Capture the Colour

I found out about this contest on my friend's Andi's blog. I decided not to enter since I don't really have that much time to read other blogs and keep track on who was nominated or even have 5 bloggers to nominate. I still wanted to look at my old pictures and remember some of my previous trips. Here are some of my favorite pictures. 

WHITE

Kalapaki Beach, Kauai.

Every time I go to the beach I take pictures of the water bubbles. I do it as a way to remember what it felt like to have my toes in the sand. Kauai was our honeymoon destination in 2011. I have been thinking about it a lot since we spent 10 days in paradise exactly 2 years ago. Our second anniversary was in August and when I was there, I said that I wanted to go every 3 years to Hawaii. I went to Oahu in 2008 and at the time, it seemed reasonable to return in 2014. We have a few trips planned for the following year. Unfortunately, Hawaii will have to wait a little longer. 

BLUE

Kauai, Napali Coast

I'm obsessed with the beauty of Hawaii. The Napali coast is best seen from the air or from a boat. We did that, but we also drove to the end of the road and went hiking. I took this picture while we were doing one of the easy trails. The picture doesn't show how impressive the mountains are. I love how the horizon gets lost because the color of the ocean is almost the same as the sky. 

GREEN

Quito, Ecuador

This woman was selling scarfs in downtown Quito on a sunny Sunday afternoon. I got a few scarfs to help her and also because I wanted to ask her for a picture. She kindly agreed. I love how her daughter also smiled for the camera.

YELLOW

Tampa, Fl

One of the best things about living in Florida is watching beautiful sunsets. My favorite place in Tampa to watch the sun go down is near the Davis Island Yatch Club. The pictures that I've taken here are never the same because of the clouds and the boats.

RED

Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay

I had the hardest time finding the perfect "red" picture. This old car was parked on one of the main streets in historical side of Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. Last year we went to Uruguay as a day trip from Buenos Aires. I loved the town. We took hundreds of pictures that day.

FYI: You don't have to be nominated so feel free to participate and spread the word. 

Day 6: Colonia, Uruguay

On this day we took a ferry boat, Colonia Express, from Buenos Aires to Colonia. The trip was only one hour long across the famous Rio de la Plata. We woke up at 5:00 AM this day to catch the Ferry. I tried to stay awake to take pictures, but I was too exhausted. I took a short nap. When I woke up, my throat was in pain and for the rest of the day I couldn't talk.

Colonia del Sacramento is the oldest town in Uruguay. This historic quarter of this beautiful town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We decided to rent a gulf cart to see the City. I'm glad that we did since many of the roads were uphill and I was feeling sick.

Basilica del Santisimo Sacramento

Typical Street Lamps in Colonia

Inside the Basilica

Rio de la Plata

While we were taking pictures of the river a cute dog started to follow me around. She was very sweet and wouldn't leave my side. I was sad to get back on the gulf cart and leave her behind. We went to one of the restaurants near the main plaza to have breakfast. I was happy to see my new friend again at the restaurant. We asked the waitress if they knew her because she had a big cut on her leg. She told us that her name was Rosita and that the town veterinarian takes care of her and the other street dogs. We gave Rosita bread and she didn't eat it. We later found out that she only eats meat. Rosita is probably spoiled by all the tourist like us. 

My friend Rosita

Colonial City Gate

The most beautiful street in Colonia is La Calle de los Suspiros (Street of Sighs). I took many pictures of the colorful houses.

Calle de los Suspiros

The old Pier 

Colonia was my favorite City of our South American trip. It was beautiful and different to any other place that I've seen before. Make sure to plan a day trip to Colonia if you ever visit Buenos Aires. 

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.

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. 

Travel Dilemmas Solved

Last month, I was ready to book 2 tickets to Paris using our Delta miles. One of my good friends from childhood lives there and she offered to host us (again) for a few days. The plan was simple, we would just spend one week in Paris and enjoy the City at a slow pace spending as very little money as possible. We were already making plans and looking at places that were close for short day trips. We even extended this simple trip into a 2 week trip to go to Berlin, Prague, and Budapest with my parents. They will be in Germany celebrating my dad's 70th birthday in May. The perfect excuse to visit new places.

When I went online to book our tickets, there were no more seats available for 60,000 miles. The same flights were 75,000 or 90,000 miles each. Sadly, we only had 60,000 miles each. As much as I've complained about American Airlines, their award program is the best! I found tickets to Europe for the same dates for 40,000 miles!

I was frustrated and disappointed until I saw tickets to Santiago, Chile available in May. Andre and I have never been to Chile. We booked our tickets on Sunday night! I have been reading Emily's and Kyle's blogs for a while to know that Chile is a beautiful Country that I want to visit. After all of those pictures it is time to see the places in person. We will be there in May for 11 days. Actually, we will be in Santiago for a couple of days and then we will fly to Buenos Aires for a few days. We will probably also make a short trip to Uruguay!!

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

When I started traveling Buenos Aires was number 1 in my list of places that I wanted to go. I have 2 childhood friends in Buenos Aires. We might stay with them a few nights. Most of my best friends live far away!! It is almost a karma that I have. Thanks to the internet is easy to stay in touch. When I finally get to travel where they live and hug them is the best feeling in the world. I expect that most of this trip will involve many bottles of Chilean and Argentinean wine and great food. I just have to start counting days and try to wait (patiently?!)