Oaxaca ended up being a great city for eating. We cooked meals for $1 a person, ate 50c tacos, had an awesome BBQ Mexican style at the hostel and had great market grill comida. Glen managed to muster up a bit of energy to ride in the hills whilst I hung out with my UK mates Will and Max. After a few nights we headed down the most twisty road (had to knock myself out with antinausea tablets so I didn't vomit) via Magic Mushroom territory to the beachside village of Mozunte. We are all for peace and quiet but there was literally nothing to do except swim and get skin cancer so we headed West to Puerto Escondido.
We were lucky enough to catch the final of a Redbull surf comp: America Vs The World. America won (Fuck Yeah!) but we were in awe of the waves (apparently it's the Mexican Pipeline). Glen tells me the waves were a solid 10-12ft and we saw at least 4 boards snapped during the comp. Glen was happy to see Rob Machado surfing and I have no clue who else was there but Layne Beachley was a coach for the world team. We needed a bit of RnR so we treated ourselves to a hotel room with cable (the Tour had just started), new towels EVERY day and a pool. We ended up staying for 6 nights and I even went for a few runs. I'm still amazed how many good surfers there are who can handle such huge waves. The break was always packed and there were always a dozen magazine photographers taking pics.
After our little vacation we headed to Acapulco to see the cliff divers. Acapulco was very busy and a little rough (higher crime rate than Mex city) so after seeing the divers we bussed it to Taxco. Taxco is a cobbled streeted city perched on a hill and every 2nd shop sells silver. Its ever so cheap so heaps of retailers travel here to stock up and buy wholesale. We then headed to Mexico City which is a fantastic city.
It is very clean with heaps to do and a bit of a European vibe. We've wandered all around the parks and squares. Caught the metro (20c/ride) to fantastic museums, art galleries, markets and squares to see Mariachi Bands. Yesterday we went to an Alternative market with bands playing, heaps of stalls with goth, punk and skate gear and music. Definitly the coolest market we've been too. I've managed to give my credit card a workout on the bargain clothes in the Centro and we've also caught a film at the Cinema. We've really enjoyed Mexico City but are ready to leave for the UK.
Inspired by our mates Claire and Jo, on our last bus trip we tallied a few stats about our trip. So far we have stayed in 68 hostels/hotels and travelled on a bus for a total of 430 hours (=17 days). By the end of this trip we will have visited 16 countries! I feel tired thinking about it. We have loved Latin America and my highlights include San Blas (closest thing to paradise), Guatemala, Argentina (so many different highlights) and Colombia (unique experiences). Will hopefully write soon about UK and Thailand. As the Ward boys say...Shit on!
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Jamaican Me Crazy
We arrived in the very small city of Belize City to an undeniable Rastafarian influence. Everyone spoke English with a fantastic Jamaican accent and the hair was a frenzy of dreadlocks and corn rows. We hopped on a water taxi and sped out to the nearby island of Caye Caulker. The atmosphere here is so laid back. I was waiting for Glen under a tree with my 15kg backpack and a local walked by and said in a Jamaican accent "Lady...you in the shade". From anyone else this would sound prattish as you're just stating the obvious but in a rasta accent it sounds so damn cool. So I didn't mind being called sugar and people telling me they're "happy" because I undeniably LOVE a Jamaican accent!
The next day we headed out by yacht to the Sea Nature Reserve and immediatly we were swimming with 2m Nurse shaarks, sting rays and huge schnapper and Jacks plus plenty of other tropical marine life. The guide fed some of the rays so we got to pat them as well as the sharks who were like dogs wanting a cuddle. It just wasn't scary at all despite my fear of being the furthest person from the shore in case of a shark attack. We sailed to another spot called shark and ray alley where we swam with more sharks and rays of course, then sailed to one more spot where we were able to snorkel with the elusive Manatee which is about a 300kg animal thet looks like a fat seal with a dogs face. Definitely a once in a lifetime experience. It was curious of us and kept coming back for a nosey. We then set sail for home to the sound of reggae and with a few rum punches under the belt.
We then headed to Mexico at the coastal town of Tulum where the beach is white powder and the sea is turquoise. Despite it being a bit of an American tourist destination, the beach wasn't packed and the atmosphere was very chilled out. We discovered great Mexican food and to this day we have only eaten real mexican. We choose our restaurants by the quality of the chairs (the crapper, the better food). We have no hesitation in eating "street meat" now as our stomachs are hardened veterans. After Tulum we caught another tourist packed ruin (no more thanks) and caught some mammoth bus rides to our current destination of San Cristobel De Los Casas. It reminds us a little of Antigua, however warmer and more political with a heap of propaganda on the Mexican Zapasta (liberation Army). The hostel here is great and the food is lovely and we're well rested after 3 nights so tomorrow we head to Oaxaco then the coast for some more surf. Love to all!
The next day we headed out by yacht to the Sea Nature Reserve and immediatly we were swimming with 2m Nurse shaarks, sting rays and huge schnapper and Jacks plus plenty of other tropical marine life. The guide fed some of the rays so we got to pat them as well as the sharks who were like dogs wanting a cuddle. It just wasn't scary at all despite my fear of being the furthest person from the shore in case of a shark attack. We sailed to another spot called shark and ray alley where we swam with more sharks and rays of course, then sailed to one more spot where we were able to snorkel with the elusive Manatee which is about a 300kg animal thet looks like a fat seal with a dogs face. Definitely a once in a lifetime experience. It was curious of us and kept coming back for a nosey. We then set sail for home to the sound of reggae and with a few rum punches under the belt.
We then headed to Mexico at the coastal town of Tulum where the beach is white powder and the sea is turquoise. Despite it being a bit of an American tourist destination, the beach wasn't packed and the atmosphere was very chilled out. We discovered great Mexican food and to this day we have only eaten real mexican. We choose our restaurants by the quality of the chairs (the crapper, the better food). We have no hesitation in eating "street meat" now as our stomachs are hardened veterans. After Tulum we caught another tourist packed ruin (no more thanks) and caught some mammoth bus rides to our current destination of San Cristobel De Los Casas. It reminds us a little of Antigua, however warmer and more political with a heap of propaganda on the Mexican Zapasta (liberation Army). The hostel here is great and the food is lovely and we're well rested after 3 nights so tomorrow we head to Oaxaco then the coast for some more surf. Love to all!
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Giddy up in Guatemala
So since San Juan (the highlight being the market for food), where I scored some nice waves just up the road at Madera, we made our way up to Guatemala. Now I´m not one to be too fussed on some of the most average places, but Managua, the Nicaraguan capital, takes the cake. Without doubt the least safe we have felt in our 5 months so far. Let me see. in a few words; bribes, poverty, dodgy characters. Lets just say we caught a very dodge taxi, got out, got in a good taxi, straight to the bus terminal to book a lovely 2.30am ticket for the next morning after handing over a bribe just because he told us what time they opened in the morning. Headed for the closest hotel, price not being an option, slept for all of 5 hrs to walk to the station for 1.30am, then proceeded on the bus for 16hrs to Guatemala city. See, its not always what its cracked up to be, but still, we aint complaining!
On arrival to Guatemala City we were extermely impressed by how well developed it is in contrast to poor neighbouring El Salvador and Nicaragua. This was only reinforced on arrival to nice, altough tourist Antigua. But who gives a damn when you get to climb an active, smoking, bubbling volcano, Volcano Pacuya. We were quick to book a ride there just out of Antigua and on arrival to the top, about a 1 hr walk, we were just blown away by how incredible the site was. We actually walked up the set lava from a previous eruption and stood as close to actual flowing lava as you could without getting incinerated! Gotta love this place, can you imagine doing that in Aus if there were such a thing? Dont think so.
Antigua itself was a welcome relief from poorer Nicaragua and the bus ride, loads of great food and cool markets amonst cobbled streets. And although touristy, it definitely maintains its charm, and is quite a site as it is towered over by some 3 very large, one active, volcanoes. I also had myself an incredible mtb ride on the outskirts in thick jungle, epic stuff.
3 days later we headed to one of the most beautiful places yet, Semuc Champey. On arrival after 8 hrs bussing we were unfortunate not to be able to find a room at the place we wanted, but booked for the next 2 nights at the top notch El Retiro, a series of palm thatched neat little huts in the green mountains overlooking a pretty river. This was definitely one of the best lodges yet, all super friendly, cool people and a restaurant with food to die for. Especially the roast tomato and white bean soup, of which we even scored the recipe for.
So the day after arriving we headed out on a day tour of Semuc. Started with a nifty little caving experince, all submergeed in water, some of it even had to be swum complete with shoes and a candle in one hand. Very cool little exploration, going about 300m in to reach a cascade which flowed into the cave. Following this we cruised down the river on tubes, walked back up and mustered up the courage to jump off a 10m bridge into the river below, then proceeded to the magical pools of Semuc Champey itself. These pools are like nothing I have seen before, a series of turquoise and limestone crystal clear pools derrived from a powerful rapid which passes under an overhang upstream. So picturesque and peaceful to swim in, really did feel like another little world. Definitely a highlight of the last 5 months. We also visited the bat cave in Lanquin nearby, and have incredible photos of literally thousands of bats exiting the cave at dusk.
After Semuc we headed to Flores to see Tikal, the great Mayan temples. Very impressive especially the size of the things, but was not too impressed with our 3.30am tour to see the sun rise over the city. Basically didnt happen, but you cant win em all i guess. But having said that, the ruins were no doubt amazing, and Tikal is only one of many. Some of the temples rise to up to around 150m, and the steps are incredibly steep. You dont really walk them, you climb them. Several tourists have even died coming down these things. We even saw a guy there flat on his back after falling from only 8 steps up, enough to get a serious belting.
Tomorrow sees us once again on the bus to Belize for some Carribean snorkling at Caye Caulker. I have only heard amazing things of this place, and we have held off a lot of snorkling for this place, so really looking forward to that. Then we look towards my most anticipated country, Mexico for our last month. Mmmm, Mexican food. Might even have to do a cooking class i reckon to add to all the top recipes we have jotted down during our travels.
Take care all, especially Adrian and Nhi with there new little tacker.
On arrival to Guatemala City we were extermely impressed by how well developed it is in contrast to poor neighbouring El Salvador and Nicaragua. This was only reinforced on arrival to nice, altough tourist Antigua. But who gives a damn when you get to climb an active, smoking, bubbling volcano, Volcano Pacuya. We were quick to book a ride there just out of Antigua and on arrival to the top, about a 1 hr walk, we were just blown away by how incredible the site was. We actually walked up the set lava from a previous eruption and stood as close to actual flowing lava as you could without getting incinerated! Gotta love this place, can you imagine doing that in Aus if there were such a thing? Dont think so.
Antigua itself was a welcome relief from poorer Nicaragua and the bus ride, loads of great food and cool markets amonst cobbled streets. And although touristy, it definitely maintains its charm, and is quite a site as it is towered over by some 3 very large, one active, volcanoes. I also had myself an incredible mtb ride on the outskirts in thick jungle, epic stuff.
3 days later we headed to one of the most beautiful places yet, Semuc Champey. On arrival after 8 hrs bussing we were unfortunate not to be able to find a room at the place we wanted, but booked for the next 2 nights at the top notch El Retiro, a series of palm thatched neat little huts in the green mountains overlooking a pretty river. This was definitely one of the best lodges yet, all super friendly, cool people and a restaurant with food to die for. Especially the roast tomato and white bean soup, of which we even scored the recipe for.
So the day after arriving we headed out on a day tour of Semuc. Started with a nifty little caving experince, all submergeed in water, some of it even had to be swum complete with shoes and a candle in one hand. Very cool little exploration, going about 300m in to reach a cascade which flowed into the cave. Following this we cruised down the river on tubes, walked back up and mustered up the courage to jump off a 10m bridge into the river below, then proceeded to the magical pools of Semuc Champey itself. These pools are like nothing I have seen before, a series of turquoise and limestone crystal clear pools derrived from a powerful rapid which passes under an overhang upstream. So picturesque and peaceful to swim in, really did feel like another little world. Definitely a highlight of the last 5 months. We also visited the bat cave in Lanquin nearby, and have incredible photos of literally thousands of bats exiting the cave at dusk.
After Semuc we headed to Flores to see Tikal, the great Mayan temples. Very impressive especially the size of the things, but was not too impressed with our 3.30am tour to see the sun rise over the city. Basically didnt happen, but you cant win em all i guess. But having said that, the ruins were no doubt amazing, and Tikal is only one of many. Some of the temples rise to up to around 150m, and the steps are incredibly steep. You dont really walk them, you climb them. Several tourists have even died coming down these things. We even saw a guy there flat on his back after falling from only 8 steps up, enough to get a serious belting.
Tomorrow sees us once again on the bus to Belize for some Carribean snorkling at Caye Caulker. I have only heard amazing things of this place, and we have held off a lot of snorkling for this place, so really looking forward to that. Then we look towards my most anticipated country, Mexico for our last month. Mmmm, Mexican food. Might even have to do a cooking class i reckon to add to all the top recipes we have jotted down during our travels.
Take care all, especially Adrian and Nhi with there new little tacker.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Costa Rica Baby
After visiting the Panama Canal we headed to the seaside town of Santa Catalina with our mates Kate and Crum. The boys had good intentions to surf but a little down time got the better of them. Next we did a mammoth road trip over 2 days to Costa Ricas capital San Jose. We stuffed up the exchange rate for the first couple of hours so can definitely vouch for the fact that Costa Rica is $$$!
After one night of sushi, wine and cable TV we headed to the Pacific Coast town of Montazuma (or Montafumar due to some good conditions for growing and smoking pot). We trekked to a waterfall, got scared out of the jungle by a load roar which later turned out to be howler monkeys, explored the jungle meets beach and paid a visit to Santa Teresa 1 hr away where Glen had an uneventful surf and I lazed on the beach and watched monkeys play in the trees. It was a great 3 days but off we went again...
We caught our bus-ferry-bus to our next stop of Montaverde which is in the hills of Costa Rica. We walked 3 hours of trails in Cloud Forest in search of animals but with our lack of guide all we found was 100's of beautiful hummingbirds at the artificial feeders. It was a lovely forest though and I'm sure you've seen that great photo of the elusive "white whale" found in the jungle.
Next we headed to Volcan Arenal via van-boat-van. We signed up for an amazing 7hr tour with the local philosopher Noel. We took a 90min walk through jungle where we saw Toucans, the ass end of a sloth, howler monkeys, spiders and apparently the eyelash of a snake??? Yeah I dont get it either. After that we headed to the volcano at dusk to see rocks and lava spewing (well tumbling) out with a fantastic glow. Great for photos...however we had a battery incident so we headed to the nearby hot springs/spa centre for some much needed destressing.
We are now in Nicaragua (after a 5am bus) on the Pacific coast in San Juan del Sur. We hope to head to a beach camp tomorrow then Ometepe then speed through Honduras to Guatamala and Belize. Best wishes to Nhi and Adrian who are hopefully now proud parents. Glen thinks Adju (Adrian Jnr) is a great name!
After one night of sushi, wine and cable TV we headed to the Pacific Coast town of Montazuma (or Montafumar due to some good conditions for growing and smoking pot). We trekked to a waterfall, got scared out of the jungle by a load roar which later turned out to be howler monkeys, explored the jungle meets beach and paid a visit to Santa Teresa 1 hr away where Glen had an uneventful surf and I lazed on the beach and watched monkeys play in the trees. It was a great 3 days but off we went again...
We caught our bus-ferry-bus to our next stop of Montaverde which is in the hills of Costa Rica. We walked 3 hours of trails in Cloud Forest in search of animals but with our lack of guide all we found was 100's of beautiful hummingbirds at the artificial feeders. It was a lovely forest though and I'm sure you've seen that great photo of the elusive "white whale" found in the jungle.
Next we headed to Volcan Arenal via van-boat-van. We signed up for an amazing 7hr tour with the local philosopher Noel. We took a 90min walk through jungle where we saw Toucans, the ass end of a sloth, howler monkeys, spiders and apparently the eyelash of a snake??? Yeah I dont get it either. After that we headed to the volcano at dusk to see rocks and lava spewing (well tumbling) out with a fantastic glow. Great for photos...however we had a battery incident so we headed to the nearby hot springs/spa centre for some much needed destressing.
We are now in Nicaragua (after a 5am bus) on the Pacific coast in San Juan del Sur. We hope to head to a beach camp tomorrow then Ometepe then speed through Honduras to Guatamala and Belize. Best wishes to Nhi and Adrian who are hopefully now proud parents. Glen thinks Adju (Adrian Jnr) is a great name!
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Seeya Later Crocodile
We set off for Tayrona National Park from Taganga and trekked 45mins through jungle to the coast. We arrived in Arrecifes and walked for about 30mins along the coast to a spot called El Cabo that had postcard like palm trees hanging over pristine sandy white beaches. We hired a tent and spent a few days snorkelling, exploring the beaches and deserted lagoons and opening coconuts. Very relaxing and uncrowded.
We then set off for Cartegena, a port city surrounded by spanish fortress walls. We went to a 15m high mud volcano that we climbed up and jumped in. When in, we were coated with mud and massaged by locals and I felt like a little kid. You could stand upright without sinking as the mud was so dense. After you go to the lagoon and you're washed off by local women just like your mum used to do when you were a kid.
After 4 nights of exploring the beautiful old town of Cartegena, we felt the urge to keep moving so we headed to the yacht club to see if we could get an earlier yacht. We met 5 aussies (2 from Perth and 3 from QLD) who needed 2 more people for a 7 day charter through the San Blas Archipelago. The yacht was 44 ft, Captain Fredrico was a great guy, we got along well with our new friends and the price was right so we set sail the next day.
The first leg of the trip was a 40hr sail to the coast just off the Darian Gap which connects Colombia to Panama. We arrived the second morning after catching a shark trawling (plus a couple of lost bites) to a group of white sandy islands full of palm trees and surrounded by coral reef great for snorkelling. I'm definitely a fan of life on a yacht. I ate the best food since the start of our travelling (thanks to the great shopping by our new mates), I showered by jumping off the back of the yacht into the Carribean sea, we fished for our meals, had bonfires on the beach with the local Kuna people, snorkelled for exercise and opened coconuts for a drink!
We had the holiday that most people dream of and never have. I found my favourite place in the whole world (so far). An island in a group of 2 about 50m x 50m that was covered in palms with agapanthus type flowers as ground cover. It was surrounded by coral and it took about 45mins to snorkel around the entire island checking out the tropical fish. We had a great bonfire around a little table we made from driftwood after we'd had our cookup on the yacht (moored 50m away).
San Blas is definitely the highlight of my trip so far although I was suprised by the lack of fish in the Carribean due to severe overfishing. We only caught 5 or 6 by trawling lines whilst on the move. The yachtie culture is strong in this area with a heap of interesting people to meet ( a young couple with a kid who'd planned on 1 yr sailing which has turned into 9!) and great food (delicious giant crabs). Stay tuned for upcoming photos!
We're now in Panama City and just went for a visit to the Panama Canal. Heading out for a long lost curry tonight then heading up to Costa Rica. Ciao
We then set off for Cartegena, a port city surrounded by spanish fortress walls. We went to a 15m high mud volcano that we climbed up and jumped in. When in, we were coated with mud and massaged by locals and I felt like a little kid. You could stand upright without sinking as the mud was so dense. After you go to the lagoon and you're washed off by local women just like your mum used to do when you were a kid.
After 4 nights of exploring the beautiful old town of Cartegena, we felt the urge to keep moving so we headed to the yacht club to see if we could get an earlier yacht. We met 5 aussies (2 from Perth and 3 from QLD) who needed 2 more people for a 7 day charter through the San Blas Archipelago. The yacht was 44 ft, Captain Fredrico was a great guy, we got along well with our new friends and the price was right so we set sail the next day.
The first leg of the trip was a 40hr sail to the coast just off the Darian Gap which connects Colombia to Panama. We arrived the second morning after catching a shark trawling (plus a couple of lost bites) to a group of white sandy islands full of palm trees and surrounded by coral reef great for snorkelling. I'm definitely a fan of life on a yacht. I ate the best food since the start of our travelling (thanks to the great shopping by our new mates), I showered by jumping off the back of the yacht into the Carribean sea, we fished for our meals, had bonfires on the beach with the local Kuna people, snorkelled for exercise and opened coconuts for a drink!
We had the holiday that most people dream of and never have. I found my favourite place in the whole world (so far). An island in a group of 2 about 50m x 50m that was covered in palms with agapanthus type flowers as ground cover. It was surrounded by coral and it took about 45mins to snorkel around the entire island checking out the tropical fish. We had a great bonfire around a little table we made from driftwood after we'd had our cookup on the yacht (moored 50m away).
San Blas is definitely the highlight of my trip so far although I was suprised by the lack of fish in the Carribean due to severe overfishing. We only caught 5 or 6 by trawling lines whilst on the move. The yachtie culture is strong in this area with a heap of interesting people to meet ( a young couple with a kid who'd planned on 1 yr sailing which has turned into 9!) and great food (delicious giant crabs). Stay tuned for upcoming photos!
We're now in Panama City and just went for a visit to the Panama Canal. Heading out for a long lost curry tonight then heading up to Costa Rica. Ciao
Saturday, May 12, 2007
C-C-C-Carribean
Villa Leyva was beautiful. A very spanish like village with cobbled streets, horse drawn carts, church bells tolling, great food and crafts and friendly people. We went on a country side hike to a fossil museum (Glens choice. I'm an avid disliker of Dinosaurs) and saw some fantastic houses which may or may not be owned by drug lords. We then took a bus to San Gil which is apparently the "adventure capital" of Colombia but to Glen's dismay there was not a bike to be found. It was a bit of a let down but did have a beautiful park and we discovered Panzerottis (pizzas folded in half).
We then headed to Bucuramanga and discovered an overnight bus to Santa Marta which we gladly booked ourselves onto after asking if it was dangerous...
Us: Is it peligroso?
Signorina: No, why do you ask?
Us: Its just that all our guidebooks tell us not to travel at night.
Signorina: Pffff.
So after checking out the nearby village of Giron, much like Villa Leyva, we got on the freezing aircon bus and explored SantaMarta for a day.
Santa Marta is just a busy seaside city that smells alot like fish. We stayed for a night and headed to the fishing village of Tagonga where we stayed last night in a beautiful hostel with a great view of the Carribean and a 30sec walk into the ocean that's the temp of tepid water. Yesterday we caught a boat to some fabulous snorkelling and saw 1000's of multicoloured tropical fish and coral of all shapes and sizes. This together with freshly caught fish for lunch and about 5 mango smoothies in 24 hours has really set us up for a beachside life for a couple of weeks.
We may head to Arrecifes today or tomorrow for more snorkelling and beach/jungle camping and then meander down the coast to catch our yacht to Panama.
Happy Mother's Day to our Mum's. We love you!
We then headed to Bucuramanga and discovered an overnight bus to Santa Marta which we gladly booked ourselves onto after asking if it was dangerous...
Us: Is it peligroso?
Signorina: No, why do you ask?
Us: Its just that all our guidebooks tell us not to travel at night.
Signorina: Pffff.
So after checking out the nearby village of Giron, much like Villa Leyva, we got on the freezing aircon bus and explored SantaMarta for a day.
Santa Marta is just a busy seaside city that smells alot like fish. We stayed for a night and headed to the fishing village of Tagonga where we stayed last night in a beautiful hostel with a great view of the Carribean and a 30sec walk into the ocean that's the temp of tepid water. Yesterday we caught a boat to some fabulous snorkelling and saw 1000's of multicoloured tropical fish and coral of all shapes and sizes. This together with freshly caught fish for lunch and about 5 mango smoothies in 24 hours has really set us up for a beachside life for a couple of weeks.
We may head to Arrecifes today or tomorrow for more snorkelling and beach/jungle camping and then meander down the coast to catch our yacht to Panama.
Happy Mother's Day to our Mum's. We love you!
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Locombia
San Augustin was a very quaint town among rolling green hills. We stayed in the most luxurious accomodation yet at Hacienda Anacerina ($25/night) . Our room was huge and had the most comfortable bed yet with a great shower and a fantastic balcony with 2 hammocks, table and chairs. The room looked out onto 2 inactive volcanoes and hills of banana trees, coffee farms and cows. Bliss. We also got great food there so all in all we ended up saving a bit of money.
We met an english speaking local called Carlos who gave us a good price for our Horse riding tour to various statues and tombs around San Augustin (no more statues!!). He told us that his hobby is to go to farms and dig for tombs so he can sell the ceramics he finds to collectors...hmmm...
The horses were lovely and we tried every single fruit and vegetable Carlos found on the way. Coffee beans were probably my fave (really sweet). We managed to get the horses up to a pretty fast pace at the end and Glen really enjoyed it. Such a natural.
Carlos then offered us his "special tour" for a cheap price so off we went at 4 in the arvo with 2 other Aussie girls to a farmers house to watch the making of Cocaine. The house was clean and humble and the owner said he'd previously worked in an industrial sized cocaine factory in the Amazon for 25 years. We took a heap of photos and the chemicals that go into it are heavy duty. It should be videoed and used to educate kids about drugs! It was definitley one of the highlights of the trip. Not something you get to do everyday!
We then headed off to Bogota and it was such a contrast. Busy, polluted, noisy. Alot of beggars and drunkards whilst down the road there were the richest people, houses, cars and shops I'd ever seen. A few streets I walked down I turned back as I got that pelligroso (danger) feeling in the pit of my stomach. We've now hightailed it to Villa Leiva 3 hours north of Bogota which is a picture perfect cobble stoned village. Ciao amigos.
We met an english speaking local called Carlos who gave us a good price for our Horse riding tour to various statues and tombs around San Augustin (no more statues!!). He told us that his hobby is to go to farms and dig for tombs so he can sell the ceramics he finds to collectors...hmmm...
The horses were lovely and we tried every single fruit and vegetable Carlos found on the way. Coffee beans were probably my fave (really sweet). We managed to get the horses up to a pretty fast pace at the end and Glen really enjoyed it. Such a natural.
Carlos then offered us his "special tour" for a cheap price so off we went at 4 in the arvo with 2 other Aussie girls to a farmers house to watch the making of Cocaine. The house was clean and humble and the owner said he'd previously worked in an industrial sized cocaine factory in the Amazon for 25 years. We took a heap of photos and the chemicals that go into it are heavy duty. It should be videoed and used to educate kids about drugs! It was definitley one of the highlights of the trip. Not something you get to do everyday!
We then headed off to Bogota and it was such a contrast. Busy, polluted, noisy. Alot of beggars and drunkards whilst down the road there were the richest people, houses, cars and shops I'd ever seen. A few streets I walked down I turned back as I got that pelligroso (danger) feeling in the pit of my stomach. We've now hightailed it to Villa Leiva 3 hours north of Bogota which is a picture perfect cobble stoned village. Ciao amigos.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Sweat Lodge, Colombia
We crossed the border via an icecream stop with an American friend we'd met in Baños. After border formalities we hopped in a collectivo (minibus) with some locals and headed towards our first stop Pasto. On the 3 hour trip our mate Judd got talking to one of the passengers (he speaks great Spanish- Bastardo!) and she invited us to see the local lagoon and see some local natural medicine practises. All she said was to bring a towel in case we got a little damp.
So the next morning with headed off with towels under our arm and caught another collectivo to a quaint little Swiss style village near the lagoon amongst cloud forest. We walked down the driveway to a great wooden house with a studio out the back with sheep and chickens scattered around the yard. We watched as the gathered group of people worked to build a sweat lodge aka North American Indian style. The men built and made a fire to heat the volcanic stones and the women constructed the sweat lodge using the frame and about 100 blankets. They talked to us about the traditions and explained the significance of specific actions. Everyone was so welcoming and it was very tranquil and spiritual as everyone was so respectful.
After the explanations, the men got the word to get ready so off Glen and Judd went and stripped down to nothing with their towels wrapped around them in about 12 degree weather. They managed to fit about 18 naked men inside the hut (about 6m x 6m x 1.5m high) and the hot rocks were placed in the pit inside the dome. After some chanting and drum playing, water was poured over the rocks and Glen says the temperature got so unbearable he was nearly lying on the floor. The guide of the ceremony requests the door to be opened about 4 times in half an hour to let out a little steam but I swear it gets to about 50 or 60 degrees. The steam and your sweat feels like boiling water on your skin.
After the men it was the women´s turn. There were about 10 of us and it was still quite intense with a lot of singing, crying and thanking the gods (albeit in Spanish, but I caught the odd bits and pieces). The temp didnt get as hot as the mens apparently and I found it bearable and quite relaxing. After, you feel relaxed and calm and ready for bed. It was definitely a surreal moment when you look around and think that you are in Colombia with 9 other naked ladies, in a North American sweat lodge!
Our new friend Angela then took us to a nearby restaurant for soup, Trout, and fruit and cheese. We had a look at the lagoon then had Hot Chocolate with Cheese in it (makes it creamy!). It was a great day that we'd never had of experienced without the Spanish of our mate Judd. Gotta keep practicing...
We then headed to Popoyan and saw a student demonstration and we're now in San Augustin to see some ruins. We'll be heading out on the horses tomorrow...Yeeha!
So the next morning with headed off with towels under our arm and caught another collectivo to a quaint little Swiss style village near the lagoon amongst cloud forest. We walked down the driveway to a great wooden house with a studio out the back with sheep and chickens scattered around the yard. We watched as the gathered group of people worked to build a sweat lodge aka North American Indian style. The men built and made a fire to heat the volcanic stones and the women constructed the sweat lodge using the frame and about 100 blankets. They talked to us about the traditions and explained the significance of specific actions. Everyone was so welcoming and it was very tranquil and spiritual as everyone was so respectful.
After the explanations, the men got the word to get ready so off Glen and Judd went and stripped down to nothing with their towels wrapped around them in about 12 degree weather. They managed to fit about 18 naked men inside the hut (about 6m x 6m x 1.5m high) and the hot rocks were placed in the pit inside the dome. After some chanting and drum playing, water was poured over the rocks and Glen says the temperature got so unbearable he was nearly lying on the floor. The guide of the ceremony requests the door to be opened about 4 times in half an hour to let out a little steam but I swear it gets to about 50 or 60 degrees. The steam and your sweat feels like boiling water on your skin.
After the men it was the women´s turn. There were about 10 of us and it was still quite intense with a lot of singing, crying and thanking the gods (albeit in Spanish, but I caught the odd bits and pieces). The temp didnt get as hot as the mens apparently and I found it bearable and quite relaxing. After, you feel relaxed and calm and ready for bed. It was definitely a surreal moment when you look around and think that you are in Colombia with 9 other naked ladies, in a North American sweat lodge!
Our new friend Angela then took us to a nearby restaurant for soup, Trout, and fruit and cheese. We had a look at the lagoon then had Hot Chocolate with Cheese in it (makes it creamy!). It was a great day that we'd never had of experienced without the Spanish of our mate Judd. Gotta keep practicing...
We then headed to Popoyan and saw a student demonstration and we're now in San Augustin to see some ruins. We'll be heading out on the horses tomorrow...Yeeha!
Friday, April 27, 2007
Shrunken heads and Lagunas
So Baño, Ecuador was our recovery station for bloated stomachs and congested heads. Luckily for us it was raining and cloudy most of the time so that gave us a good excuse to stay indoors. I managed to drag myself away from cable TV to get a massage and facial and we also did a bike ride down a hill and a few tunnels to an impressive waterfall with enough force to break bones.
After about 4 days we moved on to Quito, the capital of Ecuador. We swapped a few books and caught up with a couple we met in Huaraz, Peru. We went on a day trip to the Equator and visited the native Indian complex. Whilst there we took a look at the water draining demonstrations (aka The Simpsons), egg balancing on a nail and "why I am I weak right on the equator?". Kind of felt like going on a school excursion but we did get to see a "genuine" shrunken head the size of a golf ball. This was apparently a war trophy that was made by removing all bone and fat in the head and filling it with hot stones then boiling it in a special fluid...nice.
We are now in Otavalo, still Ecuador and went on a 4 hour hike around a volcanic laguna this morning. We desperately needed the excercise as the only decent thing for breakfast in Ecuador is pancakes. We'll be hanging around for tommorrows colourful indigenous market and then flagging down a bus on the PanAmerican Highway to get to Colombia by the afternoon. Can't wait. Seeya Ecuador!
After about 4 days we moved on to Quito, the capital of Ecuador. We swapped a few books and caught up with a couple we met in Huaraz, Peru. We went on a day trip to the Equator and visited the native Indian complex. Whilst there we took a look at the water draining demonstrations (aka The Simpsons), egg balancing on a nail and "why I am I weak right on the equator?". Kind of felt like going on a school excursion but we did get to see a "genuine" shrunken head the size of a golf ball. This was apparently a war trophy that was made by removing all bone and fat in the head and filling it with hot stones then boiling it in a special fluid...nice.
We are now in Otavalo, still Ecuador and went on a 4 hour hike around a volcanic laguna this morning. We desperately needed the excercise as the only decent thing for breakfast in Ecuador is pancakes. We'll be hanging around for tommorrows colourful indigenous market and then flagging down a bus on the PanAmerican Highway to get to Colombia by the afternoon. Can't wait. Seeya Ecuador!
Friday, April 20, 2007
Frickin' Tweenies
We arrived in Montañita, a seaside surftown after crossing the Peruvian border (not as dangerous as it's said to be). Glen managed to go for a couple of surfs but is still not feeling 100%. Our first hostel was in the heart of gringo land and was sooo noisy with real bad reggatoni music playing until 3am so we quickly moved out of there to a beachside hostel with views of the break from the toilet. We did alot of reading and hammock laying and I even went for a few runs along the beach. We bumped into our Swedish mate Kalle for some "shit on" action but decided to move on as the waves weren't picking up. Yesterday we did a mammoth 12 hr bus extravaganza to reach Baños, a mountain village in the Ecuadorian Andes. All our buses miraculously fitted in perfectly but I knew it was to good to be true. We had no time for lunch so Glen grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the bus terminal and I definitely hit my lowest point about 2 or 3 hours later. Its one thing to feel ill at home but vomiting every half hour on a bus when you still have 5 hours left till your destination is torture. The one skill I do posess though is to be a neat spewer! The Ecudorians would of labelled me as the mad Gringo after I got kicked out of my seat for a hoity, toity tweenie and I had to get them to open the front door in a cold packed bus so I could vomit out of the door. Oh well. We've just managed to keep down some plain bread and here's hoping that we'll feel better in the next couple of days to take advantage of the mountains. I'm even thinking of booking in for a massage or facial. Hope everyone else is feeling well and its official, we're at our South/Central American half way mark of 3 months.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Sun, surf and sand
We ended up spending 5 nights in the sleepy (not over easter though) beachside town of Huanchaco just north of Trujillo. We both got ill, Glen a little more, so it was lucky our hostel had that lovely hospital feel about it. We headed to Chicama for a couple of days to check out the surf that Scott still dreams about, but despite numerous attempts, Glen was still too weak to make the most of it.
Next stop was Mancora. Another beachside town close to the Ecuadorian border. We bumped into not 1 but 4 couples that we've met on our trip so far! The beach is wonderful and the waves are enough to satisfy any surfer- not huge but fun! Our accomodation is simple but just on the beach and right next to a great beach shack with a surf school, great breakkie and dinner spots. And the Maracuya juice (passionfruit slushy) is to die for!
So we've had 3 days of relaxing on the beach, drinking cocktails, eating seafood and chasing waves. Off to Ecuador tomorrow to follow the sun!
Next stop was Mancora. Another beachside town close to the Ecuadorian border. We bumped into not 1 but 4 couples that we've met on our trip so far! The beach is wonderful and the waves are enough to satisfy any surfer- not huge but fun! Our accomodation is simple but just on the beach and right next to a great beach shack with a surf school, great breakkie and dinner spots. And the Maracuya juice (passionfruit slushy) is to die for!
So we've had 3 days of relaxing on the beach, drinking cocktails, eating seafood and chasing waves. Off to Ecuador tomorrow to follow the sun!
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Reality Check
Don't get me wrong, I love travelling South America but we've had a bit of bad luck the last couple of weeks...
* We walked through a crowd of people in a village and our back pack was opened and our camera stolen just before Machu Picchu
* We were lucky enough to travel to Machu Picchu with our mate Kalle who took some awesome photos as it was a perfect weather day. We got back to Cusco to download his photos onto a disk when the photo shop guy ly erased all 600 of his photos of his 3 month trip. Luckily our jugle trek guide had downloaded a few of our shots from the Amazon so they'll be emailed out soon.
* I lost my credit card despite it living in my money belt.
* Glen had his thermals stolen. Luckily we're heading to the coast. He also lost 2 pairs of sunnies
* We've just come back from a trek where our tents filled with rain and saturated our dry clothes and sleeping bags.
So... its not always easy to travel but I'm glad I'm here and if thats the worst that happens then we have good luck.
So we've just completed a 3 day trek (supposed to be 4 day but we gunned it back after all our clothes and equipment were soaked) in the Cordillera Blanca/ Santa Cruz trek. It's situated in the north of Peru and is made up of 50+ peaks >5000m in an 180km long area. Its the mountain range next to the one that Joe Simpson climbed. If you've ever seen Touching the Void then you'll know what I'm talking about.
We were joined by a French/English couple, a Spanish guy, a guide/cook, 3 donkeys and their driver. Our main aim was to reach a snow covered pass between 2 peaks that was 4800m above sea level. The day that we climbed that was the hardest thing I've ever done physically due to the altitude, snow/ice terrain, rain and cold. The donkey driver sped up the mountains with sandals and his pants rolled up. Apparently this is the way he prefers it as he's been doing it his whole life. Reaching the pass was magnificent and the views were terrific (photos to come soon) but given the choice, I couldn't put my body through that again.
Glen booked the BEST hostel I've stayed in this whole trip once we returned from the trek. Big brownie points for the hot shower and flowers in the room. We've now got 2 days in Huaraz to do washing, watch DVD's, drink herbal teas at Cafe Andino and rest our blistered feet and Glens dodgy foot. We think that the trek may be the last altitude trek for our trip as Glen's ankle is quite tender and I nearly came close to crying like a baby.
We hope everyone is well and a big shout out to all my work mates who need to catch me up on all the gossip.
* We walked through a crowd of people in a village and our back pack was opened and our camera stolen just before Machu Picchu
* We were lucky enough to travel to Machu Picchu with our mate Kalle who took some awesome photos as it was a perfect weather day. We got back to Cusco to download his photos onto a disk when the photo shop guy ly erased all 600 of his photos of his 3 month trip. Luckily our jugle trek guide had downloaded a few of our shots from the Amazon so they'll be emailed out soon.
* I lost my credit card despite it living in my money belt.
* Glen had his thermals stolen. Luckily we're heading to the coast. He also lost 2 pairs of sunnies
* We've just come back from a trek where our tents filled with rain and saturated our dry clothes and sleeping bags.
So... its not always easy to travel but I'm glad I'm here and if thats the worst that happens then we have good luck.
So we've just completed a 3 day trek (supposed to be 4 day but we gunned it back after all our clothes and equipment were soaked) in the Cordillera Blanca/ Santa Cruz trek. It's situated in the north of Peru and is made up of 50+ peaks >5000m in an 180km long area. Its the mountain range next to the one that Joe Simpson climbed. If you've ever seen Touching the Void then you'll know what I'm talking about.
We were joined by a French/English couple, a Spanish guy, a guide/cook, 3 donkeys and their driver. Our main aim was to reach a snow covered pass between 2 peaks that was 4800m above sea level. The day that we climbed that was the hardest thing I've ever done physically due to the altitude, snow/ice terrain, rain and cold. The donkey driver sped up the mountains with sandals and his pants rolled up. Apparently this is the way he prefers it as he's been doing it his whole life. Reaching the pass was magnificent and the views were terrific (photos to come soon) but given the choice, I couldn't put my body through that again.
Glen booked the BEST hostel I've stayed in this whole trip once we returned from the trek. Big brownie points for the hot shower and flowers in the room. We've now got 2 days in Huaraz to do washing, watch DVD's, drink herbal teas at Cafe Andino and rest our blistered feet and Glens dodgy foot. We think that the trek may be the last altitude trek for our trip as Glen's ankle is quite tender and I nearly came close to crying like a baby.
We hope everyone is well and a big shout out to all my work mates who need to catch me up on all the gossip.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Machu Picchu
We organised our train tickets to and from Aguas Calientes after a hearty breakfast of Pancakes at Jacks Cafe (if it wasn't for the dodgy Peruvian water I would definitly be fat) and then caught a 1 hour taxi ($10 for 3 people) to Ollayantabamba (?) to catch a glimpse of the Mega Avalanche bike ride. Unfortunatly we just missed it but Glen caught up with some of the riders. We walked around the Incan village of cobbled streets and then caught the train (post stealing of camera) to Aguas Calientes. We had a short sleep then got up at 4am to get to Machu Picchu at first light. The site was clouded in fog on arrival but as it lifted we saw the amazing jungle covered peaks surrounding the huge incan city. It was truly breathtaking, even after all the hype and photos we'd seen. Our swedish mate Kalle was kind enough to take more than enough great photos for us. We witnessed a marriage proposal and an english couple we'd met in Argentina also got engaged at the same time (the Eiffel Tower of South America me thinks). We took a look through all the ruins then hiked up WaynuPicchu peak which was hard work due to the altitude. The views were amazing and we were glad to get there early as by midday the place was swarming with tourists. We walked back down the mountain and chilled at Aguas Calientes before our 4hr slow train back to Cusco. Glens off on a ride today and I'm getting down to the buisiness of postcard writing and jewellery buying. Tomorrow we fly to Lima then head to the coast.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Bring on Cusco
Hey all, we are now in Cusco, Peru where the sacred valley of the Incas is located and nearby Machu Picchu can be explored. Since the 11hr Bus from Arequipa we arrived here, Faye in quite good spirits, me not so good due to the loss of my sleeping pill on the bus whilst watching the in bus movie Jaws. Dang! None the less, we had ourselves a good breaky and commenced our search for Amazon and Machu Picchu info. After much searching and insight, we opted for the more adventurous 5 day tour of Park National Manu about 300-400km north of Cusco. This area considered one of the most diverse areas of the amazon due to it being 100% virgin forest, so we handed over our money for this reason and also because they take very small groups which give a better chance of spotting wildlife.
Sunday i hooked up with Carlos, a top local lad who took me on some of the best mtbing i have ever had. 3 x 30min trails of inca steps, rock gardens, super steep, tight switch backed, cliff edged style riding right down into the sacred valley. Some of these trails passed several villages where the natives were living right down to bare basics. They also saw me get chased by several dogs wating to eat me for brunch. Sheeeeit! Anyway, Carlos is the Man and it looks like i will catch up with him in the next few days to do some more sweet trails hopefully on one of his mates good rigs (much better then the piece of crap i had to use before - RST forks anyone?).
So we took off on monday for the 10 hr van trip into Manu, of which we covered probably only 300-400km of windy, bumpy, cliff edged breathtaking mountains and forest, spotting the odd colourful bird on the way. Stayed in a hostel in a small community for the night, then took off the next day for a 3hr boat up the Rio Madre de Dios to reach the eco lodge. On arrival, we saw why all the travel was worth while, 1.5 days to reach a text book style jungle lodge with raised wooden platforms sheltered by A Framed palm leaf roofs. We spent the rest of the day chilling in hammocks, eating, and playing cards. The night saw us explore a nearby trail, on the way spotting creepy bugs and insects, amongst these were scorpions, a male tarrantula, and a dinner plate sized scorpion spider. I kept my distance, especially when Wil (guide) tried to entice the female Tarrantula from its nest! Yah!
On the following day we set out for the main hiker thru the forest for 11km, keeping as qiute as possible as to not scare the animals. Just out from the lodge we fed loadfs of squirell monkeys bananas, them set out (Calle and I with macchetes!) for more. On the way we spotted various coluorful macaws, more monkeys and heard a pack of 50 or so wild boars very close. We kept as quite as possible and heard them as close as 30m away snorting, growling and snapping branches thru the forest, pretty frightening actually, but unfortunate not to be able to see them thru the thick forest.
We arrived late arvo to fish at our camp site, Faye catching the most. Then the best thng appeared for the whole trip, firstly one giant otter, then about 5 mins later a pack of 4 snorted their way carefully past the river bed then thru the river togetther. An amazing site for sure. Come nightfall, we put n our rubber boots and hiked thru a rock bedded stream with up to waist deep water for hour and waited for complete darkness to find caimens (crocodiles). As crazy as this sounds, they are completely harmless and are scared of humans, so no probs there. Anyway, we were not too lucky there, on the way back only picked up one baby croc, god kmows how will spotted it.
Day 4, we woke up to lots of rain coming out of our tents, the tarpfor shelter even filled and dumped water into our breakfast! Pleasant stuff. So we took of to return for the 11km trek back to the lodge, spotting more monkeys, luckily we saw 2 woodpeckers (which you can only normally hear) and a female hairy assed tarrantula. Cool stuff. Returning to the lodge we chilled more in hammocks (i gotta get me one of these) and fished late in the arvo catching the odd catfish on handline and net. Good eating.
Friday we woke at the hellish hour od 4.30am ready for the 4hr boat back to the van, then 8 hrs back to Cusco. Getting back to the hostel to an actual bed and shower was the business.
Today we are going to check into Machu Picchu. We are not doing the inca trail cos we are a bit over trekking, and our guide says it is ripped off for what it is. So we are going to talk to Wil today cos he says he can hook us up with a mate who can drive us there to see it for the day, a much cheaper option. Wednesday should see us out of here for Lima, most likley flying because it is very cheap and a better option to the 25hr bus! Then up the coast for beach and surfing (chicama Scottboy, oh yeah!). Also the huge Andean mtn range od Corderilla de Blanca, loads of peaks all over 5000m.
So until next time, take it easy yall.
Sunday i hooked up with Carlos, a top local lad who took me on some of the best mtbing i have ever had. 3 x 30min trails of inca steps, rock gardens, super steep, tight switch backed, cliff edged style riding right down into the sacred valley. Some of these trails passed several villages where the natives were living right down to bare basics. They also saw me get chased by several dogs wating to eat me for brunch. Sheeeeit! Anyway, Carlos is the Man and it looks like i will catch up with him in the next few days to do some more sweet trails hopefully on one of his mates good rigs (much better then the piece of crap i had to use before - RST forks anyone?).
So we took off on monday for the 10 hr van trip into Manu, of which we covered probably only 300-400km of windy, bumpy, cliff edged breathtaking mountains and forest, spotting the odd colourful bird on the way. Stayed in a hostel in a small community for the night, then took off the next day for a 3hr boat up the Rio Madre de Dios to reach the eco lodge. On arrival, we saw why all the travel was worth while, 1.5 days to reach a text book style jungle lodge with raised wooden platforms sheltered by A Framed palm leaf roofs. We spent the rest of the day chilling in hammocks, eating, and playing cards. The night saw us explore a nearby trail, on the way spotting creepy bugs and insects, amongst these were scorpions, a male tarrantula, and a dinner plate sized scorpion spider. I kept my distance, especially when Wil (guide) tried to entice the female Tarrantula from its nest! Yah!
On the following day we set out for the main hiker thru the forest for 11km, keeping as qiute as possible as to not scare the animals. Just out from the lodge we fed loadfs of squirell monkeys bananas, them set out (Calle and I with macchetes!) for more. On the way we spotted various coluorful macaws, more monkeys and heard a pack of 50 or so wild boars very close. We kept as quite as possible and heard them as close as 30m away snorting, growling and snapping branches thru the forest, pretty frightening actually, but unfortunate not to be able to see them thru the thick forest.
We arrived late arvo to fish at our camp site, Faye catching the most. Then the best thng appeared for the whole trip, firstly one giant otter, then about 5 mins later a pack of 4 snorted their way carefully past the river bed then thru the river togetther. An amazing site for sure. Come nightfall, we put n our rubber boots and hiked thru a rock bedded stream with up to waist deep water for hour and waited for complete darkness to find caimens (crocodiles). As crazy as this sounds, they are completely harmless and are scared of humans, so no probs there. Anyway, we were not too lucky there, on the way back only picked up one baby croc, god kmows how will spotted it.
Day 4, we woke up to lots of rain coming out of our tents, the tarpfor shelter even filled and dumped water into our breakfast! Pleasant stuff. So we took of to return for the 11km trek back to the lodge, spotting more monkeys, luckily we saw 2 woodpeckers (which you can only normally hear) and a female hairy assed tarrantula. Cool stuff. Returning to the lodge we chilled more in hammocks (i gotta get me one of these) and fished late in the arvo catching the odd catfish on handline and net. Good eating.
Friday we woke at the hellish hour od 4.30am ready for the 4hr boat back to the van, then 8 hrs back to Cusco. Getting back to the hostel to an actual bed and shower was the business.
Today we are going to check into Machu Picchu. We are not doing the inca trail cos we are a bit over trekking, and our guide says it is ripped off for what it is. So we are going to talk to Wil today cos he says he can hook us up with a mate who can drive us there to see it for the day, a much cheaper option. Wednesday should see us out of here for Lima, most likley flying because it is very cheap and a better option to the 25hr bus! Then up the coast for beach and surfing (chicama Scottboy, oh yeah!). Also the huge Andean mtn range od Corderilla de Blanca, loads of peaks all over 5000m.
So until next time, take it easy yall.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Eating our way to Cusco
We had good intentions of climbing a 6000m volcano.....but our stomachs got the better of us. We arrived in Arequipa after doing our most touristy thing to date: visiting the Lake Titicaca floating reed islands. Peruvians call it a Japanese tour as all people do is take photos (and photos of people taking photos: madness). So after Glen ate Alpacca in Puno, we headed to Perus eating capital of Arequipa. We looked into the colca canyon and El Misti Volcano expeditions but we were quite ratshit from 3 weeks on the move and dodgy Bolivian food. We indulged in Mexican, Turkish, Chinese, Wood fired Pizza etc but the highlight was definitly the Crepes at ZigZag. Raspberries and icecream, caramel custard and chocolate, lemon butter and sugar...shall I go on? We also had a big night out with our salt plains crew and sampled the Pisco and Long Island Ice Tea. I don´t know if Pisco burns the oesophagus on the way down as I experienced my first ever bout of indigestion the day after. Glen tells me it burns on the way up though! We basically relaxed and ate for 3 days which was a much needed rest. We've just arrived in Cusco via an overnight bus and are know going to trawl the plaza for some good amazon and machu pichu deals. Wish us luck.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Goodbye Bolivia, Hello Peru
We arrived in La Paz after a mammoth train then stinky bus ride to an 8 bed dorm near the centre of LaPaz. Still hanging out with our salt plain group we explored the witches market, black market, many craft markets and searched and found the elusive indian curry! I managed to complete the notorious mountainbike ride on The World's Most Dangerous Road. Apparently a guy died last week and one person had a majoraccident the day after I did it. I think the scariest part was the new part of the road due to +++rain and low visibility together with trucks making me hang out at the rear of the group. Kristy, I don't know how you did it when the rocky road was still being used because I don't think I'd have the skills to pay the bills! Glen meanwhile went on a downhill day and cross-country day giving him his bike fix...for a day or two. La Paz was well worth the visit as it's not just another city. It had plenty of character with all the markets and the people in traditional Indian dress. Every corner you turned had a surprise including skinned hamsters and llama foetuses. After 4 days we headed to Copacabana and Isla del Sol where we had a hell of a time walking up the inca stairs with our packs due to altitude. We ended up only staying one night due to a lack of Bolivianos and no money exchanger. Today we've crossed the border to Peru and we're staying in Puño to go and visit some floating islands made of reeds (don't get jealous now Mark, we know its on your top 10). Due to a system crash our booking for Machu Pichu isn't solid so we may have to try our luck for an earlier date or shorter trek...If anyone knows any reputable companies other than SAS please leave a message. Missing hot showers and salad! faye
Monday, March 5, 2007
Goodbye Argentina, Hello Bolivia
Hello all, just a quick one to let you know whats been going on. In the last week we have made our way north through Argentina from Salta to Bolivia. Best stop on the way was probably Tilcara, amazing barren landscapes of mountains with blue, red, green, white, brown shades all the way through to Bolivia. Tilcara was a nice little villiage where we had 1st sample of llama for dinner, quite nice. Faye thought it tasted like tough pork. Crossed border thru to Bolivia with great ease then caught one of the many sheeitehouse Bolivian buses 3 hrs north to Tapiza and promptly organised a tour of Salar de Uyuni for the next 4 days in a landcruiser. Was lucky to do tour with a bunch of top guys who we had a ball with for the entire tour. The tour took in very spectacular mtn scenery (very diverse) along with some impressive ruins, lagoons populated with hundreds of pink flamingos. The lagoons were a variety of red, green and white color schemes, some backed up by volcanoes. We also took in several volcanoes, one of which was surrounded by a large rock field of lava set from a past eruption. One highlight was definitely when we had the privalege of bathing in a thermal spa in the volcano area - 30 degree water! Was the biz. The last day involved the huge expanse of salt plains near Uyuni. We were lucky to be there at the end of the wet season as there was a thin film of water on the plains which allowed clouds and mtns to reflect with perfect symetry on the salt plains. We have many photos which will just blow your mind, we are really stoked with them. At the moment we are in Uyuni where we have booked a train to Oruro (7hrs) which takes off at 2am, then we will bus to La Paz and stay for 3 nights. One thing I must mention is that Bolivia is just one huge altitude experience. We got to 5000m on the tour and much queeziness and lack of breath was had and consequently the odd altitude tablet needed to be taken. Also it is ridiculously cheap here. Nice. Take care all, will keep you up to date. Will look forward to your responses, we love them all. Salud!
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Bariloche and San Martin de Los Andes
Brrrr Bariloche. It got cold. It got down to -4 overnight and a heap of snow was dumped on the top half of the peaks that surround the town. People who went on hikes the next day got to build snowmen and have snowball fights. In the town we just gotta a whole lotta rain and movie going weather (Dejavu, not bad). We completed Circuito Chico which was a 45km bike ride around a few mountains and penninsulas. Very pretty but I didn't catch much as I was head down, bum up trying to avoid cars and potholes. The highlight of the trip was definitly Colonia Suiza. A small swiss settlement 1hour out of Bariloche that was filled with great food. We had THE best fillet steak roll with fresh salsa (=$2.50AUS) with raspberry and meringue pie and apple and rhubarb strudel. I went horseriding to the top of Cerro Otto that had patches of snow surrounding wild flowers. In argi you only horseride with the reins in one hand and no helmet so I shat myself when we galloped/cantered/went very fast. It was a great way to see the views. Meanwhile Glen was doing downhill chairlift runs on the next mountain Cerro Catedral with a group of 5 guys. Plenty of people stacked it as the brakes were arse about but it was a solid 7 hours of riding. The next day we hiked up Cerro Lopez for more amazing views of the lakes and islands. We ended up going out for some drinking action that night with some English friends and I am still amazed at the Argi's fascination with 80's music, especially Phil Collins. We caught a bus via the 7 lakes to San Martin de Los Andes, 4 hours north of Bariloche. Glen is in paradise doing 2 cross country and 1 downhill run in 2 days. We also made it up the mountains to the miradors (viewpoints). I have eaten enough chocolate to satiate me until London and am seriously thinking about going for a run in Mendoza. We leave tomorrow on an overnight luxury bus and will be booking for Machu Pichu early April. Please leave a comment if you can reccomend any good tour groups as we're told they sell out fast.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Trekking= ? walking in nice places; Supertrekking= F%#king awesome
We arrived in El Calafate on Thursday and immediatly booked a trip to Perito Moreno Glacier for the next day. The day was clear and warm and we went on a hike around a mountain to get a full view of the front face of the glacier. About every 30mins-1 hour a chunk of ice falls off into the lake and you hear a delayed thunder like crack as it hits the water or other ice. It was truly breathtaking the way the glacier was squeezed between 2 snowcapped mountains and it was so blue from the rock sediment. We took 101 photos and now have the arduous task of culling them to about 10. The next day we headed to El Chalten (4 hr bus trip) for overnight super trekking. Our guide Muti took us over stunning cliffs and mountains to beautiful blue lagoons full of drinkable, very cold glacier water. During the 5 hour hike to the campsite we had stunning views of the Fitz Roy and surrounding peaks. The weather over the 2 days was sunny and clear and apparently this only happens a few times each summer. We met some people that had waited a week on the mountains in a snow cave for this weather so they could climb the peak! When we arrived at camp, dinner was waiting and after that we went to bed to get up at 6am the next morning. We trekked for about 2 hours to the glacier that was nestled in between the Fitz Roy peaks. The trek was quite hard going with lots of vertical climbs and decents. By this time my feet were aching and blistered and as a result I chucked out my shoes in El Calafate.We strapped on some crampons (spikes) upon arriving at the glacier and explored the crevices and mounds. It was quite scary at first as you have to jump over 10 ft crevices with flowing water below but I was assured that the glacier was very solid and the crampons stick like glue to the ice so you feel like spiderman. We headed over to a 20ft wall and climbed it with ice picks and a rope and pulley system. The whole experience was amazing and on the way back we had to cross a rope bridge hanging by a pulley. I have to admit that my body was soooo sore the next dayafter about 30km of trekking but I would not have been able to do it or I would have cried like a baby if I hadn't of done boot camp. We're in Bariloche now so will post an entry to tell you about our adventures here soon. Thanks for all the comments. I love reading them and miss hanging out with you all!
Trekking= ? walking in nice places; Supertrekking= F%#king awesome
We arrived in El Calafate on Thursday and immediatly booked a trip to Perito Moreno Glacier for the next day. The day was clear and warm and we went on a hike around a mountain to get a full view of the front face of the glacier. About every 30mins-1 hour a chunk of ice falls off into the lake and you hear a delayed thunder like crack as it hits the water or other ice. It was truly breathtaking the way the glacier was squeezed between 2 snowcapped mountains and it was so blue from the rock sediment. We took 101 photos and now have the arduous task of culling them to about 10. The next day we headed to El Chalten (4 hr bus trip) for overnight super trekking. Our guide Muti took us over stunning cliffs and mountains to beautiful blue lagoons full of drinkable, very cold glacier water. During the 5 hour hike to the campsite we had stunning views of the Fitz Roy and surrounding peaks. The weather over the 2 days was sunny and clear and apparently this only happens a few times each summer. We met some people that had waited a week on the mountains in a snow cave for this weather so they could climb the peak! When we arrived at camp, dinner was waiting and after that we went to bed to get up at 6am the next morning. We trekked for about 2 hours to the glacier that was nestled in between the Fitz Roy peaks. The trek was quite hard going with lots of vertical climbs and decents. By this time my feet were aching and blistered and as a result I chucked out my shoes in El Calafate.We strapped on some crampons (spikes) upon arriving at the glacier and explored the crevices and mounds. It was quite scary at first as you have to jump over 10 ft crevices with flowing water below but I was assured that the glacier was very solid and the crampons stick like glue to the ice so you feel like spiderman. We headed over to a 20ft wall and climbed it with ice picks and a rope and pulley system. The whole experience was amazing and on the way back we had to cross a rope bridge hanging by a pulley. I have to admit that my body was soooo sore the next dayafter about 30km of trekking but I would not have been able to do it or I would have cried like a baby if I hadn't of done boot camp. We're in Bariloche now so will post an entry to tell you about our adventures here soon. Thanks for all the comments. I love reading them and miss hanging out with you all!
Trekking= ? walking in nice places; Supertrekking= F%#king awesome
We arrived in El Calafate on Thursday and immediatly booked a trip to Perito Moreno Glacier for the next day. The day was clear and warm and we went on a hike around a mountain to get a full view of the front face of the glacier. About every 30mins-1 hour a chunk of ice falls off into the lake and you hear a delayed thunder like crack as it hits the water or other ice. It was truly breathtaking the way the glacier was squeezed between 2 snowcapped mountains and it was so blue from the rock sediment. We took 101 photos and now have the arduous task of culling them to about 10. The next day we headed to El Chalten (4 hr bus trip) for overnight super trekking. Our guide Muti took us over stunning cliffs and mountains to beautiful blue lagoons full of drinkable, very cold glacier water. During the 5 hour hike to the campsite we had stunning views of the Fitz Roy and surrounding peaks. The weather over the 2 days was sunny and clear and apparently this only happens a few times each summer. We met some people that had waited a week on the mountains in a snow cave for this weather so they could climb the peak! When we arrived at camp, dinner was waiting and after that we went to bed to get up at 6am the next morning. We trekked for about 2 hours to the glacier that was nestled in between the Fitz Roy peaks. The trek was quite hard going with lots of vertical climbs and decents. By this time my feet were aching and blistered and as a result I chucked out my shoes in El Calafate.We strapped on some crampons (spikes) upon arriving at the glacier and explored the crevices and mounds. It was quite scary at first as you have to jump over 10 ft crevices with flowing water below but I was assured that the glacier was very solid and the crampons stick like glue to the ice so you feel like spiderman. We headed over to a 20ft wall and climbed it with ice picks and a rope and pulley system. The whole experience was amazing and on the way back we had to cross a rope bridge hanging by a pulley. I have to admit that my body was soooo sore the next dayafter about 30km of trekking but I would not have been able to do it or I would have cried like a baby if I hadn't of done boot camp. We're in Bariloche now so will post an entry to tell you about our adventures here soon. Thanks for all the comments. I love reading them and miss hanging out with you all!
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Penninsula Valdes, Puerto Madryn
The 22hr bus trip nearly broke my spirit! As a novice I wasn't aware of cama and semi-cama so our bus was old and dirty but thankfully the seats reclined somewhat. During the night the aircon dripped water on me a couple of times to remind me that the toilet was way too dirty to go! We went to sleep to the sound of 80's love songs. Ear plugs were definitly our saviour. There was however a TV- that was never turned on! We arrived in Puerto Madryn a couple of hours late but had a great dorm (6 bedder but all very nice room mates) with a fantastic bathroom. The next day we rode 35km round trip on bikes to Punta Lomo seal colony. The colony was very entertaining but the ride was on sinking gravel so it took us 2 hours to get there and 1 hr to get back. Yesterday we hired a car with another couple to Penninsula Valdes to see seal lion and penguin colonies. It was a 400km round trip so a lot of driving. The penninsula is the one of only a couple of places in the world where Killer Whales beach themselves in order to catch seals to eat. We've missed out on this by a week but I'm not sure if I could stomach nature at its finest. We get back on a bus in a couple of hours (hopefully a bus thats a little cleaner) and we're off to El Calafate to see the glaciars. Ciao
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Foz de Igauzu
Just a couple of hours until we fly out of Puerto Igauzu. We flew up here on Wednesday and got to the airport to find that our e-tix weren´t valid for Airlineas Argentineas. Bloody Expedia.com! It was a little difficult to organise with my limited spanish, however I bought replacement tix and we wrote a "demanding" email to expedia and are now in the process of getting our money back. One word for Puerto Igauzu is humid. I imagine its like up north where you walk 10m and you're dripping with sweat. We caught up with an english couple, John and Laura that we met in BA and headed to the falls for the day. It was spectacular! The national park that the falls is stuated in is 65,000 hectares and borders Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. The Diabalo Gigantua (devil´s throat) is ferocious in terms of the sound and volume of water that falls. There must be about 20 waterfalls, big, small, long, short, fat, thin. Everywhere you walk there´s a different view. We took way too many photos (thank god for the digital revolution) but still hadn´t experienced it all after a whole day. We returned the next day to trek to a waterfall with a swimming hole that was very picturesque. Glen had stripped off and was wading in the water all ready to dive in when he saw a stick that looked like a snake that...was a snake. As round as your fist and curled up in a spiral floating in the water. Maybe it was dead but shit, we got out pretty fast. We treked back to the station and got on a jeep that took us through the jungle and to a boat. The speed boat then took us down the river to where the falls crashed and it was fantastic! The sound was amazing but up close the sheer size and force of the water was tremendous. We got saturated which was welcome relief on such a hot day. The park was definitly a highlight with amazing wildlife (monkeys, iridescent butterflies, racoons, eagles etc). Now its off down south (to get some inspiration) on a 19 hour bus trip. Hello sleeping tablets!
Monday, January 29, 2007
Hangover 101
Sunday we headed to San Telmo markets to get overdosed on antiques. People sure do pay a fine price for vintage locks, gramaphones, tins and soda dispensers. I found some local designer shops that sold clothes and bags and Glen was mighty pleased to indulge me. Luckily for me there are plenty of park benches on the street. After, we headed over to a park in La Boca for respite from the crowds and buskers. The afternoon was taken up with espanola study as I had the best intentions of being the A1 student on Monday. However... we became friends with a scottish couple. We went back to the very popular Parilla (steak) restaurant El Desnivel and mixed vino tinto with Mojito, gin and my fave beer in the whole wide world Quilmes. After dinner we headed to a bar and met a Scot looking for a job in "security" (wink, wink- personally I think he was a real life 007 but maybe that´s the cloud of the mojito), and a New York City girl who´s claim to fame was that she´s given Paris Hilton a bikini wax (she´s a brazillian local). We had a great night out and got to bed at about 3 so wagged our 'pay as you go' spanish class. I felt like a naughty school kid so this morning I promptly went out and bought a new english/espanola dictionary and I´m currently trying to read the local newspaper. The spanish equivalent of HJ´s and coke for hangovers is definitley emapandas and coke. I feel great! 1 more day in BA and off to Igauzu! See you there!
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Hap Hap Hap B´day Oz for yesterday
I know my strengths and I know my weaknesses and language definitly ain´t no strength. I need to be put in the vege espanole classe. I know it´s only been 3 days but I got told off for not studying and I DID study! The only two words I can remember are Meire and Cagare and they both mean shit- thanks Glen and Scott. Seriously...I´m bad but v.slowly improving. It´s like work, if you don´t know what you´re talking about, say it with confidence and people will believe you. I must look like an argi though as I´ve had many locals approach me and ask me questions about subway destinations. I sometimes know the answer but they look bemused when they work out that I´m a gringo. Must be my tan. A healthy ozone or smog layer is making me very brown with no sunburn. I´ve tried to load up our photos but it´s not working on these argi computers. I´ll perservere. We went to the cemeteria which is ahighlight of the city. It´s like a city of graves built up like houses. The markets below were lovely but all I can think of is what I´m going to have to carry later on down the track. We then went to the zoo which was quite depressing. They had polar bears in 30+ heat and ++humidity. All the animals looked very ragid and badly looked after. I didn´t realise how disturbed I could get but people were chucking food at the animals and you could pat alot of the animals. Not healthy. Came home and had a Quilmes beer- so, so good. Just hanging out for dinner!
Thursday, January 25, 2007
day 3? i think. in b.a.
2nd spanish lesson today. dont no if we r getting better or more confused. although we seem to be communicating with a lot more confidence already. helps recognizing the odd word somtimes, is confidence inspiring wen u can understand somthing the locals say and u can converse even just a little. getting better each day anyway.
managed to get on the metro today all but a little paranoid wen the hostel guy told us to put day pack on my front. turns out the gringo is all too conspicuos esp in the big smoke as we saw countless locals with backpacks, but none on their front! but after taking the metro, must say it was a little shakey at 1st, but turned out all good. tok it to the main bus hub and managed to converse well enough in our limited espanole to purchase some tickets for some amazing locations. after iguazu next week, we wil arrive back in b.a at3pm and hop on a bus at 9pm for a 19hr ride to peurto madryn, where we wil stay for a couple of days to see some crazy wildlife on the coast of patagonia. if we r lucky, we mite be in the rite season to see some orcas. penguins, dolphins and all sorts of species ive never heard of also habitat this area.
after this, we r heading to el calafate where we r based to see merino glacier, from wat ive seen on inet and heard, one of the most amazing sites in the world! so thats all booked and now a reality, we r stoked as!
oh yeah, i gota mention how god and cheap the fod is here. had very tasty homemade pasta canelloni and raviolle dishes last nite with una la bottela de la casa tinto (house red!) all for equivalent of around $20!! and the red was so so good! and today i scored yet some more super tasty doughnuts and pastries (custard/jam) and a rather large bag of cheese sticks (adrian would go crazy over these) all for about $2aus!! quite insane.
well, im off to to taste some of la bottella de cerveza ($3.50pesos/$1.8aus) that faye just bought from the hostel.
adios...............
managed to get on the metro today all but a little paranoid wen the hostel guy told us to put day pack on my front. turns out the gringo is all too conspicuos esp in the big smoke as we saw countless locals with backpacks, but none on their front! but after taking the metro, must say it was a little shakey at 1st, but turned out all good. tok it to the main bus hub and managed to converse well enough in our limited espanole to purchase some tickets for some amazing locations. after iguazu next week, we wil arrive back in b.a at3pm and hop on a bus at 9pm for a 19hr ride to peurto madryn, where we wil stay for a couple of days to see some crazy wildlife on the coast of patagonia. if we r lucky, we mite be in the rite season to see some orcas. penguins, dolphins and all sorts of species ive never heard of also habitat this area.
after this, we r heading to el calafate where we r based to see merino glacier, from wat ive seen on inet and heard, one of the most amazing sites in the world! so thats all booked and now a reality, we r stoked as!
oh yeah, i gota mention how god and cheap the fod is here. had very tasty homemade pasta canelloni and raviolle dishes last nite with una la bottela de la casa tinto (house red!) all for equivalent of around $20!! and the red was so so good! and today i scored yet some more super tasty doughnuts and pastries (custard/jam) and a rather large bag of cheese sticks (adrian would go crazy over these) all for about $2aus!! quite insane.
well, im off to to taste some of la bottella de cerveza ($3.50pesos/$1.8aus) that faye just bought from the hostel.
adios...............
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Hola! We arrived in BA after the flight was diverted due to thunder storms to a wet and humid city. Our hostel TelmoTango is very picturesque and clean with friendly staff (one of which is a spitting image of Darren Hanlon). We went out for a meal last night at about 10pm to try the meat that everyone raves about. Well, we got meat all right. A plate full of blood sausage, kidney, liver, chops, chicken and ?intestines (they sure did taste like shit). I didn´t get much down but Glen sure tried his hardest. Tonight we´ve done a bit more research into our spanish for our next meal. We had our first spanish lesson with a great teacher called Alice. We´re in a small group of three so its very relaxed and two hours passes very quickly. I´m determined to learn as much spanish as I can whilst in BA as I feel a bit rude when I can´t understand a question or answer a question. Tomorrow after school we´re planning on going on a bike ride round the burbs. Then this weekend its markets time woohoo!
Monday, January 22, 2007
19 hours in Santiago, Chile
We arrived after about 24 hours in transit and about 3 hours effective sleep to Santiago, Chile. We only have a 19 hour stopover so we payed the $56US departure tax and hightailed it to Santiago. Its quite a bleak city with few tourist attractions. We are absolutly exhausted and just biding time until 7pm so we can go to sleep and avoid too much jetlag. We walked around looking for a money exchange and food and trying to work up the guts to try our minimal spanish. All the people seem very friendly, probably because they serve beer as part of the combo meal in KFC (it was nearly a last resort meal but we couldn't bring ourselves to be so filthy sicko). We have got a taxi booked for 630am for our flight to Buenos Aires tomorrow and by the way, there are emo's even in Chile!
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