Right, where do I start?
I´m currently in Brazil, in a town called Bonito. The weather is scorching and I seem to be spending far to much time sweating......an attractive thought for all you female readers.
Since my last update I have veared from freezing cold temperatures in Patagonia, to the 30c that I´m currently experiencing. As you can imagine I´m also being bitten alive by countless flying creepy crawlies.
The good news is that since I last updated I have been to 3 football matches, and the even better news is that England´s bunch of incompetent fools weren´t playing in any of them.
Game 1 was taken in in Santiago and saw Colo Colo (the Chilean Manchester United if you will) take on local rivals Universidad de Chile, for whom Marcelo Salas was playing. Anyway, as atmospheres go I don´t think I´ve ever experienced anything like it. Soon after arriving in the stadiu
m it was suggested to us that we move as the away fans had a habit of throwing things into that section. We took heed of this warning and re-located to what we thought was a safer section. Less that 5 minutes later I was hit by what I could only describe as a hunk of metal that looked like it could have been part of a car engine. At this point I realsed that our safer option perhaps wasn´t as safe we thought and maybe we should carry on moving away from the opposition fans. Throughout the game fireworks, flares, ticker tape and huge banners taking up whole stands were unleashed, not to mention the exchanging of countless missiles between home and away fans. Then after about 70 minutes or so the police decided enough was enough and spent the next 10 minutes introducing their batons to the away fans heads. During this we did watch some of the football, and the final score was 2-2.
m it was suggested to us that we move as the away fans had a habit of throwing things into that section. We took heed of this warning and re-located to what we thought was a safer section. Less that 5 minutes later I was hit by what I could only describe as a hunk of metal that looked like it could have been part of a car engine. At this point I realsed that our safer option perhaps wasn´t as safe we thought and maybe we should carry on moving away from the opposition fans. Throughout the game fireworks, flares, ticker tape and huge banners taking up whole stands were unleashed, not to mention the exchanging of countless missiles between home and away fans. Then after about 70 minutes or so the police decided enough was enough and spent the next 10 minutes introducing their batons to the away fans heads. During this we did watch some of the football, and the final score was 2-2.I expected game 2, Boca Juniors versus Velez Sarsfield in Buenos Aires to be an even tastier affair as the Boca stadium, La Bombonera, has a reputation throughout the world 
as being something of a hostile environment. Me and my friend Ali decided to sit in the section sold to us by our hostel as ´where the hooligans sit´. Upon arriving we discovered we were sat underneath the away fans, so spent much of the game avoiding being spat and urinated on. The atmosphere was nothing like that at the Colo Colo game though, and after 70 minutes or so when seats starting being thrown into our stand I was still not worried. Then with about 10 minutes to go a huge slab of concrete was thrown from above, landing about 15 metres from where we were standing. At this point I did start to wonder why the thought of sitting with the ´Boca hooligans´ had appealed to me. Incidentally the game finished 4-0 to Boca.
as being something of a hostile environment. Me and my friend Ali decided to sit in the section sold to us by our hostel as ´where the hooligans sit´. Upon arriving we discovered we were sat underneath the away fans, so spent much of the game avoiding being spat and urinated on. The atmosphere was nothing like that at the Colo Colo game though, and after 70 minutes or so when seats starting being thrown into our stand I was still not worried. Then with about 10 minutes to go a huge slab of concrete was thrown from above, landing about 15 metres from where we were standing. At this point I did start to wonder why the thought of sitting with the ´Boca hooligans´ had appealed to me. Incidentally the game finished 4-0 to Boca.Game 3 saw us visit
the River Plate stadium in Buenos Aires to watch Argentina take on Bolivia in a World Cup qualifier. The atmosphere at the game was nothing like that at the previous 2, largely due to the fact it was nearly an all Argentinian crowd. Argentina domintated the game, with Juan Roman Riqueleme pulling the strings and Lionel Messi causin havoc. Argetina won 3-0 and the main moment of excitement came at half time when the Buenos Aires fire service decided to cool the fans down by firing huge water hoses into the stands behind either goals.
the River Plate stadium in Buenos Aires to watch Argentina take on Bolivia in a World Cup qualifier. The atmosphere at the game was nothing like that at the previous 2, largely due to the fact it was nearly an all Argentinian crowd. Argentina domintated the game, with Juan Roman Riqueleme pulling the strings and Lionel Messi causin havoc. Argetina won 3-0 and the main moment of excitement came at half time when the Buenos Aires fire service decided to cool the fans down by firing huge water hoses into the stands behind either goals.Away from
football I also enjoyed my birthday last week. I spent the day at
Iguazu falls on the Argentinian/Brazilian border. As birthdays go I don´t think I have had much better, spending the day wandering around what I think must be one of the world most powerful natural wonders. Unlike my previous 25 birthdays I spent the day in shorts and flip-flops, working on my tan. After that we celebrated with a fancy dress party (I was Batman), and not even McClaren and his muppets could sour the atmosphere.
football I also enjoyed my birthday last week. I spent the day at
Iguazu falls on the Argentinian/Brazilian border. As birthdays go I don´t think I have had much better, spending the day wandering around what I think must be one of the world most powerful natural wonders. Unlike my previous 25 birthdays I spent the day in shorts and flip-flops, working on my tan. After that we celebrated with a fancy dress party (I was Batman), and not even McClaren and his muppets could sour the atmosphere.In addition to parties
and football I have also taken the time to enjoy some of the scen
ery that this part of the world has to offer. Travelling through Patagonia was fantastic, with every view seemingly topping the previous one. My highlight would have to be the ´W´ trek that I did with 5 fellow travelers through the Torres del Paine National Park in south Chile. Complete with tents and gas stoves we spent 3 days drinking from streams and living off the land (this claim is a lie, we actually took chocolate, pasta, tuna and can openers but it sounds better that way) just like Ray Mears.
and football I have also taken the time to enjoy some of the scen
ery that this part of the world has to offer. Travelling through Patagonia was fantastic, with every view seemingly topping the previous one. My highlight would have to be the ´W´ trek that I did with 5 fellow travelers through the Torres del Paine National Park in south Chile. Complete with tents and gas stoves we spent 3 days drinking from streams and living off the land (this claim is a lie, we actually took chocolate, pasta, tuna and can openers but it sounds better that way) just like Ray Mears.
Whilst in Torres we also had another birthday to celebrate. The theme: 80s bad taste. Luckily I had this little all-in-one pink ski-suit just lying around and thought it would suit the occasion perfectly. 
Before embarking on the ´W´ trek I spent a little time aclimatizing to the bitter conditions in El Chaten and El Calafate in Argentina. It was here that I visited the famous Moreno glacier. At 250 km² and 30km in length it is one of the the only glaciers on the continent that isn´t retreating. Even more impressive than the glacier itself was the incredible ski-suit that we saw one fellow traveler wearing. Believe it or not, but the picture of this lady was not taken at our 80s bad taste party......a tru
e fashion pioneer if ever I have seen one. I take my hat off to you and the decade you are still living in! After a brief stop in the lowest city in the world, Ushuaia, I caught a flight up to Bu
enos Aires. I had heard so many good things about the city from other travelers, all of which were true. The 10 days I spent their went far too quickly and it is certainly a destination I would like to spend more time in in the future. Whilst their I took in a tango lesson, brought lots of football shirts, frequented a nightclub where a real life Barbie doll was stripped on stage by 2 clowns (when I say clowns I literally mean clowns), ate the finest steak of my life and spent far to much money.
enos Aires. I had heard so many good things about the city from other travelers, all of which were true. The 10 days I spent their went far too quickly and it is certainly a destination I would like to spend more time in in the future. Whilst their I took in a tango lesson, brought lots of football shirts, frequented a nightclub where a real life Barbie doll was stripped on stage by 2 clowns (when I say clowns I literally mean clowns), ate the finest steak of my life and spent far to much money.And so it is that I now find myself in Brazil. So far I have taken a helicopter ride over Iguazu falls - providing me with the best view of the falls incre
dible power and size - and taken a rather heavy beating on the go-kart track (thats me at the back of the grid, where I proceeded to spend the rest of the race).
dible power and size - and taken a rather heavy beating on the go-kart track (thats me at the back of the grid, where I proceeded to spend the rest of the race).Before I leave I have a couple of observations:
Argentina truly is the land of the haircut. I have never seen such a varied collection of styles in one country before. Sadly most of the those haircuts went out of fashion at least 5 years ago though.
People in Buenos Aires walk slower than in any other city I´ve visited. I have decided this may be the reason the Argentine economy collapsed a few years ago.....all the city folk were probably still walking to work when it happened so could do nothing about it.
