Where in the world is Pia?

14 hours ahead.

2011-07-09T21:53:00.001-04:00

Our trusty steel bird landed us safely in Brisbane, Australia July 1st at 6:10 am. Our total trip mileage was 15,000. If you would like to come visit us while we are here click this link for directions.

We were greeted by sunny skies, a cool breeze and a pleasant 70 degrees despite the claims by the locals that we arrived in winter.

In addition to our arrival the 1st of July marked Pia's Nanna's 89th Birthday. We celebrated with an Aussie BBQ and fruitcake.

We visited with a few of Australia's cuddliest creatures.

And some of the fastest.

And hung out a bit.

Next up was a trip around Brisbane via the river on the City Cat which is part of the public transportation system.

Brisbane's Central Business District.

The cultural center of Brisbane along with a ferris wheel.

We visited Noosa's national park, the northern most area of the Sunshine Coast, and went for a bit of a hike, swim and a picnic. It was a beautiful day and we thoroughly enjoyed a relax.

We stopped to check out the view at Boiling Pot Point, a point that juts out giving everyone fantastic views of the Pacific Ocean.

We then decided to head inland for a few days to check out an area known as the Granite Belt. It is famous for wineries, large boulders of granite and consistently having the coldest temperatures in the state of Queensland. One brochure even boasted that visitors could even occasionally experience a snow fall.

While wine tasting we met a local.

On our way to the Granite Belt we travelled through the Great Dividing Range.

We visited Girraween National Park which is known for it's beautiful display of the area's namesake, granite.

We climbed to the top of the Pyramid, well almost to the top. Our knowledge of gravity left us with little desire to climb through the last and steepest section.

With our backs to the Pyramid we were greeted by the valley.

Once back in Brisbane we went to the West End Markets. The markets are held every Saturday morning with over 100 vendors selling everything from produce to freshly made breakfasts to clothing. It was a great way to see a local part of Brisbane life.

Pia's cousin using the excuse of the Markets to have a yard sale.

Family photo.

Good bye San Fran, hello Pacific Ocean (California Part 3)

2010-07-31T09:57:00.000-04:00

Healdsburg, Pacific Coast Highway, San Francisco (California Part 2)

2010-07-31T09:52:00.000-04:00

California: 1 camper, 2 people, 10 days and 1600 miles.

2010-07-31T09:40:00.000-04:00

First let me take a moment to introduce you to our new friend, Daytripper.

Daytripper meet the internet, internet this is Daytripper our newest (and most fun friend). While the decision to hire a camper was a bit of a last minute one we cannot imagine our journey without her.

It truly was love at first sight......sigh.

After stopping for our inaugural In-N-Out Burger we headed to Las Vegas through the Mojave Desert with soaring temperatures.

116 feels like an oven!

Jumping for joy to be on our trip!

Baker California is H-O-T but on the upside we got to see the world's tallest thermometer.

Las Vegas strip from the Palms Hotel.

Brittney, me, Ryan and Seth. Thanks for having us Brittney and Seth!

Red Rock Canyon is just a hop, skip and a jump from Las Vegas so we decided to check it out.

We were excited to be there!

Beautiful.

Daytripper enjoyed the view also.

More beautiful.

After leaving Red Rock Canyon we had a long drive up to Yosemite National Park. We drove from arid hot desert through apline mountain terrain, back into desert and then onto Pine forests.

Along the drive, the Sierra Nevadas.

A well deserved lunch in Bishop a cute town in the middle of nowhere.

Daytripper checking out the view again.

Just before we arrived in Yosemite we stumbled across the delightful town of Lee Vining. Complete with a bookshop, general store, diner, gas station oh and a BEAUTIFUL view. What more could you ask for?

Lee Vining is situated on the edge of Mono Lake which is the sister lake to Salt Lake. We arrived just in time to scurry down to the lake's edge and watch the sun sneak behind the mountain range.

Mono Lake is twice as salty as the ocean. The picture above shows mineral deposits left behind as water levels have dropped in the last 60 years. To read more about Mono Lake and the movement to protect the lake click here.

Good night Mono Lake.

We may have lived in a camper but oral hygiene was always a priority!

The next morning we woke up early and headed into Yosemite. We were up with the sun and ready to go!

We almost missed the 116 degrees we experienced two days earlier as the temperature hovered on freezing.

Breakfast with a view!

Jungle Tours, Scrabble and Machu Picchu

2008-06-14T13:14:00.000-04:00

Mom and Allie came down to visit with me in Bolivia. We headed up to Lake Titicaca for the first few days. Then we headed into the jungle for 4 days. The pictures are lacking on my end because Allie and Mom took most of them.

Boat riding down the Beni River on the way to the lodge. We stayed at the Chalalan Lodge which is a community run and owned lodge it was great! Here is the link.... http://www.chalalan.com/chalalan_ing/home.asp
We were able to see loads of wildlife; birds, monkeys, snakes, HUGE ants, etc.
After Mom left, Allie and I headed up to Peru. First stop Machu Picchu/Cusco. Here is the infamous Banoffee Pie with of course a scrabble game. Who travels without scrabble?

Sun rise at Machu Picchu, absolutely stunning.
Pre-sunrise Machu Picchu shot.

After Machu Picchu we took an overnight bus to see the Nasca Lines and then headed up the coast to Ica/Huacachina. We spent three days poolside reading in the middle of a desert. Greatly needed warmth and sun.

Salt Flats

2008-05-20T15:01:00.000-04:00

After Southern Chile, I headed to San Pedro de Atacama in the north to see an area known as the salt flats. The only way to see these areas is to take a tour through to Bolivia (where they actually are).

We got up early one morning to watch the sunrise on the salt flats. Look at the cool patterns that the salt makes on the ground. It feels exactly like walking on ice/snow it was wierd to think it was salt. The salt is 10 meters thick in some areas!

Here is wiki to help us out again : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salar_de_Uyuni

Where else in the world can you find cactus, salt flats, mountains and snow?

Izzie, Beth, Trevor and I freezing our asses off in the early morning but enjoying the beauty!
Jump shot!
Playing cards, a major part of every backpacker´s life.

Lago Azul.....literally translated means blue lake....orginal I know. It is quite pretty though.

The terrain in Southern Bolivian changed so quickly from mountains to the salt flats to dry arid areas, it was too cool.

Next up pictures from my adventures with Trish Dish and Allie Kat! (mom and sister)

Torres del Paine and Punta Arenas

2008-05-20T14:19:00.000-04:00

After leaving the beautiful nation of Argentina for the last time and headed over to Chile! First stop, Puerto Natales and Torres del Paine National Park.

Most people who head to Torres del Paine do a 5 day trek but we arrived at the wrong time of year so we just spent one day at the park. It was not the sunniest day possible nor the warmest but we still enjoyed ourselves.

It was a bit windy, in fact probably the windiest weather I have ever experienced.

The ¨Blue Lake¨ with some of Torres del Paine´s natural creatures. The lake is so blue from suspended particles.
A view of the city of Punta Arenas.

On the road again...............a very long road through Patagonia

2008-05-03T10:37:00.000-04:00

The very long road to Patagonia. After finishing three weeks of classes in Bariloche I headed south. First to a small town called El Bolson for a few days. I spent my time hiking and enjoying the beautiful fall foliage Patagnia has to offer!

La Cabeza del Indio...an Indian head that has naturally formed in a rock face in El Bolson.

The view out of the bus on my 33 hour journey to El Chelten. It was monotonous to say the least.

At the end of my journey.........so worth it! Beautiful El Chelten in Los Glaciares National Park. We spent 5 days doing day hikes and seeing the beautiful Fitzroy Mountains. I was also able to visit Perito Moreno Glacier, one of the few advancing glaciers in the world.

FItzroy Range. It is a bit chilly here believe it or not, but I am still enjoying each minute.

Saad, Will, Anna and I at the end of our hike up to the Fitzroy Range. Such a beautiful sight, totally worth the 9 hours it took roundtrip. We totally lucked out on weather for the day with sun and very little wind!

Our view during lunch at the top.

The view from the visitor´s center.

Afternoon shot during a hike on day.

Making use of my headlamp! (Thank you Regina and Steve!)

Fitzroy Range from behind Laguna de Cerro.

Perito Moreno Glacier. It´s huge. 5 Kilometers wide, 13 kilometers long and 60 meters high!

Two men having a chat with the glacier in the background.

It is so hard to convey how big the glacier truly is. Every day bits crash into the waters below creating a most amazing sound. I always seemed to miss the bits of ice falling only to hear people go wow!!!!

Lake in El Calafate at sunset.

Black and White shot.

I am a long way from home for sure!

Nice artsy picture of me taken by Anna.

Mas, mas, mas Bariloche

2008-04-14T14:59:00.000-04:00

Yesterday some friends and I rented a car. Bariloche is the captial of the Lakes Region in Patagonia and we drove around to explore a bit.

We stopped here for lunch, sure beats the office hey??

Post lunch mate that we have all become fond of. Will and Chris seem to be our resident experts, although I was taught the techniques by a couch sufer last night! You all be ready to drink some mate when I get home!

Random stop along the way, beauty and more beauty!

The Bariloche adventurers- Will, Anna, Chris, Tin and Myself. As you can see both by the snow on the mountains and our clothes, winter has definitly hit Bariloche. Send warm thoughts and clothes!

Another random stop, it is so beautiful here.

As the sun was begining to set on our way home, notice the moon just begining to show it´s face.

The road back into Bariloche.

More Bariloche

2008-04-12T16:40:00.000-04:00

I have just completed week two of spanish classes down here in Bariloche. I have decided to stay on another week in hopes of improving my spanish losing my american accent! This past week and next week I am staying with an Argentine host family. It has been great to get to know them and practice spanish even more...mas mas mas!!!

Here is more information on Bariloche via my friend wikipediä: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bariloche

This is the apartment building I have been staying in with my host family. My bedroom is the window to the mnost left on the top floor. The views are spectatular, straight onto the lake.

Above is evidence that I truly am studying down here. Note the pencil as well as notebook and dictionary. The silver cup with the straw-esq type thing is Mate. It is quit similar to tea or coffee but with a much stronger social connection. It tastes good and is always had with great company, I love it! (a wikipedia link to explain Mate: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mate_%28beverage%29). A friend of mine eloquently said ¨life without mate, is not life¨. As you can see it´s a pretty serious game down here with mate, there are very strict rules. A mistake can cause sayings such as ït´s not a microphone you know¨.

Lat weekend we decided to rent bikes and ride a 25 klilometer loop that is supposed to have great views. About 5 kilometers in the rain started falling and literally did not stop the rest of the time. I was in an especially smart mood, I wore shorts and a sweatshirt (it was 50 degrees and rainy you do the math). Below is a statue that we saw along the way. My bottom midway through the ride during a mate break. Thank you mate!!!!! Notice the red tint my legs have taken on due to cold and stupidity.
Even though it was completely rainy, the views were still great.
On a walk during a clear day, Bariloche is absolutely stunning.
Myself, Anna and Will during our walk.

A view onto the lake during sunset.
Walking back from the bus station, I could not believe the shapes of the peaks. It seemed straight off of a post card.
Argentine flag on a sunny day.
We went bowling last week, it was great! The highest score in my lane was an impressive 95. The shoes were cool and the alley played some great ABBA.
Today is the 12th of April and believe it or not I have been gone now for 2 months. I have slept in over 25 different hostels and spent almost 100 hours on buses. Traveled to three new countries and countless cities and towns. I have learned sayings such as ¨crash the five¨ and ¨it´s worth the pain¨ en español , eaten more empanadas and medialunas than I would ever want to admit to everyone. I could totally go for a Wawa hoagie, pack of Herr´s chips and an Arizona Green tea but for now I will eat another medialuna and drink my cafe con leche!

First few days in Bariloche

2008-04-03T17:36:00.000-04:00

Yesterday school was closed to comemorate those who died in the War of the Malvinas (Faulkland War). I along with some friends from my spanish school/hostel decided to explore some areas outside of Bariloche.

We climbed this mountain/hill and this was the view from the top. We had our lunch looking out onto the Andes Mountains and the lakes of Patagonia.

From L-R Mikel(German), Yours Truly, Anna and Will (England) and Omer (Israel)

Another view from the top.

Will and Omer went for a swim in Lago Nahuel Huapi which is quite chilly this time of year.

Pucon and finally Bariloche!!!!

2008-03-31T15:48:00.000-04:00

After Valpo we headed south in Chile to the town of Pucon. It had been recommended by others and seemed like a good stop over before Bariloche. We decided to clime one of the nearby volcanos (there are many many people who do it each year, not overly dangerous trust me). The weather was not great for the first two mornings so we couldn´t go.

On our second day we had a picnic with some of the others from our hostel when the weather cleared. We had a few univited guests but it made for a much more interesting lunch.

A view of the Villarica volcano that we climbed from town. (sorry about the power lines!)
On our third day we were able to make the climb/hike/trek to the top! The first hour and a half was rocky and quite unstable, we then put on cramptons and hiked up a glacier for another 2 hours and finally climbed an hour on volcanic rock. The climb was probably the hardest hike I have done before. The view and the ride down made it completely worth it, I say that now a week later. On our way down, we put these pads on our butts and slide down the glacier on what seemed like a bobsled track it was soo cool, definitely the best sledding I have ever done.

View from the top, looking into Argentina. The volcano in the distance marks the border between Argentina and Chile.
Pablo our guide at the top.
View from my room in Bariloche. The town is situated on Lago Nahuel Huapi....a really huge lake. It is absolutely breathtaking with the Andes mountains as the backdrop.

The town of Pucon from one of the hills behind town with our new friends.

Cool street art in Bariloche that Mara matched.
Great sign we saw in Bariloche.
Our last picture together on our trip. Bye-bye prima, we had a great run together!

The second part of my journey is now starting. Mara is leaving tonight out of Buenos Aires back to Philly and I am staying on in Bariloche. I am half way through my first week of Spanish classes and have another week to go.

Valparaiso

2008-03-25T18:53:00.000-04:00

We spent Easter weekend in Valparaiso, Chile. It is one of the larger cities in Chile many of the residents are young univeristy students making it a great town. Well we sure had fun!

The Easter Bunny found us all the way in South America! Street art in Valpo, the otwn has a strong bohemian feel. Lots of art, street art, puppets and other creative expressions.

Valpo is a port city built on enormously steep hills. The architecture has accordingly been customized to the natural landscape making it quite unique.

Santiago

2008-03-21T12:33:00.000-04:00

The journey from Puente del Inca to Santiago was full of switchbacks and incredible views. At some points I felt that the scenery could have been taken and put straight onto a bottle of wine. We drove through what seemed to be an aboslutely massive wine reigon on the west side of the Andes mountains and then magically Santiago appeared. We arrived late into the city and headed striaght to our hostel.

The next day we spent exploring the city. Andy and I found a massive fish market and had ourselves some lunch, it was dish delish. We also found out about a soocer/football match as well. Santiago reminds me a lot of Los Angeles a sprawling city surrounded by mountains causing a bit of a smog situation. We were able to go up to the top of one of the hills in town and get a pretty good view of everything.

The next day we got up early and bought our tickets to the football match, Cola Cola vs. Boca Juniors. Cola Cola is the Santiago team and the Boca Juniors are the best team in Argentina based in Buenos Aires. We had wanted to go to a match while we were in Buenos Aires but it just didn't happen so this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Later on in the day I met up with an American man named Marc who now lives in Chile. His main gig is fly fishing and skiing but he also has a shop in which he sells Outback. Dad had casually mentioned Marc and the timing worked out great. Marc spent the day showing me around his part of the city. It was such a treat! I had my favorite sushi for lunch....I was beyond excited to say the least. I was also able to spend a bit of time at his shop and check things out. If anyone is looking to do some fly fishing or skiing down here Marc is your man.

Afterwards I met up with a group of people who were all headed to the game. We took a subway out and arrived just as the game was starting. Ihad never been to such an intense sporting event in my entire life it was great! People were cheering literally the entire time and singing songs of Cola Cola. I totally felt bad fro the Boca Junior fans especially since they lost. After the game we took a cab back to our hostel and headed to a bar Mara had wanted to go to. We drank Pisco Sours [the drink of Santiago] and then back to our hostel.

Today we are headed to the coast to spend our Easter weekend in Valpo or Valipariso.

Hope everyone has a great Easter weekend!!! Love Pia

Mendoza and Puente del Inca

2008-03-21T10:10:00.000-04:00

After Salta Mara and I headed south to Mendoza. The main industry in Mendoza is wine and tourism so it was a bit different from Salta that was not so heavily reliant on tourism. 20 hour bus ride and multiple horrible hollywood flops dubbed over in spanish later I was in Mendoza. Mendoza is a decent sized city with wide streets and many public open spaces. There was an earthquake about 20 years ago that destroyed much of the city so a lot of the architecture is new. Even so on the first day I went to thermal springs about an hour outside of Mendoza. The scene was quite breath taking because the springs were built on the side of a mountain that was part of the Andes. The water and thermal springs were not quite as amazing but still the view made the massive trip out there worth it.

On the second night we switched hostels to one closer to town, it was great. We immediately found a great group of people and knew almost everyone there. A few people from our hostel in Salta were also staying at our place in Mendoza which was fun.

On the third day we decided to do some wine tasting...when in rome right? We took a bus out to the wine reigon beautifully named Maipu {pronounced my poo}, rented some bikes, grabbed a map and we were on our way. The gig is that you ride your bikes to whichever winery tickles your fancy. Mara and I made it to two bodegas, an olive oil factory and also a chocolate liquor place. We both decided that Vistandes would be the locationof our destination weddings http://www.vistandes.com/home.htm check it out! At any rate we had a great day biking around and taking it all in nice sunny day, beautiful wine country with the Andes as the back drop and of course the bodegas. That evening we went out with a few people from our hostel to the main bar area in town as well as to a reggae bar with some great live music.

We spent the next day exploring the towns squares and markets. Another beautiful day hanging out in Mendoza. I am not sure I would rush back but it was pretty cool all the same.

Early on Sunday morning Mara, myself and our new friend Andy headed up into the Andes into a small town called Puente del Inca. The town itself was literally ten buildings in a valley between the massive Andes mountain range. I am pretty sure the town exists for two reasons: there is an ancient land bridge that the Inca's used to go to thermal springs and it is about 4 kilometers from the hike out point of the world's tallest mountain outside the Himalayas. The town was great though one small general store,a hostel, a hotel and some toursity stores. We walked around on our first evening there and found the bus from "Into the Wild" as well as saw one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen.

The next day we had decided to try and stay at the basecamp but that ended up not working otu after a lot of effort and time. We ended up doing the lame loop at the bottom near the ranger station [woot to us hiking!!!!] and then heading back to the hostel. We were bummed that we couldn't stay at base camp but when we heard winds would hit 100 mph we quickly changed our minds. We spent the night instead back at our hostel with new friends, some wine and pasta. It was a great night totally enjoyed by all. We also were able to go to some of the thermal springs on the other side of the Inca bridge which were so lovely. We sat watching the clouds roll into our valley slowly covering up the bright stars that we had been admiring and headed to bed.

Here is a link about Aconagua.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aconcagua

Th

Mendoza and Puente del Inca Photos

2008-03-19T12:51:00.000-04:00

Mara and I at the base of Aconagua.

Beautiful Sunset in Puente del Inca

Our climbing adventures.

Puente del Inca, the main style of architecture: tin.

Aconagua

Northwest Argentina (Resistencia, Salta, Cafayate and Cachi)

2008-03-11T11:16:00.000-04:00

We finally left the beautiful Iguazu Falls and headed to Resistencia which we knew little about but it seemed to be a good stopping point for a few days and seemed to be a bit off the normal track for backpackers.

We took an overnight bus and arrived in Resistencia at about 6 a.m. we had planned to check into a hostel and relax after a rough night on the bus. We met up with two english backpackers who had arrived on our same bus and headed into town. The first hostel we checked out now was abandoned and now seemed to be currently poccupied with someone sleeping on the front stoop. Next on our list also turned out to be without any luck, they were booked for the night or as they say in spanish "no hay nadia". Our few days in Resistencia quickly turned into one with and it seemed that it would be spent with our new english friends Alistar and Kat. Resistencia has become famous for the many scultpures through out town. In a town with about 250,00 in habitants there are almost 500 sculptures. Most are made by Argetines local to the North. It was great to see not only the scultures but also a town that was frequented little by other backpackers (especially after Iguazu had been such a tourist destination). I very much enjoyed the town, it was great people watching as well as a nice look into rural Argentine life. That night we left on another overnight bus to Salta (which is in the northwest of Argentina).

We arrived in Salta ready to spend a few days exploring and staying in one place. We were able to meet up with our friend Fran whom we had met in Uruguay. It was good to see him as well as a new part of Argentina. Salta is absolutely lovely, it is completely surrounded by mountains. We were able to walk up one of the hills/mountains giving us great views of the city. We became a bit lazy and took the gondola down though, hey we made it up right?

View of Salta from the top of the mountain.

We spent a few more days exploring the city. Mara and I made our way to a mountain on the other side of the city hoping to be able to have a repeast performance of the view above but with no luck. The village of San Lorenzo was literally 5 shops nestled into the side of one of the mountains above. It was only 14 kilometers outside the city but worlds apart.

Once again we used couch surfing to hook up with a local and we had a great time. Daniela is a 23 year old student originally from Salta who had been living in Bolivia for the past 6 years. We all made dinner together one night and then went out to a bar named Barney after the character on the Simpsons. Another night she took us out to the bar district in Salta which is surprisingly lively for a town of about 500,000.

After a few days in Salta we decided that it was time to explore some of the nearby towns. Mara, Fran and I along with two others from our hostel rented a Fiat the size of downstairs bathroom on Linden Street (a bit of an exageration I know but it felt that small at times). On our first day with the car we drove south with the destination of Cafayate in mind. Along the way we decided to stop and check out a few things.

Mara and Leor jumping off a bridge, we think it was about 20 meters to the water. Don´t worry safety first, Mara and I jumped only after we saw Fran and Leor do it.

The ride to Cafayate was beyond amazing. This is called "Garganta del Diablo" or Devil´s Throat. The true immensity is absolutely impossible to capture via my camera. When Fran and Leor walked to the higest point possible they looked completely insignificant to the strucutre. In the U.S. there would literally be thousands of people visiting it each day, here this natural structure was only marked by paint on a rock 50 meters before the parking lot.

Our beautiful Fiat, why would anyone ever rent 5 kids a white car??

Another section of the ride to Cafayate. Cafayate is one of Argentina´s most famous wine making regions. It is also home to the world´s highest alititude winery at just under 4500 feet.

The next day on our way to Cachi. Some describe this section of terrain as looking like the moon, I am not sure if I agree but still amazing.

Iguazu Falls

2008-03-02T13:38:00.000-05:00

The next few days we spent in Buenos Aires doing many of the things we had not done previously. I went to the San Telmo section of the city and walked on cobble stone streets through the antiques district. I was also able to see a home that was only 3 meters wide but 50 meters long. The story told is the land was given to a group of freed slaves by their previous owner and they worked with what they had to build therir home on their land!

I next headed over to the Recoleta Cemetary which is the burial site of famous Argentine Evita Peron as well as many others famous and elite alike. It sounds somewhat odd but the cemetary represents one of the most famous tourist attractions in Buenos Aires as well as source of pride for the portenas, rightfully so. It was absolutely beautiful, I literally walked around with awe at the amazing graves that families had made for themselves. Some of them were so ornate made of marble and intricate details such as paintings and wrought iron designs. I could have spent an entire day there and still not be able to see all the graves. It certainly was not like any cemetary have been to before..

We were able to hang out with Florencia (our couch surfing friend) and Beth (one of our new friends from Diablo) on our last night in the city. It was great to just hang out on the roof of the hostel and have some good laughes with our new friends. I have very much enjoyed my time in Buenos Aires and it´s position as my home away from home in South America.

We arrived in Puerto Iguazu after and long yet luxorious bus ride. We were given hot meals, served drinks and given blankets and pillows to sleep with. It was a much better experience than our flight down on American I can tell you that!

Our first day was spent settling in doing nothing particularly exciting. But on our second day we went to falls!!!! I do not know how to explain the falls through my blog because they were simply amazing! No seriously I still cannot get over how powerful and breathtaking they were. The falls for those who do not know creates part of the border between Brasil and Argentina.Therefore Brasil claims part of the falls as thier own and Argentina does the same. From the Argetine side you are able to see everything so it did not really matter. On our first day at the falls Mara and I walked the lower loop looking at the falls from the bottom. We took a ferry boat across the river to Isla San Miguel to get other views. We were able to get in a lovely swim on the island as well which was greatly needed with the temperature near 90. With each new place we stood we were able to see different views and waterfalls. The thing with the falls is that there are many different sets of waterfalls that you really cannot see everything at all at once. The falls are literally that massive that in order to see everything you have two loops, a train ride and a trip out to the island.

On the second day at the falls Mara and I went to Garganta del Diablo which is another section of the falls, it is about 1.5 kilometers away from the rest of the falls. The amount of water passing through the U shaped area was absolutely one of the memorable things I have ever seen in my life thus far I could literally have sat there for hours just watching water fall so fluidly over the edge and crash hundreds of feet below spraying up with a cool mist. I wish I could take everyone reading this to the falls so you could actually experience the almost rush like sensation that you feel when you see them. After the Garganta del Diablo, Mara and I walked the loop on the top of the falls we had seen the day before. We then took a nature walk to our very own waterfall where we could swim. I am so glad that I was able to see the falls and marvel in them. I will put up pictures and atempt at video but I don´t think they do the falls justice. You all will just have to visit!!!

Here is a link to Wikipedia about Iguazu (sorry I know wikipedia is lame!)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguazu_Falls

We have spend today hanging out and soaking up the sun. Tonight we are boarding a bus for Resistencia. We do not know much about it but I am sure we will learn soon enough. Pictures to follow so long as the internet cooperates.

Pictures!

2008-03-01T16:56:00.000-05:00

See-Saw when was the last time you plaed on one?

The area where we saw the Argetine drumming band. They were great! Here is a link to their website, about halfway down there is a youtube video of them http://www.labombadetiempo.blogspot.com/ We made friends
A catholic church in Buenos Aires.
Iguazu Falls!!!!!!!!

The land on the left is San Miguel Island, you can stand on the outermost point of the island and be sprayed by the massive waterfall near the island.
There were rainbows everywhere, it was was like out of a storybook.
View from the upper ring, there is another level of falls that I could not get in the shot.
This is the Garganta del Diablo or the devils throat.
Story I found online about the falls- The Guarani legend of the waterfalls tells the story of an angry god who in some stories takes the shape of a snake. The local people had to sacrifice a virgin each year to please the god so that the river would continue to flow. In other versions this specific virgin was set aside to become the wife of the god. She already had a mortal lover and the young warrior decided he would not give his love away to the vengeful god. The two mortals fled. The god displeased with her escape in a canoe split the river so that the couple would fall to their deaths. She was turned into a rock from the fall and he became an overhanging tree, separated but within sight of his lover. The name of the waterfalls means "great water" in the Guarani language. The Spanish explorers renamed it the Santa Maria cascades in the 16th century, but they couldn't get the name to stick.

2008-02-26T09:09:00.000-05:00

Mara and I hav arrived back in Buenos Aires safe and sound, altough it took a bit longer than expected. We finished our time in Montevideo as expected and headed to the bus terminal to bok a ferry ride across the river to Buenos Aires. We did not expect nor anticipate literally every company being booked out because it was sunday and everyone heads back from their weekends at the beach via the ferries. We were completely bummed, we had so much been looking forward to getting back to Buenos Aires and catching up with Florencia but it was not meant to be. There was a silver lining to our cloud however, we ran into two people randomly from our hostel in Punto del Diablo. We decided to head to Colonia de Sacramento (where the ferries leave from) and spend the night there. We were all ready to get out of Montevideo and going to Colonia was on our way anyways. We had a great time and barely remembered the inconvenience that had caused us to be together.

We arrived in Buenos Aires on Monday morning very close to the bus terminal so Mara and I booked our 19 hour (that is right......19 hour) bus ride to Igazu Falls. Then Mara, Fran (one of the guys from our hostel that we ran into, who also coincidentally is from PA) and I headed to Palermo to our hostel. We spent the afternoon walking the streets and checking out the great shops and architecture of Palermo. It seems to me the more time I spend here, the more I like it, I mean really like it (Sorry mom, looks like I will not be returning anytime soon...just kidding!).

As soon as we got back to our room to siesta we met the other girls in our dorm and they told us about an Argetine drum show that was on, we said why not! I am so glad we went, it was so great. It was literally in a parking lot with a stage esq/set of stairs where the performers sat. There were probably ten guys in the band and it was all controlled by the conductor. They had some had signals that indicated what the musicians would do. It was not like concert band at Sanford with Ms. Nowicki I can tell you that much. It was great especially since we had not experienced any Argentinian music yet.

Talk to you in a few days!

Some Pictures..more to come!

2008-02-23T18:28:00.000-05:00

Mara and I in Punta del Este on the beach at sunset.

The view from our hostel in Punto del Diablo, this is where we ate our meals, chatted out with people and laid on hammocks.

New friends in Punto del Diablo.
Myself, William (Irish), Mara (Aussie Cousin) and Fabian (German Doctor)

House in Punto del Diablo, where else do you see houses shaped like boats?

A park in Montevideo, pretty park but run down city.

Lunar Eclipse, Cabo Polonia, Montevideo

2008-02-23T17:06:00.000-05:00

On our last night in Punto del Diablo, there was a lunar eclipse. I know you all say: "Yes Pia, there was one here too", but for the first time in who knows how long I was in a place with very little light from cities. The lunar eclipse was gorgeous, Mara and I walked away from town and sat in the lifeguard stand on the beach and just gazed up. The stars were probably the brightest I have ever seen, it was one of those moments where you want to remember everything because you know how special it is even at the time. The sounds of the waves crashing, the bright stars and the golden moon made an amazing expeiernce. One that seems will never be explained in words except to say...I loved it!

Earlier in the day Mara and I caught a cab with an Irish guy named, William and another American, Fran to Fort Saint Teresa. The fort was built around 1870 and it was great. We had spent most of our time thus far looking at the beach and being at the fort allowed us to see the backyard of the beach or the rest of Uruguay. The rolling hills reminded me of being in New South Whales a bit with small signs of agriculture dotting the countryside. We then walked back 8 kilometers on the beach back to Punto del Diablo, it was beautiful and we were lucky because it wasn´t too hot. We stopped at on of the points between beach coves and it had a sign showing the various wildlife that one could expect to see, a few of the same birds that I had studied in New Jersey last summer were on that list which was pretty cool.

After four nights in Punto del Diablo, Mara and I decided to head south for another beach town we had heard of, this time there would not be the same luxuries we had enjoyed the previous days. Cabo Polonia was without electricity and running water was a luxury. We hopped on a bus mid-afternoon and were dropped off at what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. We then were told we had to catch as what can most easily be described as a shuttle to the town. The town was full of simple beach homes, lined along sandy paths. We found a place to stay on the beach for $10USD for each person, it was perfect! The night was gorgeous with no lights looking out onto the crashing waves while eating dinner at the cabin we had rented. We shared the house with three guys we had met at our last hostel from Israel, we had great chats along with a great meal.

The next day, Mara and I decided to head to the captial city of Montevideo. We arrived here last night and have just spent our time here exploring. It is a bit of a strange captial city, with beautiful historic sections surrounded by water but also sections of abandoned homes. At any rate tomorrow we are heading back to Buenos Aires to stay with Florencia (our couch surfing friend) and then it is time to plan our next adventure. I promise I will be posting pictures soon!

Early days in Uruguay

2008-02-20T09:41:00.000-05:00

I have tried several times unsuccessfully to post some pictures from the last few days, I think the fact that I am in the middle of nowhere may contribute a bit. So I am going to post without pictures just stories. Pictures will follow.

Mara and I took a ferry across the river (Rio de la Plata) to Uruguay arriving in Colonia de Sacramento. We immediately hopped on a bus to Montevideo (the capital city) where we caught another bus to Punta del Este. We were hopping to be able to relax for a few days in one spot and hopefully by a quiet beach. Unfortunately Punta del Este was not for us, it seemed more like Miami and less like a quiet beach on the Sunshine Coast in Australia that we had been looking for. We stayed one night at our hostel in Punta del Este walking around the area and checking out the beach a bit.

On Sunday we woke up and headed down to the beach for a bit before we moved on to another town further north Punto del Diablo. After a bit of trouble with transportation we arrived and were immediately in love. The town is spread out on a hill overlooking three beaches. The streets are only dirt, no traffic lights, no atms and it was exactly what we were looking for. We are staying in a hostel started by a 25 year old American from Wisconsin and it is great. On our second day a friend of mine had heard that you could pick your own mussels one beach down, so we headed down there to pick our own. An experience I have never had before for sure!

We have spent our days hanging out on the beach, wandering through the town, trying a few restaurants. Yesterday we walked north of the town to a beach with less than twenty people total, it was great. Heading back to the hostel, I was able to snag one of the hammocks out front and read my book as well as chat with a few others.

Last night Mara and I along with a few others walked up the hill behind town exploring new parts, we saw donkey carts and horses literally grazing wherever it pleased them. The sun was beginning t o set and the lighting was gorgeous, it was one of those moments that make travel worthwhile no matter how aggravation it took to get to that exact moment.

We splurged and went out to dinner at a restaurant in town with a few others from the hostel. One of my favorite things about travel is the people you meet. Last night at dinner I sat between a German psychiatrist and a Canadian boat Captain. Great conversations and awesome food, was a great way to end a beautiful day on a deserted beach.

We are staying here for another night and then off to Montevideo I think for a few days tomorrow.

First Days, Buenos Aires, Spanish blunders, etc.

2008-02-16T20:28:00.000-05:00

Mara and I arrived in Buenos Aires on Tuesday morning after flying through the night from Philly via Chicago. Once we landed we hopped on a public bus. The great part was that it only cost 1 Argentinian Peso ($1 USD = 3 Pesos) and we were able to see a lot of the city. The downside was that it took almost three hours but all the same a great introduction to Buenos Aires. We had booked a hostel in Palermo which is the Italian section of the city, it is full of pizza places, beautiful parks and fashionable shopping areas (we had no idea at the time). We spent the rest of the day wandering around the city looking at the architecture and taking everthing in.
We then spent both Wednesday and Thursday walking around as well, almost magically landing upon great sites.

On Thursday and Friday night we stayed with a couch surfer, Florencia. It was a great experience to be able to talk to an Argentine and see what life is like. She lived in a typical middle class neighborhood just blocks from her parents, spending her days working for an engineering company as assistant. On Thursday night I was able to go out to dinner with her and her friends it was a great glimpse into Argentine life seeing their interactions and social customs. We ate dinner at 12 am and stayed up until 4 am, they all had to work the next day too! She was great guide and we hope to be able to meet up with her again. (Couch surfing for those who don´t know is when people allow travellers to sleep at their homes, meet up for a coffee or even get a tour of a city for free, check it out by going to www.couchsurfing.com)

Buenos Aires in my firs four days is unlike any other city I have travelled to. It has such a sense of Spanish and Italian culture and architecture at times while also maintaining a feeling of latin America. For example in Buenos Aires, dinner is normally eaten after 10 p.m. most nights for young people it is not until 11 or even 12. The architecture is unique in South America, I literally cannot believe I am not in Rome many times. While at the same time there are many things Latin American such as the prices and many of the foods such as Empanadas.

Below is a street in the section of Buenos Aires called La Boca, it is famous for brightly colored buildings. Originally settled by Italians from Geneo, it is a traditional middle class neighborhood.
Casa Rosada is the building which houses the executive branch of the Argentine government. There are almost always protests outside in the Plaza directly infront of it making for an exciting site. It is also a central public transit location which we found great for people watching.
A church that Mara and I found nearby our hostel, it is definitly not the ornate nor the most famous we have seen just one that caught my eye, maybe it was because it was our first day or light. At any rate I liked it.
Correo Central is below and it is another government building, it is one of the original. I have been told by some that Evita Peron used to give speeches off one of the balconies but I am not totally sure.
This is the subway or the subte. I found it to be the best way to get around B.A. It was cheap, fast and a great way to see the non-tourist side of the city. This train took us out to Florencia"s (i cannot find the apostrophe on this keyboard). The train cars on her line were still wooden with great bech seats also made out of wood, nothing like the orange line for all you SEPTA goers, sorry!
A street corner near the Plaza de Mayo in the center of the city.
Mara, myself and Florencia out to dinner in Palermo at an Italian restaurant, many of the dishes had the same names but were prepared and served differently than at home. It was still a great meal.

Next up on the adventures of Pia and Mara is Uruguay. We are staying for the week and then heading back to Buenos Aires for some more Argentine adventures, stay tuned!

Central Pa.

2008-02-07T23:20:00.000-05:00

Philadelphia in January

2008-02-07T23:11:00.000-05:00

Tif's Birthday

2008-02-07T23:01:00.000-05:00

Australia

2008-01-29T11:09:00.000-05:00

Almost every year my mother, sister and I fly to Brisbane, Australia to see our family and friends. We arrived on Christmas morning and had a fabulous trip. However in un-Australia style there was very little sun, but we still had a great time!

My family's home is nestled into a rainforest mountain with views of the ocean.

Waterfall with little water...strange because there was heaps of rain while we were there.

Woodford Folk Festival

Pretty much one of the best places on earth. We brought in 2008 with an excellent time.
The grande stage packed, we often sat behind on the hill.

Cousiness at our campsite which was conveniently/not conviently located right next to/on a stream. We wondered why no one else had grabbed this flat campsite.....

Silly people but notice the stream in the right hand side of the picture.

New friends, lots of smiles and laughes.
The mud pit that was Woodford.

Family Time.

Pretty much the only family picture from our entire trip.

Five cousins in a photo booth, sorry Jake eyes closed.

Andy Warhol exhibit, his favorite color was silver.

Cairns, Daintree National Park
I spent a few days exploring a country I call home but rarely get to explore.

The Daintree National Park is the oldest rainforest in the world.

Cape Tribulation, the first point where Captain Cook landed in Australia. It was only the begining of his trouble, hence the name.

An old hotel in downtown Cairns, so typical of old school bush towns in Australia.

Cairns is on a highly tidal river, here it is a low tide.

New friend Lisi from Austria.

New travel friends.

Pretty Australia

Birthdayness

2007-10-14T09:22:00.000-04:00

My 23rd birthday was this week. My friends and I went bowling. We had a blast! Our bowling scores were dismal but our mood was great!

mmmmmm big cookie!
My lovely friends Regina and Ann Marie

Lots of Colors

Team bowling

I told you we were pretty awful, notice the difference between the scores on the screens. They were all friends of mine but the level of talent varied completely.

Summer 2007

2007-09-12T11:10:00.000-04:00

This is where I spent my summer looking for very small Piping Plovers (the one right below) and talking to people about birds, nature, The Nature Conservancy, etc. It has been an absolute pleasure working in this beautiful place and I have learned so much!

I went out one day with Damon from my office, banding osprey chicks for research purposes. It was a pretty cool experience, we rode around in a launch (tinnie for the Aussies) through the bayshores of the Delaware Bay. When we would come to a nest we would hop out and take a ladder to the nest which is sitting on a platform about 15 feet in the air. The parents would often be aggressive swoopign down at us which Damon climbed on a ladder to secure the tinyaluminum bands on their legs. After he was finished I got a chance to climb up and check it all out.