Chile-Santiago(4/1/2009)-(10/1/2009)

Chile-Patagonia (29/12/2009)-(4/12/2009)

Argentina! (22/12/09)

And we finally arrived at Buenos Aires! We have heard many things about this city and we are about to find out which of them are true..We will stay here for about 8 days! Stay tuned for photos!!

Uruguay -Montevideo- Punta del este

Uruguay! (18-22 December 2009)
After Brazil it´s uruguay´s time!

This country is small compared to other southamerican countries but it´s very beautiful. The whole landscape of this country is flat! but the people here other than flat they are. They are very joyful and friendly...They all were very enthusiastic when they found out that we come from Greece. Also most of them told us that they will support Greece against Argentina in the World Cup!! Montevideo is a nice city but compared to Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires it doesnt have the character that would attract young people...Montevideo it´s propably the best place to relax after Buenos Aires. But we hadn´t yet been to Buenos Aires so we were full of energy to party, to swim to beaches and to have fun so that´s why we headed to punta del este! Punta del este is a city eastern from Montevideo and it´s a world famous summer resort. We ve heard that in winter it has population of something like 50,000 people and in winter time this number builts up to 5 million people!! So we went there to spend propably our last time in a beach of south America(if we dont go in any beaches in Chile) ...In a beach in punta del este called Punta Brava stands a very well known sculpture of an Uruguayn artist called -Monumento al Ahogado- (photo below the article) it represents a hand sinking in the sand and the original idea for this was to warn swimmers in the beach next to beach Brava (beach La Barra) that it there were strong currents and big waves.
...Photos soon to be uploaded...

World is a place full of opportunities and potentials

When we were planning this trip everything seemed so difficult and hard to predict. After ten days of traveling around South America i have to admit that everything is so easygoing. Before leaving i might had some concerns about this trip but day after day i realise that traveling is a way of life and you can easily be addicted to. We have already met so many and so interesting people that makes you realise which is the real point of getting around the world.
''RIO DE JANEIRO''
Our first destination was Rio De Janeiro. People use to mention the dangers that you could face visiting this magnificent city forgetting the beauty of this place. Rio is a city where everything can happen. We stayed almost 6 days and we realised that we could stay there forever and never get bored. The first thing that we did when we got there was to visit Copa Cabana one of the most famous beaches in South America. We met some fellow travelers from argentina, germany and england and we all played football against some brazilians guys in the beach. The feeling of playing football through the sand is amazing. The next day we rent some bikes and visited the Ipanema beach. This is the biggest and probably the most famous beach in Brazil. The weather was kind of bad and almost every day was raining but we really enjoyed every minute over there. The highlight of those days that we spent in Rio was the concert of Manu Chao!! When we first found out about the concert from an argentinian friend of us we couldn't even believe it. We booked our ticket and went straight to the fest. There were approximately 2000 people only. It was like a private concert!! There are no words to describe the feeling of watching your favourite singer and band performing in another continent. We thought that photos and videos would be the only things to reminds us this concert but as people say ''everything can happen in rio''... This was the best concert ever!!! apregado Manu Chao y RadioBeba!!!
I have realised the importance of meeting new people when you travel. Sometimes I feel that this is the whole point of visiting a new place. I have to say that in rio we met some amazing boys and girls who were also traveling!! We had the best time in our hostel and we totally recommend it (http://www.cabanacopa.com.br). Thank you guys, hope we will meet again soon.
Those days that we spent in rio were enough to discover both sides of rio de janeiro. There is the rich and touristic one and there is also the poor one. We actually didnt visit the ''favelas'' as many travelers do by joining a group. We had long conversations about this with some guys from south america and we accepted the fact that dealing with this kind of view the poor side of rio cannot be acceptable. It is so sad that so many people live in these conditions. Hopefully rio will change after the olympics...
''FLORIANOPOLIS''
Our next stop is Florianopolis. ''Floripa'' as the local people use to name their island. This place is amazing!! It is a small island where visitors can enjoy the sun and some of the most beautiful beaches ever. We were told that the best way of discovering floripa is by car, that's why we hired one. There over than 40 beaches around the island. The weather is great and we have already visited some of the beaches. The food here is spectaculous and you can eat almost anything you can imagine!! People are really friendly and we feel like home.. besides this island looks like a greek one.. Today we tried our skills in surfing!! to be honest we tried hard but this sport isnt as easy as it looks!! hopefully none of us get drown,.. we just keep going.. trying anything new.. {some great and funny photos will be uploaded soon}..
The night life of the island is great and there are parties everywhere along the island. There are also some nice pubs where we have had some drinks discusing with local people.
This is our 4th day in floripa and i have to admit that when we drive along the island i remenber once again those who say that nature is also an artist are absolutely correct. I am sure that also the next days here will be great too..
Finally, i would like to thank you all for reading this blog. I hope that you really enjoy when reading it.

''WALKING AROUND THE WORLD... JUST JOIN US''

Photos part 2

The First 3 Days

Our journey has finally started! More than a year of planning, booking planes and hostels, choosing destinations and activities, has come to an end.

This year´s company members are Antonis, Ilias, Nikos and Panos (in alphabetical order). Actually Antonis was a last minute recruit since he decided to join us only a week before the departure. So far we have visited London, where we stayed for one night just to take a rest and catch our flight to Rio – Brazil!

Finally what was like a dream for more than a year is our everyday reality. We are in Rio, swimming in Copacabana, and getting ready for some demanding city tours in the touristic part of Rio and also in the favela part. The feeling of danger is actually not so intense and we hope that this is not due to our lack of self protection instincts, but due to the fact that the stories we have heard of this city are a bit exaggerating. We hope we dont prove ourselves wrong! Anyway, we include some photos of our first 3 days since we left Greece and we will update the blog soon with details!

With love from RIOO!!!