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Sean Plamondon
Sean Plamondon

Sean Plamondon

traveled in 90 countries Read more🇨🇦Ottawa
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  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin AmericaSean Plamondon

    Montanita - Day 2

    July 17, 2022 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Started the day with a yummy ceviche by the beach. And then spent the afternoon on the beach sipping a few beers listening to my music and riding the boogie board i rented. I was very tempted to ride a surf board instead but wasn't feeling that ambitious today. And relaxed watching surfers in the waves. So enjoyable. Amazed to see many of the really good surfers were young kids.

    Again, lousy weather. No sun, not hot, and not cold but definitely not the montanita i had in mind when planning this trip. Instead of spending 4 days in montanita, i found a cheap flight the next day to get to cuenca instead. Which is also exciting... I love cuenca. It will be much cooler but more to do and see.

    As it got darker, i relocated to a restaurant in town where i ran into jeff (new orleans) and Valentina (Quito) again. I had already chatted with them a few times and our paths kept on crossing. Really nice, friendly couple.

    Most of the town was closed this day. Massive difference from Saturday night when it felt like the whole country was in montanita. Found another place to wind down and got to bed at a good hour. Another travel day tomorrow, so seemed wise. Unfortunately my hotel room was poorly situated as others clearly did not have the same desire to sleep and it was another night of loud music.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin AmericaSean Plamondon

    Montanita - Day 1

    July 16, 2022 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    After a quick breakfast found a taxi that would drive me 90 minutes to Montanita for $30. I can't even get to the ottawa airport for that price.

    Unfortunately I did not bring the Brazil weather with me. Very cloudy and coolish at the beach. But still, montanita is one of my favorite places to be. Small surf town with most structures built with bamboo and an incredibly laid back vibe. Lots of backpackers and Ecuadorians getting away from things. Endless restaurants/establishments. And at night, super lively.

    Spent the afternoon walking around the town, chatted with a few locals, and hanging out on the beach. Early afternoon it was low tide and no surfers. But late afternoon the tide returned and there were a ton of very talented surfers. I found my favorite beach bar with craft beer and watched the surfers battle the waves for a few hours. Incredibly enjoyable and relaxing.

    Back to town for ecuadorian ceviche, which is amazing everywhere in this country and unique in how they prepare it. Yum!! And then a quick nap before heading out to the crazy montanita Saturday nightlife.

    I found a live band bar that i was at 2.5 years ago and i found the same cat sleeping on the same bar. Hilarious! That cat is the most chill cat ever. This is an extremely loud music bar, like eardrum pounding, and the cat sleeps through all of it, surrounded by people getting their drinks.

    Bounced around between beach parties, and clubs and finished at a quiet place where I was told i could get craft beer. Challenging in montanita! But i think I have all the spots mapped now. Chatted with the owner, a young guy whose mother is from Quebec and an American father but has lived his whole life in Ecuador. Got back to my room late but all i could hear was pounding club music. I have a knack for choosing poor hotel locations it seems.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin AmericaSean Plamondon

    Salinas

    July 15, 2022 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Got up at 4:45am to catch a 7am five hour flight to Lima, with a 4 hour layover and eventually land in Ecuador. And then a 2 hour drive to the beach town of Salinas. On both flights the airlines made me wear 2 masks on top of eachother. Ugh.. Very long day. Thats 13 hours in transit with awful start time. I think the rest of my flights are more reasonable and a lot shorter legs.

    Arrived in Salinas just after the sun went down. Got an awesome mixed seafood platter with grilled fish, squid, octopus, crab and mussels. Eventually found my hotel, had a couple of ipa's at the hotel bar, but my eyes were closing, so I was in bed a little after 10pm. Hopefully fresh as a daisy the next day.

    Short entry so i will throw in some closing observations on Uruguay. It was definitely the most expensive latin American country i have been to. Prices were pretty close to what i would pay in Canada. Maybe outside the capital, the prices are better. I was very impressed how much english there was. Every single person i spoke to knew some english. This has definitely not been the case anywhere else in latin America except belize where it is their official language.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin AmericaSean Plamondon
    OwnerChef

    Montevideo

    July 14, 2022 in Uruguay ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    My flight to Ecuador incldes a 16 hour layover in Montevideo, Uruguay, which is fine by me. I get to explore a new city.

    Landed around 3pm and got through customs and baggage claim and into a taxi in about 15 minutes total. Crazy. Got to my hotel in centro and walked to old town. There's a number of nice old buildings but mostly a mix. Found a mercado by the port that has several restaurants under one roof. It was closing soon so i kept going.

    Went to another mercado close to my hotel and ubered to a 3rd mercado that Simon recommended. It was pretty quiet everywhere. Maybe i was too early but it was cold and rainy too. Shame about the weather because there are beautiful beaches everywhere here but its their winter.

    Then walked to the Simon-recommended Montevideo beer company, which was a mansion turned into a brewery/club. Super nice and fun. Walked more to another beer place but it was closed and so i sat down at a busy place across the street for some food finally.

    I chatted with the guy sitting next to me until his friends showed up. And just as i was about to ask for my bill to go somewhere else, another beer got placed in front of me. And the guys invited me over to try some of their food.

    Decided to order the same dish for myself, and the chef came out to explain something. I didn't really understand but agreed to whatever he was saying. Later the chef came back out to make sure I enjoyed the meal haha. When does that ever happen? Talked to the owner quite a bit too. Super friendly place.

    Slowly making my way towards my hotel, found one more brewery. Made it my last stop after chatting with the bartender and off to bed.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin AmericaSean Plamondon
    2

    Asuncion - Day 2

    July 13, 2022 in Paraguay ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    The people i talked to the night before had mixed opinions about downtown asuncion. Some said it had nice places and others said to not go because it is ugly. I caught an uber there to form my own opinion and i gotta agree with the ugly remark. I walked around for an hour and only found a couple of nice buildings. Everything else looked almost abandoned and in great decline, but lots of people going about their business in the streets.

    I couldn't find a decent restaurant either so i got an uber to the very popular and restaurant heavy area of carmelitas. But strangely, not a single place was open until 5 or 6pm. So I made my way back to my hotel and found an American eatery in the next door shopping mall. It feels like i am the only tourist in this country.

    My friend Abdel travels to Paraguay a few times a year for work and he gave me his co-worker's contact info. Simon met me at a micro brewery in carmelitas and we bounced around to few different places. Also met a paraguayan katherina at one of the places and she tagged along with us. Not much to do in this city during the day, but very fun at night.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin AmericaSean Plamondon
    My hotel

    Asuncion - Day 1

    July 12, 2022 in Paraguay ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Got up early and made my way to the bus station and got comfy for a 6 hour ride to the capital, Asuncion. Honestly not much scenery on the ride but these double decker coach buses are incredibly comfortable with seats that almost go vertical, a leg rest and wifi. For 5 dollars more, i could have had a bed but the beds were sold-out. Oh well, certainly not suffering.

    Checked into my super swanky hotel.. probably the nicest hotel i have ever been in. Got changed and got an uber right away to a micro brewery not far away. Had a beer there, then noticed there was another brewery across the street. I was the only person at either but an older couple walked in and i cheered them and we ended up chatting for a few hours. Klaus and Carla from Sweden. Carla used to work at the swedish embassy in ottawa as a cook! Small world.

    Switched locations for some food. Chatted with paraguayan Yanini for a while who was sitting nearby. And then at a nearby pub, met Chilean Geraldo who is a diplomat at the Chile embassy here in Asuncion. He had some really interesting stories that I'm assuming were a bit more classified than he treated them haha. And back to the hotel. One last detail.. when you order a bottle of beer in this city, you get an ice bucket to keep it on ice all the time. Nice touch.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin AmericaSean Plamondon
    12

    Iguazu / Ciudad del Este

    July 11, 2022 in Paraguay ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Big day today. Anxious to visit world famous iguazu falls. I saw them from the Argentinian side in January and am excited to revisit and see what the brazillian view is like. Have heard its very different. Some say better.

    I hired an uber driver and he told me the falls are closed on mondays. 😥 i talked to my hotel guy and he said the same thing. Oh no, this is a big reason i flew here and today is the only day i could visit the falls because i have an itinerary with more flights. My hotel called to be sure, and its open! Phew!! That would have been fairly devastating

    Arrived at the park and had to board a park bus to get through the jungle to the waterfall trail. Once off the bus, coati were everywhere and almost pet-able. I was pretty impressed by being able to view more of the falls than from the Argentina side but also much futher away. In Argentina you are practically in the falls. Brazil has the panorama and argentina has the up close experience. Both awesome.

    I don't know how to describe the falls. I will let the pictures do the talking. But i will add that the falls stretch over several kilometers. Sooooo maaaaany waterfalls. Otherwordly situation of waterfalls. Speechless and awe struck. I can only attach 2 vids per blog entry so here's my two favorites.

    After i left iguazu i got back to my hotel, grabbed my bags and got an uber to the bridge to paraguay. Started walking across the bridge, got my brazil exit stamp (so sad) and eventually my paraguay entry stamp. Surprisingly both these things were optional. No joking i could have walked past both offices and right into paraguay without talking to anyone except thr people trying to sell stuff to me. I was literally asking people where the migration office was to make sure i entered legally and got the passport stamp. Weird. So different than back home.

    A guy on the other side bought my remaining brazillian real for paraguay... pesos? I dunno yet haha. But they come in big quantities! 5000 to 1 Canadian dollar

    After checking into the really nice howard johnson downtown i chatted with alexa and then ubered to another waterfall in the city. Gorgrous and up close. Ciudad del este is not a nice city so i decided to hang out at the waterfalls all day as they had a nice bar setup over the falls. And beer was 2 dollars. Wrote my blog and almost solved world hunger. Hopefully i have more time next visit :)

    Ubered to an awesome craft beer place playing 80s music all night with great beer selections. Was going to switch locations but a big storm hit and powered out the city. So just relaxed on the dark with my beer and music. Back on now... but interesting scenario. Best 80s compilation of music ever with great ipa beers. I was the only customer all night but it was too good to desert :) shout out to my nice bartender vanessa who patiently answered all my questions.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin AmericaSean Plamondon
    11

    Foz do Iguacu

    July 10, 2022 in Brazil ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Mostly a travel day. After a quick peak at the cabo frio beach, drove 2.5 hours back to the Rio airport, dropped off the car and boarded a flight to Foz do Iguacu, home of arguably the world's best waterfalls. To be continued.

    By the time i got out of the airport and to my hotel, it was after 4pm. No time to do anything touristy. But i did notice there was a beer garden near my hotel. Unfortunately there were no craft beers, so i stayed for one drink and left

    I walked towards a tap room a few blocks further and passed by multiple huge restaurants that were packed and loud with dj's and full of energy. Paid a couple dollars to get seated in one of them... had an amazing stew type meal with cut up steak absolutely drowning in gargonzola sauce. Ridiculously rich and savoury. But perhaps 10,000 calories too haha. I had no idea what i ordered at the time but it worked out.

    Eventually got to the tap room and they had an awesome craft beer list, so i got cozy in there for a while. Met Fernanda who is a doctor, and works just across the border in paraguay 🇵🇾. She couldn't stay long as she had a 36 hour shift the next morning. Thats not a typo. Wow.. canada labour code would not agree on that shift length at all. She said she has a shift like that once a month.

    Then wandered over to another spot with a live band and people dancing. I have never seen a sunday night like this anywhere. Last night in brazil, so i decided to enjoy the ambiance while it lasted despite needing to be up early for a big day. Why not, its a vacation.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin AmericaSean Plamondon

    Cabo Frio

    July 9, 2022 in Brazil ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Started with a quick walk to the Buzios centro beach to see it in the daytime. Then drove to Arraial do cabo and joined an all afternoon boat tour of a nearby island and some different beaches. Striking colors of water everywhere. And gorgeous isolated beaches but certainly not isolated from other boat tours. Wow, there had to be 50 different tours going on at the same time. Felt like a mux of greece and the carribbean.

    Enjoyed relaxing at a few of those beaches and eventually back to the port and then drove further down the coast to Cabo Frio. Arrived just before sundown in time to grab a snack and beer by the waterfront while a hotel search was finalized. Pretty sweet way to cap the exploring.

    After visiting a canal, had a crazy cheesy shrimp and brazillian cheese meal, followed by drinks at a trojan themed bar and then an old rock n roll place. I frequently have to remind myself i am in brazil. I'm not sure what i expected but its such a lively and diverse culture and environment. Very chill place to be once beyond the big cities. The language is the biggest challenge for me. Portuguese is very similar to spanish but also quite different in non intuitive ways :) i learned a few small phrases and otherwise lean heavily on them recognizing my spanish words, which has been a wonderful strategy so far haha. My Spanish is considerably better than a year ago but not really conversational yet.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin AmericaSean Plamondon
    11

    Buzios

    July 8, 2022 in Brazil ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    After breakfast, retrieved my car from the coolest garage I've ever seen. Its basically an apartment building for cars with 3 elevators to move the cars up and down and a neat device that grabs the car and pulls it in and out of the elevator.

    Waiting for Daniela to get off work, i went to a craft brewery called Hocus Pocus near Botafogo area and relexed with my book. Eventually Daniela showed up, had a quick bite and then drove to top of a mountain (Mirante Dona Marta) for an amazing view of Rio and the Christ the Redeemer statue.

    Then we fought through traffic for an eternity to escape the city and find a beach town called Buzios, 3 hours north of Rio. Took us 4.5 with the crazy traffic and a few wrong turns. When we arrived, we got delayed even more by the guesthouse owner not opening the door because she had not received the reservation yet. So we stood there for about 30 minutes.

    Finally got in and then shortly after made our way to the streets with countless restaurants and lounges. It was about 10pm by the time we finally sat down for supper. Had an awesome catch of the day meal seaside and walked around a bit before ending a pretty long day. Anxious to see what this place looks like in the daylight.

    Interesting detail, this place got a lot of fame from Bridgette Bardot staying here many years. There's lots of hotels that use the bardot name and a statue of her too.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin AmericaSean Plamondon

    Rio again

    July 7, 2022 in Brazil ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Long drive back to Rio today. 6.5 hours according to Google maps. But its such a fun drive over and around mountains all the way. I was about an hour outside of Rio at noon and i pulled over to check out a castle i saw near the highway that has a restaurant but unfortunately it was closed.

    Nearby Petropolis has brazil's oldest brewery, so i went there instead. Had lunch there and then checked out the very pretty town. Tons of mansions and palaces. But i couldn't park because i had already incurred a parking ticket near the brewery (and i got one in mariana too). I pulled over for a few quick pics on one street where i found an opening. But around the corner i saw the parking ticket lady putting tickets on every car, so i scurried back and left. Certainly not the types of towns i imagined before arriving in brazil. Lots of german settlements here and there apparently.

    Made my way to chaotic Rio. Driving in this city requires a certain level of insanity and patience haha. Often there are 4 lanes of traffic and no lines on the road, and everyone is jostling for position like a race track. And my map will say to exit to the right but there will be one ramp going up and another going down. Google maps isn't 3 dimensional, so its a coin flip every time, and I'm losing more than winning :) But i just laugh and recalibrate Google maps for a new route and try again. I can't imagine doing this without google maps.

    Got to my hotel in copacabana. This time i ended up with something much nicer and somehow much cheaper. Got in contact with Daniela again and she took me to a really cool restaurant in Ipanema where you can order off a menu, but i don't recommend doing that. Because, there are waiters circling the establishment with different trays of small plate appetizers every 10 minutes that you can take off their tray and they add it to your bill. You can see the food and decide, whereas i have no idea what anything is in print. Brilliant! And delicious!

    Then we went to a craft beer spot a few blocks away for a little while. She had to be up at 5am and i was exhausted from the long travel day so we both needed to get some rest and get out of there after a quick pint.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin AmericaSean Plamondon

    Mariana

    July 6, 2022 in Brazil ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    The goal to start the day was to drive to the tiny village of Lavras Novas and hike to a canyon. The drive there had dramatic scenery with lots of red rock and high up in the mountains. I read that a specific hotel in the village is helpful with hiking maps so i popped in there and got some directions and off i went

    The trail was very rocky and lead me up and over a mountain. It didn't seem like the right direction for a canyon hike but there were trail markers every so often, so i assumed i was on the right path. The trail took me far down the other side of a mountain and eventually to a fence that said private property. So i re-traced my steps all the way back to my car.

    The lady at the hotel said it would take about 2 hours and thats exactly how long it took me. So either i was on the wrong trail that coincidentally took 2 hours, or the hotel lady and i had a miscommunication and i ended up exactly where i was supposed to go :) It was really scenic, just not what i was aiming to do.

    The hike back was extremely difficult and i was exhausted. I was planning to drive back to ouro preto but i decided i needed to sit down somewhere for a beverage and relax for a bit. Shortly after sitting down, a very nice couple Antonio and Cleide from Sao Paulo asked me where i was from and this kicked off a really nice conversation about all our travels and brazillian life. Amazingly, Antonio once drove from brazil to alaska and back, driving both coasts of north america and all across canada too. An unbelievable task that Antonio says is only possible because he is mentally disabled to try such a thing haha

    They had ordered some local food and asked me join them and try it, and i happily accepted. Very tasty pork stew (i think). They are such nice, warm people. It was so wonderful to meet them and especially after my frustrating hike. I stayed far longer than i had planned because it was such a nice conversation with great people. But it was about an hour before sundown and i had an hour's drive to get to mariana so i had to get going too. I try very hard to not be driving anywhere at night.

    Got to mariana just before sundown. Quickly found a hotel in the old town and made my way to a local brewery in the central square. Then had a nice salmon liguine at an italian restaurant nearby. Met a very nice local there named Mirian and we chatted over a few drinks. And home early as i had a 6.5 hour drive back to Rio in the morning.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin AmericaSean Plamondon
    1

    Ouro Preto - Day 2

    July 5, 2022 in Brazil ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Started the day driving the insane vertical streets of ouro preto to see some more of its famous churches. Which got me lost in many different places. Its incredibly confusing, and the hills make it really difficult to read the map. But its a fun type of being lost because every street is full of beautiful old european style buildings.

    Then started making my way to the nearby town of Mariana. Just before reaching Mariana, i stopped at an old gold mine that is only used for tourists now and also for divers in the subterranean lake down there. They converted and old mining cart into seats and we were lowered down 315 meters down the tracks into the mine. Unfortunately the tour guide didn't speak english but it was still a neat trip into a mine. The underground lake was a striking blue color.

    From there, continued to Mariana. Smaller, more quaint version of Ouro Preto. I walked around for a while and realized very few places were open because it was a tuesday. Decided to head back to ouro preto and maybe return to Mariana on Wednesday instead as i could see thats when most businesses were re-opening

    Got lost again on the way back. Nothing new here haha.

    I found a nice outdoor patio near my hotel and met Iuri and Maira. Iuri eventually had to leave so maira and i went to another spot for food and a few more drinks before ending the night relatively early.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin AmericaSean Plamondon

    Ouro Preto - Day 1

    July 4, 2022 in Brazil ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Leaving Rio area today and driving 6 hours into the interior mountains. Which turned into a 7 hour drive because i made one small wrong turn. The highways and roads are so complicated in Rio and impossible to know which ramp is the right one sometimes as there will be several lanes all exiting at once to different roads. My gps will say exit right and there are 4 options to the right haha. And then finding a way back to where i need to be is even worse. Very challenging!

    Once outside of Rio, it was smooth sailing. Very good roads through the mountains and almost always a divided highway. Finally reached Ouro Preto which is a gorgeous town built on the top and steep sides of a mountain. All narrow steep cobblestone streets, and quaint European buildings. And lots of huge ornate churches.

    Arrived later than i wanted. Sun down is at 5:30pm here so i quickly picked a hotel that i had just drove past and set off exploring before it got too dark. Walked around the main plaza and tried to find a nice restaurant but almost everything was closed. Seems most things are closed on mondays. But then stumbled across a really nice cellar gastro pub with a hobbit sized door :) And made this my home for most of the evening before getting a good night's rest from a long day.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin AmericaSean Plamondon

    Niteroi

    July 3, 2022 in Brazil ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Today i picked up my rental car and i was planning to drive to some pretty villages in the interior mountains. But my friend Daniela who i met on my first day in Rio offered to give me a tour along the Niteroi coast, across the bay from Rio. A personal tour from a local is pretty amazing; i gladly accepted. And she is excellent company.

    First we stopped at a few beaches and a museum in the city. And we drove down the coastline of endless beaches and stunning views of the Rio mountains across the bay.

    Stopped at a beach restaurant for a late lunch of fried shrimp and a beverage. And then drove up a mountain to a viewing platform to see the dramatic sunset unfold. Insane colors and very dramatic backdrop of Rio and its mountains.

    And finally back to the town of Niteroi for supper. After that we also went to a place that specializes in craft beers. So far i am very impressed with brazil's craft beer scene and i haven't really sought out places as much as i usually do. I will have to correct that issue this week 😁    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin AmericaSean Plamondon

    Rio - Day 3

    July 2, 2022 in Brazil ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Had another lazy morning, getting up late. But ambitious plans to hike a local iconic mountain called sugarloaf or in brazilian, pao acucar. Actually, you can only hike up mt urca and you need a cable car ride to get you rest of the way.

    As i started on the path, i came across a sign warning about venomous snakes ! Ok haha. And shortly after, a came across a big family of adorable marmosets. They look a lot like lemurs but different i think too. Cool vid in the pics.

    The hike to the top of mt urca was steep but only about 30 minutes huffing and puffing hard. I was proud of myself; 50 year old on a busy, hard trail, and i passed many younger, fit people and no one passed me. Perhaps i am just more stubborn haha.

    The views from there were fantastic but there was still a cable car ride higher to the top of famous sugarloaf mountain. And what a view. Worth every penny. I hung out there for a few hours taking pictures and writing a blog entry over a beverage. Incredibly inspiring and magical.

    I eventually came back down the mountain, and got myself to a cool beach bar near my hotel in copacabana with live music as the sun went down. Went to a nice restaurant across the street for some food and met more locals who invited me over and i hung out with for a few hours before calling it a night. I feel very blessed by all the friendly souls here. Its such a loving vibe. I am quickly realizing Rio is a very very special place on this planet.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin AmericaSean Plamondon

    Rio - Day 2

    July 1, 2022 in Brazil ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    I was so tired from such a long trip and stayed in bed until noon. Went for a walk down very picturesque copacabana beach and then taxi'd to hilly santa teresa area for food and wandering around. Eventually took another taxi out of there to Botafogo beach. Gorgeous area. I was hoping to walk to the hotel from there but the sun dropped around 5:30pm and i didn't want to be walking that sort of distance at night here and found another taxi to the hotel

    Had an awesome siesta for 3 hours. Word to the wise, never buy a drink from the girls walking around with trays of drinks. on copacabana beach. Aye carumba that had a lot of kick to it.

    I had heard about a brazillian festival happening downtown, so after my nap, i took an uber there to check it out. Tons of people and food stalls and lots of dancing. Met some really nice brazillians at a shared table and spent the night with them. Janaina, Janderson and i forget the other's name.. something really complex. And back to the hotel, which by the way is Hotel Canada haha

    Happy Canadá day 🇨🇦    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin AmericaSean Plamondon

    Rio - the hard way

    July 1, 2022 in Brazil ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Landed in Sao Paulo 3 hours late and missed my connection to Rio while we were still in the air. When i bought my airfare back in april to Rio, it was only 80 dollars. But when i checked for a flight today, the cheapest was 450. Yikes

    A taxi driver told me the terminal for that airline was a bit far. I figured the chances of getting on a new flight without paying the difference was low and asked him to take me to the bus station instead and salvage the lost day maybe without getting into a brazillian argument with no recourse. Sometimes you gotta weigh the battles vs the greater good. This felt low on the greater good scale and time was ticking to make the trek and arrive relatively early in Rio

    My taxi driver also gave me awesome intel. Its not like back home with one bus company and one type of seat. There were 50 different bus companies and I had to know which one did express routes plus comfort levels. I learned this lesson in colombia years ago.

    8 hours later, i arrived in Rio. Ugh. But I had a bed to sleep in on the bus... yes!! Still my day got wiped out but at least i was there.

    Found a local restaurant near my hotel and met a nice local Daniela who spoke great english and ordered a crazy cold drink that was smoking and bubbling - so weird. After a few drinks she went home and i moved onto another nearby spot my lonely planet book recommended and met carlos and his friend who insisted on refilling my beer glass repeatedly despite my lack of portuguese language. It really is remarkable how people can communicate sometimes with minimal common words. People everywhere are awesome. Seriously.

    Then finished the night at a copacabana beach bar which despite being super quiet, i felt was really apt. So anxious to see things in daylight tomorrow!! Actual brazil pics coming soon!! Stay tuned.

    Edit: As I type this, the nice people two tables over invited me to join them. Even as i try to take advantage of a quiet moment to write this blog, i make new friends haha. Loving brazil 🇧🇷 already    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin AmericaSean Plamondon

    Montreal

    June 29, 2022 in Canada ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    All aboard :)

    This very long trip starts with a train to Montreal. Then a 13 hour flight to Sao Paulo.

    Montreal airport is insane today. Fortunately I was able to skip the massive checkin lineup and the even crazier security line up because of my business class ticket. Without hyperbole, it might have taken 4 hours to get through all that. Took me 90 minutes even with all my line skipping! Crazy. Even the maple leaf lounge had a 20 minute wait. Not complaining haha, just observations :) I have it verrrry good. Most of my points are gone now, gotta enjoy this last bit of luxury transportation/status while i have it. Tomorrow morning, my pod turns into a pumpkin :)

    First new experience... I am sitting at a barstool and all the walk up orders are right next to me. This young guy ordered a red wine and coke. Both in one glass together haha. After a brief chat and laugh i had to order one too, just to see (helps that its all free). It's definitely sacrilegious to the wine and maybe to the coke too but not as wretched as I expected :) cheers !

    Flight got delayed 3 times. Instead of 9:30pm takeoff its probably midnight now. Definitely missing my rio flight tomorrow :( But i ran into the same red wine and coke guys at the bar near the gate and the invited me to stay with them in Sao Paulo. Or i might take a bus to rio as soon as I arrive. We will see how things look in the morning. Also met a couple of others at the bar, Emily going to Spain and Gabriel going to Senegal for his father's sudden funeral. He was handling it well. Super nice guy. And Tas going to England via Qatar... thats messed up. I laughed at his flight plan a whole lot.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEl SalvadorSean Plamondon

    San Salvador / Airport

    April 20, 2022 in El Salvador ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Drove back to san salvador and dropped off the rental car. My flight home is at 1am, so i booked a hotel for the day so i had a place for my luggage and also so i could lie down too. I found a covid testing service that comes to your hotel room and does the test there and provides the results within minutes. Thankfully, it came back negative.

    Went to a nearby artisan market and then spent my afternoon and evening at a couple of breweries near my hotel. Sonia joined me and drank out of baby beer glasses compared to my full pint sized ones haha. I'm really impressed with the quality of beers at Cadejo and Squirrel Eye. At the latter i asked if they had any merchandise and they said its all at the new location in El Tunco. Darn, i literally just spent 2 days there and never saw it. But i did manage to bribe them to part with a few nice beer glasses :)

    Nice relaxing day to finish off another busy, but fun trip. Found a driver to take me to the airport 45 minutes away for 13 dollars! Crazy. My driver Hugo was super chatty with great english and we shared a lot of laughs as we raced through the mountain roads to the airport. Quick goodbye and that was the end of my el salvador 🇸🇻 adventure.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEl SalvadorSean Plamondon

    El Tunco - Day 2

    April 19, 2022 in El Salvador ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Got up at a reasonable hour and drove 25 minutes to the town of Taminique up in the mountains. I found the central park and started inquiring to an officer about hiring a guide to take me to the nearby waterfall. The officer called over a guy standing nearby and off mario and i went.

    The trail was really steep, all downhill for about 40 minutes. And then we arrived at a small gorge with a sizeable waterfall dropping into an inviting pool. We were the only ones there. I jumped in, splashed around, got some pics and thoroughly enjoyed cooling off from the crazy heat of this country.

    Started the grueling hike back up the steep trail and passed by a ton of people heading down to the waterfall. I was very lucky to have it all to myself. I pushed myself really hard to hike all the way back without stopping but i needed 2 quick breaks to catch my breath. I think mario wasn't terribly disappointed as he was huffing and puffing a lot too. We stopped at his friend's restaurant for a beer break and chatted with the owner Vladimir for a bit. Really nice guy with decent English.

    Quickly made my way back to El Tunco to get my stuff together and drove another hour to costa del sol for some really pretty sandy beaches. I paid a resort 20 dollars to gain access and the 20 bucks was used as credit towards food and drink.. very fair deal. Waves were huge here. I got into the big ones but got out of there after seeing the size of them up close.

    Drove back to El Tunco just before sundown. Watched some surfers for a bit and then to a nice restaurant for an awesome fish dinner stuffed with shrimp. Best meal of the trip easily. A few drinks at some local lounges and off to bed.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEl SalvadorSean Plamondon

    El Tunco / Surf City

    April 18, 2022 in El Salvador ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Had a very lazy morning, catching up on some sleep. Once i finally got going, drove 30 minutes to El Tunco, also known as Surf City because it hosts surfing competitions every year. And i can see why. Big waves that don't break .. they roll almost all the way to the shore giving surfers a really long ride

    Unfortunately, the shore area is not sandy at all, so its not a beach destination. It really is a surf town and almost everyone walking around is a tourist. Lots of restaurants and bars overlooking the ocean, and cute spots on the narrow streets of the tiny town. My hotel is beachside and is a bunch of small cabins in a treed area with hammocks..

    But this particular day was extremely quiet. The semana santa weekend just ended and most establishments were empty or closed. Monday is definitely not the day to visit. The giant rain clouds in the evening didn't help either.

    I decided to not try surfing this time. The waves are big, and the rocky shore concerned me a bit too. Plus i need to get into better shape because its an incredibly hard sport that requires a lot of strength but also a lot of endurance.

    For a late lunch i finally tried pupusas - salvadoran delicacy. And later had an awesome ceviche by the beach. Sat in an awesome beachside lounge for a bit. And a few beverages at a street side cantina bar before calling it a night.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEl SalvadorSean Plamondon

    Ataco / San Salvador

    April 17, 2022 in El Salvador ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Yesterday did not go to plan at all, so today was about rectifying some of yesterday's unlucky events. Set off hoping to see the "seven waterfalls" and Ataco, a part of the rutas de las flores - a group of small colonial towns high up in the mountains and volcanos.

    Sonia had not seen the 7 waterfalls yet, so she tagged along. Didn't depart until 1045, and the mountain roads are slow, so we didn't arrive in Ataco until 1230. Ataco is a gorgeous village filled with artisan markets, nice restaurants and most famous for its brightly coloured murals on many of the houses and buildings. Its quite a wonderful experience no matter what direction you wander. And of course the awesome mountain backdrop in every direction too.

    From there, headed to the 7 waterfalls area just outside of juayua. Had to hire a guide for 10 dollars each and i can see why. It was a complex trek through dense jungle with several different paths forking different directions. The walk itself was not easy. Lots of uphill and steep downhill parts and much of it with a steep drop on one side too.

    Uniquely, the water was coming out of a high rock wall and spread out over a very wide area and then over a cliff edge. We were on top of that cliff edge. Really pretty spot. We had to traverse through the running water to get to the largest part and from there i climbed up the biggest part of the falls. About 45 minutes to get there and another 45 minutes back. And then the 2 hour drive back to san salvador, arriving just as the sun went down.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEl SalvadorSean Plamondon

    Juayua / San Salvador

    April 16, 2022 in El Salvador ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Had exciting plans to hike up the santa ana volcano but the sky was totally covered in clouds and looked like it might rain too. Its a 5 hour expedition and didn't want to exert all that effort with bad weather and no views from the summit.

    So i decided to drive to Juayua instead to see the cute town and see more waterfalls. The drive was great winding around and over mountains and volcanoes for 90 minutes.

    The town was consumed with semana santa celebrations (Easter) and had streets barricaded for pedestrians only with lots of food tents and entertainment. Took that in for a little bit and then drove to the waterfalls. Crazy rough road. I came across 2 people standing aside so i rolled down my window and asked how far away the waterfalls are and they told me it was closed right now. Bummer! They were returning from a different hike so i told them to hop in and i would drive them up the hill.

    Went back to the town, got some food and watched the festivities take place around me for a while and then drove back to san salvador. I was invited to hang out later with Mauricio who i hung out with the first night i arrived. And before that, i went to a bar next to my hotel. Made a new friend sonia there, who spoke perfect english (such a rarity here) and we ended up chatting the night away. Such a novelty being able to speak freely to someone without having to translate everything. Never made it to where Mauricio was. Hopefully can meet up with Mauricio another night before i head home.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEl SalvadorSean Plamondon

    Lake Coatepeque

    April 15, 2022 in El Salvador ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    The owner of the hotel told me there would be a good friday procession going right in front of the hotel. Thats pretty cool. I know its a big deal here and i wanted to experience some of it. So instead of trying to hike the nearby volcano, i hung around all morning until it arrived. I had the only balcony on the street i think and it was a fantastic cultural experience. I will let the video do the talking

    I was ready to checkout, and started chatting with awesome carlos who owns the casa verde hotel/hostel, and before i knew it, we were chatting over beers by the pool area. Honestly one of my favorite people ever. So nice and incredibly trusting with his honour system for everything too. We talked a lot about temperatures in canada vs el salvador and i laughed immensely when he admitted he didn't even own a sweater haha. This country is so sweltering hot.. its hard to describe beyond that.

    Finally checked out and drove 45 minutes westward to an incredibly beautiful set of waterfalls falling into a gorge. It was gorgeous but the really unique thing was that the water is heated by a volcano and is incredibly hot. Like the water was so hot, it was hard to get into it. Hotter than a hottub. So weird for a waterfall. Splashed around there for an hour and then got going.

    Conscious of the time, i left around 4 to make sure i arrived at lake coatepeque before sundown. Gorgeous volcanic crater lake with volcanos on one side of it. And restaurants dotted all around it. Incredibly pretty. Unfortunately my hotel was on the volcanos side, so my views were less dramatic but my drive in was pretty awesome. And the hotel/hostal is a chaotic mishmash of deck levels - which i can fully appreciate haha.

    Mostly hung out by myself with some food and drinks until a Salvadoran came by and asked me to join his table. I don't remember his name but his friend Katy asked me 100 times how it was possible i could be single because i was so handsome haha. She has a salient point haha !!! Honestly, she was really really drunk (they both were) but they were fun company and it was nice to meet some people here where no one spoke English. This country is highly spanish only and interacting with neighbors in a pub is far more difficult. I've also been sleeping poorly, so my desire has been muted somewhat. But super fun day again. Love it here.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEl SalvadorSean Plamondon

    Santa Ana

    April 14, 2022 in El Salvador ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

    Decided to walk in the morning to the rental car location from my hotel. Zona Rosa is super duper safe so i left early to walk around a bit and see some different streets and maybe scout a good place for supper another night. Despite being a bit after 9am, it was sweltering hot. This country is maybe the hottest i have experienced. No joke.

    I was a bit leery about driving through san salvador to get out to other areas because i noticed some really different traffic light situations where its a red light but also a flashing yellow forward arrow next to it. Confusing. But i didn't encounter any of that fortunately.

    The drive to suchitoto was really nice. Very jungly once i got out of the city. Got behind a big tuk tuk jam again in some tiny town but that was the only issue.

    Suchitoto is probably the cutest colonial town i have ever visited. Super colourful, cute terraces, cobblestone, beautiful plaza and cathedral. Very small and walkable and a huge artisan market in the plaza. I was told to visit a certain restaurant for great food and amazing views high above the lake but the lineup was out the door and down the street. The secret is out!! But i managed to convince them to let me enter and take some pics. They really didn't want to but somehow they let me in there, snapped a few pics and ran away.

    Then drove down lakeside to a cool restaurant location packed with locals. I ordered a soup and got served a side of chicken and salad. I think my spanish revealed a few chinks in the armour there somewhere haha. Also got a beer and smoothie for a grand total of 12 bucks. Life is easy street here.

    Then drove to santa ana through the mountains. Always a mountain backdrop or actually on top of a mountain during the drive. And the roads were great! I was expecting Guatemala quality roads and was pleasantly surprised. But just before entering santa ana, the road was closed. I studied the map for a while and concluded my only route was to drive through a cemetary. No joke. And there were detour signs in there, so my conclusion was right, but i felt so weird driving by people mourning their loved ones. Also there's a serious lack of manhole covers in this country. I drove over or near 12 of them today with no manhole cover!!! Yikes!

    My hostal in santa ana is super nice. I think i have the best room in the place with the only balcony. Walked to the very pretty main plaza and cathedral and via endless outdoor markets on the way there. Its like our version of a department store but outdoors. Found an awesome pub overlooking the cathedral. Met up with some friends i made in san salvador but forgot to take a group pic, silly me. Hit up one more pub en route to the hotel and thats a thursday wrap :) Great day.    Read more

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