Discoverymundo Blog

Author: Johanna Lee

Traveling in Buenos Aires

I was in Jose Joaquin de Olmedo Guayaquil Airport, where I was waiting to take the next fly to Quito, to take another one to Buenos Aires, Argentina, denominated “The City of Fury” (La Ciudad de la Furia), by Gustavo Cerati because this city never rest. In Guayaquil on weekend you can do a lot of activities from culture to sports, until 3:00 AM, in which hour everything is fishing.

I took a cap from Ministro Pistarini de Ezeiza Airport to go to Palermo, which had cost around 400 PESOS.

I had also the opportunity to travel around in Bus, cap, and Subte which captivated myself because a could travel appreciating the art of young musician like Johnny Wulf a young man who play de Saxophone with his friend a guitar man, they play Swing, Jazz, Blues, and other musicians that play Tango, in my country is not easy to see this musician in the streets so I was amazed by this. I had also the opportunity to go to my first Lollapalooza, a music festival that’s only given in five countries of the world which are Germany, E.E.U.U., Chile, Brazil and Argentina.

Hotel & Hostel Circus.

After two days in Lollapalooza I stay in a very nice hotel, it coasted around 12USD per day (the cost for shared room) in San Telmo, the Hotel & Hostel Circus, include breakfast and night tickets for different activities. Breakfast is made of milk, coffee, juice, fruits, bread, and other little things.

The rooms are very clean, air conditioned and calefactory, in the lobby you got a pool table, sofas to get rest and watch TV, and outside the pool, good music and a refrigerator filled with beer make a good spot to relax. In the Circus Hotel the service was great from the staff, in reception, Bruna Finí from Brazil, Nadia Pamplone from Argentina and Sebastian Pesantez from Ecuador, they made a very enjoyable my stay.

I can say that I miss Ecuadorian food, but food in Argentina was great too this is the place to eat meat.

When I woke up the next day, I walk from Circus in San Telmo to Caminito, a very visited place by many people, well known in Buenos Aires, where you can enjoy a meal and a Tango show, buy many little things or presents from Argentina.

I went to Boca Juniors Stadium and I saw a restaurant across the street, everything was made on the grill, meat, chicken, potatoes, vegetables and it was great and cheap.

And I can say I ate the best pizza ever, I don’t know if it was the best pizza because in Argentina they’re half Italian, but it was great.

Argentina was filled of beautiful women, I’ll never forget that, but I’ll really miss the art of musicians in the streets, in the Subte, in a Plaza, or in San Telmo Festival every Sunday, where you can find antiques, clothe, shoes and food.

All that I’m going to say is that was a nice travel, and everybody in Buenos Aires was very kind, and I’ll go again very soon.

June 5, 2015
Exploring San Francisco Hills

As soon as you land in San Francisco and get to the streets you feel like part of one of the Hollywood Movies, it’s streets are so famous and characteristical that you cannot avoid to get excited… excited and a little afraid when riding a car that seems like going in a rollercoaster.. on it’s way down!

I went to San Francisco with my family and boyfriend. We stayed at the Whitcomb Hotel, which turned out to be “OK”. Best of it was the breakfast, each and every meal i tried the 3 mornings i woke up there, were fabulous!

On the first day we went to one of the most famous tours on the area: Alcatraz. I was pretty excited to finally get to know the truth about this place. The boat ride is beautiful as, in one point, you get to see Alcatraz on one side and San Francisco Bay in the other. You must have the camera ready, a cozy sweater and a hairbrush cause the air will turn your hair into a mess!

Once in Alcatraz, you can let your mind fly while listening to the narration of some prisoner’s experiences as you go by the halls, picturing what it must have been like being imprisoned in there. To our best of lucks, that exact same day, one of the famous ex prisoners Bill Baker, who was an inmate in 1957, was there signing his book and answering questions.

What we asked him? you are in front of an ex prisoner, whom seen on the street would seem lovely, one person that spent time with AlCapone, Machine Gun Kelly and Birdman. Our question was simple: “What can you say about Scarface and Birdman?” He answered: “Great guys!”

How’s that for an end to a prison visit?

After that, we went to Fisherman’s Wharf which is walking distance from Alcatraz Island Dock. We entered to Fog Harbor Fish House Restaurant to have an original bread bowl clam chowder. Best place in town to have it! Also the service was very nice (specially considering my family were 12 people and each and every the hard-to-please kind of person, so restaurant visits become a huge challenge for managers, waiters and the rest of the staff). If you go to this place, also DON’T MISS the tuna tartare, it is kind of my favorite dish so i order it anywhere i go and i can say that the one they prepare in here is one of the best (and i would dare to say the best) i’ve ever had.

Later that day, we went to famous Lombard Street; we walk around it, took some photos, passed it through in our rented van (which was kind of prohibited due to vehicle size but adults didn’t care), etc. My boyfriend and I took this lovely picture that is now in a frame, decorating our living room:

Next day we did what became my favorite tour ever, the Golden Gate Biking Tour.

In this tour you basically rent a bike, follow the route, make stops to take some amazing pictures of the Golden Gate behind you, then cross the Golden Gate and get to this little beautiful retirement-dream town named Sausalito. It was a whole experience, and i will now tell you why:

To begin with, my boyfriend and I rented a Tandem, which is a double bike. I should highlight that Andres is an experienced biker while i’m.. let’s call me a rookie. Of course that for this reason we decided he would go in front and i would just follow the rhythm, sounds easy huh? Well.. i’ll just say it sounds easier than it is to coordinate, especially when you are on a hill where you can’t stop pedaling. Karma got me, since i first started laughing at other couples fighting for the Tandem situation and even told Andres: “See honey? We have great communication skills when it comes to facing challenges” 10 minutes later, it was another story.

We forgot all of this when we got to the Golden Gate, i got so busy taking pictures & video and enjoying the view that i even went back to say: “I’m so glad we rented the Tandem bike!”

Then we continued on our way to Sausalito, not before having a flat tire.. TWICE. So we basically had to walk all the way down (luckily) pushing our heavy Tandem.

Once in Sausalito, we sat on Napa Valley Burgers. Best burgers ever! No matter which one you choose, all of the options are delicious and huge. The only risk is that no burger will ever taste the same again.
Next morning, our last in San Francisco, we woke up early hoping to get a table in this high-rated breakfast place called Mama’s but by the time we got there, the line was about a block long and we were hungry as monsters so we just asked for recommendations and ended up in Joe’s. Good place, very retro decorated and huge dishes (you would definitely like to share). A nice way to end our vacation and drive back to Nevada.

Definitely San Francisco is a great vacation destination with a lot to offer. My only advice? Don’t expect to see people wearing flowers in their heads, cause you won’t.

June 5, 2015
Tips for traveling with your pet
Traveling with your pet is fun and takes away the worry of not knowing who will take care of him while you’re on vacation. But you have to consider the whole process. Time and patience will achieve safely your flight with your pet.

If you realize, aircraft and vehicles (cars, taxis, vans, etc.) are not designed to take your pet. You must also be prepared for any problem that comes in your way for anything.
- First, you need to have a properly sized cage for your pet. Typically greater than 10 centimeters on each side cage is required so that the pet has enough space to stand up, turn around and be able to move inside.
- Many dogs feel safe inside the cage and will not mind being inside it while you have the necessary space.
- Keep all papers ready for the trip. Make copies of your medical history and make sure you are updated on its vaccinations before leaving. If for any reason your dog gets sick during the flight, a veterinarian can treat it if he has access to your its history.
- I recommend before traveling with your dog, to take it out for a run or a long walks. Spending accumulated excess energy will help your pet to relax when you are on the trip.
- You must accustom your pet to be inside the cage. A week before, leave him daily for a while inside the cage to get him accustomed for the long journey
- Make sure there is nothing inside the cage so your dog doesn´t get hurt. Most belts and necklaces are particularly dangerous, they can hurt the dog.
- It is best that your dog begins the journey without having eaten or drunk water (dogs can go without eating anything for at least two hours before departure) and must go to the bathroom before leaving. Make sure your dog has enough water to keep hydrated, but not full.
Hope these tips work for you! dont miss anyone.. Be ready to take your life partner with you and have an amazing trip!
June 5, 2015
My First Scuba Diving Experience

It all began with my arrival to the beautiful beaches of Cancun, Mexico. Where the sea is crystal clear, White sand and far you can see the beautiful blue colors that stand out from the Caribbean. A few days after I got my first dive training with my family. We started to dive into a pool. Our instructor showed us some techniques like breathing with the regulator, what to do if your viewers are filled with water, how to talk with signals, etc.

Having already learned the correct technique of diving with all methods, rules and precautions, we took a boat that ride us straight to the ocean. In my mind went many things, my voice was shaking with fear and had never seen what was the seabed. I did not know what was down there. A blue abyss? Many fish and animals around me? Sharks? Will I Survive? …

When the boat stopped to start diving it was when I got really scared, we had to jump back and not leave the water until we finished the first session of diving! I took my tank on my back, the viewers on my head and my regulator ready on my hand. I sat on the edge of the boat and scared but bravely I jumped into the wáter.

First, jump into the ocean OMG!

Blue and blue, when suddenly I turned down .. was spectacular, WOW! I could not believe it, everything was amazing, a huge pool with many colored rocks in the sea, sand like gigantic cotton and some fish swimming around.

First impression upon the ocean

Along with the instructor and my family we began to descend compensating ears as we showed down to the sand, 10 meters deep, I felt I was in another world..

At the bottom of the sea

When we touch the sand, I turned up and realized how amazing it was to be in that place at that momento, nothing else mattered. I was so lost that could have been hours swimming and sailing across the ocean. We found a huge number of exotic fish of various sizes and all colors! Corals, beta fish, clown, barracuda, jellyfish, starfish and huge reefs with different fish inside, just like in the movie Nemo. Also turtle slowly sailing towards the sea surface, they were beautiful!

After swimming for a while, we went to dive into another part of the vast ocean. They said that 60% of people who dive for the first time do not want to launch the sea in the second session because you get sick, but the worst thing you can do is stay on the boat! You definitely should go into the water, that dizzy feeling on the boat is automatically removed when you get to sea again, so if you’re about to experience your first diving don´t miss both sessions!

The next area where we dived was in the underwater museum MUSA, sculptures fixed to the seabed made of special materials used to promote coral life .. These figures scared me a bit at first, I had never been able to imagine something like that in my life .. We start circling those sculptures slowly and observe each.

Just before we got out was when we saw a stingray of 5 meters underground above the sand, suddenly began to swim, amazing!

I loved the experience and would do it as often as possible, started swimming as a beginner and gradually took more confidence to dive into the coral wall at Cozumel (I recommend it a lot).

Now undoubtedly, I will share with you my next diving experience at the beautiful sea of Galapagos, where the most exotic marine animals live and huge Galapagos tortoises!

June 5, 2015