Okay so as I´m writing this I have makeup dripping down my face, wet hair and am covered in confetti, spray paint, foam and silly string. I´ve just got back from Uruguay Carnival and it was amazing, but onto that later
So Hello hello, how are you all? if you´re reading this you probably mean a lot to me and so I miss you lots and hope alls good with you, and that January has so far been good. But enough about you, you´re on this to find out what Ive been up to and apologies for the delay in this blog, Ive just been ultra busy and enjoying myself.
So, I left you after just arriving in Bariloche and Bariloche is the most amazing place. We went to amazing steak houses, a tour of the town, a DIY chocolate tour where we visited bout 100 chocolaterias and scoffed ourselves silly. (dont worry I found diet chocolate, who knows what the hell that is, but it tasted amazing, so im sure if cant have been healthy, but the name made me feel good) We also went kayaking on the lake which was hard but fun (I got paired with a large Brazilian man who was more than happy to row away while I was taking photos and relazing in the sun). so more fun than hard for me really.
Then we went horseriding and it honestly was the most traumatising experience of my life. everyone made out that horseriding in bariloche was stunning, relaxing and enjoyable, but unfortunately the guides spoke zero english and so when our horses were galloping and cantoring along, all we could do was cling on for our dear lives and scream at the guides to stop, but the guides understood zero english and thought we were enjoying ourselves so galloped on ahead leaving all of us screaming and crying as our horses raced like maniacs along the fields. I honestly must have done some permanent damage to my horse the way I was absolutely tugging on the reigns and at one point when it stopped I actually thought I may have strangled it, but sadly my fatty horse was just stopping to eat and when it was satisfied, it carried on flying through the fields and ignored all my attempts of kicking and pulling to make it stop. You wont be suprised to hear that when we were asked at the end if we wanted to do jumps and gallop at a faster speed I jumped off my horse like there was no tomorrow. The positive of the day was that we got an amazing lunch by the lake and after some serious complaining to the company, we were given free tickets up the cable car to the highest point in bariloche with a rotating cafe the next day, which was nice, but little consolation to the trauma of the day before.
After Bariloche we caught a 25 hour bus to Buenos Aries and were thankfully able to upgrade to first class which made it that little bit better. Buenos Aries is incredible and by far the best city Ive ever visited. Its got such a buzzing atmosphere, amazing shops, amazing street life and such pretty towns. On the first night we went to a Tango show, where we had a tango lesson followed by dinner while we watched the show. I can now officially do the simple tango steps which I´ll be showing off when I´m back, now just gotta find some Brazilian hunk to practise them with! The show was amazing, despite the majority of the female dancers being men, but the incredible dance moves distracted from their bobbing adams apples. I dont want this blog to drag on, so in short, in the next few days in Buenos Aries, we visited the famous cemetary where Evita is buried, and each grave is literally like a full-on tomb, went to the Boca Junior football stadium, the government square where people are still protesting from the Falklands war and La Boca and San Telmo, which are local towns with loads of markets, restraunts and people literally tangoing on the streets. Oh and more importantly, I´ve met my match with one of the girls on the tour, and we spent an entire afternoon in MAC in Buenos Aries and at the massive shopping centre, eating frozen yogurtr. heaven. About the people again, we have gained some new people from Buenos Aries and everyone is so lovely, getting along with everyone and got really close to some Australian girls. Feels weird I´ve only known them 2 weeks, yet get on really well and they feel like people at home - and already at the sitting round chatting in towels and weeing with the door open stage!
Onto Uruguay. We got a ferry here a couple of days ago and spent the first night in a small town called Colonia, where we basically just spent the day walking round the town, climbed the lighthouse, went to more markets, which equals more shmutters and went for dinner at a Uruguian restraunt. I ordered the house meat platter, as the tour guide (who is an absolute total idiot/lost cause by the way and we call Manwell (from Faulty towers) because, although he tries so hard and means well, he just cannot seem to get anything right. we cant help but laugh) told everyone to order it as it had the best steak, chicken and lamb. I thought it tasted a bit funny at the start, but he said it was just the uruguan way of cooking it, but after we asked the waiter, we found out it was a mixture of blood sausage, kidney, liver, brain and intestine. LOVELY.
With a bit of a queasy stomach, onto Montevideo, where I am now, which has been nonstop. Arrived yesterday, when we looked round the town and did a bit of shopping and last night we went to a championship football match about half an hour away between Gremio (a Brazilian team, which Ronaldinio played for in his youth, if you care) and Liverpool (a Uruguian team). It was mental. Not that I know anything about football, offside rule shmoffside rule to me, but the fans were incredible. All so passionate, so drunk and so friendly and on the most part, very very good looking. I cheered and booed and stood up and gasped at all the wrong points, but had such a good night, sat with loads of locals and got into the true South American spirit and passion that only a football match could really show you. It was a draw, which was a big win for Urugay and so spirits were high in the town and so we went out for the night to some bars and dancing and kareoke places and everyone was just pissed and happy.
Today we went to Punta del Este, 2 hours away from Montevideo, and what grandma Pam described as Marbella of Uruguay - and so it was, really upmarket, nice shops, good restraunts and amazing beaches. It was 38 degrees which was really absolutely boiling and so a perfect beach day. And tonight we got back for Uruguay carnival, which is basically a mini version of Rio Carnival. It was amazing. Loads of performers, a massive parade and thousands and thousands of people all dancing, shouting and spraying foam, paint and confeetti at each other. So that leads me to how I started this post, soaked and filthy and in desperate need of a shower and some sleep!!
Off to Salto tomorrow, for chocolate massage and waterpark and then onto Iguassu Falls and Brazil. Super pumped for the next few weeks, having the best time ever and of course missing you all.
Loads of hugs and kisses,
same old em, (no new piercings or tatoos....yet)
Friday 28 January 2011
Tuesday 18 January 2011
Week 1 - Chile
Hola!
So its now been just over a week since I left everyone back home and my first week has been amazing! The night before I left was very emotional saying bye to everyone and also very stressful trying to squish absolutely everything intoi my bag (I ended up not taking a backpack and my bag did weigh 26 kilos, but despite what people say, I honestly do not regret it one bit and there always seems to be a strong man who is more than happy to schlep my bag for me anyway)
After very emotionally saying bye to Soph in the morning and mum & dad at the aiport, I went through security and shopped around feeling very nervous and scared of missing the flight, but also very excited about the trip. (for those of you who know me best, they couldnt keep the bag for me at the airport for over 3 months, which means I couldnt get it :(, so I´ll have to wait 8 months for that indulgence and maybe travelling the world will make me not want to splurge as much, we shall see...)
Although I didnt manage to get an upgrade, everything ran very smoothly from London to Madrid and then onto Santiago and I arrived in Santiago early Tuesday morning, where a transfer was waiting for me at the airport & thankgod my bag came through on the conveyor belt! I arrived at the Hotel in Santiago in the morning and met my roomate, who´s from Australia, and is so lovely and we´ve been sharing a room since and are getting along really well. On that note, all the people are the tour are amazing, all so different, but all really chilled out, up for a laugh and easy to get on with.
So I dont want to disappoint with a very short first blog, but I also dont want to waste time sitting on a computer when there is so much to do - So in essence, the less time I spend on here, skype, facebook is really just an indication of how much fun Im having and how busy I am. Right, so, in summary, I loved Chile. I´m not yet sure whether this is simply because it was my first place and I was just so excited to be travelling as I have nothing yet to compare it with or whether its because Chile just is amazing. I spent the first 2 days in Santiago, which is pretty developed and similar to most cities I´ve visited, which equals lots of shops, restraunts and a very buzzing atmosphere with lots going on. We climbed a fortress which was where the city was founded, went up a cable car to a mountain where we had a lovely picnic in the sun and did a DIY wine tasting with some Chilean wines we bought (although we forgot a bottle opener and had to resort to using a big twig to push the cork into the bottle!), went to an amazing seafood restraunt, had a drunk and entertaining evening at a Kareoke bar and went to the seafood and fruit market and millions of local markets selling what my mum would call shmutters (basically crap, but I did buy a few bits that I though were pretty and would aid my beck to bohemiam transformation)
After Santiago we went South to Pucon, which is a lake district area of Chile and was very pretty, although the weather was very unpredictable and we had a couple of afternoons of heavy showers. Pucon is really the adventure capital of Chile and so I decided to be extra brave and opted for white water rafting at Grade 5 (which is very very hard! The Zambizee in Africa is 6 and that really is the only one harder!) as well as Zip Lining through the rainforest, which is basically when you get cliped onto a piece of wire and jump off a plank and fly down. Both were absolutely incredible, while at the same time some of the scariest things I have ever done and I bought the photos from both so that I could prove to people that I actually did do it!! White water rafting actually probably was the most frightening thing I have ever done (my face on the photos shows that) and for the first 3 rapids I litrally had my eyes shut, was clinging onto the guide and had my head in my knees crouched down, but after a while I did actually start to kind of enjoy it and was grateful that the guide told me afterwards that a young girl had recently died on the rapids we had just done). We also visited some hot springs in Pucon, that were literally boiling boiling hot and quite uncomfortable until you adjusted to the heat, which is when they became quite relaxing. but only quite and actually you couldnt really sit in them for very long as you skin burnt and wrinkled. we also took some wine and drinks to have in the pool, but they were confiscated by the warden, so all in all, it was quite a pointless trip, but still memorable.
After Pucon we went to Puerto Varas, which is a small, German influenced town, which meant loads of strudel-like-stuff and German restraunts. We went for lunch and dinner in the town, which was yum, and went to the 2 neighbouring towns the next day: Puerto Mont and Frutillar. Both was not anything spectacular, but Puerto Mont had lots of cool markets, with nice things to buy and Frutillar was a very small. beautiful town by a lake, where we went for high tea, but couldnt find the high tea restraunt, so ended up having normal tea, which was still pretty good.
Today we arrived, after 8 hours of travelling and 2 border controls (although I did manage to illegally sneak in a nectarine) in Argentina and Bariloche. Im happy to have sad farewell to Chile for now as the weather was gettting worse and Im going back in 12 weeks anyway and very very very excited for Argentina. We are in Bariloche at the moment, a lake district region that is very Swiss influenced, meaning literally hundreds and hundreds of amazing chocolaterias (mum, if your reading this, dont kill me!!! I´m being healthy elsewhere I promise and am going on a long bike ride to burn it off anyway!)
Tomorrow has in store horse riding and kayaking, and the following day a chocolate tour and tasting and hopefully paragliding (which is jumping off a cliff with a parachute! but is depends on whether conditions, and if not, I´ll be doing it in Rio). Oh and as a last note, tonight we went to an Argentian restraunt and I literally had the best steak Ive ever had in my life. And yes, I do realise I have spent a disproportionate amount of the blog talking about the food, but its part of the cultural experience I promise!!
Lots of Love, besos y abrazos (hugs and kisses), miss you all,
Em xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
So its now been just over a week since I left everyone back home and my first week has been amazing! The night before I left was very emotional saying bye to everyone and also very stressful trying to squish absolutely everything intoi my bag (I ended up not taking a backpack and my bag did weigh 26 kilos, but despite what people say, I honestly do not regret it one bit and there always seems to be a strong man who is more than happy to schlep my bag for me anyway)
After very emotionally saying bye to Soph in the morning and mum & dad at the aiport, I went through security and shopped around feeling very nervous and scared of missing the flight, but also very excited about the trip. (for those of you who know me best, they couldnt keep the bag for me at the airport for over 3 months, which means I couldnt get it :(, so I´ll have to wait 8 months for that indulgence and maybe travelling the world will make me not want to splurge as much, we shall see...)
Although I didnt manage to get an upgrade, everything ran very smoothly from London to Madrid and then onto Santiago and I arrived in Santiago early Tuesday morning, where a transfer was waiting for me at the airport & thankgod my bag came through on the conveyor belt! I arrived at the Hotel in Santiago in the morning and met my roomate, who´s from Australia, and is so lovely and we´ve been sharing a room since and are getting along really well. On that note, all the people are the tour are amazing, all so different, but all really chilled out, up for a laugh and easy to get on with.
So I dont want to disappoint with a very short first blog, but I also dont want to waste time sitting on a computer when there is so much to do - So in essence, the less time I spend on here, skype, facebook is really just an indication of how much fun Im having and how busy I am. Right, so, in summary, I loved Chile. I´m not yet sure whether this is simply because it was my first place and I was just so excited to be travelling as I have nothing yet to compare it with or whether its because Chile just is amazing. I spent the first 2 days in Santiago, which is pretty developed and similar to most cities I´ve visited, which equals lots of shops, restraunts and a very buzzing atmosphere with lots going on. We climbed a fortress which was where the city was founded, went up a cable car to a mountain where we had a lovely picnic in the sun and did a DIY wine tasting with some Chilean wines we bought (although we forgot a bottle opener and had to resort to using a big twig to push the cork into the bottle!), went to an amazing seafood restraunt, had a drunk and entertaining evening at a Kareoke bar and went to the seafood and fruit market and millions of local markets selling what my mum would call shmutters (basically crap, but I did buy a few bits that I though were pretty and would aid my beck to bohemiam transformation)
After Santiago we went South to Pucon, which is a lake district area of Chile and was very pretty, although the weather was very unpredictable and we had a couple of afternoons of heavy showers. Pucon is really the adventure capital of Chile and so I decided to be extra brave and opted for white water rafting at Grade 5 (which is very very hard! The Zambizee in Africa is 6 and that really is the only one harder!) as well as Zip Lining through the rainforest, which is basically when you get cliped onto a piece of wire and jump off a plank and fly down. Both were absolutely incredible, while at the same time some of the scariest things I have ever done and I bought the photos from both so that I could prove to people that I actually did do it!! White water rafting actually probably was the most frightening thing I have ever done (my face on the photos shows that) and for the first 3 rapids I litrally had my eyes shut, was clinging onto the guide and had my head in my knees crouched down, but after a while I did actually start to kind of enjoy it and was grateful that the guide told me afterwards that a young girl had recently died on the rapids we had just done). We also visited some hot springs in Pucon, that were literally boiling boiling hot and quite uncomfortable until you adjusted to the heat, which is when they became quite relaxing. but only quite and actually you couldnt really sit in them for very long as you skin burnt and wrinkled. we also took some wine and drinks to have in the pool, but they were confiscated by the warden, so all in all, it was quite a pointless trip, but still memorable.
After Pucon we went to Puerto Varas, which is a small, German influenced town, which meant loads of strudel-like-stuff and German restraunts. We went for lunch and dinner in the town, which was yum, and went to the 2 neighbouring towns the next day: Puerto Mont and Frutillar. Both was not anything spectacular, but Puerto Mont had lots of cool markets, with nice things to buy and Frutillar was a very small. beautiful town by a lake, where we went for high tea, but couldnt find the high tea restraunt, so ended up having normal tea, which was still pretty good.
Today we arrived, after 8 hours of travelling and 2 border controls (although I did manage to illegally sneak in a nectarine) in Argentina and Bariloche. Im happy to have sad farewell to Chile for now as the weather was gettting worse and Im going back in 12 weeks anyway and very very very excited for Argentina. We are in Bariloche at the moment, a lake district region that is very Swiss influenced, meaning literally hundreds and hundreds of amazing chocolaterias (mum, if your reading this, dont kill me!!! I´m being healthy elsewhere I promise and am going on a long bike ride to burn it off anyway!)
Tomorrow has in store horse riding and kayaking, and the following day a chocolate tour and tasting and hopefully paragliding (which is jumping off a cliff with a parachute! but is depends on whether conditions, and if not, I´ll be doing it in Rio). Oh and as a last note, tonight we went to an Argentian restraunt and I literally had the best steak Ive ever had in my life. And yes, I do realise I have spent a disproportionate amount of the blog talking about the food, but its part of the cultural experience I promise!!
Lots of Love, besos y abrazos (hugs and kisses), miss you all,
Em xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Saturday 8 January 2011
Welcome
Hey Everyone
So as most of you know, I'm off travelling tomorrow to South America, Australasia and South-East Asia for the best part of the next 8 months. I will be taking a blackberry with me (but hope to use it as little as possible), as well as a South American phone (I will post numbers & details on here when I get it) and I also have skype (emma.huberman) - so no excuses for not keeping in contact with me!!
But seeing as everyone does a blog when they go travelling, I thought I'd follow the trend and set one up too so that I can keep you all up to date with all my trips, stories and adventures as I go along & will probably update it at least once a week.
I'm just packing as we speak (last minute I know) and at the moment I have a bag weighing about 40 kilos, and the thought of halving what I have already packed + taking out most of my makeup/toiletries/jewlerry/straightners is very scary thought, but everyones told me I'm going to turn into such a Bohemian hippie that soon enough I'm not even gonna care about any of that stuff (hmmm, we'll see...)
At the moment, Im feeling 95% excited and 5% apprehensive, which I'm guessing is entirely normal. My biggest fear is that of being totally independent and especially after being so sheltered from the real world by my upbringing in North West London, I'm sure I am going to find it a real culture shock, but in many ways becomming so independent and able to fend completely for myself is probably the thing I'm most excited to achieve. Its 3:00am now so I should probably go to sleep as I have a lot of very emotional goodbyes to be saying tomorrow.
Lots of Love,
Em xxxx
So as most of you know, I'm off travelling tomorrow to South America, Australasia and South-East Asia for the best part of the next 8 months. I will be taking a blackberry with me (but hope to use it as little as possible), as well as a South American phone (I will post numbers & details on here when I get it) and I also have skype (emma.huberman) - so no excuses for not keeping in contact with me!!
But seeing as everyone does a blog when they go travelling, I thought I'd follow the trend and set one up too so that I can keep you all up to date with all my trips, stories and adventures as I go along & will probably update it at least once a week.
I'm just packing as we speak (last minute I know) and at the moment I have a bag weighing about 40 kilos, and the thought of halving what I have already packed + taking out most of my makeup/toiletries/jewlerry/straightners is very scary thought, but everyones told me I'm going to turn into such a Bohemian hippie that soon enough I'm not even gonna care about any of that stuff (hmmm, we'll see...)
At the moment, Im feeling 95% excited and 5% apprehensive, which I'm guessing is entirely normal. My biggest fear is that of being totally independent and especially after being so sheltered from the real world by my upbringing in North West London, I'm sure I am going to find it a real culture shock, but in many ways becomming so independent and able to fend completely for myself is probably the thing I'm most excited to achieve. Its 3:00am now so I should probably go to sleep as I have a lot of very emotional goodbyes to be saying tomorrow.
Lots of Love,
Em xxxx
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