Katy's Travel Diary

Katy's Travel Diary South American Solo Adventure
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- Jan 13, 2017, 9:09 AM
- ⛅ 26 °C
- Altitude: 50 m
- Argentina Buenos Aires F.D.Congreso -34.59606, -58.3929234°35’46” S 58°23’35” W
Day 5
Finally here!
January 13, 2017 in Argentina ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
So I finally, at 10pm, I arrived at the hostel. The plane journey was classically long and boring but I did conduct my first ever 'Spanish chit chat' which started well ('where are you going', 'where are you from') but ended badly ('look at the moon'- not something I learnt before arriving oddly enough). Proud moment for me though!

I had another stab at a conversation in the taxi from the airport.

Driver: 'It is very hot in Buenos Aires'
Me: 'Yes, it is more hot in English, err, England'
'It is very cold in England'
'Also take. I mean raining'

At which point fair enough we stopped our conversation about the weather. Probably won't be writing any Spanish novels anytime soon.

Turned up at the hostel after the very nice taxi driver (who pointed out every church en route and made a cross over his chest at each) made sure I was actually heading to the right door. When I got in a BBQ style dinner, or 'asado', hosted by the hostel owner was going on with about 15 people and I was plonked down at the table with a plate of ribs and tumbler of red wine before even seeing my bed.

The four girls sat around me were all travelling solo. Woo solidarity!

The evening continued with lots of chat, political discussion (interesting speaking to Americans about Trump and Sarah studies political science at university), the discovery of someone from Leeds, and swapping stories about travels so far. The host is great and we tried 'blood sausage' (morcilla) which was described as blood, in a sausage case. It was runny. Yummy. At one point Jared from California asked if there was an open bottle of wine at our end which was met with 'I'll meet you halfway with four unopened bottles' by one of the people who works here.

A great welcome to the hostel!Read more
Tara Strange Yay that you're finally there! If there's one thing better than blood it's blood in a sausage casing...Enjoy! :D xxx
1/15/17Reply
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Katy's Travel Diary South American Solo Adventure
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- Jan 12, 2017, 8:41 PM
- 🌙 10 °C
- Altitude: 615 m
- Spain Madrid Arganzuela 40.40349, -3.6984240°24’13” N 3°41’54” W
Day 4
Dinner in Madrid
January 12, 2017 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 10 °C
When booking my flights I wanted to arrive in Buenos Aires in the morning to avoid 'nighttime in a new country also how do you speak Spanish' stresses. This meant an 8hr stopover in Madrid between flights. It sounded pretty good, the plan was to leave the airport. I imagined a nice dinner in a nice Spanish restaurant setting me up nicely for the rest of my journey, and leaving me feeling confident and relaxed about my impending trip. Simples!

DID THIS HAPPEN

When I first got to Gatwick everything was going super smoothly, with me sending smug WhatsApps about how easy everything was. Unfortunately my 10:50am flight was then delayed to a 20:00 flight.

On the bright side the massive delay and complete lack of communication from the airline led to strong bonds being quickly formed between me and fellow passengers. There were three points of near-riot, the closest being when we were told to queue but there was nothing at the end of the queue. Being British I stood happily without questioning this for 15 mins but the others had no such excuse.

I met a woman who brought her dog on the plane with her in a tiny green sports bag. The dog (Heidi) literally did not move for the entire 12 hours we were there, other than to sometimes wee on a newspaper when let out of the bag. At one point the owner did worry she had stopped breathing.

Another of our party was prevented from passing through passport control in Madrid (so near yet so far!) for no reason- he is from Jordan and says this happens to him quite a lot! Classic profiling? I hope he got through.

So I did have my dinner in Madrid- at 2am- in a hotel after missing my connection. To give you an idea of quality the dinner came in a plastic bag and included a coconut yogurt (who invented those??). I had no clothes as my big bag went off to Bs As so I washed my pants in the sink, hairdryered them and then slept shivering and naked under layers of towels. And they say travelling isn't glamorous!

However I did have a good buffet breakfast in the hotel the next day with my temporary new friends.

The moral is that although the day was a nightmare and it took me 17 hours to get to Madrid from Gatwick, I actually now feel quite comfortable about Buenos Aires. I no longer fear meeting people because I have met people already, and it was pretty easy. It was fun to chat to randoms and I survived the palava. I am confident and relaxed...just not for the reasons I thought!

So bring on the next challenge! (Not too soon though please)

Pic 1 is my delicious Madrid dinner. Pic 2 is the large glass of wine I imbibed in Gatwick after the queuing debacle. Pic 3 is a sneaky awkward picture of woman with dog- the small blurry green thing on the trolley contains the dog!Read more
Tara Strange This made me chuckle out loud lots! So sorry to hear you had a bumpy start to your travels, but as expected you are taking it in your stride :) plus these are the stories that'll stay with you! Flights on time are so dull :P Excited to hear what you make of BA, lots of love! xxx
1/14/17Reply
Katy's Travel Diary Haha the worst bit was being 10 hours into my travel time and not having moved more than an hour from home :P all good fun! Ish. Love xxx
1/15/17Reply
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Katy's Travel Diary South American Solo Adventure
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- Jan 9, 2017, 11:05 PM
- 🌙 3 °C
- Altitude: 72 m
- England Chiltern District Chalfont St Giles 51.62973, -0.5624251°37’47” N 0°33’45” W
Day 1
1 day to go..
January 9, 2017 in England ⋅ 🌙 3 °C
Hello friends! This is my attempt at blogging my solo trip around South America. If anything it will give me something to do in the evenings if I end up friendless and alone. I also plan on buying a backup Moleskine notebook so that I can sit moodily in coffee shops, sipping a cortado and writing about how I have found myself.

My emotions currently are excited mixed with scared which I guess is pretty normal! I have a pre-trip 'maybe it would be nice just to stay at home and watch reruns of the Bake Off' feeling. However, I've had this feeling before so I know it will pass and I will have an awesome time.

I've planned this within an inch of my life and have made five lists which basically repeat themselves in various different coloured pens. I've done a trial bag pack. I had a dream I left my passport at home, and a dream that I was at the wrong airport. I've downloaded the couchsurfers app and have already received five messages from people offering to meet, one from someone who sounds lovely and a different one with a tinge of sexual harassment. I've said goodbye to Tom and written an itinerary in an excel spreadsheet (don't worry all you wisened travelers out there, it's flexible!).

Its super exciting but also AAAAAHHH!! South America is pretty far away and my Spanish is limited. I know I will be really proud of myself for doing this scary thing.Read more
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Finally here!

Dinner in Madrid

1 day to go..

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