Welcome back to South America

Wrong number

The month I spent in Buenos Aires doesn't count, it went easy on me. Familiar faces, places and smells. Plenty of beef, late nights out & long walks heading nowhere in particular. Time went by smoothly and way too quickly, nothing out of the ordinary except for a couple of anecdotes left to tell and the feeling of having had a very emotionally fulfilling month.

Seat number 32

As I took my seat on the bus Retiro-Rio de Janeiro reality started hitting me; with a brazilian version of Santana & Mana's 'Corazon Espinado' on the background, the driver announced we would be delayed at least 3 hours due to an accident in one of the bridges we were supposed to go through, therefore we had to take an alternative route. The 36 hour journey ended up being 45. There were 2 accidents and a strike, a long line in the frontier and no stops for food.

I held endless conversations with an anonymous young couple that were taking their first trip out of Argentina, watched a bunch of lousy movies and couldn't avoid the anticipation of what was to come.

Right number

8 p.m. was the time when the bus pulled into the Terminal Station. It was chaos and it was dark. I didn't even know where to start looking for the bus that would take me to Botafogo, where I had found a half decent hostel online. 4 unmistakably Israeli guys that had traveled on the same bus where discussing where to go. I asked them if they were taking the bus but they were taking a taxi (the bus is too dangerous at this time and with the backpacks, they claimed) and they were going to Copacabana. I weighed my options: Unknown bus on my own or taxi with 4 other tourists.

Raf

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Ephemeral Art Museum

If there is one thing to absolutely love about Palermo, it's the amazing quantity and quality of Street Art. This would be a perfect place to have an Ephemeral Art Museum! Raf

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Days until departure: 12 Preparations have started. I am taking advantage of a lull with my clients and my own bootstrapped projects to focus on making sure I pack everything we need while trying to keep to the absolute basics- an oxymoron in itself. The goal is to travel with one backpack each and dispatch a duffel bag. I am the Queen of Lists Where are we taking off to? North of Sweden, in the Gulf of Bothnia (Ever heard of it? Me neither until about 2 months ago). Way up north in the Gulf of Bothnia, see where Oslo is for reference Why that destination? We've been on the lookout for a sailboat for a couple of years. Although we've saved some money, it's on the lower side and not enough to buy a sailboat that meets what we need, so we've been hunting for an opportunity. Those who know us understand that we are quite frugal, so our requirements are pretty basic. We've visited a few boats, but none were right, either because of their price or condition. But now

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