Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, or worn. It is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace & gratitude
Denis Waitley
Monthly Archives: November 2013
Take me back. This past week I went to Itaparica, Brasil and had the time of my life. I’ve always been a Club Med girl and have been wanting to go to Itaparica since I was 9 years old. Well, it didn’t disappoint. This was hands down the most relaxing vacation I have ever taken, while simultaneously being a blast. I couldn’t have asked for better weather – 90s and sunny everyday – and I can’t remember the last time I was this tan.
It was strange in the fact that I was the only America. Maureen and I seemed to be the only white girls in the club, yet it was fantastic. Since I didn’t speak Portuguese, but still wanted to chat with everyone, I resorted to (broken) Spanish, which ended up being so good for me. And hey, by the end of the week I even picked up some Portuguese!
You may ask: What was the highlight of the week? Well, some answers may not be very blog-appropriate and thus…FLYING TRAPEZE. While it has been my favorite activity for years and years, I hurt my shoulder flying about a year ago and have been out of trapeze for the past nine months. I was nervous to fly again, but I’ve always associated Club Med with trapeze, so I decided it was time to get back up there. It’s such a great feeling to be able to say that I flew quite a lot all week with absolutely no shoulder pain! Maybe I won’t need surgery when I get home after all…now, onto shoulder strengthening exercises…
I couldn’t be more thankful for Maureen and the fact that she got my booty all the way to Itaparica, despite the 16 hours of travel time. She was such a gracious host, roomie, and lovely, crazy friend. Who would’ve thought that a plan we made in February (in Mexico) would actually happen?!
So…who wants to go back with me? 🙂
On a separate note, I have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. I am so blessed. Sending love to everyone back home!
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Every time I stand before a beautiful beach, its waves seem to whisper to me: If you choose the simple things and find joy in nature’s simple treasures, life and living need not be so hard
Psyche Roxas-Mendoza
This past weekend I went to Uruguay…with no plan. First we took a ferry from Buenos Aires to Colonia del Sacramento then busses to Montevideo, Piriapolis, and Punta del Este. Considering the fact that I took this trip on a whim, I was completely unprepared and, thus, absolutely freezing 3/4 of the trip, but oh well.
A breakdown:
Colonia del Sacramento: Deemed an UNESCO World Heritage Site, this cobblestone town was both adorable and beautiful. We took a ferry straight from Buenos Aires into Colonia del Sacramento Thursday night – it was a breeze, but finding our hostel in the pitch black was a bit tough, so I was happy to be with a guy! We walked around for a bit and I was amazed at the silence; it was so peaceful. The next morning it was raining, but we woke up early to wander the town anyway. The lack of a rainjacket was a bit…tough…but all was good. Luckily it cleared up after about an hour or so and we were graced with beautiful blue skies. The little quaint town definitely didn’t disappoint.
Montevideo: I didn’t really have much of an interest in the capital of Uruguay, but it made for a good pitstop between locations. We got there with plenty of sunlight and decided to tour the city on our own; I loved that you could look down the streets and see the water. We cooked our own dinner that night and planned on having a quiet evening, until we realized that there was a pre-game to a Brasilian bachelor party happening in the courtyard. Needless to say, it got a bit rowdy, but it was a blast. We started talking about music and a few of the guys love Damien Rice and Glen Hansard, so we instantly bonded.
Piriapolis: I hadn’t really planned on hitting up Piriapolis, but my Spanish professor said that it was his favorite city in Uruguay, so I figured I might as well check it out. So happy I did. This beach town felt very homey. We were stuck schlepping around our backpacks, but that didn’t keep us from seeing everything. It was beautiful, but extremely windy. Due to this, we didn’t feel how strong the sun was. Needless to say, I fried (and consequently have some very awkward burn lines thanks to my backpack). Oh, and I had the best hamburguesa complete – yummm.
Punta del Este: This was our final destination in Uruguay, and the city I’d heard most about. I figured it’d be a letdown, but it wasn’t. It was gorgeous; we arrived right in time for sunset on the beach. Although I was freezing, it was quite enjoyable. That night we hung out with some guys in the hostel, which was fantastic for my Spanish since very little English was spoken. The following day was the absolute perfect day to spend on the beach – not too hot but outstandingly sunny, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky! Man, the sun in Uruguay is strong…
All in all, such a fabulous and relaxing weekend 🙂
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The human race’s prospects of survival were considerably better when we were defenceless against tigers than they are today when we have become defenseless against ourselves.
Arnold J. Toynbee
Yesterday a group of us decided to take a trip to the Lujan Zoo – the world’s most dangerous & controversial zoo! Although I typically don’t enjoy zoos, I was drawn to Lujan because I heard that you get to touch the animals. It’s true! The zoo’s located about 2 hours outside of Buenos Aires City, and the zoo is extremely dingy, but being able to go into the cages made it totally worth the trip. Tigers have been my favorite animals since I started Tae Kwon Do when I was six and we were told to have “tiger eyes.” To be able to finally pet a tiger was unbelievable; they are such beautiful creatures. Not only did we pet tigers, but lions, baby lions, camels, and elephants as well! The lions were huge, the baby tigers were adorable, the camels were smelly, and the elephants were adorable. Feeding a baby bear was definitely a highlight, as well as the elephants trunk wrapping around my arm. All in all, Lujan was a really cool experience – surely an experience that most people don’t get to have!
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Think of your life as a waterfall; it may come crashing down at some point, it may have it’s ups and downs, but in the end, it will continue to flow.
Unknown
One of the first things I heard about NYU Buenos Aires was that the program offered a school field trip to Iguazú Falls…so cool! Well, the time arrived and 26 hours post-departure we made it to Puerto Iguazú. The following morning we were up early to go to the Falls and they didn’t disappoint. In fact, they were mind-blowing; I couldn’t wrap my mind around the expanse of the Falls. We first went to the mouth of the river — I couldn’t understand why some people were putting on rainjackets because it was beautiful out and we were told that we wouldn’t get wet until the afternoon. WRONG! We were soaked head to toe instantaneously. The power of the falls was unbelievable. We spent a while taking in the sights and attempting to take some photos without ruining our cameras. In the afternoon we took a speedboat directly into the falls and it was such a blast. No where else in the world can you get so close to such massive falls!
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I love the sounds and the power of pounding water, whether it is the waves or a waterfall.
Mike May
The Five Foot Traveler 