It was finally time for us to leave Argentina. We had booked all of our flights as a package before we left Korea. This had been working out well for us until it was time to head to Costa Rica. We had originally planned on traveling in Brazil but decided against it due to the headache of obtaining a visa. To get a Brazil visa you need your tickets in and out booked, lots of paperwork and a hotel booked for your entire stay. As you can imagine this is very hard for backpackers. As we were on a tight budget we didn't want to spend money on tickets if we were not guaranteed a visa. We decided to spend our last weeks in Argentina instead of dealing with the visa. The problem was that we had already bought our ticket to Costa Rica: leaving from Rio de Janiero, Brazil! To avoid the visa we bought a ticket into Rio the same day as our flight out. Problem solved we thought! We were wrong. In order to change airlines in the airport you still need a visa! We hurried to the embassy to sort out our problem. There were no appointments open for over three weeks! We were suppose to leave in a week! We scrambled around emailing everyone at the embassy and were finally granted an emergency appointment. We ended up getting the visa in 24 hours and had no trouble. We though that by skipping Brazil we would be saving a lot of money, instead we spent the money and experienced a major panic attack for free!
We left Buenos Aires and took a 7pm flight to Rio de Janiero. Our flight was of course delayed so we arrived in Rio around midnight. We were both stopped at immigration as we only had ten day visas which are very rare so red flags were raised. After getting through immigration we had 4 hours to wait until we could check in for our next flights. Finally we could check in. We thought we were in the clear until we were informed that our flight to Costa Rica may be delayed due to weather. This was a huge problem for us as we had flights from Rio to Lima, Peru and from Lima to San Jose, Costa Rica. Because our visa was already used, and we didn't need one for Peru, we decided to test our luck and take our flight to Lima. This flight was of course delayed. We arrived in Lima over an hour later but luckily our Lima to San Jose flight was also delayed! After a few unexpected hours in Lima we finally set off for Costa Rica. We were suppose to arrive at 2:00pm but arrived around 6:00pm. Our poor driver had waited for us the entire time! After meeting up with Mario we headed off of the three hour journey to Manuel Antonio. Because we had arrived so late we were unable to see much of the landscape. Looking back this worked out well as we were exhausted for our 30+ hours of travel and our night in the airport. We arrived at our hotel, checked in and went straight for dinner. We found this open air bar/restaurant right on the beach. After a much needed margarita and dinner we headed off to bed. We spent Friday relaxing on the beach and exploring the town. The water was so warm, clear and inviting! We spent the night at dinner and enjoying our surroundings.
On Saturday we spent the morning on the beach. We read books, walked in the sand and waited for my dad, Robin and my brother to arrive! They finally arrived around 6:00pm and we all headed off for dinner. It was so exciting to see them. I couldn't contain my excitement all day. I was literally shaking waiting for them to arrive. I hadn't seen my dad and Jordan since May of 2011 and Robin since August of 2010. It was surreal to have them in Costa Rica!
We all spent the next four days enjoying the beautiful weather. It did rain one evening but we were lucky and had great days. One day we went on a zip line tour. We climbed up this mountain and began the journey. It consisted of 10 different zip lines, 2 repels and a Tarzan swing. The entire course was in the tree tops and we didn't touch solid ground for over an hour! It was thrilling, terrifying and fantastic! We spent another day exploring Manuel Antonio National Park. It is the most visited park in Costa Rica. We saw dozens of wild monkeys, which I am not a fan of: thank you Malaysia, sloths, iguanas and other animals. However, most of our time was spent on the white sand with beers or books in hand. We spent our nights in open air restaurants enjoying fresh seafood and drinks. Thursday came all too quickly and Fred and I had to leave Costa Rica. We left our hotel at 2:00am for the three hour van ride back to San Jose. Our first flight was at 6:00am to El Salvador. From there we flew to Los Angeles, Phoenix and finally Minneapolis. We arrived around midnight and were greeted by friends and family. It was so exciting and surprising to see so many people that we had missed over our travels and years in Korea. We were truly overwhelmed with emotions and excitement for being home!
We loved our travels over the past 5+ months. As we were planning everything it seemed so surreal. We were unsure if we had made the right decision in traveling for so long after being gone for almost two and a half years. As we traveled we learned that we made the right choice. We met amazing people, saw breathtaking scenes and experienced so many cities. We would not trade this experience for anything!
Friday, February 17, 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Happy New Year
On Wednesday we left Buenos Aires and headed to Montevideo, Uruguay. We woke up early and taxied to the ferry terminal after checking out of the apartment in Recoleta. We checked in after a long wait in a cramped room, quickly went through immigration for both countries and boarded the ferry to Uruguay. After an hour and a half we reached the city of Colonia. From there, we took a bus for about two hours into Montevideo. The bus was a surprise, as we thought that we had booked ferry tickets for the entire journey. The bus was very nice, though, and it was pleasant to ride through the countryside of Uruguay. We were all surprised at what we saw. During some sections of the journey we passed lush evergreen forests and in other areas we passed vast, golden fields. It was a great way to see a bit more of the country! After arriving at the bus terminal, we took a taxi to our hotel, checked in and went out for dinner. We went to an excellent grill restaurant walking distance from our hotel. Fred, Kevin and Holly all enjoyed beef and I had delicious chicken. After we were stuffed with meat, wine and mashed potatoes we headed back to the hotel for an evening drink.
Thursday morning we woke up and headed to the beach. We walked along the beachfront for a while and enjoyed the warm weather. After that, we took a city bus to the 'old city' section of Montevideo. We stumbled upon a nice market there and picked up a few souvenirs. We then strolled along a pedestrian road and took in all the sites. In the afternoon we stopped for sandwiches at an outdoor cafe. We then cleaned up at the hotel and had pre-dinner drinks at a fantastic place. It was called 'The Old Man and the Sea.' We sat outside right next to the ocean. It was very relaxing and peaceful and reminded us all of Maine. For dinner we went to another wonderful restaurant, La Perdiz. Again, we feasted on steak, chicken, mashed potatoes, salad and Uruguayan wine. The restaurant even gave us each a glass of champagne! It was a great meal that we will never forget.
The old city
'The Old Man and the Sea'
Iced tea or whiskey?
Friday came and went quickly. Fred came down with the flu unfortunately, so we spent most of the day relaxing in the hotel. Kevin and Holly explored the city and did some shopping. The three of us also relaxed on the hotel rooftop as Fred rested. For dinner, the three of us went out to a place near our hotel. Though it wasn't our favorite meal of the trip, we still had a good evening. On New Years Eve we all headed out on a tour to one of the most popular beaches in the country, Punta del Este. This area is known for its resorts and its beautiful outdoor scenery. We toured an area filled with celebrity houses, went to an overview lookout point, saw a famous artist's cliffside house and had free time near the beach. The weather was warm and sunny. It was a great way to prepare for the New Year. Unfortunately, I came down with the flu at the end of the day. Once we were back at the hotel I rested and Fred, Kevin and Holly had drinks and dinner at the hotel. Fred woke me up at 11:50pm and I joined them on the rooftop for Montevideo's firework display. We were all amazed at what we saw. There were fireworks everywhere! I had never seen anything like this. Everywhere we looked we saw the sky exploding in color. It put some of our Fourth of July celebrations to shame. The main fireworks lasted for at least a half hour, however many continued until morning. It was a great way to welcome 2012!
On Sunday we woke up and took a ferry straight from Montevideo to Buenos Aires. This ferry took around three hours. It was nice to avoid the bus leg of the journey. The ferry was huge, full of snack bars, Duty Free shopping and lots of areas to relax in. When we arrived back in Buenos Aires it was time for Kevin and Holly to head to the airport. It was very hard to part with them after eight wonderful days together. We made sure that they got a ride to Ezeiza, said our goodbyes, then headed back to San Telmo. Fred and I were so happy that we had the opportunity to spend some time with them on this trip. They were really fun travel companions and it was so nice to see some familiar faces. We enjoyed talking and experiencing everything with them. Thank you so much for visiting us!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Thursday morning we woke up and headed to the beach. We walked along the beachfront for a while and enjoyed the warm weather. After that, we took a city bus to the 'old city' section of Montevideo. We stumbled upon a nice market there and picked up a few souvenirs. We then strolled along a pedestrian road and took in all the sites. In the afternoon we stopped for sandwiches at an outdoor cafe. We then cleaned up at the hotel and had pre-dinner drinks at a fantastic place. It was called 'The Old Man and the Sea.' We sat outside right next to the ocean. It was very relaxing and peaceful and reminded us all of Maine. For dinner we went to another wonderful restaurant, La Perdiz. Again, we feasted on steak, chicken, mashed potatoes, salad and Uruguayan wine. The restaurant even gave us each a glass of champagne! It was a great meal that we will never forget.
The old city
'The Old Man and the Sea'
Iced tea or whiskey?
Friday came and went quickly. Fred came down with the flu unfortunately, so we spent most of the day relaxing in the hotel. Kevin and Holly explored the city and did some shopping. The three of us also relaxed on the hotel rooftop as Fred rested. For dinner, the three of us went out to a place near our hotel. Though it wasn't our favorite meal of the trip, we still had a good evening. On New Years Eve we all headed out on a tour to one of the most popular beaches in the country, Punta del Este. This area is known for its resorts and its beautiful outdoor scenery. We toured an area filled with celebrity houses, went to an overview lookout point, saw a famous artist's cliffside house and had free time near the beach. The weather was warm and sunny. It was a great way to prepare for the New Year. Unfortunately, I came down with the flu at the end of the day. Once we were back at the hotel I rested and Fred, Kevin and Holly had drinks and dinner at the hotel. Fred woke me up at 11:50pm and I joined them on the rooftop for Montevideo's firework display. We were all amazed at what we saw. There were fireworks everywhere! I had never seen anything like this. Everywhere we looked we saw the sky exploding in color. It put some of our Fourth of July celebrations to shame. The main fireworks lasted for at least a half hour, however many continued until morning. It was a great way to welcome 2012!
On Sunday we woke up and took a ferry straight from Montevideo to Buenos Aires. This ferry took around three hours. It was nice to avoid the bus leg of the journey. The ferry was huge, full of snack bars, Duty Free shopping and lots of areas to relax in. When we arrived back in Buenos Aires it was time for Kevin and Holly to head to the airport. It was very hard to part with them after eight wonderful days together. We made sure that they got a ride to Ezeiza, said our goodbyes, then headed back to San Telmo. Fred and I were so happy that we had the opportunity to spend some time with them on this trip. They were really fun travel companions and it was so nice to see some familiar faces. We enjoyed talking and experiencing everything with them. Thank you so much for visiting us!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Montevideo, Uruguay
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)