I am leaving !

[aderechelsea]

Hello friends ....

i am informing you that i will be gone for a looong time through the summer because i am going to South America on a solo tour to broaden my horizons.

I will depart from Greece this Thursday (the 14th), starting the tour from Buenos Aires. I've already arranged a meeting with a forum member and some sumo is already included in the plans. (Bomb about to be blown...) Hope i can get some photos from this occasion.

Lots of football i hope (at least in Brazil), lots of sightseeing, some rugby (if i can find a few matches in Argentina), some sumo and lots of new people to meet .... Sounds like a nice plan.

a little bit of Uruguay, Bolivia and Brazil are my targets after Argentina but no concrete plans (as always) . No plane ticket for return either .... I'll just get one from Brazil when i get bored or run out of funds .... (Help me...)

Any brazilian members that want to meet please tell me. I will probably go to Curitiba,Sao Paolo, Rio de Janeiro, maybe Bello Horizonte and Brazilia but definitely Salvador. Any possibility to do Sumo in Brazil? :-O :-O

the sad part is that i will miss the Nagoya Basho but DVDs of the bouts are already ordered . (Help me...)

i won't be doing any daily sumo gaming but i have hopes to get an entry for a few pre-basho games at least. I'll try to get kosho in the right way but if any administrator reads this please write me down as kyujo for Nagoya.

Concluding .... if anyone has ever been in the above mentioned countries and wants to share his wisdom and experiences please feel free to do so. I need good advices ....

[ilovesumo]

Wow! Sounds cool!

I only made one backpacker tour (which I am still at (Bomb about to be blown...) ) , so I wish you fun and health. Don't be eaten by any animal and stay away from swimming in the Amazonas (Help me...)

[yamaneko]

outside of japan, i think brazil is where they do the most amasumo. There was a big tournament this month or in july, you should check on that.

[philafuji]

Will you still be able to post while on your tour?

I think you will have a wonderful time. I wish I could do what you are going to do.

One thing about Sao Polo Brazil, in the late 80's

An exhibition of sumo was held. I can't locate my tape of it. I will tell you this though, the people were very excited about the exhibition. The rikishi's went to an all you can eat restaurant there

and I am sure the restarunt must have lost money that night.

Chionofuji, Kirishima, and Konishiki were there, just to name a few.

The arena looked to be packed, maybe even sold out, but I don't know that for sure.

One of the rikishi's had a bout with a young boy.

The boy never gave up and kept on pushing until the rikishi lifted him by the mawashi and walked him out of the dohyo. The little boy's grandfather was laughing, but you could still see the pride on his face as he watched his grandson.

If things haven't changed much there since then you might find many sumo fan's there.

Sorry this is such a long post.

[Petr]

Cool! Keep us informed, brother.

[Fay]

Have a lot of fun and new impressions!!! (In a state of confusion...)

If I were you I would try to go to Patagonia too, few football and sumo but great nature. And I would once again try to get a passage around Cape Horn on a sailor, absolutely gorgeous.

[aderechelsea]

Patagonia is too far south for my plans but it definitely looks goregeous and interesting. Maybe for another trip sometime in the future (one that will include Chile and Peru).

i am more "urban oriented" in my trips. I like the interaction with people. Scenery is nice but not for long.

[Otokonoyama]

Bon voyage! Je te dis merde!

[Kaikitsune Makoto]

Be well be well be well, be very very well. South-America has many short people like Mexicans who are very small. Avoid drug lords. In the meantime I will also leave. My destination is North Pole and the Moon. Bye bye.

[Asashosakari]

I'd say "have fun", but I doubt you need the reminder. :-D Scout some new foreign recruits if you can. (In a state of confusion...)

[Fay]

Just found this in a book, no one will miss this part of Buenos Aires, colourful and Tango on the streets - sure mostly for the tourists, but anyway it's really nice to walk there. (In a state of confusion...) :-D

[Jejima]

From my brief sojourn to South America several years back, I recommend Asuncion in Paraguay for an interesting city - especially the place of government. The Iguazu Falls are great too for natural beauty. The Andes are just waiting to be crossed (by a cheap bus, if other modes of transport are not available / able. When I did it, the coach I was on had to do some parts in reverse, as it was not able to climb, even in first gear!)

And a Pisco Sour in Chile is most refreshing.

And I would once again try to get a passage around Cape Horn on a sailor, absolutely gorgeous.

:-S

[aderechelsea]

I recommend Asuncion in Paraguay ... The Iguazu Falls

both places in my plans already (on my route from La Paz to Sao Paulo).... :-S

[Jejima]

I recommend Asuncion in Paraguay ... The Iguazu Falls

both places in my plans already (on my route from La Paz to Sao Paulo).... :-)

That's great!

I liked Asuncion because of the 'feel' of the place, not for the sights. I remember being invited to join a street game of football :-) But, what really amazed me was the Paraguayan Parliamentary building. It was located next to a shanty town / squatter camp, and, anyone could walk off the street (in fact I did :-)), and enter the parliament whilst in session, with minimal (if any) security checks, and watch the ministers debate, up close.

My favourite waterfall in the world (of the ones I've visited!) is Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe / Zambia, but that is for the sheer power. The Iguazu Falls is perhaps the prettiest waterfall I've visited, and is also pretty powerful in its own right :-S Make sure you take a trip on one of the motor boats that takes you right up close (and even under one of the smaller cascades). Also, keep a look out for the Capybara which you can see in the environs. These are the world's biggest rodents (a guinea pig over a metre in length!) - although I understand that this mammal is considered to be a 'fish' by Catholics for dietary reasons.

[aderechelsea]

first time i heard good words on Paraguay. People usually tell me to stay away from it ... hehe

the "feel" you described is exactly what i am looking for in my trips.

[Umut66]

Take care and have fun my friend...Take lots of pics so we can see the places you see too

[Leonishiki]

Avoid the "road of death" (Yungas Road)

Simply amazing!!!

http://javimoya.com/blog/pics/200607/bolivia.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yungas_Road

Like John said, avoid this road and enjoy your trip and your sumo experience in Argentina.

Edited June 14, 2007 by Leonishiki

[aderechelsea]

in Greece we say 'the start is half of the whole'

if this applies in my case then i am going to have many troubles in my trip.

i am having a delay for my flight and i am killing time in the internet.

i am getting worried if i'll catch the flight to B.Aires now .... my nerves

not to mention the troubles i had with immigration.

F#$%k

[Otokonoyama]

Don't let the bastards get you down!

[Jejima]

Avoid the "road of death" (Yungas Road)

Simply amazing!!!

http://javimoya.com/blog/pics/200607/bolivia.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yungas_Road

Like John said, avoid this road and enjoy your trip and your sumo experience in Argentina.

Wow! I have to return to South America (I wanted to anyway.) I want to experience that road. I have hitch-hiked along this road before in Lesotho - getting a ride on the back of a bakkie (or pick-up), but it pales in comparison to the Yungas Road.

Edit: Smiley removed

Edited June 15, 2007 by Jejima

[Jejima]

I want to experience that road.

Three of my close friends died on that road. It's not something that should be taken lightly.

I am sorry to hear of the loss of your friends.

I have been a traveller since I left home at 16. I have been through many experiences during the course of my travels, some good, some not so good and some bad. If I were to live my life again, I am certain I would still choose the route of adventure.

Despite seeking new sights and experiences, I am not reckless.

The topic of South America has reawakened my interest in that lovely continent, and I would love to return. The Yungas Road has piqued my interest. Additionally, I have not yet been to Bolivia.

I am not sure what it was in my previous post that suggested to you that I was treating the topic lightly. I can only imagine it to be the 'smiley'.

I will remove it now.

[Jejima]

No one in their right mind would travel it unless they had to.

Then, I am not in my right mind.

However, I do appreciate your concern.

[Reki]

Wish I had a time off from work to show you around my favorite places in Rio ^_^

If you need anything while you

[aderechelsea]

quick update ...

i arrived well in Buenos Aires and i already participated in my first Sumo Tournament.

16 participants and i got to fight 8 times .... i won twice and lost the rest but at least i gave a good fight. I regret only the one isamiashi i did .... (Whatever above, it is funny...)

Seba is a wonderful host and he helped me with the football matches i wanted to watch, he got me a mawashi to fight and he invited me at his home to meet his family.

he is also doing a great job recruiting rikishi for the argentinian team and organising the whole thing. He is a true sumo enthusiast and it is a pitty he cannot participate more in the forum due to the language barrier.

i wish i could post some photos but cannot do it right now ....

gotta go now in order to catch the Racing-Godoy Cruz match

saludos a todos !!!!!

[kaiguma]

No one in their right mind would travel it unless they had to.

Then, I am not in my right mind.

However, I do appreciate your concern.

A very close friend of mine did the Yunga bike tour and lived to tell about it. He was very impressed by the experience from start to finish. I suspect a bike would be safer than a big van or bus, simply because you could hug the mountainside when being passed. The inside "shoulder" is not flat so it is 'kind of' an area of refuge.

I don't write this to confront you Nishinoshima. In fact, I'd have to say that my friend is certainly not in his right mind, so you may be quite right.