T90i , the folks down here have a different idea - the Lorrenzetti!

As can be seen from the picture, who needs an electrician to install one of these showers, when you can do it yourself with the aid of some green electricial tape. The heat of the water is dependentent on the amount of water that is forced through. In cold places, to get the water hot enough the amount of water that flows through the shower head is miniscule - open the tap a little to increase the flow and the water goes cold!

It would be fine in hot places (in Asia you rarely see and heating of the water) were it not for the dangers of electrecution. In Copacabana, Bolivia, during a shower I suddenly noticed that I could no longer see my feet. My first thought was that it was stream, but on further investigation it turned out to be smoke from the electric shower - it seemed to be overheating or something. And tonite, when I went to turn off the tap after a shower, I got an electric shock! Eventually I managed to turn it off with the aid of a towel.

Eliza Lynch

I had never heard of the name Eliza Lynch before I came to Paraguay but apparently she is quite well know in South America. At one stage she was the owner of the greatest amount of land here in Paraguay. The Irish Independent did an article (registration required) on her a few years ago. Her body was brought back from Paris and buried in the National Cemetery. Went there today. There are 100s of tombs there - the cemetery even has street names to help people find tombs.

Johnny O´Leary

Arrived here in Asuncion, Paraguay yesterday, took 20 hrs and two buses from Salta. It was a little touch and go getting across the border; officials were telling me that I needed a visa while I was protesting that the visa regulations for Irish had changed. Eventually someone found an info sheet that stated us Irish no longer needed a visa. From what I was told the regulations changed last March! The city is ok as far as capital cities go. It is quite hot here - a high of 32 degrees today. I have been just walking around the city for the last day. Off east tomorrow to Ciudad del Este on the Brazilian/Argentine border. Apparently there is a pretty big hydro-electric dam over there that Paraguay shares with Brazil.

Juan E. O´Leary Street, Central Asuncion

Paraguay

Capital: Asunción
Currency: Guaraní
Exchange Rate: €1 = G\ 7,340
Time Zone: GMT - 3
Population: 5.8m

More Paraguay Info

Sean´s Shenanigans

Sunday, August 28, 2005

Kiwi Land

New Zealand

Thursday, August 25, 2005

Recopa

Monday, August 22, 2005

Sunday Football

Friday, August 19, 2005

Buenos Aires

Thursday, August 18, 2005

Brazilian Food

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Curitiba

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Sugar Loaf

Monday, August 15, 2005

Rio De Janeiro

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Flights Sorted

Sunday, August 07, 2005

A Day at the Races

Bus Trip to Sao Paulo

Saturday, August 06, 2005

Iguaza Falls

Friday, August 05, 2005

Foz de Iguazu

Brazil

So I'm a Nazi now!

Thursday, August 04, 2005

Ciudad del Este

Electric Showers - Latin America Style

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Eliza Lynch

Johnny O´Leary

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Paraguay

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Waterford Temperature

Ireland

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