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D&G's 2023 Adventure
  • Gabrielle Sheehan
  • Daniel Mezger

D&G's 2023 Adventure

Amazing trip to South America and Europe! En savoir plus
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  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Travel to Argentina

    3 mai 2023, Argentine ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Today we woke up around 7am for what would be the biggest travel day of our trip so far!
    We went early to grab some takeaway breakfast and snacks before departing San Pedro around 8.30am en route to Salta, Argentina.
    We crossed the border into Argentina at approximately 1pm before then spending another 6 hours on our way to Salta. It took about an hour and a half and then we were in Argentina!!

    During the day we read, observed the magnificent landscapes and watched a lot of Netflix!
    We arrived in Salta around 8pm, caught a taxi to the hotel and went to their fast food chain called Mostava (like Maccas) for dinner before bed.    En savoir plus

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  • D&G's 2023 Adventure
    Delicious meat on the BBQ!!Argentinan pesosChurches in Salta

    Salta

    4 mai 2023, Argentine ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    We started today with a light breakfast at the hotel because we would be having a bottomless lunch today!
    We exchanged some cash after breakfast (which was a big expedition because the money is quite confusing in Argentina and the exchange rates vary drastically!)
    We were picked up at 9am to be taken to our activity for today - the gaucho (cowboy) experience!
    We were taken to a ranch about an hour outside of Salta where we met the owner, Enrique, and started the experience by being fitted with our horse riding gear. We met our horses who were all really friendly (and mostly quite big horses).
    We jumped on our horses and followed the guide out of the ranch and then across different fields and even across some stony rivers. Towards the end of the 2 hour ride we even got into a fast gallop/canter which was quite fun!
    We made our way back to the ranch where an endless supply of red wine and meat was waiting for us! Enrique's friend played us some music on a flute like instrument, guitar and drums! The food also included lots of different vegetables, potatoes, salads and breads which was all delicious.
    We spent a few hours eating, drinking and chatting before being picked up around 4pm to be taken back to Salta. Needless to say the bus ride was very fun with Gab in control of the music and Daniel leading the karaoke! Everyone was having a good time!!
    We arrived back in Salta around 5pm for more dancing at the hostel before heading out for a few more drinks with the group at a bar. We left and grabbed something quick from Mostava (Argentinean fast food chain like McDonalds) and then we were in bed around 11pm! What a fun day!!    En savoir plus

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  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Buenos Aires

    5 mai 2023, Argentine ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    We started with a 5am pickup to go to the airport for our flight to Buenos Aires. Safe to say there were a few sore heads after yesterday's fun!
    Daniel was able to quickly join his work trivia to say hi over zoom before boarding the plane which was really nice.
    We flew into Buenos Aires and arrived at the hostel around 11.30am. We did some laundry and then had some lunch before having a bit of a rest in the afternoon.
    We then went on a walking tour of Buenos Aires which started at 4pm.
    We met our tour operator, Joy, who would be taking us on our tour on Sunday of the La Boca region and then continued walking through Buenos Aires with some of the group.
    We saw some of the main squares and then proceeded to the biggest cemetery in Buenos Aires (which was closed) before making our way back to the hostel.
    This would be our last night with André, our guide, before the new guide takes over for the remainder of the trip to Rio and so we gave him a gift/tip and Daniel said a speech on behalf of the group at the hostel.
    We then were picked up for the the tango experience dinner around 8pm which was incredible - it included a delicious 3 course meal and red wine before a fantastic dance show in a very nice restaurant! For entrees, we had empanadas and mozzarella sticks, 2 different types of steaks for mains and a creme caramel and a traditional Argentinean dessert (cheese and sweet potato slices) for dessert. The malbec was also delicious and it was pretty much unlimited for the duration of the experience. After eating, the show went for around 2 hours with different dancing and a lot of beautiful costume changes. The show presented different types of tango from early 1900s to today and the musicians and singers were very talented.
    We made it back to the hostel around midnight for karaoke night held at the hostel. After all the wine, the group yelled various songs including Spice Girls and Shania Twain and songs in other languages until around 2am at the hostel. At this hostel (unlike the other places we have stayed), we are staying in dorm rooms by gender so we are not together but having a good time sharing with everyone else from our group for these few days.    En savoir plus

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  • D&G's 2023 Adventure
    Another dinner of steak and wine!

    Buenos Aires

    6 mai 2023, Argentine ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Today we had a sleep in after a big night at the Tango experience.
    We had a late breakfast in the hostel then went for a walk with some of the group to see the Obelisk; the large spire at the centre of Buenos Aires.
    We then joined a few more of the group to walk to the main square and walk around and we then visited the awesome San Telmo market. This was quite different to other local markets we had visited - it is filled with lots of cool trendy restaurants and cafés (with a lot of meat cooking on display!) There were also a lot of vendors selling dulce de leche (caramel sauce) which is very popular here! We ate late lunch at a restaurant at the markets - an Osobuco pasta - absolutely delicious!
    We then went back to the hostel, picked up our laundry and chilled out for a bit. From balconies from our rooms, we also witnessed a huge parade/demonstration through the streets with flags, screaming and chanting calling for changes to the country's marijuana laws (the smell was very strong!) At 6pm, we had our welcome meeting with our new guide, Flor, as well as the last few members of our group who would be coming through to Rio with us (the last leg of the tour!) We met the new couple from the UK, a guy from Germany and a guy from Switzerland.
    We went out for dinner as a group and had an awesome steak and red wine dinner (third in a row!) before calling family and friends back at the hostel for a few hours! It was lovely connecting with Maureen, Martin, Joel (to wish him a happy early birthday), Annarita, Francesca, Nicky and Alex over video (it has been a bit difficult to keep in touch with the large time difference!)    En savoir plus

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  • D&G's 2023 Adventure
    Our group!
    La Boca stadium!Mural for the Mothers of the Plaza de MayoOur group after the game

    Buenos Aires

    7 mai 2023, Argentine ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    We enjoyed another chilled out morning before Daniel and Gab had a yummy breakfast out at a cafe near the centre of Buenos Aires.

    Some of the group then got in Ubers to the La Boca area of Buenos Aires which is the southern most point of the metropolitan area.
    Here we went on a tour of the La Boca area, famous for the soccer club Boca Juniors where many famous Argentine soccer players have come from and for its street art. Today was an extra special day because Boca were playing crosstown rivals River Plate away (and near impossible to get tickets!) and so the tour would conclude with us watching the match at a local pub.

    Joy, our local tour guide, took us around Boca where we saw the street and murals as well as the Boca home ground. One of the murals which we saw was for the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo who were a group of people who formed in protest against the military dictatorship in the 1970s which resulted in mass human rights abuses including the disappearance of thousands of children who were taken away from their mothers.

    Joy told us where was safe to walk around in La Boca (a "safety triangle" of around 3 blocks). We had some free time where we tried the local choripan (chorizo sandwich) - yum! We also bought a (kids) La Boca shirt which was the equivalent of around $10 - Gab wore it for the rest of the day! We also walked around and saw the awesome colourful main streets. The colourful houses are thanks to Benito Quinquela Martín who was a very famous artist who grew up in the area and his paints from his workshop were used by local people to paint their houses!

    We then boarded a local bus to the pub where we had some drinks before watching the game. The atmosphere at the pub was awesome (lots of singing and dancing throughout the game, and even a trumpet player!) Unfortunately La Boca lost 1-0 with a last minute penalty (and 4 red cards in the last 10 minutes!)

    We then went to a bar after the match for some more drinks and food before going to a night club in Palermo (the Northern part of Buenos Aires). At the club, they started with RNB music and then a live band played for a bit. We got an uber home and got to bed around 2am.    En savoir plus

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  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Colonia, Uruguay

    8 mai 2023, Uruguay ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    We had a 6am wake up after not much sleep before heading to the ferry terminal to get a ferry to Colonia, Uruguay. We went through immigration to say goodbye to Argentina and get a new stamp for Uruguay. It took about an hour on the ferry.
    We arrived in Colonia around 11am and walked around the old town district with the group. The old town is very picturesque with cobble streets and nice buildings. Colonia is a port city and was where a lot of the fighting took place when the Spanish invaded and because of this there is a lot of destroyed forts and some of the oldest buildings in South America.
    We had a late breakfast/lunch with the group of sandwiches before checking in at the hotel and having a nap.
    Gab and Daniel then went for a long walk along the coastline to the ‘Colonia’ sign before walking back to get ice cream and then meeting the group for sunset down by the water which was lovely!
    After sunset, the group went for dinner where we tried the local cuisine - Chivito - which is a steak sandwich type meal with ham and egg on it. Very filling and very good!
    We then went back to the room and watched some Netflix for a bit before going to sleep.    En savoir plus

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  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Montevideo

    9 mai 2023, Uruguay ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Daniel started the morning with a run in Colonia whilst Gab did a workout in the main square (with a doggie friend who sat next to her during her workout!)
    We then said goodbye to Colonia as we boarded a bus to the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo.
    We checked into our AMAZING 4-star hotel where we would be spending the next two nights (complete with very nice rooms, gym, spa/sauna rooms and rooftop pool).
    We then had a short orientation walk around the city and walked with some of the group to the main beach and then the football stadium which was home to the first FIFA World Cup in 1930 that Uruguay won (about a 3 hour walk in total)!
    We then came back to the hotel and decided to make use of the spa and gym in the afternoon before having drinks on the rooftop and singing happy birthday to one of our fellow travellers, Curtis, for his birthday and eating cake.
    We then went out for dinner in a food court style place with lots of options. We had had wok noodles - a nice change (though Uruguay prices are much higher than Peru and Bolivia, for example)!
    We came back to the hotel for some cards and pool and Gab called home before calling it a night.    En savoir plus

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  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Montevideo

    10 mai 2023, Uruguay ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Today, Daniel joined some of the group on a bike tour whilst Gab decided to go for a walk to explore the city at her own pace.
    The bike tour started around the corner from the hotel where we got on our bikes and proceeded to the start point which was the ‘Montevideo’ sign. As the group progressed along the coastline (which was quite windy), the group made a number of stops and learnt a number of interesting facts about Uruguay from our tour guide, Santi:
    -Uruguay is the smallest Spanish speaking country
    -the name ‘Montevideo’ means ‘six hills from east to west’
    -Uruguay has an average of 4 cows per person, with an average of 100kg of meat consumed per year
    -any leftover phone credit at the end of the month is sent to dog shelters to help fund them
    -there is free healthcare and education from kindergarten to university
    -the annual carnival party goes for 50 days
    -the football salaries are not high and so some players have two jobs (our guide actually had one of his favourite players as his Uber driver once!)
    - Uruguay is a very progressive country - For example, weed has been legalised for 10 years and gay marriage has been legalised since 1937 (the 12th country in the world to do so).
    The group stopped for lunch in the local markets for some yummy empanadas before making our way back along the coastline and to the hotel. It was a really fun tour and a great way to explore the capital!
    Gab explored some of the same areas of the city as well including the old town.

    We then made use of the hotel gym/spa again before heading out for dinner to the same markets/food court for a huge meal for two.    En savoir plus

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  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Estancia Stay

    11 mai 2023, Uruguay ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    We had a bit of a sleep in this morning before we said goodbye to our amazing hotel and Montevideo.
    We boarded a bus which would be taking us to our next location, a farm/ranch (called an estancia) stay in Mercedes, Uruguay.
    We arrived around 3pm and had a choripan (sausage) sandwich for a late lunch which was cooked on the open grill - yum!
    We then had a chilled afternoon which consisted of some soccer by Daniel and reading and chilling in the sun by Gab before going for a half an hour horse ride. We sat inside and chatted around the fire inside with red wine when it got too cold.
    We had a delicious dinner of a traditional Uruguayan stew followed by crepes for dessert.
    We then continued with some drinks and games around the fire before calling it a night.    En savoir plus

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  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Estancia Stay

    12 mai 2023, Uruguay ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    After a very restful sleep on the ranch we had breakfast followed by cow milking! Some of the group struggled with it but Daniel and Gab managed to get the hang of it quite easily.
    We then chilled for a bit in the morning, playing a bit of frisbee and football as well as relaxing in the sun.
    We then had an empanada making class which was super fun. Some of the group were in charge of cutting and cooking the ingredients whilst the rest (which included Daniel and Gab) separated and rolled the dough to make the pastry. We then put the empanadas together and on a tray for us to have later that day. We made beef and veggie empanadas as well as some dessert ones with quince paste (as we had leftover dough!)
    For lunch, we had some home cooked pasta before going for a walk around the ranch to continue enjoying the sunshine.
    After the walk, we did a yoga class which was run by one of our group members who is a part-time yoga instructor. This was a very relaxing activity in the sunshine and a much needed stretch.
    If we hadn’t done enough exercise, we then proceeded to do a tango lesson by our guide, Flor, which was lots of fun and ended with Daniel and Gab doing a rendition of their wedding dance in front of the whole group!
    We then had a delicious BBQ dinner cooked on an open grill before chilling around the bonfire and singing into the night.    En savoir plus

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  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Travel to Brazil

    13 mai 2023, Argentine ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    We woke up on our last morning on the ranch and went for a nice morning walk in the sun to say goodbye to the cows!
    We had breakfast and said goodbye to our hosts as we headed north to the Argentine border on our way to Brazil.
    We crossed back into Argentina, ducked into a supermarket to get supplies and then arrived at the main bus terminal around 3pm. We had some food and chilled out/went for a walk before what would be our final (and longest) night bus of our South American journey north towards Brazil.
    We boarded the bus around 5.30pm and departed armed with snacks and downloaded Netflix!    En savoir plus

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  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Iguassu Falls

    14 mai 2023, Brésil ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    We woke up after our overnight bus close to the border and crossed into Brazil. The bus was overall pretty comfortable and we managed to get some sleep during the journey from 5pm to 9am,

    We boarded a bus which would take us on our day trip for the Brazilian side of the world’s longest waterfall - Iguassu Falls!

    We jumped off the bus and walked along the opposite side of the falls, taking in the incredible panoramic view of the falls on the other side of the gorge! It was amazing seeing the falls from this view and we were so lucky with beautiful clear sunny weather! The boardwalk trail was quite nice with views everywhere. We also saw some of the local wildlife including birds such as a toucan and the local animals called coaties which look like little raccoons.

    We made our way down to the viewpoint where we got a bit of spray from the falls and had a fantastic view over the lower tier of the falls. We also saw a speed boat from up high which we will be taking tomorrow from the Argentinian side.

    We made our way back up to the main road for one last look of the falls before having a quick chicken and chips lunch in the cafeteria overlooking the falls.
    We hopped back into the bus and checked into our hotel whilst some of the group did a helicopter ride over the falls and chilled by the pool of the hotel in the afternoon which was very nice!

    We then went for a group dinner at a Brazilian Churrascaria (bbq restaurant) where we had an awesome pizza and Gab tried the National cocktail, Capriniha. A band was playing and there was a very lively atmosphere in the restaurant even though the town was very quiet. We then had some drinks and ice cream for the walk home before going to bed.    En savoir plus

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  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Iguassu Falls

    15 mai 2023, Brésil ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    We had an early breakfast before getting picked up to visit the Argentinian side of the falls today.
    We crossed the border back into Argentina and were dropped at the visitor centre and then boarded a train which took us to the viewpoint for Devils Throat - the tallest waterfall in Iguassu standing at approx 80 metres tall.

    We had some amazing views watching the water thunder down the cliff before heading back to the train. We caught the train to the mid point of the falls and made our way along the nature path at the top of the falls, taking in all the various angles of these amazing waterfalls. It was incredible to walk these paths and see the Falls from so many angles - truly so spectacular!

    We then had a quick lunch of empanadas before heading on our jet boat ride adventure into the falls! We were picked up in 4WDs and taking to the departure point where we were given dry bags and life vests before boarding the boat. On the bay, we also saw some Caymans sun baking. The ride started with a journey to the face of the falls where we saw yet another incredible view of the falls. The boat then took us into the falls numerous times where we got to have an authentic Iguassu shower, very refreshing (and super fun)!! We really enjoyed this experience!!
    We made our way back to the departure point where we unloaded our dry bags, got changed (as we were soaked!) and walked back up to the 4WDs which took us back to the visitor centre.

    On the way back to the hotel we were then given the option to cross the border into Paraguay - see other footprint!

    After visiting Paraguay, we came back to the hotel in Brazil (yes, 3 countries in one day!) to chill out with the group after a busy day.    En savoir plus

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  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    (A very short visit to) Paraguay

    15 mai 2023, Paraguay ⋅ 🌙 21 °C

    After our day trip to the Argentine side of Iguassu Falls, we had the option to visit Paraguay so we decided to go for a couple of hours.

    A few facts about Paraguay:
    - There are a lot of immigrants in Paraguay. A lot of people live in the cities in Brazil and commute to Paraguay every day.
    - Paraguay is predominately a farming country.
    - Guarani is the native language.
    - Many Brazilians travel across to Paraguay for cheaper shopping (duty free), especially for electronics. Therefore, there are thousands of shopping malls in Paraguay!
    - It is the only country in the world whose money notes have two faces.
    - It used to be a very rich country until it lost the "Paraguayan War" which was fought by Paraguay against Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.
    - Paraguay had a dictator for 35 years from 1960 to 1995.
    - The friendship bridge is 575m long linking Brazil to Paraguay.

    We were taken across the bridge to the border (no passport checks!) and visited a huge mall where we had a delicious pasta dinner and explored the shops for a couple of hours. It reminded us of an airport with large department stalls, arcade games and food courts. We had an early dinner with some drinks of beer and wine. After a couple of hours, our guide met our group to travel back across the border (there is nothing much else to see in the town besides shopping).

    We then crossed back into Brazil with no border checks and made it back to our hotel!    En savoir plus

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  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Travel to Paraty

    16 mai 2023, Brésil ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    We left Iguassu Falls on what would be our last major travel day of the South America tour.
    We had breakfast at the hotel and then had a short bus journey to the airport.
    We then took a flight from Iguassu Falls to Sao Paolo, Brazil and South America’s largest city. We then boarded a bus from the airport which would take us to the beachside town of Paraty.
    On the way, we stopped for a buffet-style lunch where you pay by the gram (about $3AUD/100gram) for food. We enjoyed the Brazilian meats as well as some salad!
    We arrived in Paraty around 6.30pm and went for a walk around town to orientate ourselves before going to the supermarket to stock up on supplies.
    We then had some delicious ice cream for dinner after a massive lunch before going the group for a quick drink before calling it a night.    En savoir plus

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  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Paraty

    17 mai 2023, Brésil ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    We started our morning together with a run along the beach. It was definitely one of the better beaches we had been on but the sand was very soft which made it quite hard to run on (which resulted in sore calves and ankles!)

    We had breakfast in the hotel before heading out on our boat cruise! We boarded around 10.30am and cruised around some of the smaller islands in the region, stopping at a couple of beaches and even a snorkelling spot where we saw lots of fish.

    We enjoyed a few drinks on board and chatted with the majority of the group who were on the boat and had a fantastic time on the water. We were lucky to have a nice sunny day on the boat!

    After the cruise, we quickly got changed before going on a walking tour of Paraty where we learned a lot about Paraty and Brazil from our guide, Enrique (Harry), as we walked around the small colonial town. Some of the information we learnt included that:
    - The Portuguese were the successful country who conquered the Brazilian land ahead of the Americans and English by sailing across the Atlantic and using the favourable sea winds to their advantage.
    -Paraty is a Brazilian heritage site and nothing in the old town can be rebuilt unless there is a painting or blueprint of what it was before. Not many people actually live in the Old Town today - many of the houses are holiday houses for wealthy Brazillian people.
    -Paraty was the main location for the importation of slaves or Brazil, bringing in over 4million slaves mainly from Africa. The slaves were typically malnourished when they arrived so they were sent to be baptised (and converted to Christianity), trained and fed before being turned into alcoholics to make them dependant on the alcohol provided by their owners. It was very sad hearing about the scale of the slave trade at this place which had massive booms coinciding with the growth of coffee and gold trade (what was known as the Gold Trail passed through Paratay at one time).
    - Cachaca was the main alcohol given to the slaves and it is the most popular alcohol today in Brazil because it is made from sugar cane which grows in abundance. The cocktail, caprihinas, are made with this alcohol with ice and lime.
    -Portuguese roads have a central drainage channel whereas Spanish built has one on each side of the road. We saw this on the streets in the Old Town and saw how the cobble stone streets have been lifted and rebuilt (with the same stones) on two occasions to put in plumbing and lighting. The streets also full up with some water when it's high tide so the roads were brought up higher as well.
    - The houses were decorated with pineapples on the outside which was a sign of wealth.
    - The first openly gay mayor in Brazil was elected in Paraty in 2000 and, for this reason, many of the boats are painted in pink or rainbow.

    After our very informative walking tour, we went out for dinner with the group where we tried the local dish of the the region, fish mocheta - a Thai curry style fish stew which was absolutely delicious (and huge!)

    After dinner, we got a quick ice cream on our way to the beach bar in front of the hotel where we watched some dancing on the sand before going to bed.    En savoir plus

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  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Ilha Grande

    18 mai 2023, Brésil ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    This morning, we left our beachside paradise headed for even more paradise on Ilha Grande (Big Island) for the next few days!
    We took a bus to the ferry terminal and then were able to stock up on supplies while we waited for the boat. The boat was a kind of ribbed boat and was quite bumpy (and loud) as we took approx 45min to reach the island. It also didn't have any room for our luggage so we sat with backpacks and luggage on top of us and surrounding us!
    We checked into our hotel and then the majority of the group decided to do the hike through the bush to Lopes Mendes, one of the best beaches on the island.
    We hiked up, over and across the mountains included needing to take off our shoes to cross some water channels and even use ropes to descend down rocks!
    We got to Lopes Mendes for a fantastic view, however the beach was closed due to rough surf.
    Most of the group decided to chill out and catch a water taxi back to the hotel, however we decided to make the most of the nice weather and hike back. The hike back was harder because it was more uphill and we were more tired however we made it back just in time before it got too dark!! (We love a good challenge!) The hike ended up taking us around 4.5 hours in total (around 16km).
    We then relaxed by the hotel pool and showered before heading out for a group dinner.
    Tonight’s dinner was a pasta dish, Sorrentos, an Argentine ravioli style pasta. The reason it is Argentine is because the island was inhabited by Argentines and hence their cuisine is the local favourite. We had Sorrentos stuffed with blue cheese and walnuts with a beef sauce and for desert we had a delicious brownie with ice cream and dulce de leche to share! Gab had a big glass of red wine and Daniel had a capriniha. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel.    En savoir plus

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  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Ilha Grande

    19 mai 2023, Brésil ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Today, we had a lovely day out on a party boat with everyone in our group! We were lucky to have beautiful sunny weather all day! After swimming in the water to our boat at a beach (being careful to ensure our bags which contained spirits bottles and mixers stayed dry), we jumped on the boat, filled up the esky and pumped up the music.

    We stopped at a beautiful beach for an hour where the boys participated in a beach sprinting race (Daniel won), we played wrestling in the water with girls on the guys shoulders, we swam and we went to a walk to see an 19th century church which was the first built on the island. We went back on the boat and then made another stop for some swimming and snorkelling. There were quite a few fish hanging around the boat and some rocks near the boat. We hopped back on the boat and at around 3pm, we stopped next to a few other boats and one of the boats served a delicious lunch which included paella, potatoes and prawns. Gab discovered that not everyone knows how to peel prawns so she taught one of the Swiss guys on the tour how to do that (who knew Aussie Christmases taught us such valuable life skills!) We chilled on the boats for a while as the boat operators made many caiprinhas and we continued drinking and dancing! The boat tour ended around 6pm and it was quite dark at this time.

    We went back to the hotel after the boat and Gab and one of the other guys on the tour went twice to a local pizza restaurant to order and bring back pizzas for the group (after the first order was demolished so quickly!) We then had a good rest after an amazing day!    En savoir plus

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  • D&G's 2023 Adventure
    Beautiful subset in Rio!
    Some sore heads on our bus to Rio!

    Rio!

    20 mai 2023, Brésil ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    We made it to Rio, the last stop on our South American journey!
    We woke up in Ilha Grande, caught a boat back to the mainland (around 45mins again) before getting a bus to Rio which took around 4 hours.
    We checked in around 3pm and then went for a walk along the famous Copacabana Beach. It was a Saturday afternoon so the streets were busy and there was also a festival on the beach. Copacabana beach is one of the longest beaches we have ever seen, with lots of football fields and volleyball nets set up along it.
    We watched a beautiful sunset at Ipanema Beach (kind of perpendicular to Copacabana) before walking to dinner with the group.
    We had a traditional stew of meat and beans which was quite nice before heading to one of the many beach bars along Copacabana.
    We stayed for a few drinks before coming back to the hostel for dinner.    En savoir plus

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  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Rio

    21 mai 2023, Brésil ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    We started the morning with a favela tour of one of the ‘nicer’ favelas called Vidigal. The favelas are known in Rio to have a lower socioeconomic demographic and hence less opportunities for people in terms of employment and education.
    We visited a couple of sites where people have been trying to make a difference by starting different programs to give opportunities to younger people.
    The first location we visited consisted of a group of people who had cleaned up one of the viewpoints previously filled with rubbish and had started planting crops/trees with a view to then be able to sell to the local markets.
    The next location was a music school which was set up to help with providing youths an opportunity to learn skills and keep them off the streets. The school had previously done an exchange program with France and also performed at the United Nations.
    Gab and Daniel, also with a few other group members were then able to show off their drumming skills under the direction of the teacher!
    We then sampled some of the local beer, which is being brewed at home by a married couple. Their initiative is to mass produce their beer by getting funding from a bigger beer distributor to then enable greater employment in the favelas and raise money for initiatives in the area.
    The group then walked down to exit the favelas, and we were able to complete our visit by watching someone getting arrested and thrown in the back of a police car! Thankfully, we are all safe! Though, then we both went off for adventurous afternoons!
    Gab and one of the other group members, Brittany, went off to do their hang glide - see more in the other footprint!
    Daniel went with the rest of the group back to the hostel in a local bus which was a small van with many people crammed inside.
    After a quick freshen up, Daniel and some of the group were picked up to go to the local football match that afternoon - Flamengo (Rio) vs Corinthians (Sao Paolo).
    We were dropped outside the Maracana, Brazil’s national stadium and entered inside the 65,000 capacity stadium.
    We arrived about 1 hour before kickoff and the stadium was already half full, before being completely full still 20min before the start.
    It was a close match the entire game, the atmosphere was electric and the fans never stopped chanting! Thankfully, in the dying minutes of extra time - the home team scored and won 1-0! This made for a very fun walk out of the stadium and trip home :)
    After we got back and Daniel was reunited with Gab who had survived her hang glide, we showered and then went out for Brazilian BBQ.
    It was the same style as back in Sydney, all you can eat meat until you can’t anymore! The quality of the meat was fantastic and we were very full afterwards! There was also a really nice salad, seafood and cheese buffet.
    We then went to the beach bar for some Caipirinhas and chilled with some of the group. Gab decided to call it a night after around 1am whilst Daniel went clubbing with some of the group in the centre of Rio for a few hours which was a lot of fun!    En savoir plus

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  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Gabby goes hang gliding in Rio!

    21 mai 2023, Brésil ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    While Daniel went to the football, Gab went on her own adventure!! She flew over Rio and had one of the best views by hang gliding.

    Gab did hang gliding with another girl from our tour, Britt. They started off at a beach where they could see other people hang gliding and para gliding off the cliff (paragliding is where you sit under the sail and hang gliding is where you are lying flat under the sail). After waiting nervously, they went up to the top and saw the pilots setting up their sails. After a very quick tutorial, Gab ran off the cliff on the count of 3 and was gliding through the air. The views were incredible over the mountains, beach and city!! In the distance, you could see Christ the Redeemer. It was also a clear beautiful day and the pilot said it was perfect conditions for the flight!

    After being in the air for about 10 minutes, the pilot asked if Gab would like the extreme or calm landing and after saying "Whichever!", she had the extreme landing which included a few circles and a landing on the beach where Gab fell over in the sand!

    What a phenomenal experience and something Gab will never forget!!    En savoir plus

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  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Rio

    22 mai 2023, Brésil ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    We had a more chilled day today after a big night!
    We went out late morning to buy some souvenirs and mail some postcards before going for a walk along Copacabana Beach.
    The beach feels a lot like Sydney in terms of the sand and surf but there is a lot of people coming up to you try to sell everything including cocktails, massages, prawns and football jerseys!
    We went for a quick dip before going back to the hostel for a shower and then joining some of the group to visit Sugar Loaf mountain. This is a set of two cable cars that enable you to reach one of Rio’s highest and most spectacular viewpoints on top of the Sugar Loaf Mountain.
    We made our way to the top and watched the sunset, taking in the incredible views over Rio! It was phenomenal being able to see the views over the city (including Copacabana beach and Christ Redeemer in the distance) in daylight, then with the orange and red colours of sunset and then all lit up at night.
    We got back down the bottom and went to an Indian restaurant for dinner (as some of the Brits were craving it!) which was really nice and then called it an early night!    En savoir plus

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  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Rio (Goodbye South America 😢)

    23 mai 2023, Brésil ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    And so began our last day in Rio and South America!!
    We went out in style by joining a city tour with members of the group that were still in Rio which started with a visit to the magnificent Christ Redeemer. Weighing over 600t and standing at 40m tall at 700m above sea level, the views from the top are incredible.
    We took some photos with the ‘big dude’ (also the name of our tour! 😋) before making our way to the Santa Teresa area known for its artistry and street art/graffiti. We then continued to the Lapa Steps, a set of ceramic steps created by the Chilean artist, Selaron. When these steps were being built, artists all over the world donated and sent tiles to Selaron to assist with his creation - we even managed to find a few Aussie ones!
    We then continued our tour to the metropolitan cathedral of San Sebastián, a very beautiful and very tall church in the middle of Rio. The stain glass windows were some of the largest we had ever seen and definitely one of the most unique churches we have visited!
    Our next stop was a quick photo outside the Maracana stadium which Daniel had gone to a couple of days ago before making our last stop in the National Park.
    We walked through the Tijuca National park, admiring the greenery and seeing some lovely waterfalls throughout the park.
    We then made our way to the lunch spot where we said goodbye to the rest of our tour group before getting an Uber to the airport ready for our flight to London via Madrid!
    We had our first and only Açai bowls of Brazil for a late lunch before boarding around 7pm.

    We can’t believe that two months of our trip has flown past so quickly! We made some incredible friends on our tour and enjoyed the carefree nature of being on a tour and not having to worry about planning/booking etc. We learnt so much and loved the people, culture, landscapes and many varied experiences we had in South America!
    Bring on Europe and summer!    En savoir plus

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  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    Madrid Stopover

    24 mai 2023, Espagne ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    After an overnight flight from Rio (around 10.5 hrs with Iberia Airlines), we arrived in Europe!
    Quick stopover in Madrid, including our first Evian and baguette of Europe. Next stop - London!

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  • D&G's 2023 Adventure

    London Calling

    24 mai 2023, Angleterre ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    We made it to London! It took around 2hrs from Madrid to London.
    We were greeted at the airport by Zoe’s mum, Louise, who has been so kind to host us during our short stay in the UK.
    Louise drove us to her place in Harefield, about a 30min drive from Heathrow north-west of London, where we were able to have a much needed shower and get changed.

    We walked around the town which is very lovely and walked to an English pub for a pint in a beer garden in the sun. Daniel enjoyed his beer though he forgot that they wouldn’t serve it cold here! We returned back to Louise’s place for a delicious home-cooked roast dinner with red wine. After talking and enjoying, we went to bed for a much needed rest!    En savoir plus

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