Sunday, December 28, 2014

Gaucho Life

Hey all!  Sorry I haven't been posting, but the Internet is very limited at the ranch I am staying at.  I am having a great time and the place is amazing.  Great people fantastic views, horses, parties, and lots of good meat and wine.  One morning inparticulate was quite cool.  I was having breakfast in my kitchen with a gaucho three volunteers, a (German, a swede, and American), and the swedes little brother.  At one moment there were four different languages being spoken across several lively conversations.  It was truly a unique experience.
Below are some pictures that hopefully upload from my time here so far.  If you would like to contact me feel free to shoot me an email! Hugheyraymond@gmail.com


Friday, December 5, 2014

Eyes Open

What a great day yesterday. It started with a 10 hour red eye flight where I had to an entire row to myself. Yes I had three seats to myself and  I was living like a king.
My second flight was from Sao Paulo Brazil to Buenos Aires and it was like jumping into a pool for the first-time.  I was the only one on the flight that didn't speak fluent Spanish.  It was definitely a shock, but something I enjoyed.  And the atmosphere of the flight was much different too.  In the US nobody talks to each other, each person gets in their seats, puts their headphones on and counts down the minutes until the plane lands in the next destination.  On this flight everybody was talking to each other as if it was a family thanksgiving.  I slept through most of the flight but the majority of my dreams were in Spanish partly in thanks to the middle aged couple sharing the row with me.
Upon arrival in Buenos Aires, my goal was finding Calle Florida where they exchange pesos for dollars at a much better rate than the banks do. I was able to get 12.5 pesos per dollar.  From there I intended to head towards my Hostel, however I found myself getting caught up in the amazing scenery and vibrance that is Buenos Aires.  The city is definitely one of a kind with a perfect blend of high rises and lushes trees and parks mixed into one.  It is as if they built the city in the middle of a forest but built around the forest.  Trees line the sidewalks where they're used to support telephone and power lines instead of a brown wood tower.  There are so many people, it reminded me of times square, but tenfold at a much larger radius.  No one walks slow, cars drive with a purpose, and there is an abundance of motorcycles from the 70's and 80's weaving through the streets and sidewalks.  I saw a smile on the majority of people's faces and really feel like I'm in a place where so much can happen and such potential is available.  There is an atmosphere of open arms here and it definitely feels safe.  Here are some pics from the day.  I'm not sure what the concrete tower is but it looks like a smaller version of the Washington Monument.  Calle Florida is the second pic, and the others are from one of the parks in row middle of the city.  The last picture is the big from the balcony outside of my Hostel room.



Thursday, December 4, 2014

Bigger is Better

The trip has begun! My series of flights from San Diego to Buenos Aires included a 24 hour layover in Dallas.  I have a couple of friends that live here and were nice enough to show me around Texas' capital.  I went to the infamous grassy knoll where Kennedy was shot.  There were two 'x's in the street marking the exact spots of where the bullets got him.  Here are a couple of pictures.  on the sixth floor of the building to the left of the road is where the suspected rifle shots came from..
There was also a cool park, Robert Lee Park, just on the outskirts of downtown in an area called Turtle Creek.  It was a great area, reminded me of an up and coming North Park.  Ironically it turns out it is a large gay community. (not that there is anything wrong with that)  Below are some pictures of that.





P.s. The picture of me is from the park, not the grassy knoll, too soon guys too soon