Well after more than 3 months of exciting, unrelenting, enjoyable traveling in South America I have finally returned home. I enjoyed Brasil, Argentina, and Chile equally for their unique characteristics and really hope to get back to these countries in the near future. If there's one thing I learned on the entire trip it is that the independence that traveling provides is priceless and shouldn't be put off year after year until it's too late. A dollar used, a hour spent, a breath breathed in another country brings so much more excitement than back home.
glad to back and next time I'm taking y'all with me,
Stewart
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008
The Guidance Counselor was Correct: I am Destined to be a Professional Schemer
Sleepless in Santiago
Ok here`s the deal...for all those who anticipated my long awaited return back home last Wednesday, hold your horses. I`m currently admits one of my grandest schemes of all-time, and rest assured this one is 100% legal.
Long story short Delta, my new favorite airline, has overbooked their daily flight to Atlanta from Santiago by 30-50 people per day (depending on the day). Hence they need volunteers to be bumped so they can accommodate the people that actually have to make it to work the next day. But for us young folk (our reoccurring group is about 10 strong by now) opportunity is knocking and we are more than happy to sleep in hotel rooms, eat 3 gourmet meals a day, and go to and fro to the airport to either pick-up a check of US$500/600 (depending on the day) or a Delta voucher of US$600 PER DAY! I`m currently on day six (and counting hopefully).
In ode to Andrew`s final blog post numerically highlighting the highs and lows of his trip, I will do the same only focusing on the last 6 days all made due by the graces of Delta Airlines. (I know this all sounds cocky, but let`s face it, I`m kinda going delirious at this point in this surreal fantasy of mine)
Days bumped from flight: 6
Average cost of hotel per night: US$275 (after two nights the hotel bill has far surpassed the total amount I spent on hostels in my entire 3 month trip).
Average cost per meal: US$30
Trips to or from the airport in car service: 11 (each at US$25 per go)
Sum of checks received: US$2,200 (covers apprx. 75% of my entire 3 month trip)
Sum of Delta voucher(s): US$1,200
Money of my own spent per day: US$10-15
When flights are overbooked in Santiago, we celebrate. When flights are overbooked in Buenos Aires, they riot (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22630041/?GT1=10755).
So I know I miss y`all and everybody misses me, but hey what`s another week or so after being gone for 3 months. And besides screw you, this is the best post-graduate job a St. Ed`s alum could ever hope for.
Ridin` this burro until it collapses,
Stewart
Ok here`s the deal...for all those who anticipated my long awaited return back home last Wednesday, hold your horses. I`m currently admits one of my grandest schemes of all-time, and rest assured this one is 100% legal.
Long story short Delta, my new favorite airline, has overbooked their daily flight to Atlanta from Santiago by 30-50 people per day (depending on the day). Hence they need volunteers to be bumped so they can accommodate the people that actually have to make it to work the next day. But for us young folk (our reoccurring group is about 10 strong by now) opportunity is knocking and we are more than happy to sleep in hotel rooms, eat 3 gourmet meals a day, and go to and fro to the airport to either pick-up a check of US$500/600 (depending on the day) or a Delta voucher of US$600 PER DAY! I`m currently on day six (and counting hopefully).
In ode to Andrew`s final blog post numerically highlighting the highs and lows of his trip, I will do the same only focusing on the last 6 days all made due by the graces of Delta Airlines. (I know this all sounds cocky, but let`s face it, I`m kinda going delirious at this point in this surreal fantasy of mine)
Days bumped from flight: 6
Average cost of hotel per night: US$275 (after two nights the hotel bill has far surpassed the total amount I spent on hostels in my entire 3 month trip).
Average cost per meal: US$30
Trips to or from the airport in car service: 11 (each at US$25 per go)
Sum of checks received: US$2,200 (covers apprx. 75% of my entire 3 month trip)
Sum of Delta voucher(s): US$1,200
Money of my own spent per day: US$10-15
When flights are overbooked in Santiago, we celebrate. When flights are overbooked in Buenos Aires, they riot (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22630041/?GT1=10755).
So I know I miss y`all and everybody misses me, but hey what`s another week or so after being gone for 3 months. And besides screw you, this is the best post-graduate job a St. Ed`s alum could ever hope for.
Ridin` this burro until it collapses,
Stewart
Monday, January 7, 2008
El Fin de Viaje
To put it short and sweet, all good things must come to an end. I`ll be back in Austin on Wednesday. Thanks to all who commented and read this blog, which has hopefully influenced some of you to go out and explore the world.
Love,
Stewart
Love,
Stewart
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
The Death of a Blog
A very happy 2008 to all! Can you believe that in 2 more years we will have concluded a decade which there has yet to be a consensus nickname for? Anyway, with only 6 more days left on what has been an amazing 3 month-long trip, I will be headed back over the Andes to Mendoza, Argentina. Here I plan on fitting in all the things I have missed out on so far: drinking, eating, and resting. And hopefully I´ll get in some vineyards tours, either by bus, bike, or horse (i´m pretty sure all are legitimate options).
With my camera down I will still have to pursue my photos the old hassle way by nagging fellow travelers to email or let me borrow their cameras for a quick shot. Hence, this might be one of the last blog postings since I understand the bore of my pictureless blogs. See you all soon back home.
to 2008,
Stewart
With my camera down I will still have to pursue my photos the old hassle way by nagging fellow travelers to email or let me borrow their cameras for a quick shot. Hence, this might be one of the last blog postings since I understand the bore of my pictureless blogs. See you all soon back home.
to 2008,
Stewart
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Una Historia de Navidad
I´m getting the hang of living with family again as I am visiting my host family from a year and a half ago in Viña del Mar, Chile for the week. We enjoyed a lovely Christmas Eve dinner with tios and tias coming from near and far. But oddly enough it was stereotypically American for a country that is 95+% Catholic. No midnight mass, many stores where still open on Christmas day, fake Santas outnumbered fake baby Jesus´ 10 to 1, but a great time nonetheless.
I didn´t just fart, you gotta believe me.
No turkey or ham, just crab, wine and avocados.
Hope the festivities continue on into the New Year for all,
Stewart
I didn´t just fart, you gotta believe me.
No turkey or ham, just crab, wine and avocados.Hope the festivities continue on into the New Year for all,
Stewart
Friday, December 21, 2007
Southern Chile: From the Patagonia to the Lakes Region
After days of cursing my camera due to its ineptitude to properly function I finally came to the realization that I would have to annoyingly ask whoever I was traveling with to switch chips everytime I wanted to take a picture. Therefore I was not able to take photos-on-demand of all the breathtaking scenery I`ve been taking in, but I believe I got a pretty good synopsis with these photos here (minus the Navimag boat cruise). And on a final note I will be marking two new FIRSTS this Chirstmas, #1 Spending Chirstmas away from my family & #2 Celebrating Christmas in the Summer.
PARQUE NACIONAL de TORRES DEL PAINE (Patagonia, Chile)
The ¨3 Torres¨ of the Torres del Paine National Park
Taking a breather near the Lago Nordenskjold
A little beach time admist a 14 hour one day mega-hike. My hiking crew consisted of two Spaniards, an Italian and a Swede. One of the Spaniards, Alex, wore the unconventional Asic lowtop running shoe in place of hiking boots, and it paid off as he was usually 45 minutes ahead of everyone else smoking cigarettes while we all caught up.
And now The Lake Region of Chile, namely Valdivia
The sun sets on Chile. Where the rio meets the mar.
Lookout at Parque Oncol outside of Valdivia.
So an American and two Jews walk into a German brewery... I unexpectedly ran into Ashi (far right) in Valdivia who I had met in a hostel in Buenos Aires 3 weeks before. Along with his friend and coworker Adam, both are Salsa dance instructors in Israel go-figure, we toured manysites in Valdivia including the Cerveceria Kunstmann. This beer is so amazing, and they have it all, from bock to our favorite: honey ale. Check them out: http://www.cerveza-kunstmann.cl/english.htm
Monday, December 17, 2007
I Survived the Golfo de Penas
Well oh well,
I just stepped off barco Evangelistas after a 4 day ride on the passenger ferry and am now in the stink-of-the-sea town of Puerto Montt, Chile. It was quite a time eating, sleeping, drinking, sight-seeing and sharing travel experiences with all the other South American travelers, mostly Brits, Swiss and Kiwis. And the time resting, reading three year old Time magazines, ironically learning how to properly play Texas Hold Em from Europeans, talking Bill Hicks with his loyal British fan base was definitely well appreciated after trekking and camping in Torres del Paine National Park in southern Patagonia (another story).
The boat trip was surprisingly calm and other than the third day the skies were usually clear enough to check out the massive islands and fjords that comprise most of the southern 1/3rd of Chile. The second to the last night was supposed to be the rough one, the time when we entered Golfo de Penas. Most people downed Dramamine so they wouldn`t have to down Penas prior to bedtime but I thought I could survive it drug-free. And actually sleeping wasn`t all that bad, it was like having an adult size automatic rocking cradle in every bed as the ship swayed port-starboard all night. So the Penas was rather soft, not unrelentingly hard as most people had assumed it to be. The next morning the women were quite surprised of the lack of Penas they experienced the night before, as the men were happy with its absence as well.
Well enough Penas jokes for now, I`ll submit a blog later with pictures etc once I get settled on land and recover from the lackluster Penas experience.
I just stepped off barco Evangelistas after a 4 day ride on the passenger ferry and am now in the stink-of-the-sea town of Puerto Montt, Chile. It was quite a time eating, sleeping, drinking, sight-seeing and sharing travel experiences with all the other South American travelers, mostly Brits, Swiss and Kiwis. And the time resting, reading three year old Time magazines, ironically learning how to properly play Texas Hold Em from Europeans, talking Bill Hicks with his loyal British fan base was definitely well appreciated after trekking and camping in Torres del Paine National Park in southern Patagonia (another story).
The boat trip was surprisingly calm and other than the third day the skies were usually clear enough to check out the massive islands and fjords that comprise most of the southern 1/3rd of Chile. The second to the last night was supposed to be the rough one, the time when we entered Golfo de Penas. Most people downed Dramamine so they wouldn`t have to down Penas prior to bedtime but I thought I could survive it drug-free. And actually sleeping wasn`t all that bad, it was like having an adult size automatic rocking cradle in every bed as the ship swayed port-starboard all night. So the Penas was rather soft, not unrelentingly hard as most people had assumed it to be. The next morning the women were quite surprised of the lack of Penas they experienced the night before, as the men were happy with its absence as well.
Well enough Penas jokes for now, I`ll submit a blog later with pictures etc once I get settled on land and recover from the lackluster Penas experience.
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