South America - Summarised

Hi all, no doubt you`re all looking forward to the B/H weekend and the good weather that is forecast! As you know we fly to New Zealand tomorrow, we are soooo looking forward to it even though we lose a day of our trip and don't sleep for 2 days!! The last few days we have been walking the length and breadth of Buenos Aires, we know the place intimately now. We went to the BA zoo on Tuesday, you may have seen the pics. I`m not sure how I feel about zoo`s to be honest, on one hand the animals are safe from extinction and well looked after and kept, but on the other hand it`s not a natural environment for the animals to live in. Most of the animals we saw were hunters so the thought of them being hand fed everyday is a bit strange. Anyway that`s just me having to much time to think ;-)

So I'm not going to write a long blog today, instead we have put some numbers together regarding our time in Sth America which I hope you enjoy. I have posted extensively about Sth America since we have been here and it is difficult to summarise the place up and put it into words. I can honestly say it has been the most exhilarating experience of my life, and if I never travel again (highly unlikely) then I am just glad that we chose Sth America to spend the majority of our trip. It is an experience I will NEVER forget. So rather than go on anymore I will post the facts and a summary of words that spring to mind when we think about Sth America.

Time spent in South America from Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile to Argentina was: 90 days

Hostels stayed in: 32 (1 dorm)

Buses travelled on: 29
The time spent on buses was 190 hrs which equates to 7.9 days.
Longest bus journey was 26 hrs, Buenos Aires to Iquazu.
Shortest bus journey 2 hrs, Quito to Otavalo.

Planes travelled on: 3
Boats: 4
4 x 4 wheel drives: 2

Geographical Highlights
Ecuador - Jungle, Andes, The lush green landscapes
Peru - Maccu Piccu
Bolivia - Salt Flats, Uyuni, Andes, The remoteness of the country
Argentina - Buenos Aires

Lowlights
Bolivian Roads, Poverty, Altitude

Highlights
Hospitality, Argentinian Wine, Scenery and diverse landscape, Culture, Value

South America - The Summary
Diversity, Poverty, Resourceful, Friendly, Colourful, Cold, Fruit, Handicrafts, Rawness, Dog Muck(!) Stray Dogs, Altitude, Value, Currency, Politics, Indigenous, Markets, Animals, Injustice, Happiness, Hectic, Noisy, Pollution, Police, Taxis, Sweets, Vegetables, Finger puppets, Buses, Diarrhoea, Protests, Culture, Landscapes, Climate, Winter, Incas, Silver, Desert, Spanish, Borders, Remoteness, Snow, Architecture, Llama, Amazon, Equator, Volcanoes, Religion, Coca, Pisco Sour, Passport, Government, Pacific, Beer, Costumes, Dust, Derelict, Anguish, Hospitality, Transport, Punctures, Tradition, Farming, Love, Improvisation, Cultivation, Basic, Injustice, Happy Children, Football, Road Blocks, Hope.

It`s difficult to chose a favourite place or country here but mine is Bolivia. Everyday life is a chore, the majority of Bolivian families living in poverty, transport networks are also the most difficult in South America, yet they take it all on the chin and always with a smile. It is such a heart warming place to visit and it has been a truly life changing experience for me.

Happy Birthday Gary!!

Were back in the bustling city of Buenos Aires, we LOVE it. It is the most exciting city I have ever been to, it`s knocks spots off New York!!

We got back here on Thursday night, a little unexpectedly! On Thursday morning we left Cordoba for a 6 hour bus trip to Rosario, our Lonely Planet Guide book insists that Roasrio is the best thing since sliced bread so we were quite up for a few days there before heading back to BA. We arrived at the bus terminal about 4.30 in the afternoon and got a cab into the centre to a hotel that we had picked out of the guide book. Unfortunately (or should I say fortunately!?) they were fully booked so we decided to try a couple of others that we knew about in the area. It was as we left the hotel that we agreed that we didn't know what all the fuss had been about in our LP book as Rosario looked to be a bit of a dump, litter and rubbish everywhere, really noisy and pollution from all the cabs/buses and a few unscrupulous individuals eyeing up our back packs (although I`d love to see somebody attempt to run off with my 13 kilo pack!!) Anyway we trudged along to the next hotel, where again there were no rooms or hospitality for that matter, we tried the 3rd one same story there. We spotted a hostel on an opposite corner so decided to try there instead but luckily we couldn`t find the doorway. So we considered our options, we could try some more hotels and rather than stay the planned 3 nights there just stay for one as we were getting a bit tired by this point, OR we could jump back on a bus and just head straight back to BA (another 4 hours) So that's what we did. We arrived in BA at about 11pm totally cream crackered, we decided to try the hotel that we stayed at the last time we were here but they were full, so off we went again with our packs weighing us down and really taking their toll on our mood. We tried another FIVE hotels before we found one that could only guarantee us 1 nights accommodation. By this stage we were so tired, crabby and in need of sleep that we decided to take the room, knowing that we would feel much better after a good nights kip. We went down for breakfast the next morning and then checked with the reception again if there was a possibility that we could extend our stay for another 7 nights, to our surprise the guy said that yes we could "no problemo", Hurrrrah!!

So here we are, a whole week in BA. To say it`s a relief knowing that we don`t have to do anymore mammoth bus journeys is an understatement. I don`t care if we never see another bus again, although Asia will be the same, and not half as luxurious :-( It actually feels like were on holiday for a week now, we`ve unpacked all our stuff and made ourselves right at home in the hotel, it`s a great feeling after all the thousands of miles we have bussed.

Yesterday we had a walk round BA, there was a local radio station broadcasting live in one of the busy roads (18 lanes wide, it`s THE widest road in the world) and the radio show could be heard in the street and we could see the broadcaster. It was some kind of phone in, we didn`t have a clue what about as obviously it was in Spanish, so us being the tourists we are Matt waved at the guy who was speaking live on the radio, and the guy waved back. Me and Matt were giggling like a couple of stupid school kids, we thought it was hilarious (this is what happens when you spend too much time in someones company ;-)) We then went to an Irish Bar for a bottle of wine, we fancied a chilled out afternoon, it was Friday after all and we were thinking of people at home who had been at work all week, we knew they must be exhausted ;-) So this one bottle turned into, 2 bottles, many beers and finally finished off with a curry. What a treat that was, the curry was lovely too. It was all really for Gary though who is celebrating his Birthday today. Happy Birthday Gary, we miss you and will definitely be out for your next one!

Tomorrow we are visiting the San Telmo District, they have massive Antique Markets on a Sunday (Massive market, not massive antiques) and then you can go to one of the many cafe bars and take in a Tango Show. Although there is a pub in the area called Gibraltar where you can get an English Sunday lunch so the Tango may have to wait another day.

For anybody that enjoys the cafe bar culture and fine restaurants then Buenos Aires really is the place to be. Everything is in abundance and you are really spoilt for choice. We have made a shortlist of good places to eat and drink, we have 6 days left to get through them all...

How long?

Hi all, just wanted to draw attention to the fact that we have now been away 100 days, woo hoo!! (I can hear all the party poppers, and streamers going off at home!!) It certainly doesn`t feel like a hundred days. Although the time really is flying by, it`s starting to hit home now that we are planning our time in NZ and Fiji, as when we came away those countries seemed a lifetime away!

Yesterday we took the bus from Salta to Cordoba, it was just over 12 hours which was quite a short trip by Argentinian standards. Cordoba is "The Heart" of Argentina, and is the 2nd biggest city to BA, it is also where all the Argentinian Universities are so you can imagine it`s quite a young and lively place with lots of bars and cinemas etc. We will stay here a few days before heading off to a smaller place called Rosario which is reportedly another busy place, and nearer to BA which is where were heading back to for next Friday.

We went on the trip on Saturday and to be honest we were a bit disappointed, were not sure if it`s because were all cultured out, but everything we saw we had pretty much seen already in the other countries we have already visited. It was 15.5 hours on a little mini bus too, right at the back getting bounced out of our seats. It was good to get off the beaten track though and see some of Argentina, it is a beautiful place but a little bit too big to do the place justice in 3 weeks.

We are definitely ready to leave Sth America now, although we will be sad to leave, mentally we are now geared up to NZ and having our own transport again, and not having to eat out EVERY day/night! I also feel like I`m running out of thing`s to blog about!!

The Friday feeling!!

Hola amigos, were now in Salta, Argentina after a very long 26 hours on the bus. It is a really busy and lively place and when we arrived yesterday it was lovely and sunny, today it´s grey, cold and overcast, I´m beginning to think were never going to experience summer again!
The bus is the longest one so far, I mean in terms of distance, not the actual bus itself! There are a few stop off´s along the way but it´s mostly just driving, the longest stop was a change of bus yesterday morning at a place called Tucuman, where we got of and had an hour to get breakfast, stretch your legs etc. I counted 3 different drivers for the whole journey, I´m not sure what the European laws are on driving hours across the continent. I know when I went to Austria years ago that we actually stopped off overnight in France and stayed in a hotel.
We chose to sit at the front of the bus as theres nothing worse than somebody in front of you with their seat fully reclined for the whole trip, the only thing with choosing these seats is you get to see the drivers every manoeuvre, good or bad!! Let´s just say that 2 of the drivers seemed to be in a rush to get us there, maybe they´d left a pan on at home!! Hopefully were not going to use the company again.
I´m not sure where you would end up if you got on a bus in the U.K at Lands End and drove for 26 hours, probably out in the North Sea somewhere, it just gives you an idea of the absolute vastness of this country, let alone continent.

We have just been to the launderette to get our stinking washing done, we try to get it done weekly (whether it needs doing or not ;-)) normally when we take it in they just weigh it and come up with a random figure of how much it will cost, and the wearer of the smelly socks and pants walks out with a certain sense of anonymity. Well today it wasn´t to be, it was like being named and shamed!! The woman emptied all the washing out into a plastic basket on the counter in front of a busy shop of people and started counting the items, i.e 8 t-shirts, 3 pairs of trousers. I was mortified, talk about airing your dirty laundry in public! We´ve got to go back at 7pm to pick it up, I might buy a rubber mask so she doesn´t recognise me!

We are going on an organised tour tomorrow (if we ever manage to get it booked) it used to be an amazing train journey, it´s called Tren a las Nubes (Train to the Clouds) for more info see enclosed link here
but due to a train failure a couple of years ago the line has been suspended, pending maintenance, which means that we will have to it by bus (12 hours) It´s a fantastic tour though and you get to some dizzying heights (impossible after the Bolivian ones) and see some fantastic scenery. No doubt the camera will get a good hammering.

Argentina itself is brilliant, we´re both really enjoying the place and it´s culture, again not quite as much poverty as we´ve experienced in some of the other countries and on the whole they have got a great standard of living. Everybody is happy and friendly and they love to help you out in any way they can, giving directions, recommending accommodation that kind of thing. We hope to come back to Sth America again, whether it will be a holiday or another RTW trip we don´t yet know. We have only scratched the surface, especially in Argentina, we will aim to come back in their summer so that we can head further South too.

One last thing, we got chatting to a "cockney wideboy" on the bus from BA to Iguazu, he started out as quite a nice bloke, amiable you know the sort. Anyway we said our goodbyes when we arrived at Iguazu and wished him well with his trip thinking we´d seen the last of him. The next day he was on the bus to the falls, and suddenly he seemed extremely over animated and excitable and talking really loudly, not caring who heard what he said, the bus was packed too. Well as I´m sure you can all appreciate The Falklands is not something we talk about openly while we´re here as we don´t want to offend the locals and raise the past. If we have spoken about it, it has been quietly or in private. Well this guy knew no shame and just started shouting out about it on the bus (my toes are curling now just thinking about it) talk about no decorum! Credit to Matt though he did say to him "well it´s not something we really broadcast here" This did bring the conversation and luckily the bus to an abrupt halt and we all departed!!

Have a nice weekend all!!

Video and Pics

Just a quickie to say check out the photos of the Iguazu Falls on Flickr and check out the video on YouTube by clicking here

We´re in Salta now and were hoping to do a train ride up into the mountains but apparently it´s been closed for 2 years due to some sort of accident. I thought the tour guides were trying to fob us off so that we went on the bus (me being synical again!) and I can´t confirm this on google so I´ll just have to trust them!

Adios

Don´t worry about me, I´m in Argentina!!

Hi all, just a quick update. We are still bussing our way through Arg, we have spent the last couple of days in Iguazu, where we visited the spectacular falls, and also went to the frontier where you can look out and see Paraguay and Brazil, pretty impressive ey? The weather here is sub tropical, so we´ve being soaking up the sun and making the most of it, as it´s been cold since Bolivia. Today we are going on a 26 HOUR bus journey, staying "up North" to a place called Salta, we will spend a few days there taking in the sights before we start making our way Sth again back to BA, via a few more stop offs along the way. Again the weather in Salta is averaging temperatures of around 22c at the moment so we´ll be getting our summer attire back out ;-)

Argentina is a fantastic country, and so friendly and laid back, the fellas think something of themselves, but then I´m from Hull so I´m used to it ;oP
Matt has being enjoying the steaks, while I sit opposite and picture a qualified vet tracing signs of life (of the steak that is not Matt) Wine is as cheap as ever and I can´t remember the last time I had a beer, it´s going to really rankle us when we get home and have to pay at least triple what were paying here for it. We plan to stock up at the duty free before we fly to NZ!

So that´s all I´ve got time for today I´m afraid, as the 26 hour bus beckons! When we get to Salta on Thursday we will upload the pics of the falls.

It`s curry for tea in Argentina!

Well as Matt has already told you we are in The Capital City of Argentina and it is HUGE! I have never been to a city this BIG before, I can`t even begin to tell you the scale of it. Put it this way, New York is big but is like a piece dropped off Buenos Aires. It really is a fun and friendly place, and like any Capital City is non stop hustle and bustle. The price of things is also relatively cheap too, we are staying in a hotel in downtown BA and it is costing us $30 a night, I don`t think you could rent a cardboard box for the night in London for $30. When we stayed in NY in May we were paying $100 a night, and that was with a shared bathroom, and it was a right shithole!

So Matt told you we`d being splashing out a bit on flight`s and then the Lonely Planet for Argentina, well let me tell you what prompted him to buy the LP Guide. It was the fact that there were 3 different restaurant's listed that served curry dishes (2x Thai, 1 x Indian) we bought the book yesterday and already we have visited 2 of the 3. The book may well have only cost us $32, but the money we have spent in these restaurants makes it an expensive book!!! We have had curry withdrawal though and we both agree that it`s money well spent!

Tomorrow we are back on the bus for probably our longest ride yet, it`s 17 hours!! We are going "up North" to the Argentinian/Brazilian border to see the Iguazu Falls, we will spend a few days there before deciding on our route back to BA (which is where we fly from to go to NZ) Argentina is a massive country and we now have less than 3 weeks to take in and see what we want, so were in for a busy time on the public transport unfortunately. Were still not sure on our priorities after the falls, we had plans to hop across to Brazil, and maybe even spend a couple of days in Uruguay but I think we were being a little bit optimistic.

Argentinian steak is apparently the best in the world, it`s not the kind of thing I can get excited about I`m afraid. We did have a great pizza the 1st night we arrived in BA, after a mammoth walk trying to (unsuccessfully) get our bearings and find somewhere to eat, we threw ourselves into the nearest/next restaurant we could find. As soon as we sat down Matt said "shall we just get up and go" it was just one of those places that doesn`t quite fit the bill if you know what I mean?! Anyway we decided to sit it out and we`re glad we did, as the pizza was superb and so was the bottle of red wine we drank (2.00GBP)

Since we left Bolivia we have experienced a whole new South America, Chile and Argentina are by far more richer than the other 3 countries we have visited on this continent, although it doesn't make them anymore enjoyable to visit. I didn`t fall in love with Chile or the Chileans, they take themselves far too seriously and think far too much of themselves, but as I`ve mentioned before (lots of times) the Bolivians are the warmest people we have met so far in a country where nobody has anything.

Stew and Kirsty are now on their mini RTW trip, spending 3 days in Singapore (where Stew was struggling with the humidity apparently) then to Oz (where they should have arrived today) for 2.5 weeks before flying back via LA for 3 nights. My dad has just emailed me to say he can`t keep track of us all and the different time zones. I wish we could have planned our trip so that we could have met up with them at some point but it just wasn`t geographically possible. Stew will leave Oz about 3 days before we arrive in NZ :-(

Matt has posted the few pics that we took in Chile and also there`s a few we have taken in BA.. enjoy.

BA (Buenos Aires NOT Mr.T)

Well we finally got out of Chile and into Argentina after blowing our budget and booking flights instead of waiting for the pass (between Santiago and Mendoza) opening up again. After our delays in Bolivia due to the miners strike we didn´t want to wait around and lose anymore days. Argentina is a huge country and we want to see as much of it as we can in our three remaining weeks in S.America.

So, we arrived in Buenos Aires, the capital, yesterday afternoon and first impressions are good. It is a mammoth city with plenty to see and do so I think we´ll be spending at least the weekend here. This place is a lot more lively than Santiago and there seems to be thousands upon thousands of restaurants too, which is always good. In true budget-blowing fashion (well we seem to be on a roll now) we bought the lonely planet guide for Argentina too for the sole reason of it having a bigger list of restaurants than our rough guide. Lo and behold there is an indian restaurant here, called Mumbai, which we´re going to seek out later. We´ve just bought tickets to see Oceans 13 (although the name in spanish bears no resemblance to the English version so I hope it is Oceans´ 13!) so after that we´ll be hotfooting it over for a curry.

Well ,there´s not much more to report on here, so I´ll leave it at that. One more thing I´ll say is that I hope everyone at eComet enjoys the "leaving do of leaving dos" tonight as four of them are either leaving or going on maternity leave. So, on that note, Phil Sewell, good luck with your pregnancy and I hope you don´t get weird cravings for gherkins and marmalade!!

Adios Amigos!

Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

Well today we were supposed to be going to Argentina, but as we have come to learn, travel in South America can never be taken for granted! We got up early this morning, packed all our stuff up, missed breakfast and made our way on the Metro in rush hour traffic to the Bus Terminal to catch the bus to Mendoza. We were at the platform waiting for the bus to show up.. but it didn´t!! Matt went off to make a few enquiries in his best pigeon Spanish and came back about 5 minutes later to tell me the bus was cancelled due to bad weather conditions. So we bickered at each other for another 5 minutes about what we could do (nothing!) before agreeing that we would have to stay in Santiago, it was either that or walk to Mendoza?!
Anyway to cut a very long story short, we have now booked flights to fly to Buenos Aires tomorrow, which is better for us really as it saves lots of long weary hours on the bus. We were also advised that Mendoza is particularly tricky to get to at this time of year by bus (Sth American winter time)

Yesterday we decided to take the afternoon off, so we got ourselves plonked in a good Italian Restaurant and got pleasantly pi$$ed on dirt cheap Chilean wine (2.50GBP a bottle) we must have been in there 4/5 hours, a perfect way to spend the day in chilly Santiago.
In the restaurant you could see into the kitchen as the chefs were working behind a massive glass window. Well in there there was a "big lad" who looked to be the head chef, now I don´t know what Gordon Ramsey would have made of him, but this lad did like his grub! For every dish he must have prepared he was taking a dish for himself, he was constantly, spooning sauces from the large pans, cutting bread, dipping it in various bowls and dishes. They would need to make a lot of money in that restaurant to cover his massive appetite, maybe they pay him in food not wages? It did look really unprofessional to be honest, he wasn´t just sampling the sauces for taste, he was literally wading in and filling his face. I thought he was going to put arm bands on at one point and dive into the pan!!

The food in Chile is pretty poor to say they are more European(ly)influenced than South American, I don´t think we have had anything really nice to eat since we arrived, does Dunkin Donuts count?!

When we get to Argentina we are thinking of hopping on the ferry at Buenos Aires and going across to Uruguay for a couple of days, we were hoping to maybe get to Brazil for a few days but it is extremely expensive to get there and probably a bit too far now with only 3 weeks left here.

It is really cold here in Santiago, I´ve got hat, scarf and gloves on today and Buenos is going to be no warmer, we are both looking forward to 2 weeks beach in Fiji in October ;-)
Everywhere we go here there is piped in music playing in the streets, and it´s all dodgy 80´s stuff in panpipes, it get´s a bit noisy sometimes, especially as you turn a street corner and then pick up on a new tune as the last one is fading out, a bit like a stars on 45 mega mix (for those of you that aren´t too young to remember!!)
There are also hundreds of stray dogs here and we have spent more time dog watching here than sight seeing. There is a really busy main road here and cars and buses just bomb along at speeds of about 70mph. Along this road is where all the dogs are, literally laid out right on the road edge, or on a busy intersection in the middle of the road (imagine the Champs Elysee in Paris) every now and again one of the dogs will jump up and start bounding towards an oncoming bus or car, barking and going berserk. If the bus got the dog it would be history (the dog not the bus!), but how can you tell this to a dog? Everytime we see one at the road side we try to cajole it along with us to a safer place. We do our best :-)

We have started making enquiries about campervans in NZ, were really looking forward to having some independence again when it comes to travel, as we are fed up of public transport and all the problems it throws at us. It is easy to travel overland through Sth America, but timetables cannot be taken at face value and the weather and various road blocks have also caused us a fair few set backs along the way.
We hope to hire mountain bikes in NZ too so we can get out and about without having to drag the camper everywhere.
I think I might try and cook us a Sunday Lunch when we do pick it up, we both crave one, do you reckon it would be possible on a 2 ring gas stove? I reckon beans and toast will be easier ;-)

South America, disappeared!!

We`re now in Santiago, the Capital City of Chile, after almost 24 hours by public transport to get here (from San Pedro). We spent 3 nights in La Serena which is a beach resort in Chile, but because the weather was cold and overcast we didn`t go to the beach we just mooched around the town centre, it only reached 11c during the day so it was a bit "chilly" for our suntan lotion and flip flops!
While we were in La Serena we booked a trip to go and see one of the many observatories there in a place called Mamalluca, it was a really interesting visit, we were picked up from our hotel by a mini bus at 7.30pm and it was about an hour`s drive. Once we arrived you are assigned a tour guide who then gives you lots of info about the stars, the planets, all the different constellations etc, he also sets up the telescope at different angles, we were able to see the moon (full), Jupiter and a few more that I can`t remember the names of!
It really was amazing to see the stars through the telescope, there are literally millions, all of which are not visible to the naked eye. The moon was also amazing, apparently the craters that we saw are up to 80km in diameter! There were far too many facts given to us for me to remember them all.
For anybody that is interested though there is a piece of software available for your PC, it`s similar to Google Earth in that you can view the night sky from where you are and it will tell you all the different stars etc. It really is an interesting programme and one we will be investing in when we get back. Check out this link for more info Starry Nights

Santiago is a massive city, and is actually quite similar to NY, although not as many high rise buildings. We did find a Dunkin Doughnuts this morning, and there`s the ever present Macdonalds (spit) The only place we haven`t yet seen a Mc`Ds is in Bolivia, that is because the Bolivian president (Juan Evo Morales Ayma) will not allow them into the country!!
He is very anti America (all political) as they are trying to insist that Bolivia stop the cultivation of the Coca leaf (used in the manufacture of Cocaine) in Americas "War on drugs" Again if you are interested in learning more about it then have a look on this link Coca erradication it`s really interesting.
Go Evo anyway, standing up to the mighty GB!!

Chile has a real European feel to it, and is nothing like any other place we have visited while being in Sth America. There is NO poverty at all, the country has an excellent infrastructure (by Sth American standards) and even has it`s own underground railway system, which we have been tearing around on.
The roads are all paved and extremely safe, with road lights and signs everywhere, it`s almost as if we have already left South America and are on a different continent. It still lacks the hospitality and warmth of it`s poor relation Bolivia though.

Today we booked our tickets to Mendoza in Argentina, Matt has visited Chile before, and I`m not that enamoured with the place so we`re not going to piss about wasting time (and money) here. There is lots of things we want to do in Argentina, visit the wine region, the Iguazu Waterfalls that border with Brazil, and spend lots of time in Buenos Aires, which is claimed to be one of the most exciting Capital Cities in the world. Oh and there`s the tango which were hopefully going to learn (NOT!!)
We get the bus on Wednesday, and it will take us about 7 hours, I don`t think Mendoza is that far from Chile in terms of distance, its just that we have to drive over/through the Andes to get there.
So that`s about all for now guys and gals, next post will probably be from Argentina!!

Salar de Uyuni

Well I better tell you about the fabulous tour we did on and around the Salar de Uyuni before I forget it all and it´s a distant memory.

The road to Uyuni from Potosi itself was long and bumpy but made agreeable by a little Bolivian girl called Erica who was sat behind us. As all the seats were taken her and most of her family had to sit in the aisles. I know this wouldn´t happen at home due to breaking god knows how many health and safety laws but hey this is Bolivia! For some reason this little girl (she was about 2 or 3) took a shine to me and just stood in the aisle staring at me. She was wrapped up in a few layers of clothes and a woolly hat as it was pretty damn cold. Anyway, she took great delight in wearing my sunglasses, pulling hairs out of my arms and trying to wink at me; she couldn´t quite manage it and just kept blinking at me. So after about 6 hours we arrived at Uyuni which I have to say is an absolute dump which is understandable as it is only really a dropping off point for tours into the Salar (which I think means Salt flat or just flat). Of course everything is twice the price, accommodation, food, drink which is understandable. A few people aren´t too happy about this and some even go as far as not doing something like a tour because they think it´s too touristy! What I say is what do you expect? This kind of thing happens all over the world (even England GASP - look at the price of a pint in a pub next to Tower Bridge for instance!) so just get over it. If you want to do something then just do it and stop friggin moaning about the price. One day you´ll be dead!

Anyway, we got our tour booked ($90 each before you ask) and stocked up on provisions. The original tour company we booked with phoned us on Monday morning and told us they didn't have enough people to fill the jeep so we were transferred to another. So Monday morning we hooked up with the remainder of the tour party (Beatrice, Marie, Charlie, Jeffrey and our now legendary driver, Ephrain - see below)


We set off at about 11am and after 20 minutes drive arrived at the train graveyard just on the outskirts of Uyuni. Apparently in its heyday this was the entrance point of train lines from Chile and Argentina but lack of support from the government and with roads now being used more the train lines are no longer used (or rarely). The trains which most of them were built in good old blightey just sit there on the tracks rusting away. They look really good though against the bright blue skies and make a good picture.

After leaving the trains and after a brief stop at the obligatory tourist "shops" at a little village we stopped at one of the two salt hotels on the salar. I think these are now open again after briefly being shut down for dodgy sanitation (seems a bit harsh to pick on these hotels as opposed to all the other dirty ones in S.America!!). Again this was really just a photo opportunity but quite interesting none the less. Thinking about it I wish that the refuge we stayed at was as "clean" as this "dirty" hotel, but more on that later.

We then drove over the salt flats for about 30 minutes to Isla de Pescado. The only way I can describe the salt flats is like driving across a massive Christmas Cake! It is so bright that you have to wear sunglasses otherwise you can get "Snow Blindness". And yes it does taste like salt too (well why wouldn´t it , it is salt!) At fish island, we set off to climb it where we could really appreciate the expanse of the flat, whilst our driver prepared lunch of beef steak, salad and Quinoa, a kind of cereal like couscous. There are hundreds of Cacti on the island too , and Michelle managed to find some comically shaped one´s; "that one must be a man". After taking some photos of ourselves on the Salt Flats holding each other in our palms and general larking about we set off again.

After a while we left the Salt Flats and the terrain changed to desert (or dessert as the Belgians called it - they were obsessed with food!). Apparently, the salt layer gets quite thin at the edges, right down to 50cm, so the driver was very cautious when leaving it. The rest of that day was then spent driving to San Juan, the small (small being the operative word) town in the middle of nowhere where we spent the night. Again this was a fantastic place for photos, as it looked like a ghost town. They did have 3 basketball/football courts though - maybe they filled up during the summer, or held the National Bolivian basketball trials, I don´t know. Check out the pics on Flickr. That night was a fun one - about 4 tour groups sat in a long (cold) room, ate chicken and chips and were entertained by the local kids band. The usual mix of panpipes, guitar, drum and tambourine but this time played by under 10s! We gave them a couple of Bolivanos and sent them on the way, but then a second band turned up comprising of panpipe and guitar again of similar age. Now these really were terrible and I didn´t want to give them anything but Michelle told me to stop being mean and she gave them one of our Twix (we had a six pack with us). Well you should have seen the kids face anyone would think he´d won the lottery!

The next day was a fairly early start, breakfast at 6.30am and then setting off at 7am. It wasn´t too cold to be honest as the sun was just about up when we left. The morning drive took us up above 4000m to a viewing point of Ollague, Bolivia´s only active volcano. We could just about see a thin plume of smoke emerging from it which was pretty cool. Whilst we were messing about at the viewpoint an odd creature came running over the rocks and then quickly disappeared. It was like a cross between a rabbit and a fox (a fabbit?? or a rox??). The driver did tell us the Quechuan name for it (one of the indigenous languages in Bolivia) but I can´t remember it.

After the volcano we went even higher to one of the many glacial lakes. These really was pretty stunning as it was just thawing out from the night´s frost and there were a flock of pink flamingos on it. Apparently they´re pink because of the tiny micro-organisms that they eat. They must have been bloody cold whatever colour they were because it was freezing. After this lake we travelled even higher to more lakes and stunning scenery and then stopped for lunch. Now I know the English do odd things in odd weather; for instance sitting on the beach fully clothed with a windbreak out, but having a salad picnic at 4200m above sea level at -5 Celsius I think has to take the biscuit. Michelle was fairly reluctant to even get out of the jeep but I think she felt she had to make the most of it! After lunch more driving at even higher altitudes after which we arrived at our accommodation (in the loosest sense of the word) at the Laguna Colorada in the Reserva de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa. This Lake had a red colour to it again due to algae that lives in the it. I climbed up a viewing point while Michelle sat down (she was suffering with the altitude about 4500m now) to get a birds eye view. It really was a cracking view but so goddamn windy it nearly blew me over. My nose and lips, about the only bits of me that were exposed, couldn´t take much more so we headed back to the "refuge".

Now a word about this so called refuge. I know that some (or probably most) Bolivians live in poverty and don´t have the luxury of running water or central heating but this refuge was the absolute pits. It did have windows in it, for all the good they did it felt like about -10 in there. Our group had a dorm but the beds in them looked like they belonged in a Japanese concentration camp (yes I have seen Tenko!). When you sat on the bed the springs virtually touched the floor underneath. Now I know they said it was basic but I don´t know why we just didn´t sleep outside. We were warned that some people get dodgy stomach as the food is prepared in unsanitary conditions. I had a look in the "kitchen" and the food was being prepared on the floor with one gas burner - that would explain why I had crippling stomach cramps during the night (ten times worse than the incident in Arequipa with the rubber gloves and the plunger - I´ve only told a few people about this as it´s too embarrassing). It also got to below zero in the dorm room and down to -15 outside at 5.00am when we had to get up. On the plus side though as the air is so clear and there´s no lights the star scape was amazing, it almost looked like you could reach up and touch them they were so close.

After a breakfast of pancakes we set off to the Geyser field. When we got there it was still below zero but the sight of the geysers erupting was impressive. There was even one that was a constant stream of steam (apparently it´s artificial but I´m not sure how they do it) which we quickly dipped our shooed feet and gloved hands into to warm them up.

After the geysers we got to the hot springs. After a quick Banos stop we all dipped our feet into the hot springs and God how good was it. The water was about 25 degrees and it did everyone the world of good. After 5 Min's of that we could feel our feet again (our own not each others!) and we hopped (pardon the pun) back into the bus.

After setting off from the springs we were on the last legs of the tour. We stopped briefly to look at some rocks that apparently resemble a Salavdor Dali painting (I think its the one with lots of rock pillars with elephants in it) and then we got to Laguna Verde which wasn´t as green as it usually is due to the weather. The green colour is caused by the Arsenic content and not algae. After a few photos we then headed to the Bolivian/Chilean border where we obtained the necessary stamps and left Bolivia behind.

Overall this tour was definitely the highlight of Bolivia and we are both really sorry we had to leave. Even though we struggled with the altitude constantly, the sights, sounds and people were absolutely great. The scenery just around the Salt flats is absolutely amazing and some of the best I´ve seen and the photos although good don´t do it justice. The hospitality of the Bolivians (which we´ve yet to see in Chile, although we may be being a little harsh on the Chileans) was unbeatable and for a people with literally have nothing they open their arms to us tourists.

So that´s it. We´re now in La Serena, Chile and are hoping to go on an observatory tour tonight as it was cancelled last night due to cloudy weather. I hope you´ve enjoyed this blog and the photos on Flickr. It has taken me over an hour to write and now I´m going for a lie down!

Adios,

Matt

p.s. I thought the rock landscape was similar to this Dali painting below, but looking at it I don´t think it really does. Still the landscape (and indeed the painting) are still good.

Back down to earth..

So were finally back at sea level and it feels GREAT!!
We have been at altitude for so long now, it is great to feel normal again and not wake up with headache, or feel breathless when you bend down to tie your shoe laces, it`s difficult to explain the symptoms if you`ve never experienced it yourself God only knows how climbers do Everest without oxygen!!

Yesterday we took the bus from San Pedro to La Serena, which is on the Chilean Coast, we`ve not made it to the beach yet as we only arrived at 2am this morning, after 16 hours on the bus!
Buses and roads in Chile are by far the best we have experienced in Sth America, and I can honestly say that yesterday`s trip was really comfortable, with lots of leg room, and the bus was clean too!
The weather is cool and overcast here, probably as were near to the sea, just like being back at home, but without the rain!!

We are hoping to go to one of Chiles many observatories this weekend to see the stars, because there is no light pollution here or cloud cover there are literally millions of stars to see through the telescopes, really looking forward to that as it`s supposed to be a great experience.
We will ony be in Chile for anther week as we want/need 3 weeks to see Argentina, plus Chile is extremely expensive compared to the rest of Sth America that we have visited so far.
I can`t believe that in 4 weeks (today) we will be flying to New Zealand to take up life in a Camper Van. It`s going to be great especially after travelling on so much public transport, dirty buses, unpaved roads, no legroom, late departures, and also to be able to do some of our own cooking as we have now been eating out for 3 months, and it does get a bit repetitive.

Chile reminds me a lot of Spain, we have hardly seen any poverty since we arrived and not come acrss any beggars! They are not the friendliest of Sth Americans that we have met though.
Chile may be one of the richest countries in Sth America but I would much rather spend time in Bolivia with people who have nothing to give you but the time of day.

Matt posting some pics on the blog of our trip to the Salt Flats, they are superb, even if we do say so ourselves!!

Through the barricades..

Well were back in the land of civilisation after 2.5 days out in the Bolivian Desert, but I`m not going to tell you about that now, I'm going to leave it to Matt.
I`ll tell you about the trip from Sucre to Potosi through the Miners road blockade.

We had only planned to be in Sucre for a couple of days, before heading to Potosi and then the salt flats then hopefully into Chile last weekend, but because of the miners strike, also coupled with meeting a really nice couple from Manchester we ended up in Sucre longer than we had intended.
Not that this was a problem as Sucre is a really nice warm, sunny place with plenty of opportunity for people watching!
So it got to Thursday and we were still no closer to leaving Sucre by bus as they were still refusing to book tickets at the bus depot, we made a few enquiries and some said it would end soon, others inhaled through their teeth and said they didn`t know (or care!).
So we made a pact there and then that one way or another we were leaving Sucre on Friday, as we couldn`t afford to waste another day, drinking coffee, frequenting the many cafes and just sat about doing sod all, especially as our schedule is now so tight (we leave for NZ on the 24th August!!)
We got back to our hostal and Sarah and Andy had put a note under our door to say exactly the same thing, that they needed to be on their way and that they had booked a taxi for 4 of us for 9am tomorrow morning!!
So the next morning we met in the courtyard with all our gear, there was a lot!!!
There were 4 of us (obviously) 2 x bikes (needless to say not ours!!) 2 big back packs and all of S & A`s road gear.
We loaded it up onto/into a Toyota Corrolla estate and Vamos, we were away!!
We were rammed to capacity and were in for a 160k hike (100 miles) the car was so weighed down with all our stuff that the driver had to keep dropping down into 2nd gear to get some speed up, this was on the straight!!
On the hills I thought the car would come to a standstill we were going that slow!!
Anyway we had been going a while when we saw some sheep in the road, well at this point we were going a fair speed (must have been down hill!) and thwe driver was showing no sign of slowing down to avoid them.
Well me being the animal lover that I am started to feel a bit panicky in the back, we were hurtling towards the sheep and still he hadn`t even attempted to alert them.
Anyway we must have being yards away from them when the driver honks his horn, I mean as if that would work? I don`t know if Bolivian sheep are different from ours in that they understand the highway code etc, anyway they never budged and all the time were getting nearer and nearer.
I couldn`t stand it anymore, I genuinely did think we were going to plough into the little blighters, I closed my eyes and just waited for the thud!
There wasn`t one, there was a few swerves, lots of dust and the sheep miraculously jostled across the road!
The taxi driver didnt bat an eyelid, having said that neither did the sheep, talk about a close shave!!
We hadn`t been going again 5 minutes when we saw a little dead donkey at the side of the road :-( it was as stiff as a board and it`s little legs were just sticking out, it had probably just collapsed after being worked to death.
RIP little donkey, no more heavy bags for you!!!
We were now well on our way when we got behind a people carrier, or should that be pig carrier?!
The people carrier was packed to the rafters with people, but... on the roof rack there was a sheep and a pig, they were both alive, well I say alive, the pig was strapped down within an inch of it`s life to this roof rack and he was trying to wriggle himself free, this was proving a little difficult though as he had a bike on is head! :-(
The sheep was also strapped to the roof rack but it appeared to be in a standing position (maybe they sellotaped it on!?), still obviously distressed though bleeting away.
God only knows where they were taking them and why, they have no respect for animals over here at all, I have seen so many disturbing things.
It really upsets me, but hey it`s all part of travelling and experiencing different cultures!
Anyway after that there were no more animal incidents and we arrived at the blockade.
The driver unloaded all our gear and we then had to walk a while with all our stuff.
We thought it may be a bit difficult or intimidating but we could`t be further from the truth.
It was a breeze (apart from the crippling altitude!)
We marched through lorries, cars, miners, indiginous women and their brood, cows, pigs sheep, chickens, military, dogs, police you name it and they were all out for the strike as if it were some kind of home coming.
It was a bizzare experience yet at the same time it was great to see it all.
The Bolivian people are the most hospitable and friendly we have met so far.
It is the poorest country in Sth America but God they don`t dwell on it, they`re so resourceful and helpful.
They don`t bother you like other Sth American countries, begging for money or hassling you to buy cheap souveniers, they just get on and do what they do, and if there is anything they can do to help you then you only have to ask.
I have a lot of time for Bolivian people and I hope their president gets the country into a better economic state than it is now.
Anyway politics aside..
We had our lunch at the side of the road amidst the blockade, a couple of cheese sarnies, some nuts and a bit of chocolate that our Manc hosts had rustled together for us all (proper hardcore!!)
We then jumped another taxi as we were still about 30-40k from Potosi, well this taxi looked like it was held together with stickers (quote Andy!) it was a shed, it should have been scrapped when the Spanish came across in the 1500`s, but the Bolivians cannot afford to part with anything, so everything is bodged together in a hotch potch way, this taxi was no exception!
Fair play to the guy though he took us about 20k before we had to get out again due to more blockades.
Here we had to jump another taxi, and it wasn`t much better to be honest, although this one was held together with blue tac so it did feel a bit more sturdy!
Anyway to cut a very long story short, we made it to Potosi, through the blockade, unscathed.
It was a brilliant experience and one I`m sure none of us will ever forget!
After that we spent a couple of nights there, we had only intended one by this point due to the delays in Sucre, but the next morning I was almost floored with the altitude (3900 metres) so we delayed our bus tickets for the next day and spent Saturday people watching again.
We also met another nice couple Hamish and Ema who are motorcycling their way through Sth America (among other countries) so on our last night we all went out for some food and fine wine.
To say we have met some interesting people this last week or so is an understatement, out trip has really gained momentum and I know there isnt going to be enough time to see all the things and places we want to see.
I absolutley loved Bolivia and would have liked to spent a couple more weeks there at least but we just didn`t have the time.
Anyway were in Chile now in San Pedro, I will let Matt fill the gap between Potosi and Chile, via Uyuni and the Salt Flats!!

Watch this space...

Hi all,
Im not posting much today as feeling really sick from the altitude.
We are now in Potosi the highest City in the world, and God don`t we know it.
I almost crashed into the TV this morning when I got out of bed I was that dizzy.
Anyway I will update the blog possbly tmw or maybe later in the week when we get back from the Salt Flats.
Our journey from Sucre to Potosi through the road blocks was an amazing experience and one I can`t wait to share with you all.

Have a nice weekend everybody I hope the sun comes out soon!

Still in Sucre..

We were hoping to go to Potosi today to continue our way through Bolivia, but unfortunately we have had to stay put due to a major road block.
The road block is being caused by the Miners, they are up in arms with the way the mines are managed and so have downed tools and stopping people from getting into Potosi (by bus)
This is a bit of a pain really as nobody knows how long it is going to last, everybody is waiting for the Bolivian Government to intervene, but apparently the Miners will only speak with The President himself, God only knows how long this will last.
We will give it another day or so before we start to consider our options.
On the plus side we have met a great couple from Manchester, Sarah and Andy.
We met at the hostal we are staying at, Matt recognised the Northern accent straight away, not something you hear a lot of in Sth America.
They are only travelling through Bolivia, I say only, it`s probably just as well as their mode of transport is a bicycle each!!
Fair play to them me and Matt say, we are meeting up with them tonight for a few beers and some food.
We did meet up last night but Andy was ill so went back early, we then got chatting to this Belgian guy who they had met earlier, he too is cycling, but he is doing the length of the continent, same as our trip but in reverse order.
He started in Argentina in January, and to date he has clocked up 7000 kilometres, he is thinking of going right up to Canada, through Central America and The States, again good luck to the guy.
He has previously cycled through Pakistan and China to name a few, he is an interesting guy with a lot to say for himself (I guess that comes with travelling alone!!)
So were having a pretty good time of it at the moment, we have being drinking more than our fair share of the local Bolivian wine, at 2.50GBP a bottle it`s rude not too!!
We have just come back from a local trip to see some dinasouar footprints, I can`t even begin to bore you with the details as there aren`t any, it was a waste of money.
It did pass a couple of hours though.
There are lots of markets here and we have been enjoying a daily fruitshake, cost something like 30p, that includes unlimited top ups :-)
It has being commented on that we (or should I say I) blog a lot, so that means you probably think we spend all day in internet cafes?
Well more often than not there is internet access at the hostal, and if there isn`t there are internet cafes everywhere so if we are in the towns/cities we can`t help but pop in.
Plus we like to keep up to date with the news, emails, researching our trip, booking hostals/tickets etc.
So that`s about it for today folks, hopefully the next time I/we blog we will be shivering in Potosi wishing we were back in sunny Sucre!!

That`s Life..

Ok so I`ve had a serious word with myself and am now officially "cheered up"
I don`t know what was wrong with me last week, but I`m feeling much better now, so apologies for anybody who received a miserable email or read the blog and thought I was being a miserable tw@t!
I don`t even think Matt was homesick to be honest probably just Michelle Sick for being so fed up!

We are now in Sucre, Bolivia and it`s a really nice place, it is not too dissimilar to Cusco in Peru.
There are lot`s of nice Colonial Buildings and Restaurants and it`s nice and sunny, which always helps!
We arrived by bus this morning at about 6am, the journey was actually ok and not as bad as we thought it might have being.
I think our bus trip from La Paz to Cochabamba was a bad one and we were just unlucky.
We left Cochabamba at about 8pm last night, we hadn`t being on the bus 5 minutes when it pulled up outside the Bus Terminal and more people started to get on, which was a little concerning as we were packed to the rafters!
It was the locals and indigenous families, and it seems that they bypass the ticket system at the official terminal and just flag the driver down, give him a back hander and jump aboard.
These poor buggers had to sit in the aisle of the bus though, for 10+ hours.
It just goes to show how poor these people are and the conditions that they have to travel in as they cannot afford the full fare, which is less than 3.50GBP!
At one point we thought that a woman and her 2 children were going to get thrown off as it was obvious that she hadn`t bought a ticket, yet she was sat in somebody´s seat who had paid.
We were all ready to pay for her and her kids to stay on the bus or get on another one, but they seemed to come to some agreement with the drivers assistant and off we went.
We hadn`t being on the road an hour when we stopped for a toilet/eating break, so EVERYBODY got off the bus and we were there about 30 minutes, everybody back on again and off we go.
Less than another hour later, we stopped AGAIN for ANOTHER toilet/eating break (either the driver had a weak bladder or he liked his grub?!) again everybody got off and we were there about 20 minutes (no wonder it takes so long to get anywhere)
We were then on the road until about 2am before we stopped again so it wasn´t too bad.
One thing is for sure is that the Sth American`s do love their food, for all the poverty here you never see anybody undernourished, quite the opposite in fact.
It seems that eating is the only consistency they have.
The roads are really poor in Bolivia, which is obviously why journeys do take so long, the roads we travelled last night were no more than a cobbled path, there are no motorways or dual carriageways, almost everything is a single dirt track winding road, again another thing to be thankful for back home.
We were stopped by the Police at about 5am, for what seemed like a routine spot check, we were all asked to present our passport`s, and were shone in the face with a torch, this went on for about half an hour before we were finally sent on our way again.

We will stay in Sucre for two night`s before we head off for Potosi to see the Silver Mines, this will be an experience in itself.
There are kids as young as 13 working in these inhuman conditions, life expectancy for anybody working in the mines is 15 years, with most miners falling victim to Silicosis, which is a deadly lung disease caused by inhaling silicone dust.
Apparently the visit is a wake up call and an experience that you won`t forget, which judging from the above I can well believe.
Your are urged to take drinks and sweets in for the miners, who are apparently proud of their work and the daily hardship that they endure.
Again another reason I will never complain when I`m having a bad day at work in an air conditioned office, with internet access, a cafeteria where I can afford anything on the menu, lighting, heating, comfort etc.
After Potosi it`s to Uyuni to the salt flats, and we are then hoping to be in Chile by about Monday next week.

We are just trying to upload some pics now that we took in La Paz, Copacabana, Cochabamba, and a few we have taken in Sucre today (hot off the press)
There is an absolute classic that I cant wait to upload, it`s of a car that is extremely overloaded, this is no YouTube stuff either, this is live from Matt and Michelle`s Nikon in Bolivia.
The car looks like the chassis is going to snap in half, enjoy!!

Bloomin` Bolivian Buses

We`re now in a place called Cochabamba where we arrived yesterday by bus.
La Paz was quite an uneventful few days for us to be honest, for a few reasons.
We were both ill with cold`s (me worse than Matt) the altitude, the pollution from the cars and we were both feeling a bit homesick.
We tried to make the most of it, but it was a struggle as it it such a hilly place and all of the above did nothing to help our spirits.
We were in a great Hostal (4*) though with cable TV and hot water 24hrs, which as any traveller will vouch for is an absolute bonus!!
We took a cab yesterday morning to the bus terminal, and within seconds of arriving were escorted to the bus ticket office and sold our tickets for the 10.30 bus, it was 10.35 at this point!
We didn`t think too much of the time as I don`t think we have got away on time yet, so we idled about, got a drink, paid our departure tax(!) and started ambling towards the gate where we needed to be.
Once we got through we saw our bus about to pull away (typical) so we started hurtling towards it, trying to establish that it was the correct bus and that our backpacks had been loaded onto it.
We were just told to get on the bus (Vamos!!) by the driver as they obviously wanted to be away.
I couldn`t help but think the worst at this point (being Friday 13th too) and started to worry that our bags hadn`t been loaded, anyway they had luckily.
The bus was to take 6 hours from La Paz to Cochabamba, 8.5 hours later we stepped off, this was after we had to stop 3 times as there was some kind of problem with the bus, and again there are no breakdown services or roadside assistance in The Andes, you just have to hope that the driver knows something about buses, other than where the steering wheel and the loud pedal are!
The bus was horrible, again it was filthy, full of locals and their offspring (of which there were many) and it stank of the deep fried chicken that they clog their arteries with day in day out.
There was no leg room either and the people who were in front of us reclined their seats for the duration, which meant that their heads were literally in our laps.
It was bad enough for me, but I did feel for Matt who is a good few inches longer than me in the leg department, he put on a brave face :-)
We didnt have a hostal booked but we had managed to pick out a decent one from our Rough Guide, which was only a couple of blocks from the bus station (no taxi required) we did struggle to find it though as the place was absolutely packed, and NONE of the streets had name plates.
Matt asked one of the locals eventually where the street was, and luckily we were heading in the right direction.
Tomorrow we take the night bus to Sucre, booking the tickets for this journey was an experience in itself, but I can`t be bothered to go into detail.
It`s another mammoth bus ride (12 hours) but hopefully we will be able to sleep most of it.
We`ve not done a great deal since we arrived in Bolivia, but then we never really planned to see that much here, we are visiting the silver mines in Potosi later this week and then we go to a place called Uyuni where we will go on an organised trip to see the Salt Flats after this we will cross into Chile, which will mean 3 down two to go!!

No Sign of Paddington

Well as we´ve been in Bolivia for almost a week now I thought I´d give you all a brief summary of Peru. It seems like an age away now, but it was 15th June when we crossed the border from Loha in Ecuador to Piura in Peru. I think Michelle was looking forward to a bit less poverty but I didn´t have the heart to tell her it would be pretty much the same as Ecuador. Anyway, the first sight we saw, which made both our hearts sink, was what looked like a rubbish dump! It was in fact the outskirts of Piura, although I´m sure there was a rubbish dump nearby as the smell was horrendous and as it was hot the smell was even worse!

Still we braved it and once we entered the main city it improved. Onwards from Piura brought us to Trujillo and the ruins at Chan Chan. These were very impressive (thanks again to Ozelyne for the tour) and I´m sure if the money invested into the South of Peru (specifically around Cusco) was invested in the North then there would be a lot more visitors.

From Trujillo we headed to the capital to Lima, which was fairly uneventful, and then to Cusco by plane. I´m sure you´ve read about our struggles with the altitude (no not attitude!) but this is where it hit us the most. It´s hard to describe how bad it is; I was thinking it can´t be as bad as that surely, but it does cripple you. There were stories from other travellers we talked to who were in bed for days, throwing up, not eating, etc. We weren´t quite there but still it was tough.

Still, after a few days acclimatising, nothing could prepare us for Machu Piccu, it was fantastic. To think that ruins that big remained hidden for so long is amazing. The setting too is unbelievable, literally perched between two mountains with gravity defying terraces, the Incas sure had a head for heights!

After Cusco, there was Arequipa and the Colca Canyon and then Puno and Lake Titikaka. To mention them in such a short sentence doesn´t do them justice as both are easily worthy of a trip to Peru.

Overall I think Peru has more sights to see than Ecuador but Ecuador has more of an untouched feel to it (and Bolivia even more so). Sometimes the locals give me strange looks when I´m taking photos of scenery. "Why are you taking a photo of that for, it´s only a mountain?" The country they live in is so diverse and scenic, but then they have lived in it all their life and don´t know any different. Also the Peruvians are really friendly and always seem to be smiling even though a large percentage of them have absolutely nothing compared to the luxury we have back home. I´m not preaching but it really does make you realize how lucky we are at home, even people who can´t (or in some cases won´t!) work usually have a roof over their head, running water, heating and Sky TV. And in some of those cases they still spend all day moaning as if they are owed a decent life by the government.

So that´s it. We won´t be spending as much time in Bolivia as Peru which is a shame as there´s loads to do here too, but time is pressing. The main highlight in Bolivia will be crossing the salt flats into Chile which we should be doing next week sometime. It´s a 3 day tour and you camp out in sub-zero temperatures which will be nice!

Adios,

p.s. We didn´t see Paddington Bear although he´s from Peru. He must be getting on a bit now though, so he probably doesn´t get out much!

Luxury in La Paz

We arrived in La Paz yesterday, although it was touch and go as to whether we would get here or not.
I dont know if any of you have being following the news but Sth America have been experiencing some heavy snow these last couple of days, and Im sorry to say that Bolivia was no exception!!
We arrived here on Sunday as you know and booked into the grottiest hostal to date, why we booked in here I don`t know as we have a budget that affords us nice accommodation wherever we are.
Basic doesn`t even begin to describe the services that weren´t on offer.
The shower was a death trap with bare wires exposed on the shower head, we did wonder what the wooden block on the shower floor was for and the rubber flip flops!!
Anyway while we were in Copocabana we had really bad storms and the power went off on the 1st night we were there.
Luckily for us we were in the pub, and that`s where we stayed as it was snowing, haling and raining all at the same time, not to mention blowing a gale, it was horrible.
So two bottles of wine later we stumbled out into the freezing sleet in total darkness, with only the glow from my mobile for light.
We made it back to the freezing cold hostal (or should that be hostile!) and just crawled into bed almost fully clothed, and because we were half cut managed to get a decent night´s sleep despite the elements!
The next day we were due to go on a boat trip to see the sun and the moon islands, needless to say we sacked it off, which was just as well as when we eventually got up the lake looked extremely choppy with boats bouncing all over the place.
The power was off for 24hrs, I dont think I have ever spent so much (non stop) time in a pub, it`s the only place where we could stay relatively warm, and because they cook by portable gas bottles we were able to get some hot drinks and soup (along with some more wine)
So we just mooched our way through our time in Copocabana, and didn`t really see or do much as the weather was against us.
The buses were all over the place too yesterday because of the weather, and the one we were scheduled to get, first had to go to the border with a bus full of tourists before he could take us to La Paz.
I think this was a blessing in disguise, becuase of the six tyres on the bus only 2 had any tread on them, and I think only 3 had any air in them!
We hung about not really knowing what was going on, there were lots of frustrtaed people not knowing where to go, where their bus was, and how they were going to reach their destination.
We stayed calm (kind of) as we knew losing our rag wouldnt get us another bus.
Anyway eventually after about an hour of uncertainty, the girl who we booked our bus ticket with came across and ushered us onto a bus and said this will take you to La Paz.
The bus was a Rolls Royce of buses, in that it had wheels, seats, air and tread in it`s tyres, a steering wheel, a windscreen with no cracks in it etc, so we jumped aboard and off we went to La Paz.
And here we are, we didn`t do anything last night as Im full of cold and wa sin desperate need of a hot shower and a good night`s sleep in a warm and comfy bed, which we got as we are staying in a fab hostal in the centre.
It has unlimited hot water, an electric blanket on the bed, big fluffy towels and it`s spotlessly clean, they also do a cracking breakfast and it`s free internet access.
What more could you ask for..
So now we are off out to see the delights of La Paz.
It is the highest capital city in the world at 3600 metres (rising up to 4000 in parts) and is the most unlikely place to set fire due to it`s lack of oxygen (fact not fiction!!)
Altitude is bad enough when you`re feeling well but when you`re blocked up and full of cold it makes it even more difficult.
Even though we have become more and more acclimatised it is still tough at times and we welcome any opportunity to not have to climb a steep hill, not that theres much chance of that here as it`s more hilly than Sheffield.
One last thing (Matt is tapping his foot impatiently wanting to go) everywhere we go or every bus we get on we have to fill in a form that states our name, age, sex (no thanks) passport number and occupation.
Well this occupation bit was starting to get a bit boring, partly because I have quit my job so am officially unemployed.
So we have decided to put in spureous job titles (starting yesterday) so Matt is now a Professional Boxer and I am a Weightlifter!
We will be changing these each time we have to fill in one of these silly forms.
Suggestions welcome :-)

Peru to Bolivia

Well we´re now safely ensconced in Bolivia, seems like we´re tearing through Sth America!!

So just to let you know what we´ve been up to the last few days (apart from thinking about English grub and home!)
On Friday we took the bus from Arequipa to Puno, we were supposed to leave Puno on the 11.30am bus, it was 1pm by the time we pulled out of the bus station, we were a bit peeved as it was a 6-7 hour journey and we´d not booked a hostal in advance, which meant we would not be arriving til late.
All the time the bus was late all the locals were shouting at the driver and banging on the bus floor shouting "vamos" (which means "Let´s go") it was quite funny and even me and Matt took our turn!
The bus was really grotty, despite the fact that we had paid over the odds with a travel company (rather than book the tickets ourselves, we´re getting lazy!!) it was full of smelly locals with the contents of their houses, and no this time I´m not kidding!
There was one woman with the entire contents of her house in the underside luggage compartment of the bus (maybe this is why we were late getting away?)
I have even seen animals been bundled in there in Banos (Ecuador) but that is a visual I would rather forget!
Anyway the bus journey was pretty uneventful, the locals on the bus turned out to be really friendly, and one of them even asked us to keep an eye on his bags while he got off for a while, others were telling us how much longer it was before we arrived, where to get off etc, we felt like royalty!!
Once we got to Puno we were offered a hostal at the bus depot, luckily it´s one we had seen in our Rough Guide handbook so we jumped in a cab and got a nice room for 10GBP a night, with free internet access!!
Puno is a really nice place, despite what we had read about it, very touristy (if you like that kind of thing) lots of nice places to eat, the usual souvenir shops, internet cafes etc and the weather was decent too.
We booked a trip straight away to go on Lake Titicaca to see The Uros Floating Islands
They had just finished building a boat when we arrived so they cajoled us all into helping them launch it into the lake!
We then went another 2.5 hours by boat onto another Island, Taquile, which is often described as the closest you can get to heaven?!
There are only 2,200 inhabitants on Ths Island and it really was beautiful, although Matt was extremely ill with altitude sickness so we missed the tour guide and all the info he was telling us, so I can´t really tell you much about the place.
While the tour guide was telling us about the place I was patting Matt´s back while he threw up all over the beautiful Island ;-)
He was green in the face, I have never seen anybody that shade before and he was all cold and sticky, bless him, anyway he was a brave soldier and insisted on climbing up to the top despite his weakness and nausea, I´m pleased to say he´s much better today and back to his old self (looking at pics of food on the internet)
We have posted some pics today though of The Floating Islands and the Indigenous folk who live there, I´m sure you´ll find them extremely colourful!

Today we got the bus from Puno across the Bolivian Border to a place called Copacabana (I haven´t seen Barry Manilow yet??)
The border crossing was a breeze, which is a relief as you do hear quite a few horror stories as I´ve mentioned before.
The bus journey is only 3.5 hours and it was full of backpackers, and the bus was actually playing decent music!!
So when I say decent, I mean George Michael, Sting, The Stones, Supertramp, The Eagles etc, now I know Ben will be reading this and thinking "that´s not decent music" but when you have come by bus from Ecuador to Bolivia (which is a lot of miles!!) listening to the incessant tra la la la, diddle le de de bullshit that we have had to endure, then believe me this becomes decent music!!
Tomorrow we are back on the lake to The Isla Del Sol and The Isla De La Luna, which should be good, I´ll post more about that once we´ve returned.
It involves a strenuous 3 hour trek, I think we´ll be able to cope with that (GASP!)
The trip cost us $4 each, which is cheap as chips and it´s a full day on the lake with an English speaking guide!

On Tuesday we are getting the bus to La Paz (the capital) we have to be a bit tighter with our schedule now if we want to see and do everything that we have planned, plus the hostal that we chose this time is an absolute dump ($7 for the night, for us both!) so it´s an incentive for us to get our @rses into gear.
If I told you the bathroom was painted in pink gloss would that give you an idea??
The bus into La Paz is only 3.5 hours, which compared to some of the mammoth journeys we´ve done so far is like getting the bus at home into town!
This is another reason why we can´t afford to hang about anywhere as bus trips take up so many valuable days, night buses are available quite often but if you take the night bus then you don´t get to see anything, so it´s a bit of a compromise.

So that´s about it for the time being, will probably post again when we get to La Paz on Tuesday
Adios Amigo´s

P.S Matt has had a fry up for his brunch today (Bacon, Egg and Tomato) he seems a bit happier ;-)