Goodbye, Asia... ¡HOLA, SOUTH AMERICA!

After leaving Asia, we had an extended 72-hour layover in Sydney before catching our next flight to South America!! Of course, we wanted to explore Australia fully on this “world tour”, but we assume we'll be returning soon since Tom is moving from Hong Kong to Sydney + we have a few friends scattered around Sydney, Melbourne, etc. Plus, loads of travelers end up staying in Australia for 1-3 years on working holiday visas (something we are considering after our travels wind down!!!). 

Although we didn’t have much time, we still hit the tourist hotspots and were pleasantly surprised with how much we loved falling back into the “Western” lifestyle (delicious salads, almond milk coffees, AND fresh veggies!). Immediately, Sydney reminded me of a combo of LA and SF- both through the roads & buildings as well as the people & vibe.  

We walked around the Sydney Harbor and soaked in the views of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge on multiple occasions while enjoying plentttty of cocktails and bevvies. We also explored Sydney’s various beaches: Bondi, Tamarama, Coogee, Bronte, and Manly Beach. (Tamarama was my favorite, but Bondi at sunrise was a VIBE).  

The buzz in Sydney was electric. You could see people walking with a literal pep in their step, eager for the Christmas season and buzzing off the perfect sunny weather. The harbor was full of mega yachts hosting company holiday parties every day at sunset, which made me envious for a brief second. The sunrise at Bondi was also such a scene; it felt like a Friday afternoon with the amount of people on the promenade. Hundreds of people were out running, walking, chatting with friends, grabbing coffees/ breakfast at outdoor cafes, group swims, yoga sessions, dog walks, you NAME it… at literally 6:30 am. 

We met up with a handful of friends who live in Sydney: Charlotte, Sam, and Justin (Tom's Bf!!!). Charlotte is a childhood friend of Sam’s from Sheffield who has been living in Australia for the past nine years. We managed to crash her first date with a boy and had a hilarious night dancing together and breaking the ice among them (so much that the next day, her date, Adam, came back to hang out with us again..!! Better be invited to that wedding 🙃 ). We also met another Sydney native called Sam, who's a good friend of Sam's best friend from home, Max (you still following..? haha). He showed us the scenes on Coogee beach for a night, and combined with Charlotte, did a stellar job setting the seeds of convincing us to move to Sydney one day!

We also stayed with Justin, Tom’s boyfriend, whom we technically haven’t met in person over their three years of dating due to Covid. It was SO NICE spending quality time together, and getting to know each other on a 1:1 basis while enjoying sunset drinks and dinner (while also convincing us to move to Sydney!) Before our flight, Justin sent us off with an Aussie brekkie and treats for our 13-hour flight to Santiago. 

Santiago  🇨🇱 😴 

We planned on staying in Santiago only for a few days to get over any jet lag. The jet lag hit us harder than expected, so it was good not to have to jump into anything too quickly. We “splurged” on a room at The Ritz (ONLY because Sam had an expiring credit from his credit card benefits- I can't complain about that!). We ordered room service, chilled by the pool, and caught some much-needed zzz’s. 

The only priority for us in Santiago was to switch out our “island” life clothes for clothing more practical for South America and Antarctica. We went to the mall on various occasions stocking up on hiking boots, leggings, and sweatshirts, spending wayyy more money than we anticipated (Santiago is sneaky so expensive!!! RIP to our budget 😥 ) 

We managed to get a few nice lunches and a hike in, which I consider a success given how tired we were. After 3 days, we were eager to leave and go somewhere more affordable! Haha 

Buenos Aires 🇦🇷 ⚽️ 

We technically only had one day in Buenos Aires but needed to fly there to begin our most anticipated expedition yet: a 12-day cruise to ANTARCTICA!!!!!! We managed to find a last-minute deal through an Instagram account I’ve been following (@wayfinderexpeditions if you’re curious!) and decided to splurge on a luxury 12-night cruise around the Antarctic Circle (YOU KNOW I LOVE A DEAL!!!!). The package included a private chartered flight from Buenos Aires down to Ushuaia where the cruise starts. It also included a free night at the Hilton in Buenos Aires so we figured we’d get the most out of the package and use both freebies. 

With only one day in Buenos Aires, Sam managed to score tickets to the Copa Argentina final, which was WILD. I had no idea what this tournament meant or what to expect. But the only comparison Sam gave was that it was comparable to attending the NBA finals or the World Series (but for Argentinian soccer). Having only been to games sat in the family stand at Sam's hometeam, West Brom, I was excited to see what the hype was about the Argentinian fans and rowdiness

Sam’s been missing live footie and let me tell you, this was a WILD reintroduction to the sport. The hotel concierge got us tickets to support Defensa Y Justicia (vs. Estudiantes), which are both local teams in Buenos Aires. DYJ felt more like the ‘rougher’ local team (read: they were all drunk and a rowdy bunch) vs. the Estudiantes team which was more family-focused. We pre-gamed with the DYJ fans which consisted of drinking in the streets, eating choripan (chorizo hotdogs!), and befriending a street vendor selling hats and jerseys. All the fans caravanned in these old school buses decked out in DYJ gear that were parked in the middle of the street too. 

By the time kickoff approached, the crowd was hammered and was getting pretty sloppy. The police spared no time and came bombarding through the crowd with huge machine guns and SWAT gear (only to intimidate!). That was scary lol. When we were waiting to enter the game, random outbreaks and tiffs would get started between fans and/or the police which made people scramble in the opposite direction. 

We managed to enter the game playing dumb, innocent tourists and complied with the various security checkpoints. But finally when we made it to the entrance of the DYJ stands, my mouth dropped to the floor, and was SHOCKED with how loud, rowdy, energetic, and WILD the crowd was acting before the game. Men are climbing the fences with HUGE Yellow/Green stripped beach umbrellas waving them around while the band is banging huge drums that you feel in your chest. Despite the 4 security body checks, fans still managed to sneak in fireworks and were shooting them off in the crowd. 

We found our new friend, Raul (who was selling the DYJ gear at the pregame), and stood with his friends in the stadium, lip-syncing to the fútbol chants and waving our hands in the air with the crowd. Sadly, DYJ ended up losing the game, but the passion and atmosphere made the whole night worth it. As the game ended, we hid our bucket hats in our pockets and were forced to walk through “enemy” territory (the Estudiantes fans) to find our taxi man, and dashed back to the Hilton as fast as we could to stay out of any trouble.  

The next morning, we woke up at 6 am to officially join our Antarctica group in the lobby to board our chartered flight from BA to Ushuaia. Sam and I had been scoping the hotel lobby looking to see who our new cruise friends were going to be for the upcoming 12 days, hoping that some young faces we noticed in the lobby would be also joining us. 

The flight went smoothly, we landed in Ushuaia and boarded a tour bus with other guests, and managed to see the most beautiful national park in Ushuaia before they brought us to the dock to board our boat. 

As for the ACTUAL cruise.. you’ll have to wait for the next newsletter!!!! 🥶 🦭🐧