A few pictures

Here are a few pictures from the trip. There will be more posted to my shutterfly site, howardkalin.shutterfly.com in a couple of days.

1) Iguazu Falls
2) Christ The Redeemer
3) View of Rio from Pao de Acucar

The Sun Shines in Rio

After arriving on Tuesday night in Rio De Janeiro, we had rain every day until finally on Saturday, the sun shined. What a perfect way to spend the final day. ON THE BEACH. My hotel in Rio was 2 blocks from both Copacabana and Ipanema, the two most famous beaches in Rio. After spending some time on the beach, the guys I met in the Pantanal and I were all going to head to Pao to Acucar (Sugarloaf) Pao is a famous rock that sits above the city and provides absolutely breathtaking views. I won't talk much more about the views as I will post some pictures by tonight. On the way there, the sky started to look cloudy and than as we arrived to hopefully see the sunset, the sky miraculously cleared up. Amazing. What a sensational way to end the trip.

The day before I was able to use the early morning sunshine to head to Corcovado and see the Christo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) or the Big Jesus as some people might say. The top where the statue sits also provides some amazing views of Rio.

I absolutely loved Rio. The natural beauty and the pulse of the city are very special. All in all, the entire trip was fantastic. I will post later with pictures.

The Marvelous City

There is good reason that they call Rio De Janeiro "The Marvelous City" Rio is absolutely beautiful. The beaches, with the backdrop of the mountains provide some stunning views. And I haven't even been to Corcovado, where Christ the Redeemer sits above the city or Pao de Acucar (Sugar Loaf) I was planning to do that and the beach yesterday. However, since it rained, I decided to wait for another day. It doesn't look like that day will be today either as it is raining right now. I have two more chances, Friday and Saturday. It is crazy. It has rained almost every day on this trip. But that hasn't deterred me from having a good time. I am staying one block from Copacabana beach and I am hoping to spend some time there the next couple of days.

As for yesterday, because of the weather, I spent my time at the National Historic Museum, a very interesting cathedral, Teatro Municipal and just walking around Rio and soaking it all in. I really like this city. It is definitely my style. Much different than Buenos Aires. Both are good, but very opposite cultures. Rio is more vibrant and upbeat. It is so full of life. Last night, we went to a traditional Brazilian churrascaria. We met up with Jeremy and Sarah, our NZ friends who we met in Iguazu Falls. We all had more meat than you could ever want. Add in a few Caprinhas and a good time was had by all.

Well, I have to go. I am about to go for a leisurely run down Copacabana. The beach is 4.5KM long, so it should be nice. I haven't been down the beach yet, so it will be interesting to see. Hope all is well back home.

Back From The Jungle

Since I last blogged, I have been in the Pantanal. The Pantanal is a jungle in Brazil similar to the Amazon. It is away from all normal civilization and is an absolutely remarkable place. No internet, no TV, no nothing. It was actually nice to be that away from things. Upon arriving, we met our guide, Marcello. Marcello is an absolutely awesome guide who is extremely passionate about the Pantanal. Shortly after arrival, I hopped on my horse, Romario for a long horseback ride deep into the Pantanal. Where the air is fresh and the sun shined brightly.

Day two consisted of a safari. We were accompanied by some really cool folks, Ben from England and Romain and Jerome from Switzerland, who are also all in Rio now and ready for some partying. Of course, it rained all day. Which was actually not a bad thing because it wasnt so brutally hot. It was full day safari and we saw all kinds of great wildlife. Monkeys, Capiburras, Caymans, Toucans, Storks, Kingfishers, etc. But no Jaguars which was the constant joke.

Day three was fantastic with one slight exception, which I will get to shortly. We took a boat ride to see more wildlife up close and do some Piranha fishing. Somebody was a natural reeling them in left and right. Well, not exactly, but I did get a few. Marcelo than took our Piranha and made Pantanal Sushi. Fileted the fish, squeezed lime on it, added onion, ginger and soy. Delicious. That night back at the lodge, we drank Caprinhas, the Brazilian drink and laughed about many things, including telling the Aussies that just arrived about seein the Jaguar. They are actually very rare to see, but some dutch girls told us they saw one when we arrived.

Now for the exception. After cruising on the boat and looking at wildlife, Marcello took us to the highest peak in the Pantanal for a hike to the top. The Pantanal is exceptionally flat for the most part. We were warned about the mosquitos by the swiss guys. So, in 95 degree heat, I was covered head to toe with repellant and was wearing pants and a light jacket with a hood covering my head. It didnt matter. The hike was a nice little exercise. But the mosquitos were FUCKING BRUTAL. There were a million of them in my face the entire time. We reached the peak and I was ready to go down. It just FUCKING SUCKED. Pardon my language, but I have to tell you accurately how I felt. So upon getting down, Marcello says that this is the last time they will do the hill. And all I could think was why didnt you decide that yesterday. No fault of his. He was trying to give us the best tour possible. Which he did.

It was a fantastic few days and now I have arrived in Rio De Janeiro after having taken buses and planes for the last 12 hours. Rio is going to be awesome. Take care all.

PS-
I just found out some info on the games this weekend. How about them Buckeyes? Cant wait for my dinner. I will bring the argentine wine and make caprinhas.

In Brazil

Yesterday was a very packed day. We took a trip in the morning to the Brazilian side of the Iguazu Falls. We went with two girls who live in England- Erin and Thalia. They were staying at our place, so we all shared a cab together. After arriving at the falls, we took a short trek for some amazing views. Much more panoramic views than the Argentine side. We were getting ready to leave when Thalia went to the bathroom and we than lost her. We searched and searched to no avail. With time getting short due to having to catch a flight to Brazil, we decided to head to the exit to meet our cab and hope to find her there. If not, John and I were going to have to leave them or risk missing our flight. Luckily, she was waiting for us at the exit and we got back fine. We rushed to get to the airport for what was going to be 5 hours worth a plane rides and airport time.

Upon arriving in Campo Grande, we met up with Gil who was setting up our trip to Bonito and Pantanal. Gil is a brazilian guy who spent many years in Michigan playing soccer and coaching before returning home. Why Michigan? We than hopped a bus to arrive in Bonito at 4am. Upon awaking, we went to check on our snorkeling trip, only to be told that the river was sold out for the day. They have a limit on how many people can go on any given day. We were pretty bummed as we only have one day here. While discussing what to do at breakfast, the guy comes to tell us that two spots are open. I tell him WE TAKE IT. So that is where we head shortly. After that, it is on the Pantanal (the jungle) for a safari, piranha fishing, horse riding, etc.

This will probably be my last post for a few days as I dont anticipate access in the jungle. The thought of not knowing who wins the OSU-MSU game until Tuesday night is not a pleasant one. Oh well. Small problem. Things are good here. Have to run to get on our trip. Hope all is well.

Iguazu Falls

Today was our day to head out and explore the magnificent Iguazu falls. Just a little background, the Iguazu Falls are situated at the border of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. The falls are only in Argentina and Brazil. They are absolutely massive and make Niagara Falls look tiny.

Upon arriving there, it began raining very shortly after. It absolutely POURED the entire time we were there. It broke my amazing stretch of weather dating back to NZ and Australia. Fernando, Linda, Colin, John, Sara, Jeremy and I all went together. The day consisted of several very long hikes to see different views of the falls. It is amazing how wide and vast the falls are. Go take a look at some photos on the web because my words won´t do it justice. In addition to the hikes, we took a speed boat ride that took us under the falls. Fantastic and thrilling. The icing on the cake was the train ride that led us to Gargantua de Diablo (Devils Throat) MASSIVE AND AWE INSPIRING. This part of the falls left us all speechless.

After an awesome day, it was wonderful to get back and get a shower and dry out. Tonight, we are having an Argentine BBQ. Tomorrow we leave Iguazu and Argentina and head to Brazil for Campo Grande, Bonito and the Pantanal.

Hope all is well back home.

Last Days in Buenos Aires

Sorry for no updates the last couple of days. Been extremely packed with limited access to the internet. Monday was the final day in Buenos Aires. We spent it touring around and seeing as much of the city as possible. It started in San Telmo, which is an older district with lots of character and art. We were going to the National History Museum, which ended up being closed. From there, we headed to La Boca and Caminito. La Boca is mostly seedy, with the exception being El Caminito which is very geared towards tourists. It was very colorful with Tango dancers at many roadside restaurants. From there, it was time to head to Retiro for shopping and browsing. Unfortunately, not much peaked my interest. While walking through the park in Retiro, we randomly saw Erica, a girl from DC who we originally met at the museum. She ended up hanging out with us and we all went to dinner.

As for dinner, we went to an amazing place that Todd recommended and was also in the guidebook, La Chacra. The steak was flat out amazing and the meal easily would have cost well over $100 at home. It was fantastic. 2 bottles of wine, steak, salad, potatoes, and dessert all rang in at less than $30.

Overall, I found Buenos Aires to be a pretty laid back and very safe city. It was much different than expected. Romance was in the air, you could smell it (inside joke.) But, it was an enjoyable city that was well covered in the amount of time we had allocated. Next post, Iguazu Falls.

Superclasico = Insanity

As I mentioned in my last post, today we went to the Superclasico. It is a soccer match pitting Buenos Aires two major soccer teams, the Boca Juniors vs. River Plate. As a little background, the two teams reside in much different parts of the city. La Boca is seedy, rough part of the city while River Plate is more on the high end. The game was at River Plate´s stadium. A very minimalistic, no frills stadium.

We boarded the bus with Steven and Carlin, a pretty cool couple from Ireland. Upon arriving at the stadium, you could instantly feel the energy and excitement. We went right in to the stadium 1 1/2 hours before kickoff. The stadium was already packed and the chanting was nonstop. Upon arriving at our seats, I noticed that they had 3 sections upstairs for the Boca Juniors fans. They were completely separated from the rest of the stadium and were held in by barbed wire fence. ABSOLUTELY CRAZY. There were ZERO Boca fans in any other part of the stadium. The fans were going completely crazy, yelling obscenities, and making obscene gestures at each other. Police presence was extremely high. It was more intense than any rivalry game I have ever attended. These people are extremely passionate/ crazy about there soccer. It was like Red Sox- Yankees after every fan in the stadium drank 8 Red Bulls.

River Plate ended up winning the game 3-1 to the delight of the home crowd. After the game, the Boca fans began to throw their seats from the upper deck on the River Plate fans and set fires in the stadium, all while chanting. Than, they closed off the exits from the River Plate sections while they slowly let the Boca fans leave. We were in our seats until at least 1 hour after the game as the Boca fans slowly left the stadium. They do this to avoid the two teams fans from meeting after the game.

It was a wild time and an experience unlike anything I have ever seen. What a great time. As for tonight, I just got back from dinner and am going to take it easy and try to get a good nights sleep. Hope all is well back home.

First Day in Buenos Aires

I arrived safely in BA after an overnight flight on Friday. Finally got to the hotel at about 9:30 AM. It is only a 1 hour time difference here. BA is one hour ahead. After meeting up with Jon and grabbing a much needed cup of coffee and shower. it was time to head out to check out the city. We covered a lot of ground. We had our first Quilmes beers at about Noon before heading to Recoleta and the world famous cemetery where Eva Peron is buried. This cemetery is unlike any other I have ever seen. It is where famous dignitaries are housed. Each burial site is like a mini shrine. It is set like a city with narrow streets. Very hard to explain. You will have to see the pictures.

From there we walked quite a bit before finally my body just screamed for a little nap. Exhaustion kicked in. After a short power nap, we headed out to a great restaurant. First night in Argentina, what are you going to eat? World famous Argentine steak and delicious wine. Our waiter, Felipe was a true character. He was an older gentleman who took his profession seriously. When asking for a recommendation for a good bottle of wine, he gave this hand gesture as if to say ¨You are in good hands with me¨ He was correct as he brought us some fantastic wine. After giving him a $24 peso tip, he followed by bringing us free cappucinos and dessert. After all was said and done, we finally cashed it in at about 4am.

Today is going to be great. We are going to The Superclasico soccer match between Boca and River Plate. I was lukewarm about the idea of going to the game until we met this Irish guy who proclaimed it the biggest soccer match in the world and basically said there is no way in hell you can miss this game if you are in BA. If a guy who watches English soccer and goes to matches tells you that this is the biggest game in the world, you can´t argue. I have to run for now so I can catch the bus to the game. Hope all is well with everyone back home.

PS
From reading Todd´s blog, tgrando.blogspot.com it sounds like Elliott´s surprise party went extremely well. Sounds like Elliott was in rare form. But why was he cursing my name? I will give him a pass as he probably has no recollection. Also, the Yankees suck. But, at least OSU is kicking ass. Next week is the real ass kicking vs. Michigan State. Someone is going to owe me a great dinner when I get back.