Destiantion 7: Oz - Beaches, cricket, beach cricket and good times

Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie.....Oi Oi Oi.

We touched down in Sydney to a hot sunny day! This was too set the trend for our time in Aus.

We booked into our posh luxury city apartments in Sydney. We decided we had to spoil ourselves after months of backpacking (dodge showers, kitchens and communal areas were definitely last season). So we check in, settle in and decide to hit Manly beach to catch up with Ester (a Dutch gal we had befriended in South America who did a very similar route to us. One of those people you keep on bumping into) and a few of her mates. Had a great day on the beach and went for a few drinks at the famous ''Side Bar'' below ''Wake Up'' Hostel! So Sydney and our Aus trip got off to a great start beside one small dampener!

Dampener......When we decided to book this accommodation in Sydney we knew that we were leaving LA on the 26th December. We, as you could have guessed by now, weren't always 100 100% on the ball when it came it being organised. We booked apartments online for the first three nights, the 27th, 28th, 29th. We paid online by credit card and the deal was done! When we arrived in Sydney we quickly realised it was the 28th of December. In flying from LA to Sydney we obviously crossed the date line and lost the 27th in travel! So we had paid for a night (a fairly expense night on a backpackers budget) that we didn't use! Dope!

Catching up with friends was pretty much what Oz was to be all about. We spent a lot of time on the beach around Bondi/Coogee seeing old London friends.

New Year we went to a relaxed balcony party in Bondi with Brewer and Dano (old London acquaintances), and a few of Brewers close mates! That was a really good night......very small but as good as being in the thick of it by the harbour we reckon!

A couple of days after New Year we treated ourselves to a day at the cricket! Seano, a couple of Julians cousin and team Roadtrippin hit the SCG for the 1st day of the final test! It was a cracker of day, one of the best days we had on world tour! Idle banter with all the Ozzies around us, entertaining cricket, beer, more beer, more cricket, more banter, zinc painted faces, ''snakes'', Ozzies getting kicked out all around us, runs and wickets, burgers, more beer, catches, good catch up sessions, jokes, jokes about how bad the Ozzie cricket team was, beer.......all that a day at the cricket should be!

After a good few days of beaching in Sydney it was time for the Melbourne experience! Our first few days in Melbourne we were very kindly put up by a travel buddy we met in Rio called Christie! Spent our time beaching on Brighton beach, going down to Phillip Island, taking in a couple of movies and of course doing a little shopping.

Next stop in Melbourne was the Kyle Black residence. Like all of Blackers's homes it was a mad party destination! Blackers lives with 3 other awesome party dudes.....Woolsey, Pauly Ryan and Campo. The boys showed us a really good time: from beach cricket days on St Kilder beach to poker evenings; from awesome night spots like Baroq Bar and Madame Brussels to serious Play Station sessions (''Guitar Hero'' and ''Mario Carts'') at their place! They really knew how to put a couple of 20 something boys up for a few nights. Thanks Blackers and co for a wicked time!

After a whirlwind tour in Melbourne it was time to do that thing we hate so much......pack up the backpack, lug it around and get on some train/bus/plane!

Melbourne passed by in a blink of an eye and before we knew it we were sitting on a balcony overlooking Sydney with Tristan and Bianca Elder. Over dinner and a few glasses of wine we contemplated our last night in Sydney! Where does the time go hey? It goes quick when you having fun and Oz, we can say for certain, was fun!

Destination 6: Brazil and the end of the Americas

''FIRST LAPA EXPERIENCE''

Brazil...... Brazil was supposed to be beach beach beach.....but the weather in Brazil had other ideas for us! Torrential rain ravished the south of Brazil killing about a 100 people in December. Florianopolis (the surfer/movie star hangout) of Brazil was supposed to be one of the highlights of our South American leg! Obviously, cause being rockstars ourselves, we would naturally fit in. In the end, due to the weather we decided to go to the Pantanal (Brazilian Wetlands) with the persuasion of a young Canadian lass we met in Iguazu. Sarah Jones teamed up with team Roadtrippin the Sphere and we hit the road from Iguazu to the Pantanal.

The 14 hour bus ride from Iguazu to Campo Grande (the arse end of nowhere excuse my French) was a killer......we had no idea where we were going, had to change bus, we stopped constantly, people told us to get off, then get back on, then get off (all in the most basic form of body language communication as Englsih was not happening)......eventually we stopped and for some reason unknown to us we had to sit in the middle of nowhere waiting for some other bus to arrive and take us to Campo Grande. Not the safest feeling when you waiting around and it is 11 o clock at night and all the English speaking Brazilian's you have met along the way have said', ''be careful, all tourists gets robbed in Brazil''.

We eventually arrived in Campo Grande and booked our trip of the world famous Pantanal! The guy at the agency/hostel was very nice and showed us some amazing pictures of these wetlands (crocodiles, horseback riding in shoulder deep wetlands, swimming and snorkeling etc). We were sold a vast expanse of beautiful untouched wetland. Once we got to the Pantanal we soon discovered it was not the rainy nor the wet season. It was in fact the end of the dry season and to say there was a mass of H20 around would be akin to saying Pol Pot was humanitarian of the year 1979!

Despite our lack of research in the Pantanal it really turned out to be a massive relaxing session for the three adventurers. We had a nice group of people with us.....an eccentric 40 something Swiss dude, 3 crazee Dutchies (one of whom we met on a bus in Argentina), and a few other randoms! The Pantanal, despite being dry was beautiful and very relaxing! We ate well (very well), everyday breakfast lunch and dinner was served buffet style ......loads of meat, loads of veggies and salads....yum yum. When we weren't eating, we lying by the pool soaking up the rays whilst Sara's Ipod kept us entertained! When we weren't eating, sleeping, drinking by the pool we were doing our adventure activities. Adventure activities consisted of kicking an old horse around the farm, fishing for piranhas, cayman spotting and walks around the Pantanal. We caught some beautiful sunsets, had one weird but massive night at the ''campers'' campsite (budget accomodation and budget booze), caught up on some relaxation (movies, pool, swimming, reading etc). The Pantanal was a perfect stop on route to Rio......which we would soon discover was not a place for someone afraid to party! It gave us time to chill out, recoup after the extremities of Argentina and give our livers a half time break because Rio was to be another party session.

First of all we had to get to Rio....small problem of 29 hour bus journey on Brazilian buses (no full cama or ''bed'', no champagne and hot meals, no movies, no random old dude to tuck you in with a blanket.....just sheer bumpy uncomfortableness for 29 hours! But we were definitely ready to endure the pain as the grass was always greener on the other side......Rio was the other side and it promised bikinis, Brazilians, ''Brazilians'', bronzed bodies, booze and a big party! Supermodels, sun and the samba was the dream....but what would be in store for the three entrepid adventurers?

We arrived into Rio tired, dreary individuals and caught a taxi to Mellow Yellow (according to Chris ''Spot''' Wynn the most legend backpackers ever). The taxi was a insightful experience into traveling and the art of being prepared. We stepped of the bus and the taxi drivers offered us a ride to Copacabana, where Mellow Yellow was situated! How much, ''80 Real'' the answer. Luckily we had met a French couple and they simply said they had spoken to a hostel in the area and they said we should not pay more than 40 Real (half the quote). Just goes to show that piss poor performance can be avoided by proper preparation.....thanks the Frenchies!


Our first Friday in Rio was a goodie....we bought or should I say invested in a pair of authentic Brazilian beach bats, hit the beach and then returned to the hostel to get ready for our first real Brazilian experience......the Lapa Street party. The party was great, literally an area full of street revellers and street vendors going off to the sound of Brazilian dancing and drums! The vendors sold everything from beer, to Churros, to meat on a stick and everyone was really into the party! We had a big group of us (Dom 'Cedric' Chennells, Peta, Ester, Sarah, Jules and myself) and the night was a good one! Guy, in a drunken state had 100 reals stolen out of his hand by a big Brazilian dude. The thief skillfully managed to offload the 100 reals to a mate so when he confronted the pickpocket he had nothing in his hand! Rio 1 Guy 0 ,or should I say Rio 100 Guy 0!

''WHAT A VIEW''

Saturday there was excitement in the air for Jules as Sexy Simmy was arriving. Sim arrived and the party was gotten started by going to the Maracana stadium to watch a Brazilian footie game. Footie game was amazing despite it being a mid table affair. The stadium was absolutely immense and despite a slow first half the game really heated up when the opposition and underdogs scored a cracking goal. This made for a real interesting second half.....lots of dancing, shouting, singing, dancing under the big flags etc etc. We also met a few peeps from the hostel....team Faroe Islands (where is that, yes, we asked the same question), Team Drinking England (Rich and Chris, shortly to be joined by Ed).....some of the people we were going to p-a-r-taaayyyy with over the next week or so! Football was a real experience, the drinks before hand, the hot as hell meat on a stick, the song singing in the street etc etc. This really got us in the mood for the ever famous Favela Funk 'shake your ass like a local'' street party! The street party was a riot! We danced like we hadn't danced before.......just being in that environment was a real eye opener! To make it in the Favela you have to have a fast bike, be 6'3'' with huge muscles, be able to dance like a backup to Madonna and wear a massive silver chain over an intimidating scar and tattoo covered body! That is if you a boy, if you a girl you need to wear a short short skirt and be able to shake your ass side to side at the approximate rate of a humming bird whilst still being able to shift your hips up and down.....pretty near impossible if you ever try it! It takes the co-ordination that truly only a Brazilian is born with. The favela parties take place in massive warehouses...

Tulio, the Mellow Yellow bouncer (a mountain of a man) escourts you into the club and you are whisked upstairs to the ''gringo'' section. The gringo section (also the VIP section) is upstairs and overlooks the sea of sweaty humanity below. This section is still very busy but less intimidating then the cattle market below. We have seen some meat markets in our time but nothing really compares to this.....just ask Simone. She was walking through the dance floor, holding Julian's hand, when some huge man grabbed her face, pulled her in and licked the length of her cheek from jaw to temple. Charming chat up line, should really put that one in the memory bank and use it!

Besides being a piece of meat these parties rock and we had a great time there.....danced like Brazilians (or should I say we tried to) through he night and had a really fab time. Most of all I will remember DJ Creo and his thumping tune that went something like, ''baba ba baba ba baaaa.......baba ba baba ba baaaa , creo creo creo!'' Our first week in Rio was spent soaking up some rays, seeing the sights like the Christ Statue, going out to a few nice restaurants and taking in some drinks. Brazil is known for its Churrascaria Restaurants. These restaurants are all you can eat buffets where they bring round all sorts of meats and cuts on massive skewers. There is also massive buffet with everything from Sushi to Lasagne to the most amazing salads etc! They are the best restaurants ever......all you can eat sushi and chicken hearts for 20 real...can you ask for more? Brazil is also known for its beaches and you can see why......they are long and full of interesting things to see. The guys are the best athletes I have ever seen.....they play beach volleyball with their bodies (shoulders, chestm head and feet).....some of the most amazing displays of talent! There is always something interesting to see. Things to suite anyone's taste.....fit bodies, lady boys in thongs, speedos, guys doing gymnastics on the beach, guys kicking footballs around like they are Maradonna, amazing beach sculptures, surfers, etc etc. A day at the beach is never dull and you see some amazing skills.....it is no wonder they are have dominated football for so long!

''XMAS WITH A TOUCH OF SAFFA AND BRAZIL''

We also went on a favela tour during the day. After seeing the acclaimed film ''City of God'' we had always wanted to see this place in real life. During the day it is quite an experience. The slums are controlled by drug lords who keep the peace. The police (that aren't corrupt) steer clear of these favelas and let them be. As do the Brazilian government who let these slums swell to the massive sizes they are today. The Rochina Favela is huge and it is maze of houses built on top of steep hill. The favela is haphazard, dirty and dangerous but it has certain positiveness about it you cant deny. People are normal, just living there and seem quite content! Rochina is estimated to have around 200 000 residents. The land is government owned but if the government now tried to displace the inhabitants there would be mass uprising. Where would they be taken to etc etc. As mentioned earlier this favela is controlled by 2 or 3 gangs who control drugs and money flowing in and out of the favela. The success of a druglord is based on how their ability to control the peace in the favela as the average inhabitant is simply a normal working class Brazilian wanting to live close to work but cant afford the rent in a more normal area of Rio!

As we became the old hands of Rio and Mellow Yellow we made some good friends. In addition to Team Faroe we picked up James, Team Watford (Ama, Emila and Tif) and of course our old Radelaide mates, Leigh ''Jam Marmalade'' Rebbeck and Alex ''I cant win a drinking competition to save my life'' Overall. With this core group of COOL people we had a great time. In fact we were having so much of a good time we wanted to change our flight from Rio to Caracas, Venezuela to a couple of days later. As I mentioned we were having such a blast we completely forgot to check our dates so when we phoned up Jemma (our trusty Manchester round the world specialist) to change our flight she was a bit confused.........

Reasoning........

Jules: Hi Jemma, pleasantries, blah did blah. Please can we change our flight from from Rio to Caracas.

Jemma: Hmmmm, what time is it there?
Jules: 10 in the morning
Jemma: your flight just took off, too bad so sad!

Well done Jules and Guy....again proving your worth as the worlds best backpackers!
So, we were forced to stay in Rio another few days.....but we weren't really that fussed. We were having fun and felt like rockstars in Rio! Speaking of Rockstars we went to go see Madonna in the Maracana Stadium! Real good hoot!

As the days flew by slowly but surely the inevitable had to happen. the dream had to come to an end......Team Faroe departed, then Ama departed, the Tif and Emilia departed and so the list goes on. As the familiar friendly faces were replaced by fresh new ones we were ''ready to blow this rice paddy''.....but not before seeing Sugar Loaf, the most spectacular view in South America. Pity we timed it so well that when we got to the top we could hardly see 2 meters in front of us......Besides this sad ending we can well and truly say we had a blast in Rio! Thanks to everyone we mention above for making our short time in Rio so memorable!

The end of the Americas : (

Before we got to Oz Team Roadtrippinthesphere had some traveling to do. As you will remember, we were stranded in Rio due to a team communication error! Anyways, Jemma, a real life rockstar organised a change of date flight to Caracas at the additional cost of 100 quid. At one stage we were staring down the barrell of buying another 400 quid flight to Caracas, which, would not have been ideal! Jemma = lifesaver! So we left Rio, flew to Caracas Venezvuela for a night. We wont count it as a destination on our trip even though we did get the passport stamp. We simply crashed and got ready to return to destination 1, the US of A.

This time we had a couple days on the West Coast over Xmas. LA and San Diego were the destinations!

Had a cool couple of days there cruising around in a big convertable we rented! These few days quickly came to an end and then it was West West West all the way to East...... to Australia!

Destination 5: Argentina - Red meat, malbec...lots of it!

So begins our Argentinean adventure, chapter 5 of "ROADTRIPPIN THE SPHERE". The drive from Santiago to Mendoza was simply spectacular. You slowly wide your way through the rugged snow capped Andies. A quick 8 hour bus ride and we arrived in Mendoza.

The Mendoza region produces 70% of all wine made in Argentina! (And we made a concerted effort to try and make a considerable dent on that 70%)

We entered Mendoza expecting a sort of Stellenbosch feel, this is certainly not the case. It is atually the 3rd biggest city in Argentina, but even with its size, came a wonderful beauty. The streets are very wide and sided by shady trees!. The lovely clean paved walk ways made home to many a little coffe shop, corner cafe or restaurant where people would sit and slowly drink a coke, chit chat an generally unwind!

It didn't take us long at all to notice not only how beautiful the city was, but also how beautiful the Argentinean race is. We have never seen so many 10's in one place! So if you are a boy and like pretty gals, I would say Mensoza is the place for you.

Our hostel, Damajuana, was more like a hotel then hostel. It had a beautiful pool with loungers and a great grassy area. Our first night wasted no time in heading straight out for steak and of cos a bottle or two of Malbec wine. Every night thereafter we would head to the local butcher and grab steaks and a good bottle of cheap local vino and have a braai (or an Asado as the Argies call it) at our hostel!

Our first little excursion was horse back riding in the mountains around Mendoza. We had our own personal guide, Enrique, who spoke perfect Ingles. Really nice guy! Headed up into the mountains with great views of the city and a beer at sunset on his ranch. We also got the all important low down on the party scene of Mendoza. Where the locals like his younger sister liked to party! hehehe

Next adventure was bikes and wine tour! This was pretty over rated, and in the end we just bought a bottle of wine and sat and drank it in the beautiful vine yard! These wine farms are extremely beautiful and just like those of the Western Cape.

Mendoza also bought us together with our Chicago girls.....oh what fun! Katie and Michelle (who were "studying" in BA) joined us at some locals house party that Guy and I had been invited to (our last night in Mendoza).

We got the party started in style and as expected we quickly became their new Super heroes.....(they just won't admit it) But perhaps the highlight of the night was getting them home to catch their bus at 8am....Oh what a nite! We headed back to the party and watched the sun come up! Needless to say Sunday was one of the longest days of world tour. Multiplied by the fact that we had to climb onto a 15 hour bus to BA. It is very necessary to give you a quick idea of Argentinean buses. You get pillows, blankets, a seat that goes completely flat, hot meals and champagne.....yes very romantic we know (finer details are censored for reader comfort). Well, all of this comfort is at least what you get when you are the worlds worst backpackers(ie. Sphere and Roadtrip)....we only travelled on 1st class buses!

Mendoza in a nutshell involved: fun activities, lots of wine tasting (and drinking aggressively), LOTS of red meat, a few great nights out, loads of ping pong and pool and some serious R and R.....

The show must go on and so it did......to BA! but before we continue, lets give you a few facts of our trip. The date is now the 29/11/08. We have been living the dream for 64 days. We have visited 5 countries, we have slept in 21 different beds each, we have caught 7 long distance buses and drunk.......an undisclosed number of beers!

So we arrive in Buenos Aires, most certainly 1 of the party capitals of the world (soon to be explained). We checked into Milhouse hostel, the possibly the most well known and talked about hostel in South America. The hostel organises parties/nights out every night and basically spoon feeds you your plans for the days as well. You simply dont have to think when staying at Milhouse, simple have your wallet ready and they do the rest! We arrived on Monday, feeling a little tender after a our last night in Mendoza and a long overnight bus trip! We look at the board ans see the weeks activities: Monday Evening Milhouse Party! We couldn't be party poopers so it was kind of like we had to go!

To sum up BA, we were there for 7 nights and we went out 7 nights. Just to explain to you how things work in this city. You eat dinner around 10pm and then start thinking about going out at 12.30pm.....so you generally arrive home around 6.30 pm. Yes the days are long!

BA is an amazing city, with delicious food, great bars/clubs, beautiful people and a lot of history. Its only possible negative point is that temperatures reach 40 degrees with no way real to cool yourself down.

We explored the city, visiting the colourful Boca district with Tango dancing in the streets, bustling cafes and restaurants all with colourful vibrant colours. Of cos a visit to BA is not complete with out a tour of the Boca stadium. On this tour we found out the real reason why Boca Juniors never lose a game....1st they only sell 3000 tickets to the opposition, their seating looks directly into the sun for the entire game, they have 1 toilet for all of them and the they sell them no refreshments. 2nd they moved the opposition change rooms directly under where the hooligans stand, making any kind of team talk impossible. Now wonder they are the best team in Argentina!

In BA you will find most spectacular (if you can use this word) cemetery right in the centre of one of the most exclusive areas in BA, Recoleta. In this cemetery we found the grave of Evita Peron, a major figure in Argentinian history!

Now for the girls, lady boys, Metro boys and Gay boys (Tommy & Matt) there is Palermo. On the weekends all the bars, cafes and streets are turned into a showroom for all the young designers. Really some amazing things to buy(if only we weren't on a backpackers budget). Now something for the real boys. In Palermo you find the biggest and most amazing steaks....look at our facebook pictures for yourself....enough said.

BA was really where we kicked off the partying of RTS. Not sure we could live in BA. But visit again?.......in a heartbeat.

Next it was time to move onto Iguazu falls. This is the border of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. Its a wonder how this is not a wonder of the world!

The Falls were spectacular in every way. We stayed in the most amazing hostel called Hostel Inn on the Argentine side! Everyday we had in Iguazu was perfect weather wise.....sunny, hot, not a cloud in the sky. It made walkig around the falls a real treat. In addition to walking around the falls we toook the Grande Tour which involved hopping on a large power boat with around 30 other tourists and driving to virtually under the Falls. It was great fun getting up close and personal with one of natures most powerful entities.

That was Argentina..............everything we had hoped for and a little more! Great weather, beautiful and more importantly quite friendly people, culture and not to forget...... lots of the acclaimed wine and red meat.....BRILLIANT! Team RTS arent easily impressed but Argentina did a great job in doing so!