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Saturday, February 8, 2014
Rebecca Tello is still waiting for you to join Twitter...
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Rebecca Tello sent you an invitation
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Saturday, August 14, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
New York Supper Club
More pics still to come...
but, here is news of a joint blog I just started tonight now that I am back in the city.
The theme is pretty different, but equally impassioned.
xo!
www.newyorksupperclub.blogspot.com
but, here is news of a joint blog I just started tonight now that I am back in the city.
The theme is pretty different, but equally impassioned.
xo!
www.newyorksupperclub.blogspot.com
Sunday, January 10, 2010
So- I said I would have one last adventure, and I did. Got off my flight in Miami- everything is a mess- as it usually seems to be there, and after waiti le) that my flight to NYC was canceled. Not only this- but I had a train to Boston booked at 3:00 am- which was clear that I was going to miss (why didn't I just fly to boston you might ask? Well that's a whole other story to do with my round the world ticket and the fact that Logan closes at night). Sureenough- I could not get a flight out until 8:00 am this morning, and I checked into the airport hotel they provided for the night. Thanks to my forcefulness this morning, I got to the airport early this morning and was able to board on standby an earlier flight to laguardia at 6:30 am. However here I arr
ive at laguardia , and I have no way booked of grttig to Boston. That was fun too- between my credit card being declined a few times, and then a wild goong and waiting for my luggage and stressing about missing my next flight, I see a very official looking announcement ( a hand scrawled note taped to a pose chase around laguardia which included three terminal bus rides----but!!!! Finally I am checked in to a flight to boston, and waiting to board, 200 dollars plus an unexpected 35 dolllar checked bag fee later. Fun.
The whole thing was pretty stressful, however I think that I was most stressed on my first flight, since I have wanted to go home so badly all week, and I felt like I was just waiting for some disaster to hit. However, once it did, I was sort of better able to accept it and I was much less stressed about the whole thing.
Anyways. I was floored how cold Miami was.
----cut off---
sent from iphone
ive at laguardia , and I have no way booked of grttig to Boston. That was fun too- between my credit card being declined a few times, and then a wild goong and waiting for my luggage and stressing about missing my next flight, I see a very official looking announcement ( a hand scrawled note taped to a pose chase around laguardia which included three terminal bus rides----but!!!! Finally I am checked in to a flight to boston, and waiting to board, 200 dollars plus an unexpected 35 dolllar checked bag fee later. Fun.
The whole thing was pretty stressful, however I think that I was most stressed on my first flight, since I have wanted to go home so badly all week, and I felt like I was just waiting for some disaster to hit. However, once it did, I was sort of better able to accept it and I was much less stressed about the whole thing.
Anyways. I was floored how cold Miami was.
----cut off---
sent from iphone
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Flight delayed by an hour.
The fun begins. Haha
However, atleast I got my tickets printed successfully- I was worried for a minute I might not get on my flight, since this time was no different from any other recent airport check in, meaning that it took about 45 minutes to sort out the mess of my round the world ticket. That was the last check in though!! Yikes!
Let's hope my flight isn't delayed any further and I can still make the connection from Miami
Hast luego!
Sitting by the pool at the hotel that I stayed my last night in in San Jose. Splurged a bit on a nicer place for my last night. I leave for the airport in about an hour and a half , and start the last leg of my journey home! I can't believe it. You know I have sort of been waiting to go home this week, but now that it is so close it feels a little weird- and I am a little nervous! Not sure for what exactly.
Sort of been thinking over my trip this morning- which has also been weird.
A few people have asked me this week how I have changed since I started- and it's a hard question to completly answer before I get home- maybe that is what makes me nervous.
Anyways, I'm sure ill blog later today, since I tend to do that while on layovers- so count on there being one or two last adventures to read up on.
Sort of been thinking over my trip this morning- which has also been weird.
A few people have asked me this week how I have changed since I started- and it's a hard question to completly answer before I get home- maybe that is what makes me nervous.
Anyways, I'm sure ill blog later today, since I tend to do that while on layovers- so count on there being one or two last adventures to read up on.
Gotta go pack up!
Love!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
I have been beached....
Hi All!
Still in Puerto Viejo. Still sleeping on the hammock-- tonight will be night number three-- so I guess it can't be so bad. claro. It actually has been a way more comfortable way of sleeping than I ever anticipated. Maybe I should buy one for home. hah.
Sort of just been taking it easy because I am a little bit lazy. Yesterday I rented one of the crap bikes at the hostel and I biked my butt down the 5 mile or so road to another beautiful beach, and then laid there for a few hours. Then I biked my butt back. A good way to whittle a day away. Had a good chat last night with a couple from London, and then proceeded to bed because I had to catch a 7:30 am bus back to Cahuita for a snorkeling trip that I booked. The tour was good--- I am glad I did it, but visibility was pretty poor today for whatever reason, and we didn't really get a good look at anything much at all. It was worth the money though if only to make me appreciate the Great Barrier reef all over again-- it was smiply nothing like that crystal clear water. The tour guide pointed out an octopus and we all circled and admired it, and then he proceeded to get a stick, capture it, and kill it for his dinner later. Needless to say I was a little bit disillusioned. I guess it is legal to fish on the reef though here, for whatever it is worth. The whole thing was sort of sad though, especially when it squirted black ink all over the place in a last ditch attempt to save itself.
Anyways, he dropped us off on a beach at the far end of the nature reserve here, and we had the option of walking back, which I took. I was glad I did, because I saw a perezoso for the first time ( which means sloth-- and also "lazy" in spanish appropriately. True to it's name - it pretty much didn't move while I watched it, but I was happy to see it. Also a monkey came down from a tree and we saw it about 5 feet away from us here. Pretty cool.
There are tons of americans here, which is new because I haven't meet that many most places on my trip. Mostly this is annoying- because americans on vacation generally ARE annoying, however I felt a little defensive of america today when I overheard this swedish guy going on and on about how stupid americans were and how none of them know any spanish. So, I've guess I still hung onto some american pride, because he really pissed me off with his generalizations. I should have told him I knew how to say "sloth" in spanish. I am sure he would have been very impressed.
Anyways, I am not sure what I am going to do tomorrow, and if I am going to laze around for another day, or try to see one more sight.
I'll let you know. It would be a shame to say goodbye to that hammock.
Miss you all!
xoxox
r
http://rebeccasworldadventure.blogspot.com
Still in Puerto Viejo. Still sleeping on the hammock-- tonight will be night number three-- so I guess it can't be so bad. claro. It actually has been a way more comfortable way of sleeping than I ever anticipated. Maybe I should buy one for home. hah.
Sort of just been taking it easy because I am a little bit lazy. Yesterday I rented one of the crap bikes at the hostel and I biked my butt down the 5 mile or so road to another beautiful beach, and then laid there for a few hours. Then I biked my butt back. A good way to whittle a day away. Had a good chat last night with a couple from London, and then proceeded to bed because I had to catch a 7:30 am bus back to Cahuita for a snorkeling trip that I booked. The tour was good--- I am glad I did it, but visibility was pretty poor today for whatever reason, and we didn't really get a good look at anything much at all. It was worth the money though if only to make me appreciate the Great Barrier reef all over again-- it was smiply nothing like that crystal clear water. The tour guide pointed out an octopus and we all circled and admired it, and then he proceeded to get a stick, capture it, and kill it for his dinner later. Needless to say I was a little bit disillusioned. I guess it is legal to fish on the reef though here, for whatever it is worth. The whole thing was sort of sad though, especially when it squirted black ink all over the place in a last ditch attempt to save itself.
Anyways, he dropped us off on a beach at the far end of the nature reserve here, and we had the option of walking back, which I took. I was glad I did, because I saw a perezoso for the first time ( which means sloth-- and also "lazy" in spanish appropriately. True to it's name - it pretty much didn't move while I watched it, but I was happy to see it. Also a monkey came down from a tree and we saw it about 5 feet away from us here. Pretty cool.
There are tons of americans here, which is new because I haven't meet that many most places on my trip. Mostly this is annoying- because americans on vacation generally ARE annoying, however I felt a little defensive of america today when I overheard this swedish guy going on and on about how stupid americans were and how none of them know any spanish. So, I've guess I still hung onto some american pride, because he really pissed me off with his generalizations. I should have told him I knew how to say "sloth" in spanish. I am sure he would have been very impressed.
Anyways, I am not sure what I am going to do tomorrow, and if I am going to laze around for another day, or try to see one more sight.
I'll let you know. It would be a shame to say goodbye to that hammock.
Miss you all!
xoxox
r
http://rebeccasworldadventure.blogspot.com
Monday, January 4, 2010
Puerto Viejo
So, after my monkey extravaganza, I arrived here at Puerto Viejo.
It is more touristy than my last stop, which was still sort of touristy in a sort of ecotourism way. In Cahuita I pretty much just bummed around on the beach , both black and white sand beaches, and sampled the local flavors.
Here, I took the public bus, which was of course overbooked and I had to stand for the half hour ride in the aisle. Then I heaved my mochila onto my back and headed towards the hostel I had picked from the lonely planet guide- the road was too rocky to use my handy backpack wheels which I usually do.
I checked into 'Rockin' J's' which sort of offers every sort of accomodation, from hammock, to tent, to 'pimp room'. I decieded to let the adventure continue and .... I booked a hammock. Well.... also, they had no room in the dorms left.... but I could have gone elsewhere but I decided that since I had made it through my whole trip thus far without having rented a hammock for a night, it was about time to. So I will slap on some bug spray tonight and hope for the best. I'll let you know how it goes.
And, the hammock is only $5 dollars a night, so... how wrong can you go?? Great for me since I still have no ATM card and a limited amount of cash.
Anyways I am going to go hunt for some dinner since I went sin lunch today and I am starving now. Not literally hunt... just to clarify. My trip has been, and likely will not ever get to that point of rustic-ness.
ok...
all the best
think of me rockin in my hammock!
love,
r
http://rebeccasworldadventure.blogspot.com
It is more touristy than my last stop, which was still sort of touristy in a sort of ecotourism way. In Cahuita I pretty much just bummed around on the beach , both black and white sand beaches, and sampled the local flavors.
Here, I took the public bus, which was of course overbooked and I had to stand for the half hour ride in the aisle. Then I heaved my mochila onto my back and headed towards the hostel I had picked from the lonely planet guide- the road was too rocky to use my handy backpack wheels which I usually do.
I checked into 'Rockin' J's' which sort of offers every sort of accomodation, from hammock, to tent, to 'pimp room'. I decieded to let the adventure continue and .... I booked a hammock. Well.... also, they had no room in the dorms left.... but I could have gone elsewhere but I decided that since I had made it through my whole trip thus far without having rented a hammock for a night, it was about time to. So I will slap on some bug spray tonight and hope for the best. I'll let you know how it goes.
And, the hammock is only $5 dollars a night, so... how wrong can you go?? Great for me since I still have no ATM card and a limited amount of cash.
Anyways I am going to go hunt for some dinner since I went sin lunch today and I am starving now. Not literally hunt... just to clarify. My trip has been, and likely will not ever get to that point of rustic-ness.
ok...
all the best
think of me rockin in my hammock!
love,
r
http://rebeccasworldadventure.blogspot.com
Just saw 2 monkeys up close. We had seen some ( mom, Paula and I) on the road, whIch was also pretty cool, but I just saw two on some low branches. The one that was (clearly) male was roaring away- maybe he was mating or something. They are pretty cool animals- and I don't think that I really believed that they were just hanging out until I actually saw them. So- feeling pretty good about my observation- so I thought I would share instantaneously from my phone. About to take off from cahuita and head about a half hour south to puerto viajo de talamanca. More later, xoxo
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Happy New Year!
Hi all!
Happy New Year!
Costa Rica has been great so far. I met Mom and Paula here last week (exactly now actutally), and as soon as they picked me up from the airport in our rental car we headed off on the 4 hour , but beautiful, drive to our resort-- because it was sort of on the other side of the country.
Costa Rica surprised me because somehow I had sort of grouped it in with the carribean in my head, ie. very touristy, very developed, and lots and lots of resorts. This is true in a lot of ways, however as soon as you leave the resorty areas and gdrive accross the country, you do see that as lot of it is still pretty undeveloped and looks similar to bolivia even-- -the housing is generally by our standards more or less a shack, you see the occaisional dead horse lying around on the road, you know stuff like that.
It was fun to see everything through the eyes of Mom and Paula, because frankly I have gotten to the point where I barely even notice the dead horse lying on the side of the road. But everything was fresh again seeing it with Mom and Paula, and the lanbdscape was really stunning on our drive.
When we got in we saw a rodeo going on in one of the towns, that looked pretty awesome. Also, they have horses who sort of do this little dance here and flip out their hooves---- I have to look this up to explain it better because right now it sounds like something out of alison wonderland, Im aware. But we saw that and that was pretty cool as well.
We spent a few days at the touristy, but key Tamarindo, went beach hopping, and volcanicmud and thermal spa-ing--- which was super fun, though we ended up with bug bites all over us from the outdoor spa--- which was not so fun, and then we ended up at Flamingo Beach Resort-- -the resort that I had met the daughter of the family who owns it in Australia-- rememeber? Nina. Nina was there too, and though we didn{t get to see much of each other, it was great to see her again and wild to be at her resort.
The resort was great and so relaxing, and I spent a fair amount of time near to the pool bar---- like literally you could swim over to it in the pool, and then sit in the water and be served. I thought that was pretty cool. And we celecrated Mom{s birthday, as well as new years, in style.
Anyways, Mom and Paula left yesterday, so now I have this weird last week left of my trip. I actually tried to get on a flight home yesterday, or move up my flight--- not because Costa Rica isnt amazing, but because it seems like it could have sort of been a natural end to my trip to see mom and Paula here, and I am starting to stress about things I want to get done before school starts. And I was feeling a little sick again.
But alas, all the flights are OVERBOOKED this week, so I am here, and I plan on having one last awesome week before I go. I spent the night in San Jose last night, and I am headed to the Carribean side of the country now ( the other end from the resort).
Should be great!
Miss you all and will see you very soon!!
xox
r
http://rebeccasworldadventure.blogspot.com
Happy New Year!
Costa Rica has been great so far. I met Mom and Paula here last week (exactly now actutally), and as soon as they picked me up from the airport in our rental car we headed off on the 4 hour , but beautiful, drive to our resort-- because it was sort of on the other side of the country.
Costa Rica surprised me because somehow I had sort of grouped it in with the carribean in my head, ie. very touristy, very developed, and lots and lots of resorts. This is true in a lot of ways, however as soon as you leave the resorty areas and gdrive accross the country, you do see that as lot of it is still pretty undeveloped and looks similar to bolivia even-- -the housing is generally by our standards more or less a shack, you see the occaisional dead horse lying around on the road, you know stuff like that.
It was fun to see everything through the eyes of Mom and Paula, because frankly I have gotten to the point where I barely even notice the dead horse lying on the side of the road. But everything was fresh again seeing it with Mom and Paula, and the lanbdscape was really stunning on our drive.
When we got in we saw a rodeo going on in one of the towns, that looked pretty awesome. Also, they have horses who sort of do this little dance here and flip out their hooves---- I have to look this up to explain it better because right now it sounds like something out of alison wonderland, Im aware. But we saw that and that was pretty cool as well.
We spent a few days at the touristy, but key Tamarindo, went beach hopping, and volcanicmud and thermal spa-ing--- which was super fun, though we ended up with bug bites all over us from the outdoor spa--- which was not so fun, and then we ended up at Flamingo Beach Resort-- -the resort that I had met the daughter of the family who owns it in Australia-- rememeber? Nina. Nina was there too, and though we didn{t get to see much of each other, it was great to see her again and wild to be at her resort.
The resort was great and so relaxing, and I spent a fair amount of time near to the pool bar---- like literally you could swim over to it in the pool, and then sit in the water and be served. I thought that was pretty cool. And we celecrated Mom{s birthday, as well as new years, in style.
Anyways, Mom and Paula left yesterday, so now I have this weird last week left of my trip. I actually tried to get on a flight home yesterday, or move up my flight--- not because Costa Rica isnt amazing, but because it seems like it could have sort of been a natural end to my trip to see mom and Paula here, and I am starting to stress about things I want to get done before school starts. And I was feeling a little sick again.
But alas, all the flights are OVERBOOKED this week, so I am here, and I plan on having one last awesome week before I go. I spent the night in San Jose last night, and I am headed to the Carribean side of the country now ( the other end from the resort).
Should be great!
Miss you all and will see you very soon!!
xox
r
http://rebeccasworldadventure.blogspot.com
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Hi guys!
Sending from my iPhone- so exciting. Still on his painfully long journey from bolivia and on layover in Miami. Miami airport is shaped like one big u and I was forced to walk the whole thing about three times because my round the world ticket does not like to make things easy for me, nor do partner airlines communicate with each other, despite my best attempts at proactiveness since I went to three seperate airline offices in la Paz trying to figure out why thing have been hard everytime I have recently checked in.
All well. Well despite my fears, I still had enough time to buy an English written book, and an iced coffee- though for some reason un benounced to me all the good coffee places were outside security. Still though. I got what I wanted out of my American layover.
It surprises me how bitchy everyone in this aiport is. Travellers, not workers. Like- aren't you going on vacation? About four women in front of me bitched about their coffee. Is this just the miami airport- or have I forgotten something about Americans ? Hopefully just Miami. And I guess the stress of family holidays.
Ok. Pretty soon I have to turn off the email on my phone for another two weeks. Boo. But will see mom and Paula in a few hours!
Miss you all!
R
Sent from my iPhone
Saturday, December 26, 2009
My Layover in Lima
So I might have been ready to say Goodbye to Bolvia, but it was not ready to say goodbye to me.
As you all know, I am on the round the world ticket, and I flew into Santa Cruz, which means that I must fly out of santa cruz as well. So, I had decieded that I would pay for a flight from La Paz to Santa Cruz this morning, because otherwise I wouldn´t have been able to see La Paz at all, and Santa Cruz seemed a little boring at Christmas.... blah blah blah. So yeah I fly there at at 11:30 today, leaving for the airport at 10:30, and sit there for a few hours until my 16:30 flight to Lima.
However on the flight to Lima, we start heading towards landing way earlier than I expected.... and the mountains are suspiciously familar, and sure enough the plane makes a stop to pick up people from La Paz, around 5:30 pm.... waiting about 45 painful minutes for people to load.
If only I had known, it might have saved me a full day at the airport!! ahhh!!!
Not that I should be worried about time, since I have a 6 hour layover to kill in the Lima airport. I treated myself to the VIP lounge, and now I am trying to get my money´s worth by hogging the internet and snack cafe.
Its funny, people in South American airports never seem to be in a rush. In London, or any of it´s neighboring airports, people are bolting down the 2 kilometer walk to customs, myself included, like some sort of airport marathon. But here, everyone just moseys along like they have no place to be. And there I am with a six hour layover, and no place to go, huffing and puffing behind them because I can´t stand walking so slow.... what s wrong with me?
Even though I have no possible resaon for needing to walk fast, the moseying family taking up and blocking the full hallway so no one can pass simply infuriates me.And the thing is, it really should´t because I honestly don´t think it crosses their minds that anyone wants to pass. And,when I look back in the window at the reflection of the parade of people that is piling up behind this family, I am the only one who seems to care. I guess I need to chill out.
While I am on the topic of cultural differences, there is also something lost in translation on the ettiquite of waiting in line in South America as far as I can observe. More than once, I have been waiting in line for something, or next for food at a stand or someting, or next in line for my ticket or the bathroom, and someone will walk up right in front of me like they had no idea I was waiting. Or they will push in front of me into the 1 foot space I have courtesously left between me and the guest being served and form their own line. Like..... what? hello?
I thought it was just me that was missing something, but it happened to a german woman ahead of me in the bathroom in Lima today... the woman and I were clearly standing there waiting when a woman walked right into the restroom and started to snag the door swinging open. Of course she seemed all surprised to discover that we were waiting.
Hmm...one of those mysteries I might never solve. Perhaps next time I should stand right next to the person in front of me, infringing on their personal space. Or maybe I should just get over it and let someone cut in front of me once and a while. I have no clue.
ok well, I guess I am gonna go for now! enough of that.
Miss you all!
r
http://rebeccasworldadventure.blogspot.com
As you all know, I am on the round the world ticket, and I flew into Santa Cruz, which means that I must fly out of santa cruz as well. So, I had decieded that I would pay for a flight from La Paz to Santa Cruz this morning, because otherwise I wouldn´t have been able to see La Paz at all, and Santa Cruz seemed a little boring at Christmas.... blah blah blah. So yeah I fly there at at 11:30 today, leaving for the airport at 10:30, and sit there for a few hours until my 16:30 flight to Lima.
However on the flight to Lima, we start heading towards landing way earlier than I expected.... and the mountains are suspiciously familar, and sure enough the plane makes a stop to pick up people from La Paz, around 5:30 pm.... waiting about 45 painful minutes for people to load.
If only I had known, it might have saved me a full day at the airport!! ahhh!!!
Not that I should be worried about time, since I have a 6 hour layover to kill in the Lima airport. I treated myself to the VIP lounge, and now I am trying to get my money´s worth by hogging the internet and snack cafe.
Its funny, people in South American airports never seem to be in a rush. In London, or any of it´s neighboring airports, people are bolting down the 2 kilometer walk to customs, myself included, like some sort of airport marathon. But here, everyone just moseys along like they have no place to be. And there I am with a six hour layover, and no place to go, huffing and puffing behind them because I can´t stand walking so slow.... what s wrong with me?
Even though I have no possible resaon for needing to walk fast, the moseying family taking up and blocking the full hallway so no one can pass simply infuriates me.And the thing is, it really should´t because I honestly don´t think it crosses their minds that anyone wants to pass. And,when I look back in the window at the reflection of the parade of people that is piling up behind this family, I am the only one who seems to care. I guess I need to chill out.
While I am on the topic of cultural differences, there is also something lost in translation on the ettiquite of waiting in line in South America as far as I can observe. More than once, I have been waiting in line for something, or next for food at a stand or someting, or next in line for my ticket or the bathroom, and someone will walk up right in front of me like they had no idea I was waiting. Or they will push in front of me into the 1 foot space I have courtesously left between me and the guest being served and form their own line. Like..... what? hello?
I thought it was just me that was missing something, but it happened to a german woman ahead of me in the bathroom in Lima today... the woman and I were clearly standing there waiting when a woman walked right into the restroom and started to snag the door swinging open. Of course she seemed all surprised to discover that we were waiting.
Hmm...one of those mysteries I might never solve. Perhaps next time I should stand right next to the person in front of me, infringing on their personal space. Or maybe I should just get over it and let someone cut in front of me once and a while. I have no clue.
ok well, I guess I am gonna go for now! enough of that.
Miss you all!
r
http://rebeccasworldadventure.blogspot.com
Taking off!
About to take off for 4 flights and about 24 hours almost of travel fun, jut to get to Costa Rica.
Went to the bank this morning to get another cash advance off my credit card (which always seems to be a nightmare) , since I am still sin bankcard, and I had a ferw more Bailey´s at the hostel bar than anticipated, and then I went to a salteña stand and had two last salteñas. I guess I may not have mentioned these before, but they are like mini empanadas and they are meant to be served as a snack between breakfast and lunch,so you cant really find them easily after 12 or 1 o clock. Infact, there are whole restaurants that only serve salteñas and they are only open for like 3 hours in the morning. Anyways they are delicous and sort of soupy and have chicken, or beef inside, or both, and always an egg piece, and sometimes olives or raisins. Really good. And then also a lot of people will eat them right next to the stand and help themselves to the 10 buckets of different salsas, putting a little on for each bite. So yeah, I ate two, just as a little goodbye to Bolivia.
Anyways, I guess that is all for now. A food entry.
Talk to you from Costa Rica!
xxxx
http://rebeccasworldadventure.blogspot.com
Went to the bank this morning to get another cash advance off my credit card (which always seems to be a nightmare) , since I am still sin bankcard, and I had a ferw more Bailey´s at the hostel bar than anticipated, and then I went to a salteña stand and had two last salteñas. I guess I may not have mentioned these before, but they are like mini empanadas and they are meant to be served as a snack between breakfast and lunch,so you cant really find them easily after 12 or 1 o clock. Infact, there are whole restaurants that only serve salteñas and they are only open for like 3 hours in the morning. Anyways they are delicous and sort of soupy and have chicken, or beef inside, or both, and always an egg piece, and sometimes olives or raisins. Really good. And then also a lot of people will eat them right next to the stand and help themselves to the 10 buckets of different salsas, putting a little on for each bite. So yeah, I ate two, just as a little goodbye to Bolivia.
Anyways, I guess that is all for now. A food entry.
Talk to you from Costa Rica!
xxxx
http://rebeccasworldadventure.blogspot.com
Friday, December 25, 2009
2nd Post of the day... and 2017 clicks.. thanks guys!!
Hey Guys,
Still no pics from me but I am able to load a few onto here from facebook finally, thanks to Nick who I met on my jeep tour and his uncanny ability to load photos on right away.
Here we are!
http://rebeccasworldadventure.blogspot.com
Still no pics from me but I am able to load a few onto here from facebook finally, thanks to Nick who I met on my jeep tour and his uncanny ability to load photos on right away.
Here we are!
http://rebeccasworldadventure.blogspot.com
1999 clicks and Merry Christmas
Hi all! Merry Chirstmas to all those who celebrate.
I am at 1999 clicks to my blog, and maybe it will be a holiday miracle if by the end of the day I reach 2000. It would just make me feel cool.
Christmas here is different because it is pretty warm, by east coast standards, thouh it is by no means tropical. Last night this irish hostel threw a big party in the hostel bar, and I tried to be social, but only lasted until about 11:30, and then went to bed. haha. Why did I book the party hostel again?
Today I was going to give myself a day off from cultural excursions, and watch television all day for the first time in a long while. However, ofcourse, the one time that I want to watch television is the one day that for some reason the television has been moved from the television room with no explanation. Merry Christmas. So now, I have little idea what I am going to do today because most everything is closed in La Paz, obviously. Ofcourse the bar is open all day... which may or may not sound fun.. and I signed up for the chirstmas dinner here, which should be a feast for the 20 dollars that they charge for it--- a small fortune in South America.
Yesterday I also took a little tour to some ruins near La Paz called Tiwankanu, whcih were cool and dated back pre inca times. I , again, was most into the part of the tour, where they couldn´t explain the use or the method of maing certain stones, and introduced alien theories.
Anyways,
I can´t believe that I move on tomorrow and I am going to Costa Rica- and meeting Mom and Paula. Weird. Also weird that I have to fly through Miami, so i will briefly touch down again upon american soil for the first time since August. Mostly this is exciting because I will be able to use my iphone free of charge for a few minutes. haha.
I hope you all are having a nice Christmas Day!
xxxx
http://rebeccasworldadventure.blogspot.com
I am at 1999 clicks to my blog, and maybe it will be a holiday miracle if by the end of the day I reach 2000. It would just make me feel cool.
Christmas here is different because it is pretty warm, by east coast standards, thouh it is by no means tropical. Last night this irish hostel threw a big party in the hostel bar, and I tried to be social, but only lasted until about 11:30, and then went to bed. haha. Why did I book the party hostel again?
Today I was going to give myself a day off from cultural excursions, and watch television all day for the first time in a long while. However, ofcourse, the one time that I want to watch television is the one day that for some reason the television has been moved from the television room with no explanation. Merry Christmas. So now, I have little idea what I am going to do today because most everything is closed in La Paz, obviously. Ofcourse the bar is open all day... which may or may not sound fun.. and I signed up for the chirstmas dinner here, which should be a feast for the 20 dollars that they charge for it--- a small fortune in South America.
Yesterday I also took a little tour to some ruins near La Paz called Tiwankanu, whcih were cool and dated back pre inca times. I , again, was most into the part of the tour, where they couldn´t explain the use or the method of maing certain stones, and introduced alien theories.
Anyways,
I can´t believe that I move on tomorrow and I am going to Costa Rica- and meeting Mom and Paula. Weird. Also weird that I have to fly through Miami, so i will briefly touch down again upon american soil for the first time since August. Mostly this is exciting because I will be able to use my iphone free of charge for a few minutes. haha.
I hope you all are having a nice Christmas Day!
xxxx
http://rebeccasworldadventure.blogspot.com
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Time for a post!
Wow!
So much to write about since I last wrote! It always seems like the places that I most want to write are the places that it is the hardest to get to a computer!
Anyways, last time right before I was going to make an entry, I was still in Sucre, and having a blast and was in a cheery cheery mood, when suddenly I had a flashback of memory and realized that I had left my ATM card.... in the ATM. Dont you love that, when you remember, but too little too late. I blame the fact that the atms spit your card back after you get your money, rather than before like in the states, but the reality is actually that I am just a bit of an airhead.
So that was stressful, and I would have been royally screwed if I didn´t have my credit card (which I have left in my host family´s house, thanks to some sort of foresight on my part) and I was able to get a large cash advance on it the next day.Way to go rebecca. Ofcourse, I am always locking my stuff up, thinking it will get stolen, and I am the one to mess things up.
Anyways, aside from the night spent calling the bank and whatnot, Sucre was amazing. I loved the market place there. I think that you can tell so much about a place from it´s market. Theyhad fruit juice stands and you could get whatever kind of fruit you wanted blended with water or milk, for like 40 cents. And then, I put my glass down after drinking my very delicious mix, and before I knew it, the woman at the stand had refilled my glass. I though for sure I would be charged for it, but no... the left overs are all included. So good. And worth the risk of getting sick with fruit.
There are a lot of people running around asking for money in the market, or trying to clean your shoes. One boy spent about half an hour trying to convince me that my leather strappy sandals needed to be cleaned by him, when I couldn´t really imagine what would be on them to clean. Here in La Paz, people are ashamed to work as shoe shiners, so they wear ski masks over their heads, and it looks like there are a bunch of bank robbers all walking around. Very strange and a little sad. Anyways, one boy came back asking for money about three times while having my juice, and finally when he brought his little brother by, I bought them a juice. However, the rest of the day it was like a had a stamp on my head ´¨the juice giver¨´ because little boys everywhere seemed to think I would give them something.
Anyways, I left Sucre with some people from the school, and we went by bus to Potosi, which is the highest city in the world. Literally. The bus was threee hours, so not too bad and it was interesting watching them load the bus by lowering my bag off a hook off a balcony. It is damn cold in Postosi too. Also.... I guess this is a good time to introduce the coca leaf, which is grown legally both in Peru and Bolivia. So, yes, the coca leaf can be used to make cocaine. But using coco leaves is not like using cocaine, it´s more comprable to caffine. Many people will chew the leaves and let them sit in their cheek for a few hours, and when you first get here you think that everyone has some sort of cheek tumor. Anways, it is available, if not reccomended when you are at high altitudes, because it is supposed to ease alititude sickness, which I do think that I suffered a bit from. Mostly when carrying my bag around, I would be pretty aware of the burning in my chest, my bosy searching for the other 15% of oxygen that I was used to.
Between altitude sickess and food issues, I have been sick pretty much everyother day. But it´s ok because Bolivia is so so cool. Potosi was once the richest city in south america because of the mines there. Now all the silver is pretty much gone, and they are only mining the cheap supplies of tin and zinc, however there are still 10,000 people working in the mines. I had a chance to go on a tour of the mines, where people were working, and it was one of the more intense experiences I have had. The mines are not a touroist attraction, people actually work there, wo it was sort of haszardous to go, which is why I thought I would write about it after I made it out haha. Basically, we went in for about two hours and were able to see the conditions that these workers were exposed to. We got dressed head to toe in work clothes and boots and went in. There are no lights, only our head lamps, and we literally had to crawl through tiny spaces on our hands and knees sometimes to get through. The air quality is horrible, and the life expectacy of a miner is only about 45 years old because of all the crap that gets into the lungs, most hazardous is the dust actually, but also mold and asbesdous ( how do you spell that-?). We met many miners and handed out gifts of coca leaves and gloves and juice and stuff, which is pretty much expected for traipsing on their territory. We met a boy who was 14 years old working there. The miners all work for themselves, so they supply their own materials, and if they don´t find anything, they don´t make any money. A few times toward the end, I could feel a panic attack approaching because I wanted to get out so bad and I felt like I was going to suffocate- which my body probably thought that I was between the air quality, exercise, and altitude´- and I had to close my eyes and think calm thoughts. I can´t wait to post pictures of this. And a video. really intense for me. Something everyone should do if they are ever here, but I would never do it again. What was so amazing though was how friendly and jovial the miners were- it was inspiring to me.
Anyways. so that was big for me. The same day I took a night bus to Uyuni, which was fricking cold as well, and thankfully I had made friends with the chilean guy next to me, and he shared his al paca blanket so that I didn´t freeze. There is no heat obviously on the bus. And this bus waws seven hours, and they had oversold it, and people were sleeping on the floor of the aisle, and one guy even stood the whole time. It was nice because I knew people from the school on that bus too. Oh man, and at the rest stop, which was literally one little building in the middle of nowhere, a bunch of people had to push the bus along the road to get it started, and I didn´t even realize it was leaving, so I had to hop on it while it was moving away... ahh!!! Oh yeah, and only about an hour of that ride was paved.
The other big experience was a 3 day jeep tour that I just took of the most amazing scenery I have evern seen. It included endless beautiful mountains, the largest salt flat in the world- where it looks like cactuces are growing next to ice, but really it is salt, a red lagoon, a green lagoon, acres and acres of ancient coral as we drove through what was once the sea bottom, llamas, flamingos by the thousand, an old train graveyard, volcanic rock, and active volcano, and a volcanic hotspring. The trip was so amazing that I think that I just have to post pictures because I can´t dscribe it. But it was super fun, and the tour was with five other people in a jeep so I made some friends. I have a few pics on facebook, but I am not able to get them on my blog right now...... ahhh-.
Anyways, now I am in La Paz for Chirstmas, and I kind of coped out and I am staying at an irish hostel that has a big christmas celebration. Not very Bolivian.
Ok, there is no heat at this internet cafe and I am freezing, so I am going to go! Miss you all!!
http://rebeccasworldadventure.blogspot.com
So much to write about since I last wrote! It always seems like the places that I most want to write are the places that it is the hardest to get to a computer!
Anyways, last time right before I was going to make an entry, I was still in Sucre, and having a blast and was in a cheery cheery mood, when suddenly I had a flashback of memory and realized that I had left my ATM card.... in the ATM. Dont you love that, when you remember, but too little too late. I blame the fact that the atms spit your card back after you get your money, rather than before like in the states, but the reality is actually that I am just a bit of an airhead.
So that was stressful, and I would have been royally screwed if I didn´t have my credit card (which I have left in my host family´s house, thanks to some sort of foresight on my part) and I was able to get a large cash advance on it the next day.Way to go rebecca. Ofcourse, I am always locking my stuff up, thinking it will get stolen, and I am the one to mess things up.
Anyways, aside from the night spent calling the bank and whatnot, Sucre was amazing. I loved the market place there. I think that you can tell so much about a place from it´s market. Theyhad fruit juice stands and you could get whatever kind of fruit you wanted blended with water or milk, for like 40 cents. And then, I put my glass down after drinking my very delicious mix, and before I knew it, the woman at the stand had refilled my glass. I though for sure I would be charged for it, but no... the left overs are all included. So good. And worth the risk of getting sick with fruit.
There are a lot of people running around asking for money in the market, or trying to clean your shoes. One boy spent about half an hour trying to convince me that my leather strappy sandals needed to be cleaned by him, when I couldn´t really imagine what would be on them to clean. Here in La Paz, people are ashamed to work as shoe shiners, so they wear ski masks over their heads, and it looks like there are a bunch of bank robbers all walking around. Very strange and a little sad. Anyways, one boy came back asking for money about three times while having my juice, and finally when he brought his little brother by, I bought them a juice. However, the rest of the day it was like a had a stamp on my head ´¨the juice giver¨´ because little boys everywhere seemed to think I would give them something.
Anyways, I left Sucre with some people from the school, and we went by bus to Potosi, which is the highest city in the world. Literally. The bus was threee hours, so not too bad and it was interesting watching them load the bus by lowering my bag off a hook off a balcony. It is damn cold in Postosi too. Also.... I guess this is a good time to introduce the coca leaf, which is grown legally both in Peru and Bolivia. So, yes, the coca leaf can be used to make cocaine. But using coco leaves is not like using cocaine, it´s more comprable to caffine. Many people will chew the leaves and let them sit in their cheek for a few hours, and when you first get here you think that everyone has some sort of cheek tumor. Anways, it is available, if not reccomended when you are at high altitudes, because it is supposed to ease alititude sickness, which I do think that I suffered a bit from. Mostly when carrying my bag around, I would be pretty aware of the burning in my chest, my bosy searching for the other 15% of oxygen that I was used to.
Between altitude sickess and food issues, I have been sick pretty much everyother day. But it´s ok because Bolivia is so so cool. Potosi was once the richest city in south america because of the mines there. Now all the silver is pretty much gone, and they are only mining the cheap supplies of tin and zinc, however there are still 10,000 people working in the mines. I had a chance to go on a tour of the mines, where people were working, and it was one of the more intense experiences I have had. The mines are not a touroist attraction, people actually work there, wo it was sort of haszardous to go, which is why I thought I would write about it after I made it out haha. Basically, we went in for about two hours and were able to see the conditions that these workers were exposed to. We got dressed head to toe in work clothes and boots and went in. There are no lights, only our head lamps, and we literally had to crawl through tiny spaces on our hands and knees sometimes to get through. The air quality is horrible, and the life expectacy of a miner is only about 45 years old because of all the crap that gets into the lungs, most hazardous is the dust actually, but also mold and asbesdous ( how do you spell that-?). We met many miners and handed out gifts of coca leaves and gloves and juice and stuff, which is pretty much expected for traipsing on their territory. We met a boy who was 14 years old working there. The miners all work for themselves, so they supply their own materials, and if they don´t find anything, they don´t make any money. A few times toward the end, I could feel a panic attack approaching because I wanted to get out so bad and I felt like I was going to suffocate- which my body probably thought that I was between the air quality, exercise, and altitude´- and I had to close my eyes and think calm thoughts. I can´t wait to post pictures of this. And a video. really intense for me. Something everyone should do if they are ever here, but I would never do it again. What was so amazing though was how friendly and jovial the miners were- it was inspiring to me.
Anyways. so that was big for me. The same day I took a night bus to Uyuni, which was fricking cold as well, and thankfully I had made friends with the chilean guy next to me, and he shared his al paca blanket so that I didn´t freeze. There is no heat obviously on the bus. And this bus waws seven hours, and they had oversold it, and people were sleeping on the floor of the aisle, and one guy even stood the whole time. It was nice because I knew people from the school on that bus too. Oh man, and at the rest stop, which was literally one little building in the middle of nowhere, a bunch of people had to push the bus along the road to get it started, and I didn´t even realize it was leaving, so I had to hop on it while it was moving away... ahh!!! Oh yeah, and only about an hour of that ride was paved.
The other big experience was a 3 day jeep tour that I just took of the most amazing scenery I have evern seen. It included endless beautiful mountains, the largest salt flat in the world- where it looks like cactuces are growing next to ice, but really it is salt, a red lagoon, a green lagoon, acres and acres of ancient coral as we drove through what was once the sea bottom, llamas, flamingos by the thousand, an old train graveyard, volcanic rock, and active volcano, and a volcanic hotspring. The trip was so amazing that I think that I just have to post pictures because I can´t dscribe it. But it was super fun, and the tour was with five other people in a jeep so I made some friends. I have a few pics on facebook, but I am not able to get them on my blog right now...... ahhh-.
Anyways, now I am in La Paz for Chirstmas, and I kind of coped out and I am staying at an irish hostel that has a big christmas celebration. Not very Bolivian.
Ok, there is no heat at this internet cafe and I am freezing, so I am going to go! Miss you all!!
http://rebeccasworldadventure.blogspot.com
Monday, December 14, 2009
ps
and ps.
the charger for my phone DOES work!!!... in case anyone urgently needs to text me! I am back inh touch with the world
http://rebeccasworldadventure.blogspot.com
the charger for my phone DOES work!!!... in case anyone urgently needs to text me! I am back inh touch with the world
http://rebeccasworldadventure.blogspot.com
Sucre, Bolivia
Hello all,
So I arrived in Sucre finally. The plane ride was even shorter than I thought.. it literally had to be 25 minutes, so I was pretty glad that I took it rather than the ridiculously long bus ride. They still managed to squeeze in a drink and a snack on the flight, which I thought was pretty generous.
Unfortunately I am a little sick again, which sort of started on the plane. I never got in touch with my host family yesterday, but I was actually a little bit glad because all i wanted to do was stay in bed, which I did after ¨splurging" on a private hotel room for myself, the the cost of about 13 american dollars. Feeling a little better, but still a little sick today, and I dug out my antibiotics from the travel clinic at home for the first time.
Sucre is really beautiful- very colonial and all whitewashed. Still haven´t seen a super large amount of it, because I pretty much just went to class today, met my family, had lunch with them, and slept a little more since I am still feeling crappy. However, walking though the center of it near the school- it is jsut beautiful, and actually looks more like Spain than my usual idea of South America. Very different looking from Santa Cruz.
The host family seems great. There are three daughters, all pretty young, and a woman who I understand to be the live in help, and her daughter, and a mother and a father. And a dog. The father wasn´t there for lunch, so it was just a whole bunch of girls, which was kind of nice. I alternate between being impressed with my level of spanish for how long I have studied it, and thinking that I literally can´t communicate anything I want to.
The house is pretty far from the school it seems, though they say that it is only about a 15 minute walk. It seemed like a 15 mintue taxi to me though-- and I took a taxi back into town. I think the driver thought it was weird that I took one, but I didn´t know my way, and at about 60 cents, I couldn´t complain.
The class I was placed in is reviewing basics again, but I am not really upset about it, because though I know it, I don´t always know it super fast, so I guess it is good that that is what I am doing. Also, it seems that there are other people travelling alone, so maybe I will be able to find someone to go to the salt flats with, which would be good.
Anyways, I want to take another look around before it gets too dark.
Miss you all!
r
http://rebeccasworldadventure.blogspot.com
So I arrived in Sucre finally. The plane ride was even shorter than I thought.. it literally had to be 25 minutes, so I was pretty glad that I took it rather than the ridiculously long bus ride. They still managed to squeeze in a drink and a snack on the flight, which I thought was pretty generous.
Unfortunately I am a little sick again, which sort of started on the plane. I never got in touch with my host family yesterday, but I was actually a little bit glad because all i wanted to do was stay in bed, which I did after ¨splurging" on a private hotel room for myself, the the cost of about 13 american dollars. Feeling a little better, but still a little sick today, and I dug out my antibiotics from the travel clinic at home for the first time.
Sucre is really beautiful- very colonial and all whitewashed. Still haven´t seen a super large amount of it, because I pretty much just went to class today, met my family, had lunch with them, and slept a little more since I am still feeling crappy. However, walking though the center of it near the school- it is jsut beautiful, and actually looks more like Spain than my usual idea of South America. Very different looking from Santa Cruz.
The host family seems great. There are three daughters, all pretty young, and a woman who I understand to be the live in help, and her daughter, and a mother and a father. And a dog. The father wasn´t there for lunch, so it was just a whole bunch of girls, which was kind of nice. I alternate between being impressed with my level of spanish for how long I have studied it, and thinking that I literally can´t communicate anything I want to.
The house is pretty far from the school it seems, though they say that it is only about a 15 minute walk. It seemed like a 15 mintue taxi to me though-- and I took a taxi back into town. I think the driver thought it was weird that I took one, but I didn´t know my way, and at about 60 cents, I couldn´t complain.
The class I was placed in is reviewing basics again, but I am not really upset about it, because though I know it, I don´t always know it super fast, so I guess it is good that that is what I am doing. Also, it seems that there are other people travelling alone, so maybe I will be able to find someone to go to the salt flats with, which would be good.
Anyways, I want to take another look around before it gets too dark.
Miss you all!
r
http://rebeccasworldadventure.blogspot.com
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