Friday, May 7, 2010

Fact.


Maybe it's the statistics nerd in me, but I felt like dedicating a post entirely to a series of lists and facts.  The "tale of the tape," if you will.  So here are some random lists of random facts about my trip.  Note that these lists are based on my memory as of the last few days, and as such are incomplete in at least a few cases.  There is also almost never any particular order, aside from the first two, which are chronological.  Usually, the order is just the order in which I remembered things. At any rate, here are some things that happened.

Pictures taken: 9,495
Blog posts: 47 (not including this or any subsequent posts)
Blog posts that I posted on lonelyplanet.com's blogsherpa program: 37


Countries on whose soil I set foot:
  • Nicaragua
  • Costa Rica
  • Panama (1 night)
  • Uruguay
  • Argentina
  • Brazil (1 day)
  • Chile
  • Colombia (airport)
  • Ecuador


Books I read:
  • The Audacity to Win - David Plouffe (started before I left)
  • The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown
  • Infinite Jest - David Foster Wallace
  • The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
  • Liar's Poker - Michael Lewis 
  • A Briefer History of Time - Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow
  • The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Díaz
  • Galapagos - Kurt Vonnegut


Countries whose citizens I met on my travels: 
  • United States
  • Germany
  • Canada (French and English-speaking)
  • France
  • Denmark
  • Sweden
  • Spain
  • Italy
  • Netherlands
  • Sweden
  • Russia
  • Belarus
  • England
  • Ireland
  • Scotland
  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Finland
  • Switzerland
  • Portugal
  • Japan
  • Peru
  • Paraguay
  • Norway
  • Israel
  • Nicaragua 
  • Costa Rica
  • Panama
  • Uruguay
  • Argentina
  • Brazil
  • Chile
  • Ecuador
  • Colombia

Countries and territories from which this blog has been read:
  • Argentina 
  • Australia 
  • Austria 
  • Brazil 
  • Canada 
  • Chile 
  • Costa Rica 
  • Czech Republic 
  • Ecuador 
  • France 
  • Germany 
  • Greece 
  • Guatemala 
  • Hong Kong 
  • Iceland 
  • India 
  • Indonesia 
  • Italy 
  • Kuwait 
  • Malawi 
  • Malaysia 
  • Mexico 
  • Netherlands 
  • New Zealand 
  • Nicaragua 
  • Norway 
  • Pakistan 
  • Panama 
  • Peru 
  • Philippines 
  • Puerto Rico 
  • Romania 
  • Russia 
  • Slovakia 
  • Spain 
  • Sweden 
  • Switzerland 
  • Turkey 
  • U.S. Virgin Islands 
  • United Kingdom 
  • United States 
  • Uruguay 
  • Venezuela 



Types of transport (*indicates something I'd never done before):
  • Bus (school, city, and coach)
  • Car (taxi, rental, and friend's)
  • Van
  • Pickup truck
  • Boat (ferry, yacht*, sailboat, zodiac*)
  • Airplane (small as 12 passengers*, large as a 767, and some others in between)
  • Dune buggy*
  • Bicycle
  • Zipline*
  • Chairlift
  • Snorkel fins
  • My feet (a lot)


Things I saw for the first time (non-animal division):
  • Crater of an active Volcano
  • Glaciers
  • Icebergs
  • Solidified fresh (meaning within the last few centuries) lava flows
  • Lava tube caves
  • Organic farm
  • Murga
  • Soccer match
  • Fjords
  • The inside of a cruise ship (first time I ever slept on a boat, in fact)
  • Moai (very location-specific, but still worth mentioning)
  • Cactus trees
  • Live theater in Spanish


New fruits I tried:
  • Nispero
  • Sapote
  • Calafate
  • Maquí (in fairness, I only tried the ice cream)
  • Guanábana


Animals I saw (in the wild) for the first time
  • Monkey--Howler, White-faced (Capuchin), and Squirrel 
  • Scorpion
  • Sloth (three-toed and two-toed)
  • Tree frogs
  • Crocodile
  • Macaw
  • Parrot
  • Coati
  • Penguin--Magellanic and Galapagos
  • Rhea
  • Flamingo--Chilean and American
  • Sea Turtle
  • Boobies (heh)--Blue-footed, Nazca, and Red-footed
  • Shark--White-tipped and Galapagos
  • Iguana--Green, Galapagos land, and Galapagos marine
  • Frigatebird
  • Tortoise
  • Fur seal
  • Manta ray
  • Moray eel
  • Triggerfish
  • King Angelfish
  • Damselfish
  • Common dolphin (had previously only seen bottlenosed)


Favorite regional foods:
  • Quesillo (Nicaragua)
  • Gallo Pinto (Nicaragua and Costa Rica)
  • Tuna a la plancha (Costa Rica)
  • Chivito (Uruguay)
  • Mate (Beverage--Uruguay and Argentina)
  • Grassfed steak (Uruguay and Argentina)
  • Meringe / dulce de leche pastries (Argentina)
  • Ice cream (Argentina--listed because it's that much better than other ice cream)
  • Patagonian lamb (Chile and Argentina)
  • Venison (Bariloche, Argentina)
  • Ceviche (Easter Island, Ecuador)
  • Locro de papa (Ecuador)

    UNESCO World Heritage Sites I visited:
    • Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay
    • Iguazú National Park, Argentina
    • Iguaçu National Park, Brazil
    • Glacier National Park, Argentina
    • Rapa Nui National Park, Chile
    • Galápagos Islands, Ecuador


      1 comment:

      1. I think you would really get along well with my partner Jason. He just posted a similar summary on our blog. Come have a look. www.in2travels.blogspot.com

        p.s. I found your blog via lonelyplanet.com and enjoyed your post on Iguazu Falls.

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