Destination Three- Argentina (Buenos Aires)

Hi, now that its getting closer to me going away (flying out on Monday =O) I felt that I should get on with the updates.

Ben is leaving on Saturday 17th September, leaving me in Buenos Aires by myself for five days. I have dreamed of going to the Big BA since I was tiny, and to be fulfilling this dream is amazing;

Argentina has an amazing history which has left it with a rich culture including the famous Tango and, of course, red wine and beef!!! I am looking forward to seeing the Tango shows in Teatro Colon and street dance at the Avenue Florida, although it doesn't sound like the friendliest of places for vegetarians!!!

Argentine history is well known for Eva 'Evita' Peron whom to me is a major influence and intriguing figure, she dies in the 1952 at the age of 33 from cancer having risen from an illegitimate family in the Patagonia, to being the first lady of Argentina and heading the still in power Peronism party. The peronist party believed that the rich should share with the poor, and her beliefs lead to the then largest social reforms seen on a global scale, she earned the nickname of 'Evita' (Little Eva) for her seemingly angelic intentions, in the long run the name spawned the theatre musical Evita. Her death led to one of the most weird posthumous political histories whereby her embalmed body was stolen by the following dictatorship, hidden in attics and cinemas before finally being buried in Germany under an assumed name. Finally in the 1970's her husband came back in power and brought home her body before he himself died. She is now buried in the Recolata cemetery where I will be visiting on my journey, and I will also be visiting her home and museums;

 

I am now packed for my travels, and will hopefully get enough time to update the blog for Costa Rica, Bolivia, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay and Atlanta before I go but I dont think I will get through them all (sorry =(!!!) however I will update properly what I am up to as soon as I go, with photos and stories of my time in Arequipa etc.

Speak Soon Guys =D

Destination Two: Peru

So, Ben and I are spending the largest portion of our time in Peru and therefore most of our touring will be in the massive, yet sparse country. Geographically the country is fascinating for its changing landscape; Desert, Rain forest, Mountains and Oceanic area are all there with their associated climatic differences.

We land first in Lima, the capital city of Peru and will spend a number of days here with the hope of acclimatisation to the climate and to the massive culture shock of the fact that Lima has one of the worlds largest shanty towns and hence this wealth difference will be an issue which will be presented to us throughout our stay in Peru, as the pictures shows, in one city you can have the lowest and poorest people near the highest and wealthiest people;

After a few days in Lima we will then be getting a TWENTY-FIVE HOUR bus to Arequipa in the south of the country. Here we will be spending around 28 days. Arequipa is Spanish for 'White City' as a result of the use of volcanic rock for building material; the city lies at the base of three huge active volcanoes!!! Probably not a good idea with my track record in Geography and already having one disrupted holiday due to the Icelandic volcano last year =(. Arequipa has a more reliable climate with nice temperatures of around 25 degrees (Celsius) all year round, and is located just hours away from Colca Canyon (worlds deepest canyon) and around six hours away from Cuzco; the entrance to the Inca Trail;

I expect we will work in the project five days a week, and spend the weekdays on tours around some of Peru, I plan NOT to walk the Inca Trail as it would probably kill me!! But we are going to get a steam train with a glass roof to the one day trail (relatively flat) which will be better for time and will not leave me ill ha ha!!!! To see Machu Pichu is a dream I've been waiting for years to do, and I hope to spend quite a long time there when we eventually get to it. Ive just found out that it is 100 years today since Machu Pichu (the lost city) was rediscovered, quite an apt time to go I think lol!!

After the project and hence the homestay finishes, we head to Bolivia, which will hopefully be my next update =D See you soon!!

Destination One: Miami

So, I have four and a half weeks till the travel adventure begins and I thought it would make sense to go through some of the main places I am going to and what I want to do there.

Miami, Florida is my first destination and through the three months I am going there three times (mainly a gateway to other places). I have been to Miami twice before, 2010 being the last time with my Grandad, Shana and Larry, it is a very fun place to be with a constant buzz of people primarily around the South Beach area with people on rollerblades and a lots of motorbikes around the front promenade;

When I went it was quite wet and humid, but the temperature was nice allowing us to hang on the beach even with the rain clouds (something I could never EVER do with the north sea lol!). When there we went to Versaces house, although I had my photo taken there, I didnt realsie he was actually shot there, so here I am laughing and taking photos in the place a poor man was shot dead =S;

When Ben and I go, we plan to simply head to the promenade, have a walk, grab some pancakes with Maple Syrup (yum yum) and head back for our very very early 7am departure to Lima, Peru =D. But when I come back late Septemberm heading to my Grandads house, I plan to spend  a little more time there; I have been invited to look around the Miami Childrens Hospital where they have a Radio Lollipop branch (a charity for which I work) and I also want to have a look around the university (never hurts to have a look around, assess potential future opportunites ;-) lol). The cruise ships there are huge! the new Freedom of the Seas (worlds largest passenger ship) is moored there so I fancy goign to see her and have a brief look around....one of my dream hols! All in all I am not going to be in Miami for long, just a few visits but im looking forward to them as Miami is a very exciting and interesting city =D (32 days to go!)

Next Update- Destination Two: Peru

The Projects

Hi again, just thought i'd explain more of the projects I will be involved with when im away. I begin my journey with Ben (seen here carrying Laura in York, I had to put you in Laura lol!)

 

We decided to go to South America (ok it was mostly me wanting to go to Machu Pichu, but for this purpose I will say we) and fancied doing something which would make a difference to the world and also which would enhance and give meaning to our travels. We found a small independant travel company called I-to-I who offer ethical volutourism all over the world, including in Peru. We originally booked up to work with orphans in Trujillo, in the very North of the country however there were several issues (main one being the orphanage was wahsed away in a storm!!!) and then decided to transfer to a project in Arequipa, a large city in the very South of country to work with disadvantaged children in workshops (please see below). In this project, we will be working with children to increase their social interaction with adults in a society where economical reasons means that parents have very limited personal time with their children; we will help by playing games, teaching english, teaching life skills such as cooking and generally just attempting to talk and comfort them.

After Arequipa, Ben and I are travelling around South America before seperating. He will be returning home and I will be going on to Florida for a week before going to Costa Rica. Here I booked again with I-to-I, and I will be working with conservationists, living on the beaches of Costa Rica (with no electricity or hot water!!!) to help conserve the endangered giant sea turtles. This coincides with my degree and is a major interest of mine so I felt it was worthwhile to give conservation a go as a prelude to my decision of future career paths, but I cant think of anything better than living on a beach for just under a month in the hot climate of the Caribbean Sea!!;

Ok so that was a quick update on the projects and reasons behind the travelling, if anyone has any questions, or fancies enquiring about similar projects just ask =D

Welcome

Hi Guys,

So this is my first ever blog, its taking me a while to work out how to use this thing! I thought I would start my first blog by introducing what im going to do, and a rough guide on where I am going and when;

1st August- Fly to London
2nd August- Fly to Miami
3rd August- Fly to Bogota and then onwards to Lima (business class, woop woop!!!)
4th August to the 2nd September- Community work in Arequipa with disadvantaged children; we will be working on their english, cooking and social skills, with emphasis on fun activites including games and crafts (on weekends go to Machu Pichu and Colca Canyon etc)
2nd September to 21st September- Travel around South America including Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay
21st September- Fly from Buenos Aires to Bogota and then onwards to Miami
22nd September to 1st October- Spending time with my Grandad in sunny Florida =D

1st October- Fly to Atlanta and onwards to San Jose Airport, Costa Rica
2nd October to 22nd October- Working with conservationists aiming to save the endangered Sea Turtles on the beaches of Costa Rica =D

23rd October- Fly to Atlanta
23rd October to 28th October- Spend time with Aunty Shana and Uncle Larry in Atlanta =D!!!!!

29th October- Go home =( Fly into London, then onwards to Newcastle, back to reality!!
30th October- Back to work!!!!

So, I have 13 flights, 6 airport hotels, and 89 days away!!! Im looking forward to it, just 56 day to go =D