Life Sunny Side Up

Back to reality

Sabi — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 20:21:36 +0000

When my world crumbled back in December, I never would have dreamed that the first few months of 2012 would be so amazing. Even though I started out on my own with no itinerary, the trip came together perfectly. I have to thank Agnes and Alex for introducing me to the beauty of South America. And, a second big thank you to Agnes for introducing me to Patricia, Barbara and Kim in Brazil. I would never have gone on my own since Brazil is not the safest place. However, being with them on our many crazy adventures was fabulous. Patricia and I were joined at the hip from the time we met. She was a breath of fresh air with her passion for life, her positive energy and free spirit.
Thanks to the girls and our hostel living, we made many new friends from around the world. With Faceboook, I know we will stay in touch and even see each other again!
I am also lucky because I came home to a new job. I interviewed just before leaving for South America and got the job offer the week after I got there. I am the head of digital marketing for a leading professional services organization. I still can’t believe they waited for me for two months so I could take my trip. I am truly blessed to have an amazing job to come home too.
While I am very excited about my job, travel will continue to be my passion. Who know where I will head to next, but I will blog again! A final thank you to my friend, Dj, for helping me set up my blog. Thanks to him, I have been able to capture so many amazing memories of my trip. I hope you enjoy sharing my adventures with me!

Final days in the sun

Sabi — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 18:19:17 +0000

One of my favourite places in Florionopolis was Praia Mole – a beautiful beach with a couple of cool beach bars that served great cocktails and played awesome tunes. Patricia and I had lunch with David (who was robbed that morning!) and Najeeb, a fellow Canadian who had wrestled a crocodile and went fishing for piranhas during his South American travels.You really do meet interesting people on vacation!
We spent an awesome afternoon at the beach and then Patricia and I met up with Jena who had gone kite surfing. When the sun started to set, we went back to our favourite beach bar. We were heading to a table at the same time as three German guys and decided to share it. The six of us immediately hit it off. Markus, Andre and Glen were old friends who were travelling in Brazil for three weeks. Like us, they had a couple of days left in Florionopolis. For the next 48 hours, we were inseparable. We went back to the sushi place for dinner, then took their scooters to an all night beach party where we watched the sun rise. The next day, we met for brunch at Praia Mole and took a hike to Galetta, a secluded nudist gay beach (that was interesting!). The best part was heading back to our favourite Mole beach bar at sunset and having our own dance party for six. The staff even took our iPod and played our music! There was lots of dancing on tables and acrobatics in the sand. We could have danced all night but the bar closed us down around 8.
Determined to keep the party going, we went back to our hostels to shower and met again at Barra Beach which was the perfect place to be on our last night. We had drinks at Galapagos and at the beach bar close by. In the wee hours of the morning, it was time to say goodbye to our new friends. We were sad but happy we spent our last two amazing days with them. We hope to meet again in Berlin, Toronto or somewhere in between!

Markus, Patricia, Andre, me and Glen after some fun in the sun at Galetta Beach

Afternoon cocktails at Praia Mole: Glen, Andre, Jena, Patricia, me and Markus

Life’s a beach

Sabi — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 18:50:06 +0000

After the hectic trip to the falls, I was looking forward to a few final days by the beach before returning home. We had a tough time finding accommodations last minute for the weekend so we went back to the Barra Beach Club Hostel that we loved. Patricia and I wanted a private room so we got the owner’s back up which pretty much up consisted of a shack for midgets! At least we had our own private space and the beach.
It was Saturday night so we went out to a club called Pacha. I had high expectations because I had been to Pacha in Spain. It was beautiful with a gorgeous crowd and awesome house music. This club could not have been more opposite with brutal music and an extremely young crowd – they let in 16-year olds! We drank tequila shots in an attempt to have a good time and finally spent a good chunk of change to party in the VIP area. It turned out to be the worst and most expensive night of the trip.
Fortunately, the next day we woke up to a view of the beach and beautiful sunshine. We hung out at the private beach of the hostel and went for a long walk on the main beach close by at sunset. It was the perfect relaxing day and the first time I felt ready to go home. I felt like I had seen everything I had wanted to see and the content wave that washed over me felt amazing.
For dinner that night, we found out about a fabulous sushi place called Sushi Roots from Jena, an awesome girl we met when we first stayed at Barra. She’s, by far, one of the coolest people I have ever met. Jenna is originally from Texas, lived in the UK and is now traveling around the world for a year looking for places to go kite surfing – her latest passion. She’s an amazing storyteller and her life story is unique to say the least. My favourite was the story of her pet rooster named Charlie who was a mean little monster who bit both Jena and her sister. After her sister showed her mom her bloody knee, Jena’s mom grabbed the shot gun (hanging in the children’s bedroom!), took aim and fired at the rooster. She then served Charlie up for dinner. I guess that’s life in Texas!
This was one of many stories Jena told us at the wonderful sushi place overlooking the lagoon in town. e had a huge feast of sushi and drank delicious kiwi and pineapple capisakis. We also got to know Daniele from Italy who now lives in London. He joined us girls for dinner and fit right in. Our decadent Japanese dinner was a wonderful wrap up to a perfect day.
The next morning we woke up and had breakfast at Barra with some guests at the hostel. David from Australia was checking out that day and told us another crazy story. He woke up in his room at 6:30 to see someone wearing his hat and stealing his back pack! Luckily, he didn’t lose anything too valuable. But it reminded me again of how dangerous Brazil is. Almost everyone I talked to had been robbed or knew someone who had been robbed!
That day we moved out of the shack and into a new hostel where we had our own private room. The Tucano Hostel had been voted number one hostel in Brazil. It was very cute with lots of friendly staff. But we missed our friends at Barra Beach Club. Little did we know that we would be back a couple of times before leaving Brazil!

Girls' night out at Pacha

It's a dog's life at Barra Beach Hostel

The jewel of South America

Sabi — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 17:31:01 +0000

After 8 weeks away, it was fitting that the grand finale in my last week would be a visit to the Iguazu Falls. The falls are 150 million years old and the name means big water. There are 275 waterfalls shared primarily between Brazil and Argentina.
There were four of us who took the long 15-hour bus journey to and from the falls. It was me, Patricia, Barbara and Mattheus – one of the awesome staff at the Barra Beach Hostel. Barbara and Mattheus met at one of the beach parties and have been seeing each other since. Another fabulous vacation romance! Sadly, Kim had to head back to Toronto. But it was great to have four of us for the road trip.
After my many Argentinian bus rides, the one to the falls was a piece of cake. I slept through most of it and was totally refreshed for our latest adventure. We stayed at a very cute hostel called Garden Stone. It felt like a tropical paradise and we had a spacious private room for the four of us. We dropped off our luggage and headed straight to the Brazil side of the falls.
While I am very proud of Niagara Falls, they don’t compare to Iguazu because there are so many stunning and majestic falls. The Brazil side boasts a panoramic view that is truly breathtaking. I could quickly understand why the falls are called one of the seven natural wonders of the world. We took the afternoon to travel across walkways that took us to various viewpoints of the falls. We even got so close that we got quite wet from just the mist. The refreshing water was welcome after walking around in the blazing hot sun.
We headed back to the small town of Puerto Iguazu on the Argentinian side. It was very cute, with lots of shops and a few bars and restaurants. We stopped off for a delicious pitcher of fruity cocktails after the falls and then went out later in the evening for a fabulous dinner.
The next morning, we got up at 7:30 so we could enjoy a full day on the Argentinian side of the falls. The gang was excited to do a 3km hike to see a hidden waterfall. The hike was not very scenic but we did see a pack of hungry South American raccoons, gigantic ants and spiders with webs that spread from one side of the path to the other, as well as many butterflies in an array of colours. The highlight was seeing wild monkeys on our way back. One of them came down a tree to see us and was casually munching on a piece of fruit. There was also a very cute baby. They were so much fun to watch!
The waterfall was small but beautiful. People were swimming and sun bathing on the rocks. We took some photos and headed back so we could spend a full afternoon exploring the main falls. We started out at Garganta Del Diablo – the devil’s throat. You really do feel like you are at the core, standing directly in front of a massive fall with tonnes of water crashing into the river below. The noise is deafening and the water is mesmorizing to watch.
The hike ate up a lot of our time so we had no time for lunch and had to rush across a million walkways to get to a boat ride we booked for 4pm. We barely made it but it was so worth it! The boat ride took us right under the falls and we got drenched. It was so amazing to be so close to them. This was the highlight of our Iguazu adventure!
When we got off the boat, we had a little time to explore this side of the falls. It was looked like a tropical paradise and was incredibly beautiful. This was my favourite part of both sides of the falls. I wish we had more time to explore it but we had to rush back to catch our 15-hour bus ride to Florionopolis. We took some awesome pictures before we left and then I blew a big kiss goodbye to Iguazu. I have a feeling I’ll be back again someday!

Barbara, Mattheus, me and Patricia loved this spot on the Argentinian side of the falls

Paradise in Brazil

Sabi — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:46:53 +0000

We spent the second half of our stay in Florionopolis – a gorgeous area with lots of quaint beach towns. Barbara booked our second hostel and, while our room was tiny, it was an amazing place. It’s called Barra Beach Club and is directly on the beach. The hostel provides free caipirinhas from 7 to 7:30 and delicious home cooked meals for only 8 US dollars. The place is packed every night. Even people from other places come for the great food, drinks and company. We met lots of awesome people from Australia, the UK, Holland and even fellow Canadians. Every night was an adventure. We went to a party at a small bar on the beach and enjoyed many cocktails at the local bar in town called Galapagos. Nice coincidence that my stop before Brazil was in the Galapagos Islands! My friends became regular customers at a tiny beach bar that served vodka shots for 3 bucks US. I tried one and nearly puked! For that price it tasted like gasoline. One shot was more than enough for me!
In the day, we slept in and had great breakfasts overlooking the water. I realized it was the first time since the beginning of the trip that I could relax and let each day unfold. We explored the natural pools and beaches. One of our explorations took us to Mole Beach where there were two awesome beach bars that had fabulous food, cocktails and music. We got caught there in a rain storm and it turned out to be one of my best times on the trip.
My favourite party was at Cafe de Musique which had a daytime party from 2 until 10 pm. It started slowly but the club filled up by 6 and the dj had practically everyone dancing. It reminded me of Nikki Beach in Miami. I was in heaven and we danced until the very end! Patricia and Barbara went to another party at midnight but Kim and I went to sleep – very content and tired after the fabulous first party.

Kim, Barbara, Patricia and I danced up a storm at Cafe de Musique

Canadians take over Barra Beach - Andy, Patricia, me, Kim and Goran

Barbara, Mattheus, me, Kim and Danny at a Mole Beach bar - some of the best cocktails on the trip!

Last day in Rio

Sabi — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 21:26:58 +0000

On Monday we did a city tour where our first stop was to see Christ the Redeemer, one of the most famous tourist icons of Brazil and the world. The statue is 30 feet high and sits high above the city. It is not only a work of art but a symbol of the strong and predominantly catholic faith in Rio.
We also took two cable cars up Sugar Loaf Mountain. We were so high that we saw the city from above the clouds. Beaches and marinas surrounded the city and vultures soared in front of us. It was definitely one of the most breathtaking city views I have ever seen, rivalled only by The Peake in Hong Kong.
That night was our last in Rio. We met an awesome guy, Manuel, from Holland who always knew where the best parties were. Unfortunately, despite reliable sources, both clubs he recommended were closed. We ended up having drinks at a local pub and then headed back to the hostel. It turns out that our hostel was once again the most happening place in town. It was our last night so we said goodbye to many of the friends we met. We met some new Aussies that night who were staying in an apartment directly opposite the hostel. They invited us back to their place to “see the incredible view”. It was already 3am. I knew that if I went, it would be a very late night so I wisely declined. However, the guys would not take no for an answer and one of them literally picked me up and carried me across the road!
I stayed for a couple of drinks but headed back around 5 to get some sleep before our journey to Florionopolis (Floripa). Unfortunately, Kim stayed a lot longer and was severely hurting for our travels the next day.
The girls at the Christ the Redeemer statue and the colourful Lapa steps

Natural beauty of Rio

Sabi — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 21:09:01 +0000

Even though it was surprisingly hard for us to find a good party in Rio (probably because people were all partied out from carnival the week before), the city is absolutely gorgeous. It is made up of many beautiful beaches, forests and mountains and has a vibrant city that inspires singers, painters and poets.
We spent Sunday exploring the Ipenema Market and the beautiful Ipenema Beach. We watched the sunset and then climbed a lookout to see the city sparkle from above. That night we went out for an authentic Brazilian barbecue where the servers brought every type of meat possible to our table. We ate everything from filet mignon to chicken hearts (actually I didn’t eat the chicken hearts but my friend loves them!) While we were eating, a man brought over his brother’s baby to entice us into talking to him. It was a very lame move and we turned him down when he offered us drinks after dinner.
That night, we met some guys from California and headed to a party. It turns out that it was a gay club and there were lots of public displays of affection as soon as we walked in. My friends and I were cool with it – the music and club were amazing. However, the guys made a quick exit. We partied until the wee hours and went back to the hostel for a night cap. Tip: Always take your ID to a club. Your ID is used to create your own personal card that functions like a credit card. They put your cover on the card and then your drinks are added throughout the night. You pay the balance at the end of the night. Even though I prefer to just bring cash, bring a credit card just in case. Our cover was higher than stated on the website so we barely had enough money to pay for our bar bill and taxi!

Patricia, Barbara, me and Kim at a Brazilian feast

Party time in Brazil!

Sabi — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 21:03:24 +0000

I was both nervous and excited about going to Rio. I had heard lots of horror stories about thefts and even kidnappings! Plus Agnes’ friends had booked a hostel for us and I was not sure what to expect from this new travel experience.
I arrived at the hostel at 7am on Saturday morning and got my first view of Copacabana Beach as the sun came up. It was a long stretch of beautiful beach with the glowing red sun rising over the water. The hostel was in a great location, 3 blocks from the beach, but it was very basic. My private room actually kind of felt like a coffin since it had no windows, fan or air! They only run the AC from 10 am to 10 pm. I tried to take a nap at 2 and almost passed out. I talked to the staff and they agreed to keep my a/c running all day since I had no windows.
On the up side, hostels are a great way to meet fabulous people. As soon as I got there, I met Michaela from Switzerland and Andreas from Argentina. They were both wonderful and easy to talk to. We hung out on the beach for the day until our room was ready at 2. Agnes’ friend, Patricia, met us and we immediately hit it off. Unfortunately, Kim and Barbara got stuck at the airport so they didn’t get into Rio until much later in the evening.
Carnival was the week before but we were excited to find out that the finale called The Parade of the Champions was taking place that night. It takes place at the Sambadrome that holds 60,000 people. We saw the best of the colourful carnival floats which have 90 minutes to parade from one end of the stadium to the other. My favourite was a white and gold one with a human carousel. Yep, there were people hanging from the carousel, doing acrobats as it spin around! It was definitely the highlight of the night.
We went back to the hostel and met up with Kim and Barbara. I was tired but it was Saturday night in Rio so we all went out. What an adventure! We started out in Lapa where there are bars and people party in the streets. We were harassed so much that we left within 15 minutes. It was probably a good thing because everyone we talked to who had partied in Lapa had been robbed in Lapa!
Next, we went to a Copacabana beach bar that was packed. It was a pretty eclectic crowd of all ages and I was happy to relax and have a drink. Then Kim said “something is not right here”. Sure enough, our waiter confirmed that we were surrounded by ladies of the night and many tourists looking for a good time! We finished our drinks and quickly left. We tried another couple of spots but ended up back at our hostel which turned out to be the best party place! We met a lot of great people from Argentina, Canada, Australia and Holland.

Enjoying one of the last carnival parties with Michaela and Patricia

Quick stop in Quito!

Sabi — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 20:47:40 +0000

After visiting the turtles, we took a flight to Quito. It’s the second highest city in the world at 2,800 meters above sea level. It has a beautiful city centre with lots of historical colonial buildings. It also has fabulous restaurants and bars. I went to an incredible seafood restaurant called Zazu with John, the New Zealander I met on the cruise. The meal, service, ambience and the company was outstanding. I only had one night in Quito and I was very happy to spend it there.
The next morning I was going to take a city tour to see the old part of the city but I didn’t have enough time before my flight. I mistakenly thought it was safe so I hopped in a cab and headed to the old town around noon. I took out my SLR camera and took photos of the beautiful old buildings. I was surprised when a local came up to me and told me to leave the area because it was not safe. I took his advice and jumped in a cab. The cabbie spoke very little English and took me the very long way to my destination. We went so far that I thought I would miss my flight! I had heard of cabbies doing this to other tourists. I usually ask hotels and restaurants to call cabs for me so I had not run into the before. Luckily, cabs in Quito are cheap so even though he drove me around for 45 minutes, it only cost 15 US. I was just happy to be back safely at the hotel and in time for my flight!

The fascinating giant tortoises

Sabi — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 20:42:12 +0000

The next morning we disembarked from the boat but had one last excursion before the airport. We stopped off on another unique island that looked like a fishing village. It was very picturesque and lush with some cute cafes on the main street.
One of the things I loved the most about the Galapagos was the distinctly different landscape of each island. We started our first day with one that looked like the desert with stunning yellow and red rock, another was harsh and striking with jagged rock and little vegetation, the next was like an island paradise with a beautiful beach and the last one looked like a tropical jungle with green rolling hills.
We took a 40-minute bus ride to a breeding ground for giant tortoises. I thought it was going to be like a zoo but like the rest of the Galapagos it was a very natural environment. A tortoise greeted us a soon as we arrived. Giant tortoises weigh up to 500 pounds and can live for up to 150 years. You wouldn’t want one of these guys to step on your toe!
We headed to the breeding area for baby tortoises between one and three years. They were extremely cute and very tiny. One flipped on its back and we watched it wave its legs and neck in a valiant attempt to flip over. Despite our cheering he couldn’t quite make it all the way over so one of the guides gave him a helping hand and used a stick to flip him over.
I mistakenly thought tortoises were slow, docile animals but I was so wrong! We were lucky enough to see a group of about 10 males at feeding time. Even though there was lots of food, they would aggressively go after each other’s food. I kneeled down to take a picture with them and quickly jumped up when one of them started hissing at me. They’re not very pretty and not very nice, but they are incredibly fascinating!