Day trip to Colonia, Uruguay

Yesterday, we spent the day in Uruguay. The trip from Buenos Aires is only one hour by boat over the famous Rio de la Plata.

Colonia is a beautiful colonial town that was declared UNESCO site. The architecture and the colors of the houses make it the most charming little town that I've ever seen. It's fall in this side of the world and I'm fascinated with the leaves. I've never lived in a City with seasons so many of the pictures from this trip will be featuring leaves.

We took a lot of pictures yesterday but only a few with the phone. Here are some of them.

Hola from Buenos Aires

Tonight is our second night in Buenos Aires. We had a great day around the center taking pictures and walking for hours. We were supposed to go out tonight but I can't walk another block. Tomorrow will be another long touristy day and I want to have an early start.

This City is beautiful and it is fulfilling all of the expectations that I've had for so many years. I can see why so many people love it.

These are some pictures from Andre's phone that he took today and I fixed with instagram.

Hola from Santiago

After 20 hours we finally made it to Chile! We are ready to explore the City! I slept around 8 hours, so I'm ready to be a tourist from day 1. I feel in Bogota. Probably because of the weather and the area that we are staying is very similar to one of my favorite areas in Bogota.

I'll take my iPhone out to take some pictures and post them during our vacation.

Chao!

Busch Gardens Again!

Last weekend, I went to Busch Gardens (again) with my family. There was another famous salsa singer, Jerry Rivera, for the Viva La Musica Festival. This was the last weekend of spanish music in Busch Gardens and Sea World.  I have been to Busch Gardens countless times, and one day is not enough to see everything in the park. I have the yearly pass for Busch Gardens and Sea World, so I will be visiting these theme parks often. 

After the concert and the extreme heat we headed to the Sesame Street area of the park to make my 2 year old nephew happy. We found the watering hole and it was perfect for him. I wish that I could go in there as well. He was having a great time playing in the water. We almost couldn't get him out of there.

Sheikra is one of my favorite roller coasters in Florida. The 90 degree fall is scary and exciting. From the first row you get a few seconds of preview when it stops before the fall. This is probably the scariest moment in the whole ride. I am afraid of heights, but I love roller coasters. There is always a LONG line to ride Sheikra and most of my family is afraid of riding it. Lines are boring and making them alone is even worse. Maybe Andre will join me next time. He has been working on weekends and he has not come to Busch Gardens with me.

We decided to go in the Serengeti Railway to see the park from a comfortable place. There are several stations around the park where you can get on/off. We stayed for about half of the ride and decided to get off just in time before my nephew got bored. You can see the largest area of the park, the serengueti plain, from the air or from the train. The animals are running "free" in that area. Depending on the day you can see them very close. 

Photo Credit: Busch Gardens

Skyride

Cheetah Hunt

Giraffes in the back

Zebras were close that day

Hippos - we were told mom and daughter hippos

We wanted to see the Bengal tigers and Orangutans in the Jungala area. As soon as we walked into the area, the tiger below, was going crazy. He was not happy to have spectators and was jumping against the window very angry. I should have done a video.

After the tiger calmed down

After taking a few pictures we kept walking. We found the Stanley Falls. I was surprised when my brother in law said that he wanted to ride it. My sister followed and I was waiting right at the fall to take their pictures. 

Soaking wet

At the end of the day

Busch Gardens is a great theme park for everyone. I'm lucky to live only 15 minutes away from it. If you want to see more pictures click here. 

Sunset from the trail

Until last week, the weather was perfect to exercise outdoors. Summer is here and the heat and the humidity are too high for long walks. I took these pictures about one month ago and completely forgot about them.

Conan, my companion this day

To Plan or not to Plan?

I love planning trips probably as much as traveling. I got plane tickets to Santiago and Buenos Aires since February. Finally, after waiting for over 3 months, we are leaving in 2 weeks. I have friends that live in both Cities that I can't wait to hug. For months, the only thing I knew about the trip was that I was going to spend some quality time with them. My only plan was to taste many bottles of Chilean and Argentinean wine. I ordered some travel books soon after I got the plane tickets. I read enough to reserve the hotels in Santiago, but I decided to book the hotel that Kyle and Emily recommended. Kyle will take us to a winery close to Santiago, so I'm not worried about the lack of wine in this trip. In Buenos Aires, we are staying with 2 of my childhood friends. I like the idea of having 2 local tour guides in each City. 

Last week I sent a lot of emails trying to find out what to do where we are going. I also bought $200 dollars worth of Argentinean and Chilean pesos to have some local currency with us. I don't like to carry a lot of cash, but I always like to have enough for a taxi, phone calls, or just buy something to eat at the airport. We will be 4 days in Santiago, 6 in Buenos Aires, and 1 in Colonia. This gives us just enough time to see the basics.

I started looking for a good tango show in Buenos Aires. I emailed a friend of a friend who has a travel agency in Bs.As.. She sent me information about several shows. I got excited and was convinced that I had to reserve one. When I told one of my friends that will host us about it, she said that the packages are ridicously overpriced. Basically, I was going to pay around $90 dollars for a gourmet dinner (with wine included) and a tango show. My friend said that she can take us to a great local place that costs $5 dollars. It doesn't include wine, but according to her you can get a decent bottle of wine for around $10 dollars. After knowing the price difference for tourists, I might not book anything in advance. Except the tickets to go to Colonia to make sure that we can go the day that we want.  Also, I found out there is a Boca Junior's game while we are there and I want to go. I've never been to a futbol match and what a better way to start than going to La Bombonera!!! My dear friend Andi gave me a lot of advice about Buenos Aires. Andi's Argentinean husband, also gave me advice about the game and some good restaurants. 

I'm not worried about planning too much for this trip. I got a short flight to Atlanta, a few hours layover, and a long 11 hour flight to Santiago. I think that is enough time to read my travel books. I typically create a map to group the sights that are nearby to divide the days. I haven't even looked how far I'm staying from the places that I want to see. I might do this for Santiago since I feel that I have less time there. For Buenos Aires, I think that I have plenty of days to see everything I want to see and more. I only have to get through 2 more busy work weeks for a well deserved vacation. 

Doggy Love

Sophie is my sister's golden retriever and my adoptive daughter. They live in California and come to Tampa several times a year. I used to take care of Sophie in between my sister's trips to California. My sister and her family are planning to live in Tampa permanently. They are spending more time in Florida and I don't have to dog sit as much as before. Besides we already live with a dog in a small apartment, my husband's crazy dog, which would probably deserve a post of its own. 

For the past few weeks I've been working a lot of hours. Even on the weekends. Besides work and boring home stuff I haven't been doing much. I was dog sitting Sophie last weekend. I took a few pictures of her when we went to a dog park in Davis Island. Davis Island is probably my favorite place to watch the sunset in town. I posted some pictures a few months ago here. 

Dog Park, Davis Island

Carnival Cruise leaving Tampa

Davis Island Yatch Club

Dog Beach, Davis Island