This country is a happening spot in the middle of the Balkans

When you say the name Serbia, an image pops into people’s heads of a war torn country. In fact the exact opposite is true as they are doing everything they can to get their economy back on track. Belgrade is one of the most beautiful capital cities in the Balkans next to Skopje of course. The people are very friends….oh and the women are gorgeous (I think the water is better there). People for some reason are still scared to go there and I have no idea why. Blaming every Serbian person for the stuff that happened in the 90’s is absurd. It is like blaming every US citizen for everything our president does. The populace does not represent what happens and I wish people would get around that.

Like I said, Belgrade is a beautiful city. It is located at the confluence of the Danube and Sava Rivers, and this is what makes the city special. The downtown area is great with a great café scene in many places that you go. The food is typical from that region with a lot of meat and vegetables. The history there is as you know awesome!!!! I have gone to great lengths to walk through as much of the city as I can and I must say I am impressed with how well it has gotten back on track in less than 20 years. It is such a peaceful and relaxed environment that I have actually looked into teaching at the international school there….

The other major city I went to was of course the birthplace of Constantine, and that city is Nis. It is the third biggest city in Serbia and has a small town feel to it. There is of course a pretty little café district (see the pictures) with a lot of the communist/rebel leaders from the past history which was interesting. The people just go about their daily lives doing whatever as it was a very relaxed place…..

A country in which the spark for WW1 was lit and a century of turmoil is recovering nicely

Bosnia is a country with a long and storied history.  From being in the Ottoman Empire, to the spark that started WW1, to the Yugoslavia days, to the war with Serbia….this place has seen its shares of ups and downs.  Now I believe the country is on the up.  This place reminds me of a more organized Albania.  I have been been to a few places around here…

Mostar was a city that was heavily shelled in the war with Serbia in the 90’s.  It is a beautiful little town with a nice walking street with alot of shops.  The most picturesque part as you will see is from the bridge (that i tripped on many times) and the river.  Sometimes on this bridge, people will have diving competitions off of it.  The bridge has been rebuilt after being destroyed and it is a huge part of the cities identity.

Sarajevo I have been to twice and it is a beautiful city.  The architecture has a lot of Ottoman style in it but also a hint of Austrian from the time it was ruled by the Austrian Empire.  Literally you can walk through the streets and see it turn from the Ottoman style to the Austrian style before your eyes!!!!  The streets are lined with cobblestone with many shops around.  It still has a feel of it that things are not yet right and it will take some time for their economy to improve.  I did go to the spot where Gavrilo Princip killed Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand to start WW1.

Finally, one of the last major places I went (besides stops for the afternoons in small towns) was Srebrenica.  Anyone who has followed history, knows that in the 90’s the Serbs came in and pretty much tried to wipe out all of the men and boys out of this town.  Somewhere around 9000 plus were killed in three days.  This was just as bad as any atrocities during WW2.  As I walked around the memorial, and going into the factory where many of them were kept, I could not help but shed some tears (as I never cry) seeing that this did not happen long ago, this happened in my lifetime, less than 20 years ago.  It is a touching memorial, however they were still burying bodies of people they have discovered while I was there.  Not a place to go for the faint of heart…..

This country could possibly be the next big thing in Europe

PLEASE READ RETURN TO ALBANIA 2015 FOR A MORE IN DEPTH LOOK

When someone asks me the question “What is Albania like?” my response is usually “It is like a European Egypt.”  This is a country who saw hard times under the communist leader Enver Hoxha for over 40 years.  Under this time he tried to socialize the country, pretty much banning all religions, even though this country is predominately Muslim.  As of now it is still Muslim, but much different than any Middle Eastern or Asian Muslim.

It has always been my dream to take a backpack and nothing more, and hike around Albania until my legs run out of steam.  Many parts of the country are not inhabited and in some isolated villages, they still do things my medieval code.

Like I said, if you look at some of the pictures, then you will see that it is very mountainous and also somewhat isolated.  The two cities I have been to here are Durres and Tirana.  Both very interesting in their own way as you could be walking down the street and see a Mercedes Taxi right next to a donkey pulling a cart of hay.  The nightlife in Tirana is actually pretty good as they have a bar/restaurant district with plenty of places to go and hang out, and if you get bored you can always find some old Communist statues to jump on!!!  They are still messing around with the infrastructure as it is very dilapidated, but everything is coming along nicely.  I am assuming in the next twenty years or so, this could be a major tourist attraction, but for now, I like it to remain isolated…..for that is what keeps its uniqueness….

Beer, Beer, Beer, Beer, Meat, Pork, Beer, Beer, Beer, History, Beer, Beer…..

Please click for Off the Beaten Path-Oktoberfest 2015

In case you have not noticed in the world, Germany is known for their great beer.  Oh yea they have a long and complicated history and they love to eat a lot of meat and pork (i literally have no problem with anything in Germany.  As a matter of fact I plan to do Oktoberfest very soon….

I have been here so many different times, that I have lost count.  You literally never run out of things to do here.  Among the many places to go and party or beer gardens to go to, you will either never leave here or you will basically die trying.

There is always a Rhine River Cruise you can go on.  Among the stops I have taken is Heidelberg which is a university town and also St. Goar which is a small town in the west of Germany.  Both are great and hold their own regional flare:

I wish I had a better camera with me when I took pictures of Cologne Cathedral as it was simply magnificent.  The sheer size and architecture used in creating this is still beyond me:

As you can see from the pics, Dresden was amazing.  Even though it was almost fully destroyed during WW2, it has made its way back in a big way.  I scurried around here to see if I could find any signs of Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five here, but I could not:

One of the sad parts I witnessed here was going to Mauthausen Concentration Camp.  This was mostly a political prisoner camp but it still looked very harsh.  They made the prisoners carry huge slabs of rock up the quarry and the guards would kick them, making all of them fall down like a domino effect.  Truly a horrifying place to see:

Now to Munich.  Hmmmmmm here is where the beer flows free in every corner.  You may also run into some guys that are surfing in the canal, people laying naked in the park, or you may just decide to take a bike ride around the park and city to see all of the sites.  Munich is quintessential Bavaria as the culture is a little different than other parts of Germany, but I love it.  I could not get enough of the Hofbräuhaus.  I loved this place and will go back again and again if I had the chance.  However after two days, I really could not fit anymore beer in my belly:

Finally Berlin (or East Berlin is usually where I stayed).  I love this city.  I love this city.  I love this city.  There is everything here.  It is where East Meets West.  Unfortunately the East side of Berlin is still very far behind the west, but their nightlife is not.  I have been on pub crawls here which will make your skin crawl with all the alcohol.  I have taken guided tour walks around the city as there is so much to see from the communist era that it is amazing.  Just being around the Berlin Wall gives me shivers as I remember watching on TV as a kid when it fell.  So many things happened here during Nazi German that it is hard to get your head around it.  The nightlife is amazing.  There is literally every type of bar or club you can think of here, then some that you do not want to think of.  I really could not think of a city that I would never want to go back too.  Berlin, you stole my heart and soul…

Jordan? You remember from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade…
My trip to Jordan was a memorable one. I went with some people from school and we had a blast. We rented cars upon arrival at the airport in Amman and decided that we were going to loop around this small country while taking stops at the Dead Sea, Wadi Rum, and of course Petra (made popular by the Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade movie as well as Transformers). Our route looked something like this:

We jumped in our piece of shit car and proceeded to drive through Amman, getting lost along the way and getting split up from our other friends. We finally found our way out and proceeded to the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea shares its border with Israel, which we could see from the other side. We got in the water, floated around for a bit, rubbed some mud on ourselves then went and had a few ten dollar beers at the bar. Accommodation was ok, but nothing special. We knew we had a big driving day ahead of us so we got to bed early so we can enjoy the Dead Sea one last time before we drove off…..

The next day after a nice little dip in the Dead Sea, we took off on our journey to Wadi Rum. The land is rather desolate here and reminds me a lot of the El Paso desert. On our way, literally in the middle of nowhere, I ended up with a flat. We pulled into a semi service station and I went to change it and figured out that the tire iron did not match the lug nuts. When push came to shove, a guy helped me out with a wrench and we got our tire changed, however I was on a donuts for the long haul…

Reaching Wadi Rum on my donut finally after not finding a tire shop, I talked to the Bedouin and he said to leave the car and they will get a new tire for me. Cool!!!!!! We ended up going out in the desert and staying at a Bedouin camp that night. The people we used were called Bedouin Directions. It was a fine time as we slept in tents for the night, got to watch the sunset and ate some typical Bedouin food. The next day we got up in time to see the sun rise and we started a jaunt around Wadi Rum which is known for filming of some Transformer movies as well as Lawrence of Arabia (he actually lived here during WWI). The rock formations as you can see are fabulous…

Now this is the time we were all waiting for…time for Petra!!!! We stayed two nights here in a rather descent hotel (not awesome), but it was close to the entrance of Petra and its name was http://www.petrapalace.com/. I would recommend staying here because it is in proximity to everything. Next morning we woke up with the tune on my ipad to Indian Jones playing, we made our grand entrance into the Petra Treasury!!!!! The better part of the rest of the two days, we spent hours walking around there as there is so much to see and took a hike up to the treasury where Transformers was filmed. I can tell you that everything that I heard about this place was great and it exceeded my expectations with its sheer brilliance. As you can see from the pictures below it is awe inspiring. Just wish we didn’t have to get back to work the next day…..

An Island small enough to walk around where taxis are way to expensive

This was my first couch surfing experience ever and let me say it was a good one. I stayed with a guy I met on couch surfing and his girlfriend. They were the most hospitable people I have ever seen and we had a great time relaxing and catching up on travel stories.

Malta is a very small island. You can get anywhere on the island from the capital of Valletta within hours. I am sure the gas is pretty expensive here as the taxis were a rip off…but I had no idea where I was going. Pretty much every day I took one of those busses where you jump on and jump off. I can’t say it was the best experience because I could not figure out their route or which one to take, so I just ended up wherever. I went to some Old Stone Age ruins which were beautiful then to the grotto where I had the chance to meet some Venezuelans, so I spent the day talking to them and having drinks.

The next couple days I went to an old medieval fort and hung around there for most of the day taking pictures and going to shows as it was a pretty chilled out day, and I was not a fan of the heat….

The last day I spent time just wandering around the town and seeing all of the sights and walking along the beach front until I reached their apartment. I can say it was a lot of walking….

How do I like Malta? I loved it!!! They have a good combo of food and also enough things to do on the beach that you will never get bored. I have some friends that live there now that I will probably go and visit!!!!

The land of Gypsies and hard alcohol
What can I say about Bulgaria…It was awesome!!!!! Upon arriving in Sofia the capital we saw a Gypsy camp outside the city. My first reaction was to go and walk through it, but my guide told me otherwise. Upon getting to the hotel which was in the city center, we showered and got ready to go out on the town to check things out. The hotel was a typical soviet style hotel with a casino in it and very narrow rooms, but it was nice. We decided to meet everyone down for dinner and take a walk. We walked around the town and I was impressed with how clean it was and how people took care of everything. Now for the dinner (Gypsy Style). What can I say? The food was of middle eastern/Turkish style and always too much of it. The alcohol came flowing every chance you got, and gypsy music playing in the background. The dancers came out then all of a sudden, everyone is dancing on the tables and having a good time, except me…..After dinner we headed back to the hotel to do Karaoke and have drinks as I passed out into the next morning…..

We headed to Plovdiv which is the second biggest city the next morning. This place was amazing as it has seen everything in history. From Neolithic to Thracian, to Greek, to Roman, to Ottoman etc, and it showed in the architecture. I am sad that many of the sites were closed to renovations but it will just give me a chance to get back there again. We went out that night and had another big meal and then headed to a nightclub (everyone knows that I am not a fan of nightclubs but oh well). This nightclub was interesting in that every girl that got in, got a free teddy bear. Oh well I guess that is how they do it. It was a great place with 40 dollar bottles of whiskey. As you can probably guess I got up the next morning being shook by my roommate saying we are late for the bus……..

The Old Town is the new place to party and see the sites
What can I say. I was nearing the end of my Baltic country journey as our last stop was Estonia. We stayed in the old town which was lined with cobblestone streets much like it was hundreds of years ago. Very few cars were allowed to go in here which made it a great walking destination. We basically just hung out and went on different excursions. We took an excursion around the old town to see the different sites like the churches, memorials, and parliament buildings. We then of course went to the Soviet Museum (as I am a communist junkie) and saw all of the Soviet era propaganda that they had in Estonia. There was one little restaurant that was very hidden in which the only thing on the menu was beer, soup, and meat pastries. Each thing was a euro and the people working there dressed like they did in the Middle Ages. I wish I knew the name of it!!! We also had to chance to see an authentic folk festival dancing in the park which we just looked in awe at hundreds of people dancing in sync…

We had a chance to go to a Soviet Era prison which was really run down but it was an important prison that held a lot of political prisoners. I was in shock at some of the conditions they lived in as it reminded me of what I have seen on TV of the prisons in that time.

That night we had our last night and actually had to move hostels (but never slept in our beds) as we went on a pub crawl that night that led to another and another and finally we found ourselves with a bunch of drunk Estonians and pretty much the only thing one guy could say was rap verses. We then decided as the sun came up, instead of going to bed to catch a cab to our early morning flight to England and have some more beers at the airport, as our time in the Baltic countries had ended……

The Summer Solstice Festival was something extraordinary!!!!
It just so happened that I was in Riga for the Jani Festival (summer solstice) and it was an experience I will soon never forget….
I took a bus up from Vilnius (free wifi) to Riga where I settled into my hostel and waited for my friend Mark to join me. Upon him joining me, we took different excursions around the old city which was very medieval like. We heard many stories about what happened through the years and the myths passed down over the different generations. I am sad that the resistance museum was closed for the time I was there because I wanted to check this out. I ran into a police officer from Pamplona named Javier who quickly became a good friend of ours. We almost got caught in a tourist trap by beautiful ladies, but I caught it in time for us to get out.

The true beauty of this town is of course the summer solstice festival. Mind you that this country was one of the last in Europe to convert to Christianity and their pagan roots still shine in this festival. Memories of it are walking around and seeing families of people dancing around piles of sticks and people drinking beer and eating massive amounts of meat. There was plenty of live music with people getting rowdy and having a good time. I only stayed for a few hours, just enough to catch the ambience of what was going on. Latvia, you will always be etched in my heart……

If you like a relaxed atmosphere and food that is similar to Poland, then this place is right for you

What can I say about Lithuania!!! I love it so much.   I was planning on only spending a few days here then as I got more and more relaxed there, that turned into a longer time. But I never got bored!!

Vilnius has to be one of the most chilled out capital cities I have ever been too in my life.   It was quiet, yet if you went out at night, you can always find something. All of the ex Soviet Baltic states had this same feel to it. There was plenty of stuff to do in the day time as there are many museums and monuments. I had a good awakening going to the Genocide Museum as I never knew how bad the Lithuanians had it during Soviet rule and WW2. In a random note, there is a bust of Frank Zappa there and I am still trying to figure out the significance.

I had the pleasure of taking a day trip with some people I met at the hostel out to a medieval castle for a day and to see some of the smaller towns. As you can see from the pictures below, it was very well preserved. I just wish the weather lasted:

Finally in the middle of Vilnius (much like Christiania in Denmark) there is a breakaway state called Užupis. Though not as famous as the one in Denmark, this place has a very laissez faire feel to it as it mostly an artist community with its own president and constitution. I couldn’t help feel but relaxed walking around here and seeing it with the help of a guide to explain the history of it:

Could Holland be the most diverse country in the world?
What do you know about Holland? I am sure that you have heard prostitution in legal, drugs are legal, coffee shops with plenty of weed to choose from, sex shows etc etc etc. But really this is a fascinating country in which approximately 190 nationalities live in the country (and no Amsterdam is not the only place to go here).
I have had the opportunity to go to this great country on three different occasions all in different parts of my life so I did what everyone else does, partied (no hallucinogenic drugs as most people know I do not do them) just partied with a lot of beer and friends. There is so many things to do in this city like try all the different types of foods with the unlimited restaurants, go and see the sites of this old country that was once owned by the Spanish, hit the good ol Heineken factory, rent a bike and bike ride around the city as well as the plethora of museums offered to you (like the Van Gogh Museum). I can guarantee you that I will return here as they have one of the best airports in the world that connects everywhere. Until then enjoy my photos I have taken….

Favorite country in Eastern Europe thus far…..Why?
I love this place. This is pretty much everything I have looked for in a country. First of all it is an ex Yugoslavia country and I love the history of that region. Second they have a long and storied ancient history (I am a history teacher). Third everything is still relatively cheap, even in the Lake Ohrid area. Fourth they have cheap alcohol and everything is really relaxed around there with café’s and drinking. Fifth, they have some of the best fruits and vegetables I have ever had in my life. The tomatoes were sweet juicy and to die for. Sixth, the food is excellent. They have just about anything you can think of from fish, to pork, to lamb, etc etc….Ok I can go on forever, but you get the point….

Skopje is a city that I had no expectations for at all as I did not do a lot of studying about it, but when I got there I was pleasantly surprised. First of all the customer service everywhere was great. The hotel that I stayed in picked me up from the airport and upped my accommodation to a better part of town pretty much where all the café’s are. Walking around the city which is very centralized I had a feeling of relaxation as there are parks everywhere (again a common theme in ex communist countries). Everything was so green and lush and they had fountains everywhere!!! They had statues to all of the famous people through Macedonian history and a bit about them in English and also Macedonian. The museums are simply to die for and I went to the resistance museum and it was one of the better put together museums I have been too. At all costs if you are in Eastern Europe, you must go to Skopje…

We then took a car to the Lake Ohrid area which is on the border with Albania. The famous thing here to eat is the Ohrid Trout which of course I got. Walking around this place was relaxing as it was only a short walk from our guest house to the water. Along the water you can find heaps of restaurants and bars and the nightlife here is relatively calm, but still fun. We took a boat ride around the lake to see some of the other parts with people lounging out on the water or on the sandy part of the lake just drinking and taking in the sun. We ended up going to an Irish Pub (yes there really is one in every city), and ended up meeting some guys from a city called Bitola in southern Macedonia and ended up hanging out with them the whole night. They were really shoe stringing it as they were all sleeping on the beach and just living a relaxing life!!!

The next night was one of my favorite nights. I had found out one of my favorite bands http://www.bondquartet.com/ was playing there in the old amphitheater!!! I was in disbelief because this is the same music I play in my classroom when students enter. I got the best tickets I could and went and enjoyed the show immensely. They played all of my favorite songs and really put on a great show. It was just by luck I ran into them to see them play….the next morning we took a little bus back to Skopje, chilled out for a few hours then got our bus onto Kosovo…..

Patagonia+Easter Island=Happy Danny.  Beef+Wine=Happier Danny

This was a nice trip marred by sleeping in the Santiago Airport both times to and from Chile. As you can see boredom sets in during these situations:

For more on Chile please visit Easter Island Gallery

For return to Easter Island in 2023, Click Here
After Easter Island me and my friend Marisa had a short stopover in Santiago and got to go around and see the city a bit and get a bite to eat. This city reminded me a lot of Buenos Aires in a way. It was laid out the same way with a lot of parks and a lot of places to sit and relax and have a drink. I will definitely go back and spend more time there but the main focus of my trip was Easter Island and then Patagonia….

I had already been to the Argentine Patagonia a year before and fell in love with it, so I decided to go to the Chilean part. I too fell in love with this part as we stayed in the small town of Coyhaique. The airport we flew into was about 55 km away and it was a nice ride. We really didn’t have a plan going there, but we just knew we wanted to be there. We stayed in a nice little hostel called the Patagonia Hostel, which was run by a German and very clean and tidy. The town in itself had a lot of places to eat and drink and was very cozy. I really didn’t want to leave…

One of the days we ended up taking a long excursion to the Capilla de Marmol, which are beautiful rock formations on the lake. As you can see from the pictures below it was extremely cold and I could not get the best pictures, but I tried my hardest…

The next day we decided WHEN IN PATAGONIA, DO WHAT THE PATAGONIANS DO, so we decided to get an excursion up to a horse farm and ride horses around the mountains and valley. The ranch was very well kept and the owner made us pizza in his little oven. The scenery as you can see form the pictures below was beautiful, however it was colder than hell…..
This trip to Chile taught me one thing. I sure as hell want to go back and explore more of Patagonia. I would like to town jump and stay a few days in each of the little towns in cozy places, as that is what makes an adventure…..

Is this a country or a territory?

I am going to have to go off on a limb and say that Puerto Rico is its own country (even though officially they are a territory of the US). They have their own unique culture that is more Latin than it is American and while many of the people speak English, their main first language is Spanish.

I was with my friend Damian here as we flew in from El Paso and we met one of my friends Myrel whom I had met about four years earlier in a club in Madrid. She was a great host as she showed us around the city of San Juan the whole night(great bars and clubs) and the next day before we boarded our cruise.

One place of interest that we went was Castillo San Felipe del Morro. It was an old Spanish fort that had been used through the years and was a major historical sight of significance. We pretty much spent the rest of the time walking around the town and just enjoying ourselves…..

St. Martin of the Dutch side…
Funny Island as the half we disembarked was the Dutch Side of the Island, and if you drive 30 minutes away, you hit the French side of the island in which prices were sometimes twice more expensive for stuff.
We took a jaunt around the town as it was very easy to walk around, with lots of shops and stuff to buy (of course). We were a little pissed off because we wanted to catch the Netherlands gave later that day but did not have time. The town was full of bars and restaurants and of course—-Hard Rock Café.
We ended up doing an excursion to take us to the French side of the island which is probably one of the worst excursions I have ever taken in my life. All we did was drive over on the west part of the island, get out for about an hour then hop back in and drive around the eastside back to the ship. The scenery was nice, and I wish we could of got off to take pictures as there was many beautiful things to see….Oh well next time perhaps? Just the Dutch side for me…

Definitely the dodgiest island, but also the most scenic
The only thing I have heard about St. Lucia from my friends is how disgusting the island is (although they did live there). I must say it was a big dodgy and run down, but I really liked it.
The scenery was great with a lot of forests and mountains. We ended up doing an excursion that took us to the other side of the island (too much driving for me) where we went to some volcanic baths that literally stunk (sulfur does smell bad). And we bathed in there for a bit and rubbed ourselves down and continued to stink for the rest of the trip.
I managed to interact with some locals at one of our stops and it seemed to me that most of them were selling weed to anyone they could. I didn’t buy any, but I saw some kids from the boat buy some very sneakily so their parents could not see.
This is probably an island I would return too, but I would want a nice scenic outlook on the beach, and a bunch of bananas to enjoy my stay….

Party Island!!! With a great catamaran ride and food and drinks
St. Kitts and Nevis was probably my favorite place besides Barbados. It is one of those islands that just feels right and is relaxing.
We ended up getting an excursion that took us snorkeling first (much better snorkeling than St. Thomas) and then we sat on the boat and had drinks and ended up going to the Nevis part of the island to chill out for a bit. We ended up having a great time on the island and having a lot of drinks and then went to a little shack to try more drinks and get more food.
The people here were extremely friendly and didn’t really treat you as a tourist and just wanted to talk with you. I will definitely come back here if I can find a cheap accommodation, but with the Caribbean Islands, you never know…..

An Island with Rum in the Sun and the biggest lobster I have ever seen
Embarking in Barbados, I already knew that I had my day already set out for me. My boss and director at the school I worked at was going to pick us up and take us around the island, because he lives there in the off season.
Mark and his wife Rebecca picked us up from the dock with a cooler of rum and coke ready to go. They took us driving around the island with stopping to take pictures and see the real side of the island. We stopped at a famous rum distillery called St. Nicholas Abbey where we tried some of the rum which was excellent although the bottles were a little to expensive to buy.
Then then took us around the towns and to some beach bars so we could relax and have some drinks and talk. It seemed like that everyone was getting hungry and my friend Damian wanted lobster, so we went to an area of town that has huts set up for food. As we asked around for lobster, it seemed that no one had it, until finally we sat down with our rum and cokes and found a place with lobster. As you can tell by the pictures, this has to be the biggest amount of meat I have ever seen in a lobster.
I promise I will get back here one day as it is a very nice island and easy to get around and all the people are friendly…..Thanks Mark and Rebecca!!!

Islands run by the US-Small but very fancy….

We stopped for a day in the US Virgin Islands on our cruise around the Caribbean. I must say I am usually not an island person, but this island was small and very fun to go around. When we disembarked from our boat, we rushed over to an ice bar that they had. I had previously been in one in Poland, but never had I been in one in a tropical country. I was majorly impressed with this as it was beautiful and the drinks were just as good. They even had a little slide that you can go down….
Our excursion today took us on a small yacht to do some snorkeling and also to have some drinks. The ride was very nice but a bit bumpy at times and the snorkeling was below average in my opinion as there was not too much to see as compared to other sites I have been too like Seychelles and Indonesia. On the way back it was time to drink all the rum punch, beer, and champagne you get in…..As you can tell, this would turn into a long night back on the boat….

Are you in Europe? Nope just stopping by in Uruguay…
If I can think of any country in South America that reminds me of Europe (besides Buenos Aires which is a city) then I would easily say Uruguay. This country has a little over 3 million people but it has the feeling of a small Paris. Parks are seen all over Montevideo and the streets are easy to walk and navigate around.
Myself, Tyson and Allison got off the plane in Buenos Aires and took a ferry boat over to Uruguay which took about two hours (mind you we were up all night on the plane). We got off in Colonia Sacramento and jumped on a bus to the capital Montevideo. We immediately went out and saw the town and ate some great food along the way.

The next day we went to Punta del Este beach which is regarded as one of the best beaches in the world. I would have had more fun but I had a big night the night before so I decided to sleep on the beach for a better part of the day.

The next day we caught a bus back to Colonia Sacramento where we walked around this old historical city for a bit before getting a boat back to Buenos Aires where we would start our three week escapade around this huge country.

I have looked into teaching in Uruguay because I love the mix of European and South American influence…perhaps one day a school will come calling my name…..