Blog - Tuesday May 31st 2011

Location: ABH Hostel, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Todays blog will be short and sweat as I have a boat to catch to Uruguay. Yesterday I visited the La Recolata cemetery and saw the tomb of Eva Peron (Evita), indeed I and half the tourists in Buenos Aires were there yesterday or so it seemed! Many of course only see her tomb and nothing else, but for me it was only secondary to real reason I wanted to visit what has to be the worlds eeriest cemetery as its not like the coffins are buried.... no no no they are placed under alters in lavishly built mini churches and thus visable for everyone to see. Anyway I was there to see a much less visited tomb than that of Eva Peron's, I would even go as far as to say that most people visiting her tomb would never have even heard of the guy whose resting place was of far more interest to me and I could almost guarantee that they had never heard of his home town either - Foxford Co. Mayo! I was here to see the resting place of an Irish man with more balls than most who left "Penal law" Ireland to set out on an adventure and ended up founding the the Argentinean navy...... and all because he essentially hated the English! His name - Admiral William Brown. He really was a remarkable man and his history is well worth reading. Here is brief passage from Wikipedia - After the fall of the Rosas regime many naval officers found themselves discharged, but not the Commander of the Navy. Brown remained honoured for his long and loyal service to the nation. Retiring to his villa, Casa Amarilla at Barracas, Brown was visited by Grenfell, his opponent in the Brazilian war, who remarked how ungrateful the Republic was to its good servants; the old Admiral replied: "Mr Grenfell, it does not burden me to have been useful to the mother country of my children; I consider the honours and the wealth superfluous when six feet of earth are enough to rest so many difficulties and pains." In my opinion he has to be one of the greatest Irish historical figures and if he had been around during the Falklands war in the early 1980s Maggie Tatcher would have had a lot more to deal with than what ultimately transpired.

Lastly I have to comment on the latest "Irish Bar" I have come across! Its called the..... wait for it... "Classic Irish Bar" yes indeed... this place has jumped to the top of the list of so called Irish Bars abroad that need a match set to them! This place is a whore house! I kid you not - complete with leprechaun sized pimp outside the door who makes no secret of the services offered inside.... "you speaka de english" he says to me as I walk by... "I do" I say, "you wanta chicichitas??"" $100 all night... anything you want".......... "Really" I say "anything I want" I reply...... "yesh" he says and his eyes light up at the prospect of a customer! "well what I want is a pint of Guinness - do you serve that in your 'Classic Irish bar'??"" he hesitates.... "eh no senior" but the girls the girls"....... "Not much good to me so mate" I replied, ..... "sure theres many a bar in Ireland where women are free and Guinness is on-tap amigo..... change your bars name - it aint very Classic"......I could only laugh as I walked away.

Today im off to Uraguay... until tomorrow.

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Blog - Monday May 30th 2011

Location: ABH Hostel, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

I attended a football match in the Bombonairo and survived! Am I now truly a man?!! Surly it must be up there with taking a hair from a lions head to prove manliness in an African tribe or more close to home taking a torn from your foot while running through a forest in the days of the Tuatha Dé Danann! Whatever it is attending a football game at the home of Boca Juniors is an experience..... a very very very loud, boisterous and intimidating one - especially if your sitting in the away fans section!!!


Its not that i planned to get a ticket to sit among the away fans and the riot police and dogs that accompanied them, it just worked out that way! Tickets for the home fans side of the stadium were selling for anything between 300 & 400 pesos ($75 - $100 US) and being a poor backpacker I really couldn't justify that no matter how much I wanted see the game. Eventually I came across a guy who was trying to sell a "Visitante" (away fans ticket) for 100 pesos, it had a face value of 40 pesos so i offered him that - after alot of waking away from me muttering things under his breath (just as-well I dont speak spanish) he gave in and sold it to me for face value. Heading to the away fans section didn't really bother me other than I was wearing a blue hoody - the colour of Boca and stood out like a sore thumb among the Newells fan who were clad in the Mt Leinster Rangers colours of Red & Black! and even every police man at each of the 4 security check points questioned if was in the right section.... eventually I took off the hoody.... if im going to get killed by a football hooligan I will at least wait until im in a country where I can understand what the clown is saying! Walking up into the stands reminded me of the scene in the movie Gladiator when they walk out into the coliseum - such was the voracity of noise from drums, music and screaming fans, one thing you cant take from the Latin Americans is their passion for sport and especially their football. The stadium was alive... literally I could feel it move! 40,000 thousand fans singing and shouting at the top of their voices and even though I couldn't understand a word they were saying i could tell there was a little more to it than just "the referee's a w**ker"! 


The first area we were hoarded too by the police turned out to be full to capacity and for a brief moment I had one of those "dude what have you gotten yourself into" moments when they started to physically push back the fans at the top of the entrance... there was no love lost between anyone! The scuffle didn't last long however as a side entrance was opened up and we were allowed into a adjoining part of the stadium which was great as there was lots of room in it, a great view also (see the pics above). The game itself was very fast paced and typical for South America was full of flair, Boca missed a penalty mid way through the first half much to the delight of the away fans sitting around me an it served as the catalyst for the chanting war to begin among the fans and it wasnt hard to work out that this was what most of them were actually there for! on and on it went and apparently it was very funny.... the odd word i understood..."punta" is pretty universal and apparently there was a lot of them among the home fans! It was at the start of the second half that beautiful looking woman caught my eye in the crowd below me, to be honest there wasent many lookers among the away fans, i guess an away match with Boca is more like war rather than a couples or family day out! Nevertheless there was one and to my pleasant surprise she and her two friends (a couple) came and took the seats beside me! I couldn't resist talking to the girl, turns out she was Mexican and a student of Architecture here in BA, she spoke perfect english as did her male friend who knew his soccer and was able to give me the full low down on Boca and South American football, turns out that as a kid he had even been to the Mexico V Ireland game at the 1994 world cup in Orlando Florida! He even new of Packie Bonner - impressive! Marie (my new mexican friend) also knew her football... there is nothing as sexy as a woman who knows football - esp if she talks with an accent - ive covered this topic before! Anyways being in-dept in conversation with her I actually missed the Boca goal! the game ended with a win 1-0 win for Boca and also a victory for me as I got the girls no. Ill be in town for a few days - watch this space!


Last night I went to see the Hangover 2 - an exceptionally good sequel in my opinion, go see it if you haven't already! Finally, two stories caught my eye on www.rte.ie this morning. The first is that over 40% of Kilkenny woman are "too posh to push" it seems with Kilkenny hospitals having the highest rate of c-sections in the country!!! I was born by c-section myself but that was only because even in the womb I was as stubborn as I am now! Secondly i read that the government is still on the fence about 3rd level grants..... in my opinion they should spend the money on a multi-stop round the world flight ticket for every student that completes the leaving cert - that way they can get a life education before a career orientated one and the country would be much better off for it.....


Toady I have a date with dead people in Buenos Aires famous La Recoleta cemetery.... until tomorrow.

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Blog - Sunday May 29th 2011

Location: ABH Hostel, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Have been in BA for almost 48 hrs now and its nothing short of spectacular! The city looks and feels like a "not so high rise" New York and the people are friendly and welcoming and most importantly things are not as expensive as in Brazil. In a lot of way the price of most goods is comparable with the US (well North Carolina anyway). Alcohol is a little more expensive but thats to be expected.

Dont have much to report on really as I spent of most of yesterday warming a bar stool in Sullivans Irish bar in the Palermo district. First for the rugby and then for the football..... a tragic day for my beloved Utd but to be fair we were out played and out classed by superior opposition. It was interesting to watch the game in Messi's hometown but as I quickly discovered its Tevez who is the real hero here as he is a street kid where as Messi is a "rich boy"! Certainly the bar erupted for the Rooney goal and not as much for the Barca ones. Watching the game with Spanish commentary was funny.... four times we got the infamous..."Gooooooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal! They go crazy for that here which is sweet in a away - lifes small pleasures and all that! Have also discovered that Argentineans are very friendly and even though I was out drinking by myself I quickly found myself adopted by some locals and shown the sights of nighttime Palermo! The head is a little sore today!

No rest for the wicked however as today the football continues and I am off to watch Boca Juniors play in the caldron that is the La Bombonera Stadium - provided I get a cheap ticket that is! Until tomorrow....

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Blog - Saturday May 28th 2011

Location: ABH Hostel, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

I'm delighted to be in Argentina! Ever since my first tv memories which were the 1986 World cup (I was 4!) Maradonna and the hand of god goal I have been captivated by this huge Spanish speaking country which stretches as far north as Bolivia and almost as far south as the Antarctic. In my teenage years I would have been aware of the economic crises which Argentina went through where games show prizes were jobs! And of course more recently the meteoric rise of the Pumas (Argentina’s rugby team) who so decisively sent us packing from the 2007 rugby world cup before going on themselves to finish 3^rd. Indeed Argentina is known just as much for its beautiful woman as it is football, and for the Tango just as much as a balcony loving singer asking her country not to cry for her! My first impressions of Buenos  Aires do not disappoint either as it is essentially New York – but in Spanish!

Getting here involved what should have been an 18hr bus ride but which became a 24hr one due to national protests, a couple of road accidents, and 2 long police check points, one of which was interesting for myself! A brief back story is required here – On Thursday I went to Paraguay but only for a couple of hours. Getting there only involved walking across a bridge from Foz do Iguassu in Brazil, a bridge described by the Lonely planet guide as a place “just as likely to be mugged in broad daylight as in the late hours of the night” so I thought this might be a fun way to spend a Thurs afternoon. It’s not that I have a death wish mind or go looking for trouble but I have come to realise that the Lonely Planet guide for all its good is probably the biggest scare mongering book I’ve ever come across! Never the less I put the passport in the pocket, $10, and nothing else and went for a stroll. As expected there was no mugging, after all what were they going to take – my Dunnes stores sandals?! But my passport did take a savage beating from border officials on both sides of the border! Stamped out of Brazil, stamped into Paraguay, and on the return stamped out of Paraguay and stamped into Brazil! Two full pages of stamps in my passport for just a four hour excursion. While in Paraguay I ate some lunch and walked around the “thieves” market, thought I might even spot my own camera which was stolen last Friday in Rio – no such luck however. The markets were full of cameras on display but the retailers were happy to talk dollars but not English. It wasn’t hard to spot the only real language in operation here however and that was the language of “fake goods”, besides I couldn’t buy anything anyway – I had no money remember! My re-entry into Brazil was actually funny as I was “sent” in the immigration office to a girl who was supposedly able to speak English. Turns out she was only learning English and wanted to practice and I was a happy smiling Irish guinue pig – she was stunning! Picture the passport office in Dublin airport with a tanned Roseanna Davidson (when shes not fighting with Ryanair) behind it instead of a grumpy old lad from Offaly! That’s the kind of sight that greeted me, broken English in a Latin American accent…. Is there anything sexier?! The actual immigration office looked for all the world like the toll booths on the M50 motorway – it was a busy road bridge after all with hundreds of cars, trucks and busses passing through every day. Not many pedestrians (probably thanks to the Lonely Planet Guide!) so it wasn’t exactly equipped for people on foot. Never the less the actual procedure was the same, fill up the paper work, have it processed in the computer and have the passport stamped. In my case there was a delay in having the info processed in the computer so I was offered coffee!!! Where else would you get immigration service like that!!! Coffee instead of an interrogation – you gotta love it.

Ok so it’s a not so brief back story – but now you are brought up to speed! Remember the 2 pages of stamps in my passport? Well when we stopped at a road side security check point about an hour into the bus trip on the Argentinian side the security officer (who was complete opposite of the beauty I had encountered at the Brazilian border) gazed intently at and for some time at my passport before muttering something in Spanish,  the guy behind me on the bus translated for me and explained that he wanted to search my bags – turns out that Paraguay is a primary drugs route to Argentina and anyone who has been through there, especially for only just a few hours like this stupid gringo, raises suspicion! I stood up to go walk off the bus and get my back pack for searching when the guy behind me explained to me that no he only wanted to search the bag I had with me on the bus and so he did like he was Homer Simpson looking for candy down the back of a couch! Of course he found nothing and I think he actually looked disappointed! In all honesty would I really have had the 20kgs of cocaine in my back pack sitting on the bus?? Of course not – I had put in the rucksack of the stupid English twat who was sitting in front of me when he wasn’t looking!!! I joke of course. I'm a poor backpacker – can’t afford drugs!!!

Lastly I need to report on a bar I went to last night. It was called “The Kilkenny” so how could I resist! Beautiful looking place, well designed and wouldn’t at all look out of place on Shop St in Galway, but that where the “Irishness” ends. No Guinness on tap was a bad start until the barman explained that even if he did it would be at least $20 – no thank you. The bar is completely Argentinian owned but there was one Irish guy working there, Nial Flanigan from Co. Armagh. He has been here for about 2 years and loves the place but by his own admission he is living off funds made in the US as its impossible to live off the wages made here in Argentina. In fairness to the chap he knew exactly what he was here for judging by the number of local “Chicititas” that were lining up to “embrace” him as they came through the door. The sligh Irish wink he sent in my direction after certain ones needed no explanation! The kid was making hay while the sun shined and who could blame him!  He did however give me the low down on the bar, the locals hate having gringos working there, the wages are terrible and any Irish that come working there only last about 2 days when they see how bad the wages actually are, none of that bothered the Armagh boy however as he was there on “international Relations” purposes only! The place having no relevance to where it is called after did disappoint me however and it got even worse when Nial told me about a recent All Star tour when some of the Kilkenny players came to drink in the bar, after spending almost A$20,000 pesos during the days drinking Niall himself approached the Argentinian owners, explained who the guys were and asked if he could send them over a few plates of chips on the house….. the owners response “f**K them, I don’t care who they are”!!!  Once again Irish bars abroad need to be regulated…. Or at least taxed! Now there’s an idea… if every Irish bar abroad was taxed annually Ireland would be out of its economic slump in 2 years!!!

Anyway off to find a spot to watch the rugby and then the football, watching the Champions league final in Messi’s home town should be interesting, especially as a Utd supporter! Until tomorrow…. 

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Blog - Thursday May 26th 2011

Location: Hostel Bambu – Foz do Igaussu, Brazil

From where I sit and write this on the balcony of the Bambu hostel I can see 3 countries! Brazil - the country in which I am sitting, Argentina & Paraguay.  This cereal setting is due to my current location at the Iguassu falls which are not only the world’s largest (by water volume) waterfalls but also the focal point for the meeting of the 3 borders of the countries above. I have come here to view the falls not only because they are one of the modern 7 wonders of the natural would but also because its almost halfway between Rio and Buenos Aires which is my next destination.

Although there is an airport here, I decided to come by bus from Rio and endure the 22hrs travel it took. I have made a conscious decision to travel all of South America without flying where possible as I feel that it will allow me to see the countries better and also give me a proper appreciation for the vastness of the size of the countries I will visit. Flying is great but all you see from aeroplane windows are clouds! So taking the bus it was, however it is important to note something about South American bus travel – it is very hard to organise online!!! Essentially its very old school as you go to the station, you buy a ticket and you get on the bus! There were 2 companies offering service to Foz do Igassu, Kaiowa and Pluma,  Cardille Du Nord   offer a service to  Puerto Iguassu which is on the Argentina side. I chose Kaiowa as they were the cheapest had had the earliest available departure and although they were the cheapest it certainly wasn’t cheap! $120, my lonely planet guide which is only 4 years old (2007) quotes $50! Now there’s an example of how expensive Brazil has gotten in such a short space of time!

The bus journey itself was quite funny; even though it was only half full I was stuck in the seat behind the god damn Brazilian texting champion 2011….. She loved to text – all the time… which was fine except she did so with the key stoke noise on.. beep…bebep…beep…bebeep… is all I could hear non-stop! This didn’t really bother me as I had a set of head phones and thousands of tunes on the old ipod but I knew it was the type of noise that was going to bother someone else much sooner than it was me …. And sure enough I was right…. About 15 mins into the trip the man from the seat in in from of her had words and peaceful tranquillity was restored, except of course for the periodic sudden screeching of the brakes from the lunatic “on a death wish” bus driver who had once again tried and failed to gain that extra 5mm he so craved in the lane parallel to us! The trip was going all to plan, we would stop every 2 hrs or so for approx. 10 mins and at 1.30am we pulled into a rest stop roughly an hour past Sao Paulo. Expecting the usual 10min break (as he had turned off the engine and announced something in Portuguese) I jumped off went inside to use the restroom returned to the bus about 4 mins later and discovered ……. NO BUS! It was gone, vanished, disappeared!!!  Picture the situation, pasty Irishman who speaks less Portuguese than a young lad from Tallaght trying to get into the pants of a local “young’un” in a night club in the Algarve, stranded in Brazil with only what he has on him….. khaki trousers, sandals and a Saw Doctors t-shirt!!!  Everything else I had was now traveling solo to Buenos Aires! So as I sat there and contemplated my new passionless life I came to the only logical conclusion I could, that even if it takes until this time tomorrow another bus will have to come along at some stage……. And with that bright lights appeared around the corner….. it was the bus - MY BUS! Apparently he had just gone to re-fuel… that was what he had announced in Portuguese when we first stopped.  He was laughing at me as he opened the door, I think he new he had given the “Gringo” a fright, I could only laugh at myself also!

Just after 1pm the bus pulled into its destination here in Foz Do Iguassu and with just one more local bus to take I arrived at the Bambu Hostel where I stayed last night. The hostel is clean, spacious and well-staffed but is a little expensive at $R38 ($25) per night. No time to waste I had a shower and headed for the Falls – what a sight! Now just to put things into perspective here, I've been travelling for 17 months and ive seen a lot of fantastic and wonderful things but nothing could have prepared my for the awe-inspiring view the Falls do Iguassu gives… its simply breath-taking. I instantly knew it had been worth the 22hr trip to get here. In many ways they are actually indescribable, the English language lacks the nouns verbs and adjectives to describe the sheer force and power of nature being displayed before the eyes.  It is very easy to see and understand why it has been shortlisted as one of the potential seven natural wonders of the modern world. I spent 4 hours watching its views and walking the various trails in its surroundings but I honestly could have spent a week in its thunderous glory – its that impressive!

Last night at the hostel I met an English guy who has also been traveling and blogging his way around the globe, please check out his blog at http://www.marcooseontheloose.yolasite.com

Today I plan to have breakfast in Brazil, lunch in Paraguay and dinner in Argentina……… I'm very serious! Until tomorrow.

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Blog - Tuesday May 24th 2011

Location: Mellow Yellow Hostel, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Doesn't time fly when you are having fun! Its been an entire week since my last post! Rio has been an excellent experience, so much to do here and so little time! And so much to write about but not enough time either! So here is a week in Rio in summery! Wednesday I went to the world surfing championships which were happening on Ipenema beach, Thursday I conquered the Sugarloaf mountain - all be it by cable car! spectacular view of what has to be on the worlds most astethicly pleasing cites. Friday i had a date with christ! ie Christ the Redeemer, and went to see the world famous art project that is the Lapa Steps. Friday night was also spent in Lapa at what I can only describe as the craziest street party I have ever been to anyway!

Sadly I awoke Saturday morning to discover that my camera had been stolen from my backpack during the night, this being a disappointment would be an understatement! I only had the camera 6 weeks and it had cost a lot of money, money which it took a lot of hours to earn! Anyway I have dealt with its loss in my head and have moved on, sadly I wont to able to shoot pics of the same quality I have been able to up to now but hopefully along the trip somewhere I will be able to purchase a new camera!

Rio being the first city of my South American trip had also re-introduced me to the joys of backpacking and I have been very lucky to meet a number of fellow backpackers here to share stories with and gain info about places worth visiting. It seems there is no-one left in Israel as I have met so many from there backpacking and also the Dutch are well represented down here, add to that mix two Argentineans a Spaniard and a Portuguese/Belgian/Irish girl and you can get an idea of the company ive been keeping for the last week! Its great to be back on the road....

Tomorrow i plan to travel to the worlds largest waterfall (by water mass) Foz do Iguacu which lies on the Brazilian/Argentinean/Paraguayan border and approx. a 22 hr bus trip from here..... so until Thursday (at the earliest!).....

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Blog - Tuesday May 18th 2011

Im in Rio de Janeiro Brazil! After an excellent week spent with my parents and Fionn in Orlando Florida I finally said my goodbyes (again!) on Sunday and boarded a flight to Rio, via a small town in North Carolina called Charlotte! Now where have i heard of that place before?? I joke of course, I never booked it that way but I was flying with US Airways and their international hub is Charlotte hence my flight from Orlando had to land their first. It was a very strange feeling landing in Charlotte airport but not leaving it to head down town and have a pint in Connollys! Indeed only a week previous I had arrived back in Charlotte from NYC and thought to myself upon landing "Im home!" such is the impact that Charlotte has had on me, but alas this time I was only transiting through. The flight departed on time at 10.30pm and as it sored into the North Carolina sky I could see the lights of the Bank of America building in downtown (or uptown as they like to call it!) Charlotte practically wave goodbye to me! Travel is all about appreciation for the things we see, visit and experience and right then I couldn't help but have an appreciation for Charlotte and all that I was leaving behind for at the foot of that same Bank Of America building lies Connollys Irish Bar, a place that had provided me with employment, and which at that very moment was hosting a leaving party for two friends of mine who were also leaving the city and heading away to other lives elsewhere and it reminded me that we are all transiant in some way or another... life moves on... the world moves on... and so must I ... but move on with an appreciation for all that has gone behind.... - So here I am in Rio, its the 2nd day of my South American "adventure". Staying in the Mellow Yellow hostel on Copacobana beach, a basic but adequate spot... has a bed and shower - what more do I need! esp for $10 US per night. Spent the day on the beech yesterday and checked out an Irish bar last night "Sheananigans".... a joke of a place and not very "Irish" infact ive decided its worth a review which i will write later and post on the Reviews page. Today has been raining so not much to report on..... the hostel has a bar which has free Caipirinas until 7! Its now 6:30.... Until tomorrow....

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Blog - Wednesday May 11th 2011

Having a blast in Orlando Florida with family. 3 Theme parks, Wet N Wild, Universal Studios and Universal Kingdoms of Adventure done and dusted. Role on tomorrow for Sea World.

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Travel Blog - Sun May 8th 2011

The Kentucky Derby was everything I expected it to be, just a pity we didnt have an Irish winner! The Irish horse Master of Hounds did finish a credible 5th. I have lots of photos and video to follow and more details but right now Im busy packing as I leave for Florida in the morning and have a date with some pints of Guinness as its my last night in Charlotte, North Carolina. Below however is a shot video of our drive home today through Kentucky and Tennessee..... this is what 2 days of straight drinking will do to you!

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Kentucky Derby 2011

Firstly welcome to the brand new www.anirishmanabroad.com website! This will be my new site/blog for all my travels from here on in, its still a work in progress and I have a lot of catching up to do with posts (not least from New York last weekend!) but all in good time for today Im heading to the Kentucky Derby and the rest of the world simply does not exist to me....(well until Sunday at least!)

Being an avid life long horse racing fan the Kentucky Derby has been for a long long time the no.1 item on my "Bucket List" (things to do before I die!) and this weekend I get to fulfill that dream. Firstly today however we have to drive the 8 hrs from Charlotte North Carolina where I am at present to Churchill Downs in Louisville Kentucky. Making the trip with another Irish bloke, Ciaran Farrelly from Kildare and an American, David Forbus from Michigan. I actually think we might even have an Irish winner this year in the Aidan O'Brien trained Master Of Hounds so the tri colour is packed and will be flown with pride in the Churchill Downs infamous "infield" if he wins the "Run for the Roses"

Stay tuned......!

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