These photos are from different locations around Machu Picchu. They were also taken from 6am, when there is fog covering the moutain, until about 3:30pm. Machu Picchu is one of the best sites to see in the world and a must see if you are traveling through South America.
These photos are from the Temples of Angkor. The most famous being Angkor Wat. Howard and me in front of the lake in the afternoon. I would recommend to be at Angkor wat either at sunrise or sunset. You will get the best pictures at this time
There has been mud slides, flooding, and travelers stuck around Cuzco, Aguas Caliente, and other little towns leading up to the Inca site Machu Picchu. If you are planning on traveling to Machu Picchu in the month of February I would definitely contact any travel agency in Cuzco to make sure your bookings are available, and to make sure the Inca trail or the train is able to get you to see the site.
When I was planning my trip down to Brazil with my two friends, Hayden and Jared, it worked out to where we were going to meet in Charlotte, North Carolina. Once in Charlotte, we would fly direct from Charlotte to Rio de Janeiro on the same over night flight. So when I landed in Charlotte on December 18th, I turned on my cell phone...the first text message I received was from Jared saying that Hayden and him had missed their flight into Charlotte. I couldn't believe it...
No worries, after talking to them they said that they were not going to be in Rio until Sunday morning (24 hours after I land). So I had 24 hours to hang out by myself in Rio and meet some new people. The flight from Charlotte was pretty easy. It ended up being about 10 hours. So it wasn't too terrible...no crying babies, nobody hitting the back of my chair. I only had two problems.
US Airways only played one movie: which was Bridal Wars. Can't they play any movie better than this?
US Airways does not give out free alcohol on international flights. I had never heard of this...
The flight ended up landing at about 10.AM. Once the flight landed, I went through customs with no problems, and then was praying that my bag made it. After waiting about 25 minutes and with only about 3 other people waiting for their bags mine finally popped out!
When we booked our hostel before we left, we had requested that somebody pick the 3 of us up at the airport. We figured this would be the easiest, cheapest, and fastest way to get to Impanema. So after walking out of the baggage area and into the main part of the airport it gets a little crazy. I would have been a little intimidated if it was my first time in Rio (but it wasn't). There are about 3 taxi cab companies, 20 people holding signs with peoples last names on them, random people asking me if I wanted a ride, etc. After 5 minutes of walking around looking for a guy with my friend Jared's last name I realized our ride had not shown up. I decided it was time for plan B.
If I was a budget traveler arriving in Rio de Janeiro (GIG) trying to get either Copacabana or Impanema I would suggest the following:
Change around $200-$300 US Dollars into Brazilian Reais at the airport. The exchange rate is not that bad. Right when you leave the baggage claim area you will see two people in two separate booths that will allow you to change currencies.
TAKE THE Airport Shuttle Bus- Once you walk out of the main doors of the airport you will see signs that indicate a bus stop. There are attendants that are working for the Shuttle that can help you. All you have to do is wait by the sign, and every 30 minutes the shuttle comes by to pick up passengers. Just tell the employee working for the Shuttle Impanema or your destination. It is so Cheap...7 Reais. It takes about 45 minutes to get from the airport to Copacabana/Impanema. Look for bus Alvoeada Z 5 or Impanema on the front window of the Bus.
If you decide to take a taxi. Make sure that you pay for the taxi inside from one of the major taxi companies. Do not take a ride from somebody that is walking up to you randomly in the airport. A taxi ride is going to cost a lot more ...from 60-80 Reais.
I was also able to talk to an employee of the airport that was at a help desk right by where you exchange money. The employee was fluent in English so it was very easy to communicate. She was the one who told me to take the bus and not the taxi! So I would also recommend talking to the Help Desk if you have any questions. Suerte!
I bought my first pair of Havaianas sandals about 3 years ago on my first trip to Brazil. I fell in love with them the first time I put them on. Since then, I have bought several more pairs that are all different colors. I wear them in the summer, fall, winter, and spring. I really think they are the best pair of sandals you can buy for their price.
I was just in Rio de Janeiro at the end of December for vacation. In Rio, you can buy Havaianas on almost every corner. You can buy them in pharmacies, grocery stores, and on the sidewalk. But there is nothing like going to the actualy Havaiana store. There are two locations in Rio: one in Ipanema and the other in Copacabana. I had the opportunity to go to the store in Ipanema.
The store is actually pretty small, but it had so many different pair of sandals. If you get about 8 people in the store it actually starts to get too crowded to walk through. It is really skinny inside the store. They have plain colored sandals, colored sandals with the Brazilian flag, world cup team sandals, and the list goes on and on. Inside the Havaiana store you can also customize your sandal. Customizing the sandals is more for girls, because you can buy little pieces of jewlery to go with your sandals. An employee then basically stamps a piece of jewlery on the sandal where the brazilian flag usually goes. The pieces of jewelery range in price from 4 reais to 15 reais.
To actually buy a pair of sandals you have to go to two different people. It doesn't make sense in my head, but what do I know? Once you have selected your sandals you have to take them to an employee that is in the middle of the store. Then that employee gets out a piece of paper, and puts a bar code of the sandal(s) you bought on the paper receipt. Then she adds up the total on the sheet, and hands you a receipt for your bill. Once you have the bill, you can then go and pay at the cash register. I am still confused at why one person can't do both jobs...?
The prices of the sandals are lower than what you can buy them for in the States depending on what type of sandal you buy. I bought 3 pairs while I was in the store, and each pair was a different price. I think that I saved about $5 on each pair. I was with two other friends while traveling through Brazil, and I think they bought a combined 12 pairs of sandals in the store! They had to be the customers of the day! I would definitely recommend stopping buy a Havaiana shop before leaving Rio!
I can't begin to describe how much fun Hayden, Jared and I had in Brazil over the last 17 days. I got back on Sunday night after 38 hours of traveling. It was the longest stretch of traveling I have ever done in my life. It was well worth every hour of the return home for the experiences I just had. I will be blogging about the adventures, places, food, and people we met while traveling through Brazil over the next several weeks! I hope that travelingbug.org can inspire others to keep traveling or to plan a trip in 2010! Happy New Year!
