Kyle in Argentina

Hello Old Friends

2008-05-13T21:21:00.000-07:00

Welcome back!
I am planning to keep writing here as I transition from South America adventures to NYC.

Hilarious article

I had an amazing time in South America, and if my life weren't filled with so much excitement I might be lamenting the fact that I'm gone. However, I can say this is currently one of the best periods of my life and looking back on South America I have only fond memories and no regrets.

Today I bought a plane ticket for New York City leaving a week from today! I am bring two suitcases and a head full of wishful thinking and big dreams. Thankfully I have a lot of people that want to help me succeed so I believe I am as ready as I'll ever be. As Henry Gondorff said in The Sting "All it takes is a little confidence". Shameless plug/ However I am currently looking for a job and a cool roommate so the more leads the merrier. kyleclift@gmail.com /Shameless plug

Natalie's visit will go down as 3 of the best days of my life. I loved getting a chance to show her all the places that make Austin so special to me. We had such a great time together and I feel so comfortable when I am with her. Crazy to think that we met randomly in a hostel in Buenos Aires. I look forward to her recipricating and showing me around Chicago this summer.

Matt and Tiffany's wedding took place at an amazing place on Lake Travis. Too bad my party of five showed up right after the wedding ended. However we did get to crash the reception, which was definitely the best reception I think any of us have ever been to. It was great to have a final blowout with all of my best friends before I head out.

Here are some final pictures of South America and some of Austin:

Dude, you better hurry up and finish that...

2008-04-17T13:42:00.000-07:00

I'm probably going to get us kicked out. -Alex from New York to me last night as I was eating at Bangalore.

So 150,000+ acres of forest are on fire in Tigre, a city 20 miles from here. Last night the entire city was covered in a horrible smokey cloud and we were the only people dumb enough to try and drink outside at Plaza Serrano. A $20 peso cab ride later we learned that it was no dice. Today thank God there has been a breeze so it has cleared up considerably. Apparently Rodin's the Thinker is literally 50 feet from the hostel, so I am going to go check that out in a little while.

sap on/ It's my last week, and I probably should be feeling sad or something but instead I feel awesome. I have done so many amazing things and met so many great people that I am able to look back over the last 3+ months with no regrets and so many good memories. I now have new adventures to conquer back in the States and new places to visit the next time I return. One in particular is summitting Aconcagua, the tallest mountain oustide of the Himalayas. /sap off

I met a really cool guy at Estoril today who lives in Brooklyn and works for Deutsche Bank. He gave me a ton of great info on locations to live and how to get a job, he even gave me the info of a head-hunter he used to get his job. He must be good at his job, because I was 99% leaning towards Manhattan and am now considering living in Brooklyn. I am looking forward to the next 3 months probably as much as I looked forward to the past 3 months.

So it's back home Monday morning and back to Austin on Wednesday. Pretty surreal to think it is almost over. Balls to the wall the next 3 days. Sigue la vaca for dinner tomorrow, Boca game Saturday, petting lions and tigers at a crazy zoo, La Cabrera, yada yada yada. Best city in the world and I've got 3 days to paint the town burnt orange. I'll talk to y'all when I get back.

Bariloche, you're breaking my heart

2008-04-09T10:10:00.000-07:00

It is raining in beautiful Bariloche, so I am heading back up to my favorite city in the world, Buenos f'n Aires. I guess I have a lot of updating to do so I will start from the beginning.

World's Deadliest Bike Ride- Man what a rush. Over 200 people died a year from their vehicles falling 400+ meters like the O'doyle family in Billy Madison until the road was closed in 2006. I along with 14 other people decided it would be a great idea to hurl myself down the road at 40mph inches from the ledge. It was more dangerous to break on the gravel than it was to just keep going, so it really was a near deadly ride. 3 people on my trip crashed, but luckily they crashed into the mountain and not the abyss.

Machu Piccu was a once in a lifetime experience. It was nice to see my dad and bro, and my brother's friend Steve. The people in my group were all super chill and I made some good friends from the trek. I highly recommend visiting if you get the chance, I've never seen anything like it. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

I climbed a 5,830 meter (19,000+ feet) volcano in Arequipa, Peru. It was probably the hardest thing I have done in my life. My dad accidently took my camera battery charger so I don't have any pictures, but I did make it to the summit, even though I have no proof. I definitely have some good stories from the journey, mainly due to my guide's complete lack of interest in safety. After trekking for 6 hours on day one we camped and went to bed at 6pm. We woke up at 1am to begin our next days hike to reach the summit. All five of us began, and like a bad horror movie, one by one everyone dropped off until only my guide and I made it to the top. The first victim felt sick an hour into the journey and was told to return to base camp. It was pitch black outside. She never made it back to the base camp...

I'm not kidding. She wondered around the mountain for 10 hours never finding the base camp. She was puking the whole time, and she said she slept on the side of the mountain for 5 hours. I am currently laughing at the ridiculous sounding nature of this, but every word is true. Scout's honor. My guide was frantic when we returned to base camp and she wasn't there. After an hour of running around the mountain screaming her name we found her. It was definitely not her fault, as our camp was 3 tents hidden by some big rocks on a huge mountain. Trying to find that with a little flashlight at 2 in the morning is like expecting the Rangers to finish above .500 this year. The next victim, who I thought was a goner from day 1 was a 60 year old Indian (feather not dot). I made it to the base camp 3 hours before him on day one, and actually trekked down for 45 minutes to carry his bag to base camp (while my guide chilled). While trekking on day 2 we were given no flashlights, so I used my own. Cool old Indian guy (COIG for short) was lagging behind really bad on day two. It could be because HE DIDNT HAVE A FLASHLIGHT. COIG was climbing the mountain in the middle of the night blind as a bat, and I was the only one who seemed to notice or care. I felt like I was taking crazy pills. I seriously thought he was going to fall and die. It wasnt incredibly steep or anything, but come on! My guide eventually made him sit in open space and wait for us to meet up with him after we made it to the top. I was just happy he lived. The last victim almost made it but she passed out 200 meters from the top. VICTORY IS MINE! What a trip. It was awesome to look down into a crater of an active volcano and see smoke billowing out. The volcano erupted 250 years ago and Eduardo'd* Arequipa. Cool to learn a little history while staring down into the heart of the beast. No pictures though, small tear emoticon. The best part was getting down. The fastest option is to slide on your ass straight down. It was really fun and effective, I managed to decend 600 vertical meters in about 5 minutes, but I completely shredded my jeans on one of the 100's of rocks I ran over on my journey to the bottom. No worries, it was worth it. So we all survived, and I spent the next two days recovering.

I am now in Bariloche, a beautiful town on a huge lake in the Patagonia region of Argentina. I took a Hurculean (sp?) bus journey to get down here, with a quick stop over in Mendoza for some life sustaning wine drinking. It was 12 hours from Cusco to Arequipa, 7 hours from Arequipa to Arica, Chile, and 34 hours from Arica to Mendoza. Add another 18 from Mendoza to Bariloche and in less than 10 days I spent three entire days on South American buses. Balls. However air travel was not even possible, so it had to be done. Yesterday I rented a car with some badass girls from NYC and a cool guy from SanFran. It reminded me of one of those bad Coca Cola 2 minute ads you see before your movie starts of some cross country trip in a Volkswagon. We put over 600 kilometers on our Little Red Coochie (the name of our VW) driving all over the lake district. It was honestly some of the best scenery I have seen in my life. However my favorite part was the advice I got about New York. I am so stoked to move there, it has now become this fire in my belly, this unshakeable feeling in my bones telling me that I need to be there. Have to be there.

Less than two weeks until I am back home. The time has really flown by and there is so much I still want to do. I guess I'll need to make a return trip in a few years. Natalie is coming to visit in Austin, so I am wayyyyy too excited about that. Poor girl has no clue all the exciting adventures I have in store. I think on the 24th I am going to plan a little meet and greet reunion at Crown and Anchor, first pitcher of Fireman's is on me. More details to come later. I lost my toiletries bag sometime during my 72 hours of bus journies and am currently about 2 weeks into a pretty awful molester-stauche. I am definitely looking like someone that Chris Hansen would ask if I take a seat over there, and will probably rock it until the end of my trip.

picture time

Eduardo'd- http://youtube.com/watch?v=3L4RedN4RQI&feature=related

''I wouldn't trade one stupid decision for another 5 years of life'' -LCD Soundsystem 'All of my Friends'

San Pedro Prison

2008-03-28T09:54:00.000-07:00

So I have fallen behind on my updates...

But I did survive the world's deadliest road and 65 kilometer hike to see Machu Picchu, so yeah me!

San Pedro prison in La Paz was the most surreal 3 hours of my life. On my way to La Paz some Aussies on my bus were talking about things to do in LP. They recommended looking into going to San Pedro. When I arrived I asked the girl at the front desk how to visit San Pedro, so she gave me two numbers to call a man named Kenneth.

I called Kenneth, who as it turns out is a South African prisoner in jail for large amounts of drug trafficking. He arranged a tour for 6 of us from my hostel. He told me to bring 150 bolivanos and a goodie bag full of cigs, deodarant, and toys for the kids inside. Yes, there are kids inside of the prison. So we did as we were told and walked to the prison. Once arriving we walked through a metal detector that with 100% certainty was not working, and walked right past the guards. They didnt check our bag of goods or pat us down or anything. I could have brought 6 sub machine guns, a couple of stun guns, some grappling hooks and a Chipotle burrito and they wouldn't have noticed. Once inside we were rounded up into an apartment type room and given a brief overview. Another South African would be leading our tour through the prison. About the apartment, they dont have cells in the section we are in, they have different properties, which can be bought and sold Monopoly style. The rich live in what amounts to a crappy dorm room, while the poor cram into what the engine room workers on the Titanic would sleep in.

There are no guards inside the prison, the prisoners elect leaders who run the security and make sure things stay under control. There are 8 sections in the prison, the section we were in had 90 prisoner and plus or miuns 15 women and kids, overall the prison has 1100 or so prisoners. I visited the nice section, meaning many less stabbings and assorted violence. The prison as a whole averages 4 deaths amonth, some are natural and some are chalked up to ¨accidents¨. We walked through the courtyard where kids were playing soccer, visited some different apartments, and hid in the gym while our group leader sorted out some two year old beef with another guy who didn't like tourists. We visited zona roja, the area where all of the junkies elect to live. I talked to ¨Superman¨for awhile, a 49 year old Canadian who smokes 20 grams of crack a day. INSANE. When I looked around where I was inside of his room I seriously thought I was living in a dream world. I saw him and some buddies make some crack and smoke it, Jesus Mary and Joseph that was nuts. The prison is said to have the best cocaine in all of Bolivia, which would make sense seeing that 75% of the inmates are there for drug related crimes. After the tour we went back into the apartment where we originally started and were offered a chance to order a cornocopia of different products for sale. Since it was St. Patty's, I shared a bottle of whisky with some buddies from the hostel. After 3 hours I walked out wide-eyed and forever changed. I honestly can't explain what was going through my head throughout the experience, other than a lot of Torbush's.

p.s. The Machu Piccu hike was great. More on that later.

Torbush- http://www.utexasclan.com/images/wow.gif

Song of the moment- Sufjan Stevens- Chicago http://www.seeqpod.com/search/?plid=c29bfe9d21

2008-03-18T18:38:00.000-07:00

I went to San Pedro prison yesterday on an unoffical tour. Most surreal experience of my life. Here is a brief synopsis on BBC News.
It cost $150 bolivianos to get in and you had to bring a goodie bag of toiletries and cigarettes. I will go in more detail on my next posting, I am still trying to wrap my mind around the whole experience.

The St. Patty's Day party at the hostel was insannnnnnnnne. Had a blast, and met some really cool people. It is supposedly the highest st. pattys day party in the world (3748 meters above sea level)

At 7am tomorrow I am waking up to bike down the worlds deadliest road. I can't wait. I get a free picture c.d. included so that is sweet. The bikes are really nice, so I feel as safe as I can.

Bolivia holla!

2008-03-16T15:12:00.000-07:00

So the last week I have been travelling around Bolivia. I left Salta at 7am on Monday (terrible idea to leave that early) and made it to the border at around 2pm. I sat next to a

mouth-breather who decided to read every word of the paper out loud. I could not stop thinking of different murder-suicide methods throughout the 7 hour trip. Upon arriving at the border I got to deal with the long dick of Bolivian customs, as Bolivia has now placed a ridiculous amount of requirements for Americans to enter the poorest country in South America.

Tourist Visa Requirements for U.S. Citizens Enteringinto Bolivian Territory via Airports and at Border Entry Points
1. The sworn statement for visa application form

2. A passport valid for six months

3. Hotel reservation or invitation letter

4. Photocopy of roundtrip ticket or travel itinerary

5. Economic solvency

6. Payment of $100 visa issuance fee

7. International yellow fever vaccination certificate

what a pain in the ass.

So after scrambling around La Quiaca, the Argentina border town I managed to compile all but number 4. It turns out that they didn't care one iota about any of the requirements except for the $100. Nice little money grab they have running here. After entering Bolivia I ran into a British couple Hannah and George who were staying at my hostel in Salta. They helped me figure out how to get to Tupiza and filled me in on all the details of the Salt Flat tour. I stupidly left my ATM card in the machine in Villazon so I am currently down to a credit card and my dashing good looks. After taking the bumpiest road in the history of man from Villazon to Tupiza I was able to relax in a nice hotel surrounded by the Andes.

On Wednesday I began my 4 day tour of the Bolivian Salt Flats, one of the best trips of my life. Unfortunately I don't have a camera, so I am relying on the charity of fellow tour mates to hook me up with some pictures of our trip. I was in a 1985 Toyota Landcruiser with Hannah, George, two other British birds, Samuel the driver, and Archie our awesome english-speaking guide.

I guess the easiest thing to do would be give a run down of the days.

Day 1: Begin in Tupiza and drive through some impressive mountain passes. We saw routes that Butch Cassidy and Sundance used to avoid the law, and ate some llamales (tamales filled with llama meat). At night we stopped in a remote village that was over 4200 meters in elevation. I had the genius idea of rounding up about 8 of us gringos to challenge the local kids in futbol. Needless to say we lasted about 5 minutes before we were doubled over and tasting blood in the back of our throats. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Because the kids thoroughly destroyed us, we had to buy them 2 large sodas.

Day 2: We rose at 4:30 am to see the sun rise over the mountains. It was amazing terrain, however it was a really long day. We saw the landscape that Salvador Dali used for his background in ¨Melting Clocks¨ and also saw some cool lagoons all of which were a variety of colors. We also drove onto a volcano and got out and walked around active geysers. This was absolutely in no way safe. I mean, we were walking on 6 inch ledges with boiling water to both our left and right, and steam hissing from underneath or feet. I was glad that we escaped with all of our limbs in tact. The place we stayed was in the middle of nowhere which made for the best star gazing opportunity I have ever had. I think we were able to identify at least 3 planets and a ton of constellations. It was an incredible view, and even though I was freezing, I didn't want to go inside.

Day 3 was fun as we climbed on some huge rock formations and got some good group pictures. We had lunch by the ¨stinky lagoon¨ a pond with thousands of flamingos and a lot of domesticated llamas. At night we stayed in a hotel made completely of salt blocks. You could actually lick the walls. It was quite a unique experience.

Day 4 was my favorite as we drove to the middle of the salt flats to watch the sunrise. It was probably the best sunrise of my life. The pictures I have really do not do justice to how big the flats really are. The guide said they are the same size as Belgium (hi Talie!). We had a lot of fun taking pictures and hanging out, soaking in the last little bit of our time together. We finished the trip in Uyuni, and had a few drinks at a crazy tourist bar before we headed our seperate ways.

Last night I took an overnight train for La Paz, and arrived safely at 7 this morning. I haven't done to much today, but I needed a day to recover from the salt flat tour. Tomorrow is St. Patty's day and my hostel is having a huge blowout. Hopefully it is a lot of fun. I think on Tuesday I am going to bike down the world's most dangerous road. Wish me luck.

Salar de Uyuni (Salt Flats)

View of Tupiza from my hotel

Some new pictures

2008-03-09T07:34:00.000-07:00

Talie and I hanging out in Plaza San Martin, BsAs

Butting heads before we go canopying

Natalie rappeling by a waterfall

Look at that form

Delicious Malbec infused vanilla helado.

Amazing view of where we were hiking/rappeling/rafting/canopying

Our last meal together

Having a great time at a bodega in Mendoza

Amazing wine grapes

Enjoying a cold one after 3 hours of rafting.

View from the hill that we summited

Me going upside down over the lake, it was incredible.

To Chance Encounters...

2008-03-07T08:25:00.000-08:00

Entonces, yesterday Natalie left back for Buenos Aires and then back home to Chicago. It was really hard to say goodbye, as we has such an amazing 6 weeks together. She is a really fun and easy person to travel with and made my experiences in BsAs, Iguazu, and Mendoza wayyyyyy better and more memorable. Have a safe trip home Natalie, I will miss you!

Our time in Mendoza was amazing, starting about two hours after we arrived. We decided to rent bikes and explore different bodegas (wineries), where we sampled amazing wines and ate delicious wine grapes straight off of the vine. The next day was Sunday and EVERYTHING in the town was closed, it seriously looked deserted. We manageged to round up enough people from the hostel to have a soccer game so that was a lot of fun. Throughout the week we decided to stay in and cook dinner rather than go out and we made a lot of good meals while drinking many top bottles of Mendozan Malbec. On Tuesday we went on a 25km white-water rafting trip through the Andes. I was the first one to fall out of the boat, ja ja (how haha is written in Argentina). It was beautiful and both of us had a blast. On Thursday we went trekking and rapelled near a waterfall in the morning and went canopying in the afternoon. Canoyping is similar to ziplining, but with 6 stations instead of one. The scenery was breathtaking as the last two lines ran across a lake and then back over. Both Natalie and I went upside down over the lake with the help of an instuructor. Describing it doesn't really do it justice, so I will post some pictures of it when I can. It was an amazing rush to be zooming over a beautiful lake in the mountains upside down. Yesterday we had a perfect last day together walking around Mendoza and checking out all of the sites we wanted to do before we left. We got a final helado that was exclusive to Mendoza, vanilla infused with Malbec, it was delicious. We made a last dinner of spinach ravioli, bruschetta, and a blood sausage sandwhich (ha!) with a final bottle of Mendozan wine. Perfection.

I hopped on a bus an hour after Talie left and now I am 17 hours north of Mendoza in the ciudad of Salta. It looks beautiful so far and like Mendoza, there are a lot of outdoor activities to explore. I am about to leave to explore the city. Next week my sisters and mom are going to Mexico for spring break with my aunt, so I want to tell them to have a great time and to enjoy some mojitos and attention from all of the guys. Two weeks from today, my dad, brother, and his roommate will be down here to hike with to Machu Piccu with me. I am really excited for that. I hope everyone is doing well, but I am not going to lie, I am in no rush to head back, Argentina is an amazing country.
Love you all,
Kyle

Adios Buenos Aires

2008-02-29T10:42:00.000-08:00

''Of all the gin joints in all the world.''

If you have never seen Casablanca, go rent it. Tonight! My time in Buenos Aires has sadly come to an end. It is time for me to spread my wings and get some more stamps on my passport. Tonight Natalie and I are taking a 12 hour bus ride across the country to Mendoza. I am really excited to begin the traveling part of my trip but am sad to leave Buenos Aires.

Mendoza is supposed to be very beautiful and is world-reknowned for its wine. Next week is a wine festival so the city should be pretty happening. I am going to look into taking a wine-tasting class so I can move up from caveman status on my wine knowledge. I met a really cool guy here who is a wine sommlier and is only 28. He was in charge of the wine for 10 restaurants in NYC but quit to start his own wine company. B-A-L-L-E-R.
So he has inspired me to learn more about wine. I think Natalie and I will be up to the challenge. I have some friends that I met here that will be in Mendoza at the same time so it should be a lot of fun. I also am going to look into hangliding.

I have become an awesome jaywalker in BsAs, a skill I look to perfect in NYC. If there were a jaywalking olympics I would be the odds on favorite to bring home the gold. I am going to miss the pizza guy who always waves to me when I walk by (if you are ever down here, order the Calaprese pizza from Almacen de Pizzas, it'll change your life) and the haircut guy who takes time to talk to me when I walk by (and also gave me hilarious looking sideburns today, but that is a different story). I am not even sure what I am rambling on about anymore. I loved my time here and highly recommend visiting. Way cheaper than Europe and the people are much nicer.

New Photos

2008-02-23T14:44:00.001-08:00

Iguazu Falls

2008-02-20T07:26:00.000-08:00

Everything is going great down here, my tan is coming along nicely.

Valentine´s day was really nice, Natalie and I got some wine, some pizza, and went to a park and had a nice picnic. The pizza place by my apartment is insanely good. Like top 3 pizza I have had in my life.

So this last weekend I went to Iguazu Falls with Natalie.

There really are no words to describe how amazing the falls are. 2.5 km wide with over 260 different waterfalls. Talie took some awesome pictures that should be up soon. I would have taken some pictures except that my camera was stolen out of my pocket on the subway on the way to the bus station. It was crazy how deftly it was taken, especially considering how closely I watch my stuff. Hopefully the thief gets Schiavoed.

The best part of the trip was taking a jet boat that drove into one of the waterfalls and absolutely soaked us. It was insane. We also saw some monkeys eating in trees, and a lot of other animals they don´t have in the states. Natalie and I hiked 2 miles into the jungle to discover a waterfall that dropped into a pool. After hiking down we were ale to stand under the waterfall (over a 100 foot drop) and we got some awesome pictures. She is 1000x the model than me. I am like Zoolander in that I only have one look (not to mention I also am an ambi-turner). Anyway, I would really recommend making a trip to the falls at least once in your life. I am definitley returning.

Another highlight of my trip was my 30 minute conversation in Spanish with a 7 year old. Although I did not understand everything she said, I got most of it. Hooray! I am now able to communicate at a 2nd grade level!

This week I moved out of my apartmet early and back into hostel estoril. My roommate was wayyyy too anal about everything and I wasn´t meeting anybody. I didnt come to Buenos Aires to live the life of a 58 year old librarian. Eat a bag Nicolas. I love it back in the hostel, yesterday we had a Liverpool game watching party. Go Reds! I tried to organize a pickup futbol match but everyboy was being hungover and lame. I was planning on trying to join a game but my friend who works at the hostel said that it is a good possibility they will try to injure me because I am a foriegner. What a dump.

I have been hanging out wit a really cool guy named Joe from Michigan. Last night we went to a brewery in Palermo and finally had some chopp (draught) beer. I am so tired of Quilmes, it really is a terrible beer. We had a sampler tray with 8 different beers. The bartender talke to us for awhile and I actually understood a good amount of what he was saying, which was pretty sweet.

Here is a picture of us when we had dinner with his roommate (who is the exact opposite of Nicolas).

This is my last week in BsAs. Even though I love the city, it is some for me to move on and explore more of the great outdoors that South America has to offer. The tenative plan is to go to Cordoba for a few days and visit some friends I made in BsAs. After that I am going to to go to Mendoza and take a wine tasting class for 5-7 days. I will also probably take more Spanish lessons there. Then I will head to Salta and the salt flats, which I heard are amazing. Then I will make my way up through Bolivia to meet my dad, brother, and his roommate in Cuzco, Peru to hike the Incan Trail. How tits is that going to be?

Hope everyone is doing well, and don't stress out too much with school, life is too short.

Adios,

Kyle

1 month in

2008-02-10T14:53:00.000-08:00

So I have almost been here for 4 weeks, and am having an allsome time.

I have a novia (girlfriend) here in BsAs. I met her at hostel estoril the 1st week I was here. We have been dating for about two weeks and are going to Iguazu Falls this weekend so that should be fun. Her name is Natalie, she is 25, and is from California. She does modeling and tutoring in Chicago and is way cute. Her goal is to try every flavor of gelato in Buenos Aires and I am doing my part to help her reach her goal.

Sorry I don't have any pictures of the two of us.

In other news, I am starting my 3rd week of Spanish classes tomorrow, and am sloooooooooowly improving my Spanish. I met a really cool guy from my Spanish school who has the exact same favorite c.d. as me, so that is pretty insane. We went out to some bars last night and had a good time. It´s pretty funny to think that I leave to go out to clubs/bars at the same time that the bars in Austin close. I think I am going to go back to the drum circle tomorrow night, it was one of the best things I have done since I have been here.

I also might take a wine tasting course here or in Mendoza. There are great wines available for about $3usd, and I am tired of Quilmes. Hopefully I come back with a little knowledge of Argentinian Malbecs. If anyone has any questions about what I am doing or what Buenos Aires is like leave them in the comments section and I will respond to them the next time I post.

Anyway, I can't really think of anything else to say except adios!

My New Haircut

2008-02-05T14:36:00.000-08:00

1st update: My grandpa died last week, so I just want him to know that I love him and he will be missed.

R.I.P. Grandpa Ray

Now for a Buenos Aires update:

I got a new haircut today, and am currently one of 10 people in BsAs without a mullet, gotta love the porteño style. The guy at the haircut place spent about 30 minutes and made sure he got every hair right. The total cost was 20 pesos. For $17usd at pro cuts in the states I can get a 42 year old grandmother of 8 butchering my hair, itching the track marks on her arm, and accidently dropping a cigarette butt onto my lap, all in under 15 minutes! Hooray!

the word of the day is: Porteño

A porteño is a person native to Buenos Aires, and much like a Texan, they are proud to let you know about it.

The way they live their lives is the way I want to live mine. Porteños don't own watches, if they say they will be somewhere at 7, they will be there at 8. At a restaurant it takes 30 minutes to get your drinks and over 2 hours to get in and out, and everybody is cool with it. America can learn from this. They also take vacationing very seriously here. Pretty much everyone takes a month off during either in January or February. My roommate is a lawyer, and he goes into the office at noon, holla! Dinner doesn`t begin until well after 9, and the bars dont close until 8am. However, people dont get housed here like they do in the states, because porteños aren`t racing to beat the 2am last call, and getting borracho (drunk) is not becoming of a porteño, that is for the touristas. Here a drink is communal and meant to be enjoyed, not pounded. Porteños also drink mate, which if you stay tuned, will be the next word of the day.

I started back at school yesterday and it is going well. I am building my vocabulary, so I hopefully soon I will be able to communicate with my roommate at a level slightly higher than Helen Keller. I went to a drum circle last night that was unreal. 15 drummers are lead by 1 maestro who through a series of hand signs he invented are able to improvise amazing beats. I have some cool pictures from it that I will post the next chance I get.

Tomorrow I am going with my friends to Museum, an after-work club in San Telmo, I went last week and had a great time.

Dancing to some disco at Museum

Waving the white flag afte I was unable to finish a 2 pound steak at La Cabrera

Until next time,

Kyle

Hola

2008-01-30T15:16:00.000-08:00

So it is time for a new update. Today I moved into an apartment in Palermo Soho, and it is wicked. Marble coutertops, wood floors, cable t.v. (not like I'll use it), and 1.5 baths for $350 a month. Palermo Soho is the spot you want to live in BsAs, so I am super stoked. My roommate's name is Nicolas and he speaks about 10 words in English, so hopefully this will develop my Spanish speaking skills rapidly. Today was the first time I was able to go to the supermarket, and the first time I realized how much I was getting gouged at hostels for a bottle of Quilmes. At the hostels a liter of Quilmes is 8 pesos, at the supermarket a liter is 2.50 pesos.

This weekend I am flying up to Iguazu Falls with a friend so that should be a lot of fun. I'm positive the pictures don't do the actual site justice, so I am really excited to see them live.

Sunday Plans

2008-01-27T07:20:00.001-08:00

So the game was great. It was only a preseason game and it was probably second only to the 2006 Rose Bowl in intensity. I sat in the middle of the Boca Juniors section and witnessed a 2-0 victory. The stadium is split 50-50 and no fans are allowed on the other teams side. There were well over 500 cops in full riot gear with batons and shotguns to keep the peace. After the game the River fans were forced to leave directly after the game while the Boca fans were locked inside to wait for the River fans to walk at least 2km away from the stadium. Quite an experience.

Today I am going to the San Telmo market, a huge outdoor bazaar, with more people and crap for sale than you have ever seen. Tonight I might go to a club with some friends but I am n0t too sure. Most clubs here don't open until 2 and dont't close down until 8.

This week I am looking at some apartments in the city (they are sooooo cheap), and on Friday I am going to Iguasu Falls for the weekend. Hope everyone is doing well. Pictures should be posted within a day or two.

River Plate vs. Boca Juniors

2008-01-24T07:55:00.000-08:00

I have a ticket to the biggest sporting rivalry in the game. El Superclasico is the biggest futbol game in the world, and about 15 friends and I are going.

Top 50 sporting events to do before you die.

I am in my 4th day of Spanish classes and I am improving slowly but surely. Tonight they are having a soccer themed party at my hostel so we will see how my 80's polyester Brasil jeresy works out. I think next weekend I am going to Iguazu Falls. I have some great pictures of La Boca and Caminito I will put up when I get on a computer with the capabilities. I think I am getting an apartment here (in San Telmo or Palermo). My last 7 weeks of traveling are going to be wild. Hiking the Incan trail to Machu Piccu, ice trekking, sand boarding, amazon exploring, and biking down the worlds deadliest road.
Adios

Week 1 in Review

2008-01-21T19:36:00.000-08:00

Saturday Morning Update

2008-01-19T01:28:00.000-08:00

So far, so great. I have met some great friends with unreal stories and experiences. It makes me want to spend the next 10 years traveling the globe. The architecture here is definitely influenced by Spain and France and the streets are absolutely enjoyable to walk. Today I am renting bikes with some friends to explore the city some more. My hostel is a stones throw away from the obelisco, which is pretty much times square of B.A. For all of you wanna be real estate moguls, I think you would be foolish if you did not strongly consider investing in a few condos here. A nice one can be had for less than 75,000 usd, which I could see increasing 5x in the next 10 to 15 years. I could see myseld staying down here if my Spanish wasnt as brutal as Duane Akinas defense this year.

My hostel Thursday night was called Sandanzas and was in the neighborhood called San Telmo. It was a smaller hostel (25 beds), but everyone bonded really well. They had free tango classes at night, and 16 out of 25 people showed up. The lesson was taught in Spanish, so I tried my best to pick up on certain words. I am in dire need of some Spanish lessons and am looking to start classes on Monday. I am also checking out neighborhoods for a possible apartment for February. Today I walked about 8 miles with some people from the hostel. We went to the famous cemetary in Recoleta, and saw Eva Perons grave. After that, I got to see River Plate stadium which was cool, but we took so long walking (even though busses cost $.30, and taxis cost about $4 usd) we missed the last tour. Next weekend I am going to Mar del Plata, which is 5 hours south, to see River vs Boca, the biggest rivalry match in the world. This was my main goal when I came down here, so I am glad I will get to complete it early in th trip.

I have only slept 22 hours since I left on Monday and I feel great. I think traveling completely changes my equilibrium and has me going non stop. Tonight I went to a great old tango hall and stayed up with friends watching the sunrise. I wish I could post pictures, but this computer was made in 1988.

Hasta luego,
Kyle

p.s. have fun in Vegas, CATI

I have arrived

2008-01-16T14:16:00.000-08:00

Buenos Aires is the bee´s knees so far. I almost died walking from the bus station to my hostel, apparently wearing jeans and lugging 40 pounds worth of gear half-way across the city can cause heat stroke. Hostel Estoril is where I am staying, which is in the center of the city, a short block from the Obilisque and Congresso. The hostel has a 6th floor terrace and bar which makes it easy to meet people and have a good time. Last night there were probably 15 of us drinking some Quilmes and only 2 of us were American. The biggest difference from the states is the daily schedule. Today I at lunch at 4:30, and last night I finished my dinner at 1 am. A lot of bars don´t really get going until 2am and no restaurants open before 8 for dinner. Argentinian steak is amazing and if I don´t walk 5 miles a day I will comeback looking like Violet Beureguard from Willy Wonka.

Today I went with one of my roommates and explored the Palermo and Recoleta barrios. Palermo had a some nice parks and a cheap zoo ($8 pesos). Recoleta is a very affluent neighborhood with good restaurants and bars. We stopped by the Museo Nacional de Balles Artes, and saw a lot of famous artworks.

I hope everyone is doing well, happy hour is starting, so I gotta go

-Kyle

Pre-trip Outline

2008-01-09T11:42:00.000-08:00

In five days I will be heading to Buenos Aires, Argentina for three months. As of now my preparations go as far as getting all of my shots, flipping through a book on B.A. and borrowing a backpack from my brother's friend Zach. This isn't too worrisome, as I normally preform better under the gun, as my college career bares out. Today and tomorrow I will get all of my gear ready and book my first week of hostels. I have a lot of nervous energy but it's excitement more than anything. For the first two weeks I will be taking Spanish classes and tango lessons at a local universidad in Buenos Aires.

Due to the god-awfulness that is the Brazilian consulate in Houston (and Washington D.C. and Chicago, seriously how hard is it to return a call or an e-mail?), I am planning my trip around Argentina and the western countries of South America. If I am able to obtain a visa once I am in Buenos Aires; Brazil will be added back to the itinerary.
This may be a blessing in disguise because I have now canceled my plans to go to Carnival, which would have most likely bankrupted me three weeks into my trip.

Tentatively, I am planning on visiting these locations:
*Iguazu Falls (the background picture at the top of the page) located at the border between Argentina/Paraguay/Brazil
*Montevideo and beaches in Uruguay
*Santiago, Chile
*Lima, Peru and Machu Picchu (200 miles outside of Lima)
*Ushuaia and the Patagonia region of Argentina.
*Quito, Ecuador

I am completely open minded about travel locations so please leave some suggestions.