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Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Wine and walking...
May be back home but life is not yet over and we have the chance for some brill weekends. Last weekend being a great example, the weather may have been rather crappy but with a pile of Vino, some fab hills and good company all is good.
The weekend started with a dash up to Torradamph where Mhairi had prepared a yummy leg of lamb and with Sneds and Stevie there as well there was no shortage of the demon drink. The bad side was having to be up at the crack of dawn on Saturday to carry on North to Cannich where we joined the NHS hill walking club to stroll up a few munros. Namely Tom a Chonich, Toll Creagach and on Sunday Carn nan Gobhar. Sunday night spent doing very little indeed!
The weekend started with a dash up to Torradamph where Mhairi had prepared a yummy leg of lamb and with Sneds and Stevie there as well there was no shortage of the demon drink. The bad side was having to be up at the crack of dawn on Saturday to carry on North to Cannich where we joined the NHS hill walking club to stroll up a few munros. Namely Tom a Chonich, Toll Creagach and on Sunday Carn nan Gobhar. Sunday night spent doing very little indeed!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Uruguay for the day
Having failed to get to Uruguay in our first week we took the opportunity to have a day on the other side of the river in the small Portuguese town of Colonia. An early start, for us, and an expensive boat trip saw the two of us disembarking mid morning in the new port.Colonia is a lovely wee town to stroll round, with many cobbled streets and ocean views. Historically it was set up by the Portuguese to allow them to smuggle goods into Buenos Aires but with its location being perfect for military purposes it has been fought over several times, switching between Spanish and Portuguese. This makes the museums rather interesting as they are all split between artifacts and architecture from each of the European nations that ruled the place.
Back to BA
Yet another 17 hours in a bus. We always knew that the push from Patagonia to BA was going to be a little painful but knowing about something in advance does not often make it more pleasant. At least the journey was uneventful, several hours of spinning in ones seat to try and get some sleep and then hours of flat pampas as we traveled up to BA.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Peninsula Valdes, Puerto Piramides
Up early and full of misplaced excitement about the trip to the Valdes Peninsula. On arrival at Pto Piramides we get confirmation that the boats are not running. What this means is that we find out that there is virtually nothing to do in Pyramides if the boats are not able to get to sea. Sadly, we also find out that the only bus back to town is at 6pm that evening. 7 hours to fill in a one horse town - tricky.
Still to make the best of it we have a lovely walk along the beach, spot a few whales playing in the surf and have a long lunch. Before we know it the time has gone and we are heading back to Madryn in preparation for the bus to BA.
Still to make the best of it we have a lovely walk along the beach, spot a few whales playing in the surf and have a long lunch. Before we know it the time has gone and we are heading back to Madryn in preparation for the bus to BA.
Puerto Madryn and Right Whales!
Now on the official journey north back to Buenos Aires we have decided to shelve plans to stop in Bariloche for a day´s skiing as we would not actually have a full day in the town to go skiing. Plan B and an overnight bus journey from El Calafate down to Rio Gallegos and then up to Puerto Madryn where the Right Whales can be spotted.
Needless to say the bus journey is not something to dwell on, indeed the town of Pto Madryn is not too much to write home about. However. . . . . when we took a wander along the sea front I was amazed to be able to look out and spot an entire pod of whales only 50m or so from the water front. A rapid trip to the pier for a better look was in order, and sure enough from the pier the whales were very close, so close that to see them all we had to do was look straight down from the pier, a 20m whale only 20m away. Amazing!!! Roll on tomorrow when we go out to the Valdes peninsula where boats will take us out to see the whales, along with dolphins, elephant seals and if we are uber lucky Orcas.
Needless to say the bus journey is not something to dwell on, indeed the town of Pto Madryn is not too much to write home about. However. . . . . when we took a wander along the sea front I was amazed to be able to look out and spot an entire pod of whales only 50m or so from the water front. A rapid trip to the pier for a better look was in order, and sure enough from the pier the whales were very close, so close that to see them all we had to do was look straight down from the pier, a 20m whale only 20m away. Amazing!!! Roll on tomorrow when we go out to the Valdes peninsula where boats will take us out to see the whales, along with dolphins, elephant seals and if we are uber lucky Orcas.
More glaciers- Perito Moreno
Time to return to the land of yummy steaks, starting with a couple of days in El Calafate. A small town that seems to only really exist to service the tourist desire to view one of the most impressive glaciers in the world.
The Perito Mereno glacier is about 80km from the town and consists of a flow of ice that is advancing at the rate of 2m per day into the Lago Argentino. What this means is that there is an enormous face to the glacier that is about 60m high and every day there are large chunks falling off this glacier into the water. Some of these chunks are larger than houses and form the basis of ice bergs that flow down the lake past El Calafate. While we were there admiring the glacier we were lucky enough to spot a couple of huge slabs calving off the face, these bits were small fry by Moreno standards but still 30m *20m*5m+ is a big chunk of blue ice that is very impressive to see and hear as it crashes into the water below. Another lifetime memory made!
The Perito Mereno glacier is about 80km from the town and consists of a flow of ice that is advancing at the rate of 2m per day into the Lago Argentino. What this means is that there is an enormous face to the glacier that is about 60m high and every day there are large chunks falling off this glacier into the water. Some of these chunks are larger than houses and form the basis of ice bergs that flow down the lake past El Calafate. While we were there admiring the glacier we were lucky enough to spot a couple of huge slabs calving off the face, these bits were small fry by Moreno standards but still 30m *20m*5m+ is a big chunk of blue ice that is very impressive to see and hear as it crashes into the water below. Another lifetime memory made!
Hiking the W - Last day!
Yoiks, we may have had a night of luxury last night but when an alarm goes off at 6am it is never a good thing! Still up and out the hotel by 7am to start the hike up towards the Chileno Campsite and hopefully a great view of the famous towers.
As we set out it was still dark which made determing the weather a little tricky but as the sun slowly rose we realised that there was cloud all around us, but it seemed to be lifting as quickly as the sun was rising. Fairly hopefully! After only a couple of hours the clouds had entirely lifted and we can see the towers, yippee, but still not in full view as all we can see at the moment is the tops behind other bits of mountain. Not far after passing the Chileno campsite we started running into snow on the path which slowed things down until we got the crampons on and were able to skip happily over the ice to reach the Torres campsite - still with 40 minutes to spare before we have to start down the hill. Sadly, at this very moment the clouds and snow came in and all chances of a perfect Torres view went up the proverbial. Still at least we have had a sight of them, along with some amazing views down the valley.
The trip down was uneventful other than a fox giving Clare the heeby jeebies as it wandered up behind us. Good to spot some wildlife, but somewhat closer than was expected. After a lunch of what we had pinched from breakfast we headed out past the posh hostel and on the final 7km along a road to where the bus should pick us up. A nice enough walk out but kind of like a walk out at the end of a Munro, something you are keen to get over and done with as soon as possible.
On arrival at the Rangers station we started waiting for the bus, technically with only 20-40 minutes to wait, however after 2 hours of waiting we decided to hitch back as it seemed that the bus had forgotten us! At least the ranger´s station was quite interesting to wait in, several deer like creatures wandering by, another fox, a skunk and about 8 or so condors wheeling overhead.
Conclusions from Torres del Paine - An amazing mountain that certainly provides some of the best walking that we have done in South America but the weather is as changeable as the North West of Scotland so we were lucky to have it as good as we did. On other days it could be a very harsh place.
As we set out it was still dark which made determing the weather a little tricky but as the sun slowly rose we realised that there was cloud all around us, but it seemed to be lifting as quickly as the sun was rising. Fairly hopefully! After only a couple of hours the clouds had entirely lifted and we can see the towers, yippee, but still not in full view as all we can see at the moment is the tops behind other bits of mountain. Not far after passing the Chileno campsite we started running into snow on the path which slowed things down until we got the crampons on and were able to skip happily over the ice to reach the Torres campsite - still with 40 minutes to spare before we have to start down the hill. Sadly, at this very moment the clouds and snow came in and all chances of a perfect Torres view went up the proverbial. Still at least we have had a sight of them, along with some amazing views down the valley.
The trip down was uneventful other than a fox giving Clare the heeby jeebies as it wandered up behind us. Good to spot some wildlife, but somewhat closer than was expected. After a lunch of what we had pinched from breakfast we headed out past the posh hostel and on the final 7km along a road to where the bus should pick us up. A nice enough walk out but kind of like a walk out at the end of a Munro, something you are keen to get over and done with as soon as possible.
On arrival at the Rangers station we started waiting for the bus, technically with only 20-40 minutes to wait, however after 2 hours of waiting we decided to hitch back as it seemed that the bus had forgotten us! At least the ranger´s station was quite interesting to wait in, several deer like creatures wandering by, another fox, a skunk and about 8 or so condors wheeling overhead.
Conclusions from Torres del Paine - An amazing mountain that certainly provides some of the best walking that we have done in South America but the weather is as changeable as the North West of Scotland so we were lucky to have it as good as we did. On other days it could be a very harsh place.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Hiking the "W" - Day 4
A leisurely morning, pasta/chicken soup breakfast (delightful!) and hiking to luxury we go! We had been told that the refugio by the towers would be open but by the time we reached Los Cuernos we realised the opposite was true and woohoo, I mean sadly, we had no option but to stay in the Hosteria Las Torres, a more upmarket lodging. Walking the rest of the length of the Lake Nordenskjold we reached our destination and nearly disastor as the hotel was full with a Packard Bell conference. After a few moments of indecision we were finally offered a room that needed some repairs, so after a few hours of devinely warming ourselves in front of a huge log fire we got into our room, a bath and had a truly delicious 3 course meal. This is the life!
Hiking the "W" - Day 3
Refugio Paine Grande - Camp Italiano - Valle Frances - Refugio Los Cuernos, 8hrs, 20km, lots of up, snow and crampon fun.
After a delicious breakfast of a lone cereal bar and a cup of tea we started walking, cloudy but dry we made good time to Camp Italiano, passing Lake Skottsberg, and decided that despite the sign stating that the bridge over the river could take 2 at a time we would go solo over it, rapido style. We dumped our big pack at the bottom of the camp and headed up into the clouds. It was looking a bit hopeless in terms of seeing the mountain glacier in the Valle Frances and Lake Nordenskjold, but we put our crampons on and headed on through the beautiful winter woods, listening to the creaking and groaning of the glacier. Then the clouds cleared and we were facing the stunningly massive frances glacier. Wahl! Stomping on in the crampons in the snow had definetely been worth it. Walking back we took in the beauty of the green glacier lake Nardenskjold and it´s little islands and made it back safe and sound for lunch back at camp. The rest of the walk skirted the nothern edge of lake Nardenskjold, a series of ups and downs that provided a picturesque last leg to day 3.
We arrived by 4ish to the hostel and found ourselves to be the only guests, so we enjoyed a good steak dinner and warm fire with the 4 blokes working there and kipped down for the night, nursing blistered and aching feet, glad that tomorrow would be a short and sweet 4 hours only.
After a delicious breakfast of a lone cereal bar and a cup of tea we started walking, cloudy but dry we made good time to Camp Italiano, passing Lake Skottsberg, and decided that despite the sign stating that the bridge over the river could take 2 at a time we would go solo over it, rapido style. We dumped our big pack at the bottom of the camp and headed up into the clouds. It was looking a bit hopeless in terms of seeing the mountain glacier in the Valle Frances and Lake Nordenskjold, but we put our crampons on and headed on through the beautiful winter woods, listening to the creaking and groaning of the glacier. Then the clouds cleared and we were facing the stunningly massive frances glacier. Wahl! Stomping on in the crampons in the snow had definetely been worth it. Walking back we took in the beauty of the green glacier lake Nardenskjold and it´s little islands and made it back safe and sound for lunch back at camp. The rest of the walk skirted the nothern edge of lake Nardenskjold, a series of ups and downs that provided a picturesque last leg to day 3.
We arrived by 4ish to the hostel and found ourselves to be the only guests, so we enjoyed a good steak dinner and warm fire with the 4 blokes working there and kipped down for the night, nursing blistered and aching feet, glad that tomorrow would be a short and sweet 4 hours only.
Hiking the "W" - Day 2
Glacier Gray - 9.5 hrs, 3o ish km and a near death experience, not bad for day 2!
Set off just before 8, we walked 50 mins in the low clouds (what we later realised was uphill) to the majestic sight of lake grey, dotted with icebergs and covered by a magical morning mist and then onwards to the fantastical sight of glacier grey, spanning about 1km across and stretching out 50 or 60 km or more to the mountains beyond - spectacular! We had lunch at the main viewpoint before heading on to wander round the sides of the glacier, unfortunately the path had collapsed about 30 mins round and after trying to scramble across, I ended up gripping on for dear life to the muddy overhang above a river, needing a helping hand from Don to make it back to safe ground, we decided it was time to head back. The views on the way back were amazing as the clouds lifted, the sun came out and blue skies greeted us. A perfect day in the park!
Set off just before 8, we walked 50 mins in the low clouds (what we later realised was uphill) to the majestic sight of lake grey, dotted with icebergs and covered by a magical morning mist and then onwards to the fantastical sight of glacier grey, spanning about 1km across and stretching out 50 or 60 km or more to the mountains beyond - spectacular! We had lunch at the main viewpoint before heading on to wander round the sides of the glacier, unfortunately the path had collapsed about 30 mins round and after trying to scramble across, I ended up gripping on for dear life to the muddy overhang above a river, needing a helping hand from Don to make it back to safe ground, we decided it was time to head back. The views on the way back were amazing as the clouds lifted, the sun came out and blue skies greeted us. A perfect day in the park!
Hiking the "W" - Day 1
An early start for us, 8am, and after picking up a few others, via a cave that once held miladon bones (giant sloth) and a wee panic that we had failed to succesfully use our espanol and ended up on a day trip instead, we arrive at the Ranger station and the entrance to the Torres del Paine National Park (Porteria Serrano).
After signing into to the park and discussing our plans with the ranger we head off into the wilderness with Stephie and Chris (a German couple that were on the boat) and Bo (an American professional skiier). The first leg is a 5 hour walk to the Refugio Paine Grande. From the off the views are spectacular, with the 3 Cuernos dominating the landscape with their snow capped black peaks, yellow-white middles and black bases, we happily tread the well worn path and appreciate the perfect hiking conditions. First stop was on the bend of the River Grey for a quick lunch (always good to get some weight out of our packs!) and then on to breathtaking site of the glacier blue water of Lake Pehoe before arriving, reasonably refreshed, at our home for the next couple of nights, Refugio Paine Grande. The refugio is a huge hostel beside the lake that is currently under construction, so no heating in the rooms and no running water or electricity in the mornings but as hardened travellers we took this in our stride! Cooked up our first pasta dinner of many and went to sleep excited about the adventure of the next day - Glacier Gray!
After signing into to the park and discussing our plans with the ranger we head off into the wilderness with Stephie and Chris (a German couple that were on the boat) and Bo (an American professional skiier). The first leg is a 5 hour walk to the Refugio Paine Grande. From the off the views are spectacular, with the 3 Cuernos dominating the landscape with their snow capped black peaks, yellow-white middles and black bases, we happily tread the well worn path and appreciate the perfect hiking conditions. First stop was on the bend of the River Grey for a quick lunch (always good to get some weight out of our packs!) and then on to breathtaking site of the glacier blue water of Lake Pehoe before arriving, reasonably refreshed, at our home for the next couple of nights, Refugio Paine Grande. The refugio is a huge hostel beside the lake that is currently under construction, so no heating in the rooms and no running water or electricity in the mornings but as hardened travellers we took this in our stride! Cooked up our first pasta dinner of many and went to sleep excited about the adventure of the next day - Glacier Gray!
A day on dry land
Spent a nice lazy day in Peurto Natales, appreciating being back on dry land, picking up our letter from Don´s mum and postcard from family Snedds - thanks, fab to read all your news - hired boots (hmm not the comfiest!), crampons and got booked up on a bus that would take us to the entrance to the National Park, Torres del Paine for the next day. Ended our day with a lovely dinner with 4 of our fellow Navimaggers - Jen, Luke, Donna and Rory and packed up for 5 days in the park. Woohoo!
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Navimagtastic
After a day´s delay we are finally off on board the Navimag, bound for Porto Natales, our romantic honeymoon cruise!
Boarding is via the vehicle entrance and then we are hoisted up on a moving platform, we are all a bubbling with the usual excitement that befits a trip on a calmac ferry. Of the 29 passengers, one passenger is already on crutches and we are having fun trying to figure out who speaks English and who we have spotted looking bored in Peurto Montt (yes we were so bored in Peurto Montt that we played "spot the navimagger", we did not too badly) . Our room on board is very comfortable, a Port view so we can see all the Chilean land mass when out at sea, a reasonable sized shower and toilet with one free bunk - we are sharing with a Spanish chap, Enyatti. It seems that we are allowed to wander all over the rest of the ship but most of it is simply filled with Cargo and not that interesting, however there are a couple of sun decks on the top that provide fab views and a luxury lounge and dining area. All looking good!
Sadly the entire journey turns out to be rather dull weather wise but not experience wise, some rain but for the most part dry however the cloud only lifted at night so the sights of the mountains we were hoping for did not manifest themselves. We could see up to 200-300m up the hills and what could be seen looked lovely. The journey takes us through loads of fjords, many of which come down to only 100m or so wide, with the narrowest channel giving the boat only about 20m on each side, with the mist down this was quite impressive navigation by the captain. Although the cloud was down we were still able to spot lots of sealife in the waters, with Dolphins playing alongside us, sealions and seals playing in the waves and sea birds swooping down to pick up fish. One of our fellow passengers, Luke, is a twitcher and spotted over 60 different types of birds as we passed through the narrows.
Having been travelling in virtually no wind for the entire journey arrival at Porto Natales and the wind has got up. Blows away the clouds so the port is looking fabulous with the high mountains all around, however it also means that we cannot dock. Arrival at 11am and not able to make the last 50m until 5pm, what a pain!
Next highlight, Torres del Paine, Chile´s number 1 national park - Woo hooo!
Monday, August 18, 2008
Peurto Montt
Imagine yourself arriving in the likes of Ardrossan or Largs, on a typical Scottish summer day and you will have transported yourself to the dreary town of Peurto Montt in the tipping rain.
Day 1 we are filled with the excitement of the Navimag, just one sleep away to worry too much about kipping up in this town, although the creepy hostel owners and the bible by the bed are not to be missed.
Day 2 we pop our bags on our back and climb down the stairs to be greeted by 2 Australian girls who are also going on the Navimag but who are the bearers of sad news. The boat has been delayed by a day and aaaaaaaaaaaagggggggggghhhhh we must stay in Peurto Montt for another day! Chin up, good old Scottish stiff upper lip in place (not quite managing to form a smile!) we head out to wander the concrete streets and go to the only entertainment (other than lady bars!) in town - the cinema. Roll on Navimag!
Day 1 we are filled with the excitement of the Navimag, just one sleep away to worry too much about kipping up in this town, although the creepy hostel owners and the bible by the bed are not to be missed.
Day 2 we pop our bags on our back and climb down the stairs to be greeted by 2 Australian girls who are also going on the Navimag but who are the bearers of sad news. The boat has been delayed by a day and aaaaaaaaaaaagggggggggghhhhh we must stay in Peurto Montt for another day! Chin up, good old Scottish stiff upper lip in place (not quite managing to form a smile!) we head out to wander the concrete streets and go to the only entertainment (other than lady bars!) in town - the cinema. Roll on Navimag!
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Day trip to the islands
After the last couple of days waking this morning was a fabulous experience. Not a cloud in the sky when opening the curtains. Brilliant for a day trip to Isla Quinchao and a couple of the towns on the island - Curaco do Velez and Achao.
We started by catching the bus to Dalcahue where we simply walked onto the ferry which takes you about 200m over to Isla Quinchao. There, much to our surprise there was no obvious bus stop so we started walking up the road towards Curaco, before we had even gone 1/2 a mile a bus came by to whisk us off to Achao. Seems the buses actually go directly to Achao from Castro so we did not need to change at Dalcahue - Duh!
The island is quite lovely and from Achao we had super views over the Chiloe archipelago, a pile of little islands shining in the sunshine. Stopping for lunch in a small local restaurant Clare went for a seafood chowder sort of dish and was presented with a quite remarkable pile of shellfish in a yummy soup. The pile included a large lump of what tasted a bit like crab/lobster, would not like to conclude for certain which, salmon, oysters, clams and mussells, delicious!
After lunch, because of the wonderful weather, we decided to walk the 11km back to Curaco. The journey took us past a few miradors, round farms and over the hill to Curaco which is famed for its "shingled" church, water mills and oysters. Found the church without a problem but sadly the water mills and oyster sales flumoxed us so we just jumped on the next bus back to Castro.
Next stop Porto Montt for the night then off on the Navimag for 4 days to Porto Natales. Woo Hoo! Glaciers, whales, porpoises and fyords to look at, hope the weather is good.
We started by catching the bus to Dalcahue where we simply walked onto the ferry which takes you about 200m over to Isla Quinchao. There, much to our surprise there was no obvious bus stop so we started walking up the road towards Curaco, before we had even gone 1/2 a mile a bus came by to whisk us off to Achao. Seems the buses actually go directly to Achao from Castro so we did not need to change at Dalcahue - Duh!
The island is quite lovely and from Achao we had super views over the Chiloe archipelago, a pile of little islands shining in the sunshine. Stopping for lunch in a small local restaurant Clare went for a seafood chowder sort of dish and was presented with a quite remarkable pile of shellfish in a yummy soup. The pile included a large lump of what tasted a bit like crab/lobster, would not like to conclude for certain which, salmon, oysters, clams and mussells, delicious!
After lunch, because of the wonderful weather, we decided to walk the 11km back to Curaco. The journey took us past a few miradors, round farms and over the hill to Curaco which is famed for its "shingled" church, water mills and oysters. Found the church without a problem but sadly the water mills and oyster sales flumoxed us so we just jumped on the next bus back to Castro.
Next stop Porto Montt for the night then off on the Navimag for 4 days to Porto Natales. Woo Hoo! Glaciers, whales, porpoises and fyords to look at, hope the weather is good.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Chiloe and Castro
Next day was another of those travelling frenzies, a bus out of Pucon and five hours down to Porto Montt and then another bus (and ferry) over to the island of Chiloe and the main town on the island - Castro. Chiloe is the largest Chilean island, sitting at the north end of Patagonia where it is blasted by the harsh rains and winds of the Pacific. The climate of the island has meant that it keeps manyof its original characteristics with iconic wooden churches and palafitos - houses mounted on stilts over the water´s edge. The town of Castro reminds both of us a little of Ullapool with a hint of Tobermory - all the houses are painted in bright colours and sitting on a steep hillside it looks magical.
A bit of Villarrica
Not the most promising of starts but the forcast is good and after waiting for 30minutes suddenly the volcano appeared. Don decided to go for it but Clare elected to skip the volcano and go for a cycle with Will and Mel.
The transfer to the volcano takes you up to the carpark for the ski centre where we walked up the gentle ski runs and then on up the hill. En route the weather was very changeable from stunning sunshine to heavy snowfalls. When the sun shone there were fantastic views out to Lago Villarrica and over to the neighbouring volcano - Jaiva. Sadly having got up to about 2000m of the 2847 required to reach the top the clouds came in and we had to turn around. A real shame but going downhill was basically a fantastic sledge ride right down to the ski centre. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
Clare´s cycle: we followed a similar route to that we went on a couple of days ago but this time with fantastic views of the mountains. After about 15km we decided to try to find Lago Caburgua, after climbing and climbing up the steep slope for about 4km we decided to check whether we were near the lake by popping into a local house. The dogs mating beside us and then one peeing all over Will´s handle bars added much to our journey and when the owner of the house looked totally baffled and pointed in the opposite direction for the lake we decided it was time to have some downhill fun!
That night we enjoyed a posh, Arabian, dinner as a slapup end to our time in Pucon.
The transfer to the volcano takes you up to the carpark for the ski centre where we walked up the gentle ski runs and then on up the hill. En route the weather was very changeable from stunning sunshine to heavy snowfalls. When the sun shone there were fantastic views out to Lago Villarrica and over to the neighbouring volcano - Jaiva. Sadly having got up to about 2000m of the 2847 required to reach the top the clouds came in and we had to turn around. A real shame but going downhill was basically a fantastic sledge ride right down to the ski centre. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
Clare´s cycle: we followed a similar route to that we went on a couple of days ago but this time with fantastic views of the mountains. After about 15km we decided to try to find Lago Caburgua, after climbing and climbing up the steep slope for about 4km we decided to check whether we were near the lake by popping into a local house. The dogs mating beside us and then one peeing all over Will´s handle bars added much to our journey and when the owner of the house looked totally baffled and pointed in the opposite direction for the lake we decided it was time to have some downhill fun!
That night we enjoyed a posh, Arabian, dinner as a slapup end to our time in Pucon.
Parque Nacional Huerquehue
As you may have guessed by the title of this entry we did not go up the Volcano today. Having arisen early to go to the Volcano the weather, and forcast, were looking dodgy so no climbing today. Back to bed for a quick snooze then we got up and headed off to the national park to go for a wander with Mel and Will. (An English couple just returning from NZ after a couple of years and just setting out for 6 months in S.A. and central A.)
As we were rather late in setting off we did not have much time in Huerquehue but enough to walk round a bit of Lago Tinquilco and up towards the three lakes above. The views and waterfalls in the park are simply stunning, a bit like Perthshire with a dusting of snow all over it.
As we were rather late in setting off we did not have much time in Huerquehue but enough to walk round a bit of Lago Tinquilco and up towards the three lakes above. The views and waterfalls in the park are simply stunning, a bit like Perthshire with a dusting of snow all over it.
Cycle to Carburgua
Another rather grey day, still hopefull of good weather for Tuesday but today is certainly not a day to try and climb up a volcano.
After a soggy morning things cleared up and we hired a couple of bikes to off exploring in the country. Heading East out of Pucon we set off for Christo along a quiet forest track which took in some fabulous views of the smaller mountains round Pucon - following the river Carburgua until we reached the village of the same name where there is a lovely waterfall known as the eyes of Carburgua. Three main falls with several tributaries also emptying into a very blue basin. It was then time to head back, given the time we decided to go back via the road, certainly faster than the rather hilly route we used for the outbound journey but there were a few times that the road seemed to be stretching on for ever. Needless to say we handed the bikes back about 50 minutes over our time but it did not seem to matter. Phew!
After a soggy morning things cleared up and we hired a couple of bikes to off exploring in the country. Heading East out of Pucon we set off for Christo along a quiet forest track which took in some fabulous views of the smaller mountains round Pucon - following the river Carburgua until we reached the village of the same name where there is a lovely waterfall known as the eyes of Carburgua. Three main falls with several tributaries also emptying into a very blue basin. It was then time to head back, given the time we decided to go back via the road, certainly faster than the rather hilly route we used for the outbound journey but there were a few times that the road seemed to be stretching on for ever. Needless to say we handed the bikes back about 50 minutes over our time but it did not seem to matter. Phew!
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Thermal springs
Well the deluge has improved but still a rather driech day. Kind of reminds me of the west coast of Scotland in March. Damn! No chance of climbing the volcano today but the forecast gives hope for Tuesday.
A rainy day so what is the best thing to do. Obviously go and lie underwater so we caught the bus out to Termas los Pozones where we could jump between rock pools at various temperatures - all very comfortable to lie in. A perfect way to chill out and relax for the day.
A rainy day so what is the best thing to do. Obviously go and lie underwater so we caught the bus out to Termas los Pozones where we could jump between rock pools at various temperatures - all very comfortable to lie in. A perfect way to chill out and relax for the day.
Pucon
Arrival into Pucon to a complete deluge. The roads have simply turned to rivers making getting across the road to the pubs and restaurants on the other side simply impossible. Luckily for us there is a little tapas bar on the correct side of the road. No need to panic about our alcoholic tendancies. Hope the weather improves a bit!!!
Talca - Paris, London
Well the tagline for the wonderful city of Talca compares it to Paris and London. Other than a slight hint of the whiff of the Paris Metro when walking under the railway line any other comparison to London or the French Capital is a little tricky to see.
Talca is about 4 hours south of Santiago and right in the heart of Wine country, hence the reason for our trip. From what we could tell there is virtually nothing of great interest in Talca itself. Even the Bernardo O´Higgins museum is shut for renovation just now. However, a short bus ride down to San Javier and a tour round the Balduzzi wineyard makes the trip worth while. It was very interesting to actually see all the machinery that they use to strip the grapes from the vines and to remove the seed and skin as necessary when making the wine. We even saw all the bottling process, which is done by hand at Balduzzi. Of course we just had to accept the tasting at the end of the tour, we tried four different wines, a very fresh sauvignon blanc, a rich Carminere, one of their premium blends and finally one of the sweet, late pick, chardonnays which was much to our surprise rather tasty.
8 more hours on a bus now to get to Pucon and the Villarricca volcano. (Active)
Talca is about 4 hours south of Santiago and right in the heart of Wine country, hence the reason for our trip. From what we could tell there is virtually nothing of great interest in Talca itself. Even the Bernardo O´Higgins museum is shut for renovation just now. However, a short bus ride down to San Javier and a tour round the Balduzzi wineyard makes the trip worth while. It was very interesting to actually see all the machinery that they use to strip the grapes from the vines and to remove the seed and skin as necessary when making the wine. We even saw all the bottling process, which is done by hand at Balduzzi. Of course we just had to accept the tasting at the end of the tour, we tried four different wines, a very fresh sauvignon blanc, a rich Carminere, one of their premium blends and finally one of the sweet, late pick, chardonnays which was much to our surprise rather tasty.
8 more hours on a bus now to get to Pucon and the Villarricca volcano. (Active)
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Valparaiso
Staying in fabulously friendly hostel in the middle of Santiago that offers a good breakfast, hot water and lovely rooms. Breakfasted with a lovely french lady who sold her day in Valparaiso so well that we changed our plans of heading to Talca and caught the bus there.
A wonderful, colourful port with winding streets and a quirky selection of houses leading up the steep coastline, serviced by wooden fenniculars that we had fun jumping between.
A wonderful, colourful port with winding streets and a quirky selection of houses leading up the steep coastline, serviced by wooden fenniculars that we had fun jumping between.
Rapa Nui - Day 4 & 5
Hiked up the nature trail to Orongo ceremonial village, where the birdman cult was centered. The Orongo village was where many inhabitants of the island lived between 18th/early 19th century, in small boat like house with tiny tunnels as entrance ways, and where the birdman ceremony took place once a year. 400m up, it is an extremely picturesque site and at the furthest end of the village there are a number of impressive petroglyphs of the birdman symbol with a long beak and hand clutching an egg, turtles and faces (pictures would be good, we know!).
After wandering back down into Hanga Roa we enjoyed an empanada followed by an icecream and had a wonderfully lazy afternoon around town.
Our last day was sadly short and sweet and after a brief walk along the coast it was off to the airport and back to Santiago.
After wandering back down into Hanga Roa we enjoyed an empanada followed by an icecream and had a wonderfully lazy afternoon around town.
Our last day was sadly short and sweet and after a brief walk along the coast it was off to the airport and back to Santiago.
Rapa Nui - The Tour
Today was the day to lay down our trusted guide book and take an official tour of the island, guided by one of the islanders. A very informative day starting at Ahu Vaihu on the south coast where the enormous ruined ahu and the 8 fallen moai stand testiment to the clan warfare and the destruction that took place in the late 17th century. It was then on to Ahu Tongariki where 15 moai have been reerected, after the tsunami of 1960 destroyed the site, by a Japanese company who took a moai back to the Osaka musuem as part of the payment. These moai are facing toward the quarry where the moai were all carved and away from the sea. A fantastic site!
Next it was on to Rano Raraku, both Don`s and my top site. This is the birthplace of the moai where you are able to see around 300 to 400 moai in various states of formation, including the kneeling moai, the 21m giant moai, some just heads sticking out the grass and many carved into the quarry. Fun seeing how many we could spot!
After lunch it was off to see the magnetic stone and the largest moai that ever stood (Ahu Te Pito Kura). According to oral history, a widow erected this moai to represent her dead husband. The magnetic stone is reputed to have come on the boat with the king of the island and to have been used as a navigation tool en route (from who knows where!).
Our final site of the day was the beautiful white sand beach of Anakena, the landing place of Hotu Matua (the king), where there are 7 moai which are thinner than others on the island and a lone moai with a very wide face. The sun was shining and the waves were a calling so a swimming we went. We left the beach happy but a little lighter as my sunglasses were gifted to the creatures of the sea. Damn those large waves!
Another night of terrace chilling and pasta at the hostel (penny pinching required on this island!) left us happy campers.
Next it was on to Rano Raraku, both Don`s and my top site. This is the birthplace of the moai where you are able to see around 300 to 400 moai in various states of formation, including the kneeling moai, the 21m giant moai, some just heads sticking out the grass and many carved into the quarry. Fun seeing how many we could spot!
After lunch it was off to see the magnetic stone and the largest moai that ever stood (Ahu Te Pito Kura). According to oral history, a widow erected this moai to represent her dead husband. The magnetic stone is reputed to have come on the boat with the king of the island and to have been used as a navigation tool en route (from who knows where!).
Our final site of the day was the beautiful white sand beach of Anakena, the landing place of Hotu Matua (the king), where there are 7 moai which are thinner than others on the island and a lone moai with a very wide face. The sun was shining and the waves were a calling so a swimming we went. We left the beach happy but a little lighter as my sunglasses were gifted to the creatures of the sea. Damn those large waves!
Another night of terrace chilling and pasta at the hostel (penny pinching required on this island!) left us happy campers.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Rapa Nui - Day 2
Pancakes for breakfast and then we were off on hired bikes around the West coast of the island in the glorious sunshine! We passed and admired the moai that we had visited the day before and the first new site was of many fallen moai and the outline of the boat houses where the villagers lived.
Many of the moai were pushed over (it is presumed by the islanders) in the 17th century during the bloody war between the 2 clans on the island over limited resources.
We then turned inland to visit Ana Te Pahu , walked down through the banana, sweet potatoes and taro garden to the caves made from lava which had amazing natural circular windows in the roof. After our cave exploration it was back on the bikes and a short ride round to Ahu Akivi, where seven moai overlook a former village, unusually not facing to the sea (the site has proved to be of astronomical significance as at the equinox the seven statues look directly at the setting sun). We stopped and had a picnic lunch here before heading southwest to Ahu Vinapu (beside the airport) where bizarely there are inca style rocks forming the platform on which the fallen moai stood.
The last site of the day was Ranu Kau, 400m uphill, sweaty work! Rano Kau is a spectacular volcanic crator lake that is covered in floating totra reeds, making it look like an image of earth from space, beautiful! After resting and taking in the view we hopped back on the saddle for the downhill fun.
A couple of beers, some vino on the terrace and a cheap and cheerful home cooked pasta dinner marked the end of another happy day on Rapa Nui.
Many of the moai were pushed over (it is presumed by the islanders) in the 17th century during the bloody war between the 2 clans on the island over limited resources.
We then turned inland to visit Ana Te Pahu , walked down through the banana, sweet potatoes and taro garden to the caves made from lava which had amazing natural circular windows in the roof. After our cave exploration it was back on the bikes and a short ride round to Ahu Akivi, where seven moai overlook a former village, unusually not facing to the sea (the site has proved to be of astronomical significance as at the equinox the seven statues look directly at the setting sun). We stopped and had a picnic lunch here before heading southwest to Ahu Vinapu (beside the airport) where bizarely there are inca style rocks forming the platform on which the fallen moai stood.
The last site of the day was Ranu Kau, 400m uphill, sweaty work! Rano Kau is a spectacular volcanic crator lake that is covered in floating totra reeds, making it look like an image of earth from space, beautiful! After resting and taking in the view we hopped back on the saddle for the downhill fun.
A couple of beers, some vino on the terrace and a cheap and cheerful home cooked pasta dinner marked the end of another happy day on Rapa Nui.
Rapa Nui - Day 1
Left Santiago in the sleet and cold, travelled some 3700km and landed into the blue sky and sunshine of Rapa Nui - yay yay yay! Ana, the hostel owner, met us off the plane, popped a lay of flowers round our neck as a welcome, and then it was a short drive to arrive to our little cabin facing out to sea with a lovely terrace to watch the waves crashing and the sun setting - perfect!
We dumped our bags and headed straight out to see our first moai. It was just a short walk along the road that hugs the coast to Ahu Tautira (ahu is the platform on which the moai(s) stand), where our first 2 moai greeted us by the fishing port, then it was off the road and on to the beaten track to Ahu Tahai, Ahu Akapu, and Ahu Ko Te Riku, all hosting one moai with their backs to the ocean. Ahu Ko Te Riku was particularly impressive as he has his top knot (a large red circular stone laid on top of the head made from volcanic scoria) and eyeballs in place. Further along we took in the awsome sight of Ahu Vai Uri which holds 5 moai of varying size, again all facing towards the island. A truly beautiful sight with the huge waves crashing against the volcanic, jagged rocks in the background.
Then it was along a track and up to the Musuem where we learned about the history and myths surrounding the island, the end result being lots of theories and no conclusive evidence as to where the islanders originated (both long eared and short eared folk!) or the significance of the moai statues, Rongo rongo tablets (pieces of wood where a picture style language was scribed, to be read one line then rotated to read the next) and the birdman petroglyphs. The most popular theory is that the islanders originated from Marquis islands (very ropey evidence!), the moai were constructed to commemorate the death of an islander and the birdman petroglyphs came much later and were relating to a yearly competition where the men of Orongo village swam out to another small island, nicked a sooty tern´s egg and the first one back was rewarded with a year in solitary. It all makes perfect sense really!
We ended our first day of island paradise with a bottle of wine on our terrace followed by a delicious atun cerviche and tuna steak dinner in a lovely restaurant with big windows looking out to sea - aaaah this is the life!
We dumped our bags and headed straight out to see our first moai. It was just a short walk along the road that hugs the coast to Ahu Tautira (ahu is the platform on which the moai(s) stand), where our first 2 moai greeted us by the fishing port, then it was off the road and on to the beaten track to Ahu Tahai, Ahu Akapu, and Ahu Ko Te Riku, all hosting one moai with their backs to the ocean. Ahu Ko Te Riku was particularly impressive as he has his top knot (a large red circular stone laid on top of the head made from volcanic scoria) and eyeballs in place. Further along we took in the awsome sight of Ahu Vai Uri which holds 5 moai of varying size, again all facing towards the island. A truly beautiful sight with the huge waves crashing against the volcanic, jagged rocks in the background.
Then it was along a track and up to the Musuem where we learned about the history and myths surrounding the island, the end result being lots of theories and no conclusive evidence as to where the islanders originated (both long eared and short eared folk!) or the significance of the moai statues, Rongo rongo tablets (pieces of wood where a picture style language was scribed, to be read one line then rotated to read the next) and the birdman petroglyphs. The most popular theory is that the islanders originated from Marquis islands (very ropey evidence!), the moai were constructed to commemorate the death of an islander and the birdman petroglyphs came much later and were relating to a yearly competition where the men of Orongo village swam out to another small island, nicked a sooty tern´s egg and the first one back was rewarded with a year in solitary. It all makes perfect sense really!
We ended our first day of island paradise with a bottle of wine on our terrace followed by a delicious atun cerviche and tuna steak dinner in a lovely restaurant with big windows looking out to sea - aaaah this is the life!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Booking frenzy!
Woo hoo! A couple of days in Santiago and now spent a fortune to book up journeys all over the shop.
Firstly Easter Island, the home of the weird and wonderful Moai. Off on a five hour flight tomorrow, can't wait.
Secondly booked onto the Naviman ferry from Porto Montt to Porto Natales. A honeymoon cruise through most of Patagonia, taking in the sealions, whales and glaciers as well as the Fjords of Southern Chile. Yippee!!
Firstly Easter Island, the home of the weird and wonderful Moai. Off on a five hour flight tomorrow, can't wait.
Secondly booked onto the Naviman ferry from Porto Montt to Porto Natales. A honeymoon cruise through most of Patagonia, taking in the sealions, whales and glaciers as well as the Fjords of Southern Chile. Yippee!!
Monday, July 28, 2008
38 hours, 5 buses, 1 taxi & 1 border
Time to move on again and a huge journey. From Arequipa all the way to Caldera in Chile. Journey starts with a reasonable bus in Arequipa, leaving at 8:45am to take us to just short of the border in a town called Tacna, from there we share a taxi to cross the Chile/Peru border and get into Arica. Sadly the bus that we were hoping for is full so we end up on the 23:00 overnight bus down to Antofagasta and get to spend 5 hours in Arica. One pizza and a couple of beers later we are back to the bus station to continue the journey.
Just as we get into Antofagasta the, rather knackered, bus we were on finally gives up the ghost and we have to jump on another to reach the bus terminal. A three hour wait and then onto the next bus to take us to Copiaco where we have a quick turn around to catch a local bus out to Caldera.
Arrival in Caldera sees both of us somewhat desperate for sleep. A few days to recover in the beach resort prior to heading on to Santiago!
Just as we get into Antofagasta the, rather knackered, bus we were on finally gives up the ghost and we have to jump on another to reach the bus terminal. A three hour wait and then onto the next bus to take us to Copiaco where we have a quick turn around to catch a local bus out to Caldera.
Arrival in Caldera sees both of us somewhat desperate for sleep. A few days to recover in the beach resort prior to heading on to Santiago!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Chachani or 6075m to the top of the world
Having completely exhausted ourselves climbing up and down a canyon for some reason we then decided to try and climb our first 6000+m hill. Daft or what?
No matter about our sensibilites we were waiting at 7am for the bus to pick us off and whisk us up to about 4800masl (meters above sea level) where we start our climb. Only 400m or so on the first day but it is carrying 5 litres of water each, tent, sleeping bag, ice axe, crampons etc. so the bag on our backs is very heavy indeed. A very slow walk up to base camp. After a sleepless night we arise at 3:30am to start the climb. Really feeling the altitude the walk up to the first pass is very slow, sadly Clare is hit by the altitude (headache, sickness, disorientation etc.) so had to head back down the path. I, for some unknown reason, carried on. Just over the first pass the guide stops us and asks us to put on the crampons - a very tricky task in the dark and freezing cold! Ten minutes later everyone in the group was ready to go so we walk across the first drips of snow, no problems. Round the corner we suddenly see what we have to get over, a traverse round the hill on frozen snow at an angle of 75ø or so. Maybe easy to those who are used to crampons and how good they are but for a novice like myself this looked like certain death.
Having built up courage we all managed to get across the snow to be faced with a huge brute of a hill infront of us. We could now see it in all its glory as the sun was just starting to shine on it. An hour and half later we reached the top only to find that that was exactly what it was, only a top on the way to the peak. Guess what faced us now, yup, another traverse across a whole lot of snow. At least this time it was daylight so we could see the huge drops below. In actuality this traverse was easier than the last one so we all made it round to face the final heave to the peak. Only a couple of hundred meters but the slowest and most tiring I have ever faced in my life. About 10am the cross at the top hove into sight and the feeling of being on top of the world, elation and relief at no more climbing hit us. Fantastic! The views were truly awsome, Ariquipa, a city of 600,000 was a meer speck below.
Coming down was a sprint, what had taken 7 hours to come up was 3 hours going down, sadly with the same ice traverses necessary coming down that we had crossed on the way up. Back at base camp was a collapse point before the quick run down to where the bus picked us up to take us back to Arequipa. Needless to say I was asleep by 8pm!
No matter about our sensibilites we were waiting at 7am for the bus to pick us off and whisk us up to about 4800masl (meters above sea level) where we start our climb. Only 400m or so on the first day but it is carrying 5 litres of water each, tent, sleeping bag, ice axe, crampons etc. so the bag on our backs is very heavy indeed. A very slow walk up to base camp. After a sleepless night we arise at 3:30am to start the climb. Really feeling the altitude the walk up to the first pass is very slow, sadly Clare is hit by the altitude (headache, sickness, disorientation etc.) so had to head back down the path. I, for some unknown reason, carried on. Just over the first pass the guide stops us and asks us to put on the crampons - a very tricky task in the dark and freezing cold! Ten minutes later everyone in the group was ready to go so we walk across the first drips of snow, no problems. Round the corner we suddenly see what we have to get over, a traverse round the hill on frozen snow at an angle of 75ø or so. Maybe easy to those who are used to crampons and how good they are but for a novice like myself this looked like certain death.
Having built up courage we all managed to get across the snow to be faced with a huge brute of a hill infront of us. We could now see it in all its glory as the sun was just starting to shine on it. An hour and half later we reached the top only to find that that was exactly what it was, only a top on the way to the peak. Guess what faced us now, yup, another traverse across a whole lot of snow. At least this time it was daylight so we could see the huge drops below. In actuality this traverse was easier than the last one so we all made it round to face the final heave to the peak. Only a couple of hundred meters but the slowest and most tiring I have ever faced in my life. About 10am the cross at the top hove into sight and the feeling of being on top of the world, elation and relief at no more climbing hit us. Fantastic! The views were truly awsome, Ariquipa, a city of 600,000 was a meer speck below.
Coming down was a sprint, what had taken 7 hours to come up was 3 hours going down, sadly with the same ice traverses necessary coming down that we had crossed on the way up. Back at base camp was a collapse point before the quick run down to where the bus picked us up to take us back to Arequipa. Needless to say I was asleep by 8pm!
Monday, July 21, 2008
The Big Ditch
Trip one out of Arequipa, this time to the Colca Canyon which is either the deepest or second deepest canyon in the world, depending on what book you read. Either way this is a Canyon about 6 hours north of Arequipa which is fairly easy to reach by public transport. We jumped on a bus at 11:30am to arrive in Cabanaconde on the edge of the canyon around dusk. The first people we bumped intowas a French couple and the girl was being carried around by her husband because she had done in her ankle down the gorge. Hopefully not a sign of things to come.
The next day saw us getting up at 5:30am, yes we really did get up that early! As such we were on our way by just a little after 6am. According to the maps and people we talked to our route should take about 9 hours, and that is with no rests or lunch! Undaunted we strode off to get lost before even getting to the canyon. A tough cross country route over the fields brought us back on course to a plummet of 1300m down to the Sangalle Oasis. Now 9am and both of us knackered, 15mins lying in the sun brought us back to reality and we set off over the Colca river and up 500m to the small village of Malata, where another pause was required. Looking up at the towering mountains (2000-3000m up) on each side of us made us start to wonder if we would make the full circuit. A coke later and on we went towards San Juan and the bridge back over the Colca. This bit of the journey was very pleasent, a wander through some villages and down past fields and Roy´s hostal - there are a lot of arrows drawn on the rocks to direct you to this hostal. About 1:30pm we were sitting at the bridge looking up and wondering how the heck any path was going to get up the cliffs. Setting off up the path we gradually found out how - a heap of winding and very precipitous drops on either side is the answer, it was also a heck of a long haul, taking us the best part of 5 hours to climb up. With hindsight and a closer look at the heights of the villages we had climbed approximatly 1800m that day which is a big walk never no matter what.
Early to bed that night, rather tired for some reason.
The next day saw us getting up at 5:30am, yes we really did get up that early! As such we were on our way by just a little after 6am. According to the maps and people we talked to our route should take about 9 hours, and that is with no rests or lunch! Undaunted we strode off to get lost before even getting to the canyon. A tough cross country route over the fields brought us back on course to a plummet of 1300m down to the Sangalle Oasis. Now 9am and both of us knackered, 15mins lying in the sun brought us back to reality and we set off over the Colca river and up 500m to the small village of Malata, where another pause was required. Looking up at the towering mountains (2000-3000m up) on each side of us made us start to wonder if we would make the full circuit. A coke later and on we went towards San Juan and the bridge back over the Colca. This bit of the journey was very pleasent, a wander through some villages and down past fields and Roy´s hostal - there are a lot of arrows drawn on the rocks to direct you to this hostal. About 1:30pm we were sitting at the bridge looking up and wondering how the heck any path was going to get up the cliffs. Setting off up the path we gradually found out how - a heap of winding and very precipitous drops on either side is the answer, it was also a heck of a long haul, taking us the best part of 5 hours to climb up. With hindsight and a closer look at the heights of the villages we had climbed approximatly 1800m that day which is a big walk never no matter what.
Early to bed that night, rather tired for some reason.
The Forbes´ get religion
Ok, so the title might be slightly misleading but we did spend a very interesting afternoon walking round the Santa Catalina monastery. This is a small walled city within the city of Arequipa which is still used as an active nunnery today. There are several narrow streets to wander round with many of the Nun´s cells visible. A facinating insight into how nuns lived from the 16th Century to today. Anyone fancy trying barbed wire knickers to find the faith or reach enlightment?
Floating islands (Or is it a raft?)
Arrivedin Peru, first stop - Puno. The next day the intrepid explorers headed out onto Lake Titikaka again. This time to visit the islands on the Peruvian side of the lake. The first stop was the Island of Uros.
The Uros are a group of native Peruvians who got rather fed up with all the fighting and decided to step out of things (kind of like the Swiss) and start up a life floating on the lake. To do this they built and continue to build their own islands out of the reeds that grow in the lake. In the rainy season they uproot the root systems of the reeds and drag these to wherever they fancy living and lash them together, providing them basic floating capability, they then interlace the reeds ontop of the roots and finally complete their islands with several houses and a high communications tower so that they can have a chat to other groups oin different islands. The reeds ontop of the roots have to be replaced every couple of weeks and a completely new island built each year. Each island has between 5-8 houses/families living on them, however if you are not getting on with everyone, you can always chop away their part of the island and watch them float away!
Next stop was the Island of Taquile, sadly this time with very little time to really see the island. The boat takes a good couple of hours to get there leaving us with only 1.5 hours on the island. When you consider that you have to fit in lunch, traditional dancing and a trip round the weavers there is very little actual time. The weaving is quite interesting, they make 5 different types of hat for the tribes, the type of hat indicating the marital status for the wearer. The pictures of one of us dancing will be shown on our return!
The Uros are a group of native Peruvians who got rather fed up with all the fighting and decided to step out of things (kind of like the Swiss) and start up a life floating on the lake. To do this they built and continue to build their own islands out of the reeds that grow in the lake. In the rainy season they uproot the root systems of the reeds and drag these to wherever they fancy living and lash them together, providing them basic floating capability, they then interlace the reeds ontop of the roots and finally complete their islands with several houses and a high communications tower so that they can have a chat to other groups oin different islands. The reeds ontop of the roots have to be replaced every couple of weeks and a completely new island built each year. Each island has between 5-8 houses/families living on them, however if you are not getting on with everyone, you can always chop away their part of the island and watch them float away!
Next stop was the Island of Taquile, sadly this time with very little time to really see the island. The boat takes a good couple of hours to get there leaving us with only 1.5 hours on the island. When you consider that you have to fit in lunch, traditional dancing and a trip round the weavers there is very little actual time. The weaving is quite interesting, they make 5 different types of hat for the tribes, the type of hat indicating the marital status for the wearer. The pictures of one of us dancing will be shown on our return!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Isla Del Sol
The Isla Del Sol is an island 20km or so north of Copacabana which is said to be the birthplace of the Inca nation, where the original child of the Sun was born.
Taking the Titikaka ferry right up the North East corner and a village called Challapampa we arrived ready to see the sights and walk the island for a couple of days. The first sights we came across are the Sacred rock and alter stone which to be honest are not that grand. According to the books the stone should look like a Puma and there are the footsteps of the sun in the stone but to our eyes the rock looked much like any other. However, just round the corner is the Labyrinth - Chinkana. A far more impressive set of ruins where it is truely possible to get lost as the chambers all seem to interconnect in a random manner with lots of dead ends.
We then walked back over the island using the Inca trails, these took us right up over the ridge and back to Yumani. There were folks selling tickets to access the island on the route but I'm glad to say the tickets we had been forced to buy yesterday were still good. The views were absolutely stunning but those we had had yesterday were better. Having stopped off at a few ruins on the way we decided that we had seen most that the island actually has to offer in one day so elected to jump on the ferry back to Copacabana.
Puno, in Peru, tomorrow and the fun of seeing the floating reed islands.
Pictures may be possible in Peru or Chile, fingers crossed.
Taking the Titikaka ferry right up the North East corner and a village called Challapampa we arrived ready to see the sights and walk the island for a couple of days. The first sights we came across are the Sacred rock and alter stone which to be honest are not that grand. According to the books the stone should look like a Puma and there are the footsteps of the sun in the stone but to our eyes the rock looked much like any other. However, just round the corner is the Labyrinth - Chinkana. A far more impressive set of ruins where it is truely possible to get lost as the chambers all seem to interconnect in a random manner with lots of dead ends.
We then walked back over the island using the Inca trails, these took us right up over the ridge and back to Yumani. There were folks selling tickets to access the island on the route but I'm glad to say the tickets we had been forced to buy yesterday were still good. The views were absolutely stunning but those we had had yesterday were better. Having stopped off at a few ruins on the way we decided that we had seen most that the island actually has to offer in one day so elected to jump on the ferry back to Copacabana.
Puno, in Peru, tomorrow and the fun of seeing the floating reed islands.
Pictures may be possible in Peru or Chile, fingers crossed.
Yampupata to Copacabana via the Inca toilet
Up early for a days adventure. Today a caminar (walk) from Yampupata to the Baño del Inca.
As is often the way in Bolivia the best mode of transport is not always obvious, in this case we decided to try and use the Titikaka boats to get us to Yampupata which is about 18km north of Copacabana. The first leg was a dawdle, 10bs each to catch the Isla Del Sol ferry to Yumani. After that it should be easy to catch the ferry that returns to the mainland, however on arrival at Yumani we were immediately forced into buying some tickets that give access to the south of the Isla Del Sol (See later post) and then, we found that to get to Yampupata we would have to charter a private boat. This was duely done and 40minutes later we commenced our walk back to Copacabana.
The walk was quite stunning, taking us far above the lake and providing unrivelled views West to Peru and East to the Cordilla Real mountain range. According to the Lonely Planet we should follow the road all the way but we found some other tracks that took us away from the traffic and the dust that goes with a van going by which made the journey a little longer but the views more than made up for it. (If we ever find a decent internet connection we will try to put some pictures up.)
Just before getting back to Copacabana we headed off the track and up the hillside past some sort of Bolivian brass band practice session to the Baño del Inca, which translates as far as we are concerned to the Inca toilet but for some reason the books prefer to translate it to the Inca bath. There is not much left of the ruins but there is a clear water course that the Inca's created that ends in a large circular tub. Did not have a bath there myself but if we get smelly then a return visit may be in order.
As is often the way in Bolivia the best mode of transport is not always obvious, in this case we decided to try and use the Titikaka boats to get us to Yampupata which is about 18km north of Copacabana. The first leg was a dawdle, 10bs each to catch the Isla Del Sol ferry to Yumani. After that it should be easy to catch the ferry that returns to the mainland, however on arrival at Yumani we were immediately forced into buying some tickets that give access to the south of the Isla Del Sol (See later post) and then, we found that to get to Yampupata we would have to charter a private boat. This was duely done and 40minutes later we commenced our walk back to Copacabana.
The walk was quite stunning, taking us far above the lake and providing unrivelled views West to Peru and East to the Cordilla Real mountain range. According to the Lonely Planet we should follow the road all the way but we found some other tracks that took us away from the traffic and the dust that goes with a van going by which made the journey a little longer but the views more than made up for it. (If we ever find a decent internet connection we will try to put some pictures up.)
Just before getting back to Copacabana we headed off the track and up the hillside past some sort of Bolivian brass band practice session to the Baño del Inca, which translates as far as we are concerned to the Inca toilet but for some reason the books prefer to translate it to the Inca bath. There is not much left of the ruins but there is a clear water course that the Inca's created that ends in a large circular tub. Did not have a bath there myself but if we get smelly then a return visit may be in order.
At the Copa, Copacabana...
OK, so not the beach of song fame but still a wonderful beach resort on Lake Titikaka. First afternoon spent wandering the beach and taking a pedalo swan out on the lake. (Sadly, the swan was called Titanic but I am glad to report no sinkings on this voyage.)
Saturday, July 12, 2008
The Death Road (*2)
La Paz is fun but it is a big busy place after the gentle pace of the jungle. (Other than the mozzie speed which is ludicrously high in the jungle!) However it is just the place to organise adventures from. In this case a cycle down the Death Road.
The road travels from La Paz, accross the Cordillas Real mountain range and down to Coroico, a distance of about 70km and a height drop of just over 3000m. (4700m to 600m) The road was built in the 1930s by Paraguayan prisoners of war who, I´m sure, were getting their own back on the Bolivians by building a very dangerous road. It has been averaging about 100 deaths each year until the last couple of years when a new road has opened.
Nowadays, there is very little traffic on the road but hundreds of cyclists which we joined for the day. Truely amazing views, from the dry tops of the Altiplano then plunging through the cloud forests and into the tropical jungles at Corioco, all the way with the breaks firmly on and our bodies being shaken on the rough track. One thing to remember when speeding round the corners is never to look down and to the left where drops of 1000m or more are looming.
On arrival at Corioco we relax with a buffet lunch and a frolic in the pool before rejoining the bus to go back to La Paz. It turns out that Corioco is having a festival that day so the nice new safe road is considered to be the very dangerous road as all sorts of drunk drivers are heading to Corioco for the party. This means that we go back up the death road in the van, actually more scary than cycling down it.
Don´t worry though, the driver was fine and we made it back to La Paz safely. Copacabana tomorrow for some time relaxing by the shores of Lake Titikaka and checking out Inca ruins.
The road travels from La Paz, accross the Cordillas Real mountain range and down to Coroico, a distance of about 70km and a height drop of just over 3000m. (4700m to 600m) The road was built in the 1930s by Paraguayan prisoners of war who, I´m sure, were getting their own back on the Bolivians by building a very dangerous road. It has been averaging about 100 deaths each year until the last couple of years when a new road has opened.
Nowadays, there is very little traffic on the road but hundreds of cyclists which we joined for the day. Truely amazing views, from the dry tops of the Altiplano then plunging through the cloud forests and into the tropical jungles at Corioco, all the way with the breaks firmly on and our bodies being shaken on the rough track. One thing to remember when speeding round the corners is never to look down and to the left where drops of 1000m or more are looming.
On arrival at Corioco we relax with a buffet lunch and a frolic in the pool before rejoining the bus to go back to La Paz. It turns out that Corioco is having a festival that day so the nice new safe road is considered to be the very dangerous road as all sorts of drunk drivers are heading to Corioco for the party. This means that we go back up the death road in the van, actually more scary than cycling down it.
Don´t worry though, the driver was fine and we made it back to La Paz safely. Copacabana tomorrow for some time relaxing by the shores of Lake Titikaka and checking out Inca ruins.
Funky flights
Having spent a little more time than originally planned in Rurre, I think it only necessary to mention the delights of the flight from La Paz down to the jungle. (Or vice versa.)
Rurrenbaque airport is superb, a small shed and grass runway only. It reminds me of the drug runner airports that you sometimes see on TV - A tiny clearing in the jungle where planes come in to pick up piles of cocaine. Indeed, the Amazonas flight suits the bill perfectly, it is a tiny twin prop plane that can seat a maximum of 16 people. At that size the flight is a fairly exciting event, flying up through the mountains and I do mean through. The plane travels between passes in the mountains, giving some fantastic views of the hills from only a few hundred meters away. The down side of this is that winds tend to whistle round the mountains which throw the plane all over the skies.
Down safely though, and I am reliably informed that the white knuckle ride in the plane is still far safer than the bus journey.
Rurrenbaque airport is superb, a small shed and grass runway only. It reminds me of the drug runner airports that you sometimes see on TV - A tiny clearing in the jungle where planes come in to pick up piles of cocaine. Indeed, the Amazonas flight suits the bill perfectly, it is a tiny twin prop plane that can seat a maximum of 16 people. At that size the flight is a fairly exciting event, flying up through the mountains and I do mean through. The plane travels between passes in the mountains, giving some fantastic views of the hills from only a few hundred meters away. The down side of this is that winds tend to whistle round the mountains which throw the plane all over the skies.
Down safely though, and I am reliably informed that the white knuckle ride in the plane is still far safer than the bus journey.
Stuck again, is this a habit forming?
To be stuck once - unlucky, twice - making mistakes but three times, is this a habit?
The first time trying to cross into Bolivia when the border was shut, the second time in Sucre when the city shuts down for the elections and now in Rurrenbaque with a small cloud in the sky preventing the La Paz flight taking off. Should get away soon! (Fingers crossed)
The first time trying to cross into Bolivia when the border was shut, the second time in Sucre when the city shuts down for the elections and now in Rurrenbaque with a small cloud in the sky preventing the La Paz flight taking off. Should get away soon! (Fingers crossed)
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Ants in your pants!
We were welcomed to the jungle by 10 gazillion biting bugs and their friends after a 3 hour trip up river and a 20 minute walk with all our food, sleeping stuff and necessities for the next 3 days. We were staying in a wooden house with huge gaps in the roof so that the 10 gazillion creatures and their friends could get in when they were hungry!
After an amazingly tasty lunch of chicken and rice cooked on the campfire we ventured into the jungle for our first explore. Our guide didn´t speak any English but did speak quiet, speedy spanish so we think we saw many toxic and non toxic trees, rubber trees, 10 gazillion biting creatures and their friends and lots of ants carrying leaves on their back to their next home, all to the backdrop of sounds of the unseen animals and birds.
We went back to camp and enjoyed dinner in the pitch darkness and then went on our night walk. We were happily wandering along looking for the animals when our guide decided to take us across a swamp on thin planks of wood and then lead us into a nest of biting ants and stand still to ensure that I got biten to bits. Joy! Back at camp it was time for a quick body check for tics, ants and biting creatures and then into bed. When i say bed, I mean on to the two planks of wood and somewhat smelly mattress.
The next day we were awoken by the village rooster at 5am and then the rain poured down preventing us from going on a morning wander. After lunch we took another route into the jungle, saw some great swinging monkeys, birds and the 10 gazillion biting creatures and their friends. Dinner was again very tasty and impressive considering it was all done on the campfire with only two pots. Lots of the nearby village kids appeared out of the dark to stare at the gringos. Don went on the night walk but I decided to stay back at camp. No animals but a nice route leading down to the river and amazing stars to gaze at.
The third day we were up and off on our last walk and we heard what sounded like jundreds of wild boars and caught sight of one dashing through the trees. Scary! Our walk took us to an open part of river where we did a bit of fishing, Don successfully catching a couple of dog fish but popping them back in, although we are not entirely convinced that it wasn't the same fish.
After our final feast in the jungle we walked back to the boat and waited whilst the locals came to pick up the supplies that had been delivered from the town and we were back in Rurrenabaque for sunset, dinner and a bit of a booze fest.
After an amazingly tasty lunch of chicken and rice cooked on the campfire we ventured into the jungle for our first explore. Our guide didn´t speak any English but did speak quiet, speedy spanish so we think we saw many toxic and non toxic trees, rubber trees, 10 gazillion biting creatures and their friends and lots of ants carrying leaves on their back to their next home, all to the backdrop of sounds of the unseen animals and birds.
We went back to camp and enjoyed dinner in the pitch darkness and then went on our night walk. We were happily wandering along looking for the animals when our guide decided to take us across a swamp on thin planks of wood and then lead us into a nest of biting ants and stand still to ensure that I got biten to bits. Joy! Back at camp it was time for a quick body check for tics, ants and biting creatures and then into bed. When i say bed, I mean on to the two planks of wood and somewhat smelly mattress.
The next day we were awoken by the village rooster at 5am and then the rain poured down preventing us from going on a morning wander. After lunch we took another route into the jungle, saw some great swinging monkeys, birds and the 10 gazillion biting creatures and their friends. Dinner was again very tasty and impressive considering it was all done on the campfire with only two pots. Lots of the nearby village kids appeared out of the dark to stare at the gringos. Don went on the night walk but I decided to stay back at camp. No animals but a nice route leading down to the river and amazing stars to gaze at.
The third day we were up and off on our last walk and we heard what sounded like jundreds of wild boars and caught sight of one dashing through the trees. Scary! Our walk took us to an open part of river where we did a bit of fishing, Don successfully catching a couple of dog fish but popping them back in, although we are not entirely convinced that it wasn't the same fish.
After our final feast in the jungle we walked back to the boat and waited whilst the locals came to pick up the supplies that had been delivered from the town and we were back in Rurrenabaque for sunset, dinner and a bit of a booze fest.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Caiman capers
Having arrived, somewhat tired from the frozen bus and the flight from La Paz to Rurrenabaque we immediately had to start stripping. Rurre, unlike La Paz is almost at sea level and so is positively tropical. Lovely to be in the warmth! That afternoon we book ourselves off on a three day pampas tour. (Following the recommendation from the Irish couple, Lorraine and Teigh, that we met on the Salar tour.)
Day one begins with a three hour 4*4 trip along a very bouncy dusty track. Not the most comfortable of journeys on a hard bench seat in the back of a Toyota. However we made it to Santa Cruz where we boarded the canoe to take us up the river to the campsite. The journey up the river takes about 4 hours as we travel fairly slowly being amazed by all the wildlife. There are Alligators and Caimen every 30m or so with Capybara nosing about the banks, squirrel monkeys and howlers in the trees and heaps of birds of all colours, shapes and sizes. The largest actually look like they should be humans in fancy dress. That is before we start considering what is actually in the water - Piranas, pink dolphins, crabs, catfish, dogfish and frogs to name but a few.
After dinner, and a very impressive sunset we set off up the river to listen to the sounds of the evening and look up at all the stars. Wonderful viewing, and a little scary - when a torch is shone into the riverbanks the light picks up all the Caimen eyes watching us go by. Possibly a little too much for the small Bolivian, Luna, who at only 2 has nightmares that night about being caught by Crocodillas. Happily by the next morning she is fine again and raring to get back out in the boat to see the wildlife.
The next day starts off with an amazing desayuno and off up the river for 30 minutes to where we are to leave the boat and walk off into the Pampas in search of the giant Annaconda. Strange coming away from the river which looks as if it is going through deep jungle but in actual fact is only about 30m thick before giving way to the pampas, a vast swampy open grasslands where the Annaconda resides. We had to walk quite a distance, especially when Don was carrying an eight year old, Maya, on his shoulders, and not a snake in sight. Eventually our guide, Oscar, spotted one and picked it up to show us. It was about 2-3m long which is about 8 years old and was very beautiful, but did stink to high heaven.
After lunch, and a bit of digestive time swinging in the hammocks, we go back to the river to go swimming with the dolphins. At a point where the river turns a corner and widens the guide steers the boat in a few circles to scare off the Alligators and then it is our turn to jump into the water to cool off. None of us are 100% sure that driving the boat in a circle or two makes it safe to swim but a chomp from an alligator can only be a good after dinner story so in we go. (All back safely with no appendages missing.)
The final day of Pampas touring takes us off Piranna fishing. Done simply by putting a small chunk of beef onto a hook and throwing the line over the side of the canoe. It very quickly becomes apparent that the little sods are experts at removing the bait from the hook without letting themselves be caught. However, we did manage to get a few into the boat, Clare being a bit of an expert in jerking the fish out the water as the clung to the meat so that they flew out of the water and bounced off Don´s legs into the canoe. Lunch included the caught fish for us to try out.
Day one begins with a three hour 4*4 trip along a very bouncy dusty track. Not the most comfortable of journeys on a hard bench seat in the back of a Toyota. However we made it to Santa Cruz where we boarded the canoe to take us up the river to the campsite. The journey up the river takes about 4 hours as we travel fairly slowly being amazed by all the wildlife. There are Alligators and Caimen every 30m or so with Capybara nosing about the banks, squirrel monkeys and howlers in the trees and heaps of birds of all colours, shapes and sizes. The largest actually look like they should be humans in fancy dress. That is before we start considering what is actually in the water - Piranas, pink dolphins, crabs, catfish, dogfish and frogs to name but a few.
After dinner, and a very impressive sunset we set off up the river to listen to the sounds of the evening and look up at all the stars. Wonderful viewing, and a little scary - when a torch is shone into the riverbanks the light picks up all the Caimen eyes watching us go by. Possibly a little too much for the small Bolivian, Luna, who at only 2 has nightmares that night about being caught by Crocodillas. Happily by the next morning she is fine again and raring to get back out in the boat to see the wildlife.
The next day starts off with an amazing desayuno and off up the river for 30 minutes to where we are to leave the boat and walk off into the Pampas in search of the giant Annaconda. Strange coming away from the river which looks as if it is going through deep jungle but in actual fact is only about 30m thick before giving way to the pampas, a vast swampy open grasslands where the Annaconda resides. We had to walk quite a distance, especially when Don was carrying an eight year old, Maya, on his shoulders, and not a snake in sight. Eventually our guide, Oscar, spotted one and picked it up to show us. It was about 2-3m long which is about 8 years old and was very beautiful, but did stink to high heaven.
After lunch, and a bit of digestive time swinging in the hammocks, we go back to the river to go swimming with the dolphins. At a point where the river turns a corner and widens the guide steers the boat in a few circles to scare off the Alligators and then it is our turn to jump into the water to cool off. None of us are 100% sure that driving the boat in a circle or two makes it safe to swim but a chomp from an alligator can only be a good after dinner story so in we go. (All back safely with no appendages missing.)
The final day of Pampas touring takes us off Piranna fishing. Done simply by putting a small chunk of beef onto a hook and throwing the line over the side of the canoe. It very quickly becomes apparent that the little sods are experts at removing the bait from the hook without letting themselves be caught. However, we did manage to get a few into the boat, Clare being a bit of an expert in jerking the fish out the water as the clung to the meat so that they flew out of the water and bounced off Don´s legs into the canoe. Lunch included the caught fish for us to try out.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
The coldest bus in the world
Moved on from Sucre to La Paz with an overnight bus. Lets just say the bus did not have the heating turned on and when travelling through the night at heights of over 4000m the temperature has a tendancy to drop. Windows that don´t shut properly and ice forming inside each window makes for a fairly chilly journey. Thank goodness Clare had thrown her sleeping bag in just in case!
Off to Rurrenabaque now for tours in the jungle and Pampas, hopefully a little warmer.
Off to Rurrenabaque now for tours in the jungle and Pampas, hopefully a little warmer.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Elections in Sucre
We stayed in Sucre a day longer than we might have because Sunday is election day. What this means is that there are no buses or trains in or out of Sucre and virtually every shop and business shuts down. All this makes the place seem like a ghost town but even more importantly to us all sales of alcohol have been banned, our livers are thanking God but the other organs are now going through withdrawal. What a shocker!
When the evening arrives it becomes clear that the lady, Sabina, has won and the main plaza is full of Sucrians cheering and waving flags. All a large family celebration which makes us wonder why there has been such a large police presence. No riots to report here, just kids playing with balloon swords.
When the evening arrives it becomes clear that the lady, Sabina, has won and the main plaza is full of Sucrians cheering and waving flags. All a large family celebration which makes us wonder why there has been such a large police presence. No riots to report here, just kids playing with balloon swords.
Inca trails and rock paintings
Time for some exercise after several days of lazing in the sunshine seeing the sights of the cities. Off up to 3500m above sea level to stomp along Inca trails.
The walk started, bizarrely, from the very top of a mountain with a wander along the ridge. Superb views of the huge crater of Maragua, which is about 20 miles in circumference and has either been formed by a massive asteroid crashing into it or it used to contain a lake. After a few km we drop down to the cave paintings, firstly the carbon paintings at Incamachay then the more impresssive doodles at Pumamachay. The Pumamachay ones have been drawn onto the rock using pigments from local plants and either are showing a family with the mother giving birth to a new Inca or are some drawings of aliens that landed near here. We decend on to a dried out river bed for lunch then start back, climbing up to the starting point using the old Inca trail that went all the way from Sucre to Potosi. A well maintained track that is used to this day, indeed we even passed a Bolivian chap moving his bull from one side of the mountain to the other.
The walk started, bizarrely, from the very top of a mountain with a wander along the ridge. Superb views of the huge crater of Maragua, which is about 20 miles in circumference and has either been formed by a massive asteroid crashing into it or it used to contain a lake. After a few km we drop down to the cave paintings, firstly the carbon paintings at Incamachay then the more impresssive doodles at Pumamachay. The Pumamachay ones have been drawn onto the rock using pigments from local plants and either are showing a family with the mother giving birth to a new Inca or are some drawings of aliens that landed near here. We decend on to a dried out river bed for lunch then start back, climbing up to the starting point using the old Inca trail that went all the way from Sucre to Potosi. A well maintained track that is used to this day, indeed we even passed a Bolivian chap moving his bull from one side of the mountain to the other.
Back in time....
After a freezing trip across the city of Sucre we arrive at the cement factory ready to go back in time. Waaaaaaay back to several million years ago when the dinasaurs roamed the earth - its a trip to the Parque Cretacico to see the dinasaur footprints.
The entrance to the park is guarded by some giant carne chompers but we ducked under them and met up with multiple ....pods and the largest plastic dinosaur in the world, all of which have walked in the Sucre area. Finally we reach the crown jewels of the exhibit, the wall on which can be seen the tracks of many dinosaurs.
Several million years ago Sucre lay at the edge of a lake and many different types of dinosaur walked down to the water for a drink, leaving their massive footprints behind. Over the last few millenia the Andies have been pushed up and up and what was once a flat surface has become a wall that can be viewed.
The hill was being mined for the lime that was to be used for cement but luckly there was a high magnesium content which stopped the miners and then a few years of rain washed off the loose gravel to reveal the Dino steps. 4 different species of dinosaur have been found in the hundreds of tracks that have been revealed.
The entrance to the park is guarded by some giant carne chompers but we ducked under them and met up with multiple ....pods and the largest plastic dinosaur in the world, all of which have walked in the Sucre area. Finally we reach the crown jewels of the exhibit, the wall on which can be seen the tracks of many dinosaurs.
Several million years ago Sucre lay at the edge of a lake and many different types of dinosaur walked down to the water for a drink, leaving their massive footprints behind. Over the last few millenia the Andies have been pushed up and up and what was once a flat surface has become a wall that can be viewed.
The hill was being mined for the lime that was to be used for cement but luckly there was a high magnesium content which stopped the miners and then a few years of rain washed off the loose gravel to reveal the Dino steps. 4 different species of dinosaur have been found in the hundreds of tracks that have been revealed.
25 de Mayo explained at last.
As we have travelled round Argentina and Bolivia we have consistently come across plazas and main streets with the title "25 de Mayo" During the trip we wondered what the significance of this was and a trip to the Casa de Libertad in Sucre resolved this question. It was the date that the fight for liberation (independence) from Spain started for South America. All started with a few chaps from Venesuela, Bolivar, Sucre and a few others, who commenced fighting for freedom.
Bolivar had intended to try and create a massive country in the north of SA but the various locals in the current countries ended up deciding that a set of smaller countries would work better, to stop Bolivar from continuing the fight his name was given to Bolivia and the country was setup.
Bolivar had intended to try and create a massive country in the north of SA but the various locals in the current countries ended up deciding that a set of smaller countries would work better, to stop Bolivar from continuing the fight his name was given to Bolivia and the country was setup.
Friday, June 27, 2008
It is essential travel m´lud.
Guess what, just heard from the foreign commonwealth office website that we are only to be doing essential tourist activity in Bolivia just now. To quote from the fco.gov.uk website:-
"The Foreign Office today revised its Travel Advice for Bolivia. We are advising against all but essential travel to La Paz and the Altiplano, which encompasses Western Bolivia, due to the impact of continuing civil unrest in the country. "
Elections in Sucre on Sunday, should be fun day out!
"The Foreign Office today revised its Travel Advice for Bolivia. We are advising against all but essential travel to La Paz and the Altiplano, which encompasses Western Bolivia, due to the impact of continuing civil unrest in the country. "
Elections in Sucre on Sunday, should be fun day out!
Money, money, money
An afternoon trip round the royal mint of Bolivia in Potosi. A fabulous building in the heart of Potosi where all the Spanish cash was originally minted before being transported all the way back to Europe. Strange to think that the silver from Potosi created all the dosh for the Spanish years ago and now the Bolivian money is actually minted in Spain - Coins in Spain, notes in France and Canada.
The building itself still has many of the original minting machines, including three giant presses that were donkey powered to take silver ingots and squeeze them down to coin thickness ready for some slave or other to bash the impressions. Sadly, back a few hundred years the conditions in Potosi were rather cold and harsh so the poor donkeys only lasted about 100 days before they croaked it and had to be replaced. They tried Llamas but found that they were too weak to actually turn the machinery.
Sucre tomorrow, down 1500m so hopefully things will be warm.
The building itself still has many of the original minting machines, including three giant presses that were donkey powered to take silver ingots and squeeze them down to coin thickness ready for some slave or other to bash the impressions. Sadly, back a few hundred years the conditions in Potosi were rather cold and harsh so the poor donkeys only lasted about 100 days before they croaked it and had to be replaced. They tried Llamas but found that they were too weak to actually turn the machinery.
Sucre tomorrow, down 1500m so hopefully things will be warm.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Potosi and the big bang!
After a chilly night in Uyuni it is on to another bus this time headed for Potosi and not so luxuriously! It is time to go local. Fantastic views en route and crazy mountain roads with interesting beeping techniques used by our driver whilst travelling at high speeds round blind bends on single tracked roads. Ah it is good to be on the road!
Arrive into the beautiful city of Potosi, grab the other white girl on the bus and flag a taxi to our accomodation, high up on the hill, 4,100m up. Quick hot shower, followed by a good dinner in a hot restaurant . We like this city!
The next day we booked on a tour to the still active silver mines. We dressed up in our highly sexy yellow suits and hard hats to head for the miners market. Shopping list - drinks for some of the miners, water and dynamite (oh yeah baby!).
We climbed in the bus up the red mining mountain where Don compacted some dynamite in his hands, careful not to get his lovely new ring dirty, and inserted the fuse ready for blast off! Our trusted guide then climbed a little down the hill and lit the fuse. Now we have videoed this bit and my god did it go KAAABOOOM! Wild! Good fun for a Wednesday morning!
We then climbed to the top of the mountain and entered a small gap in the mountain and into the mines. We clambered in, walked along the dark narrow passage to our first big hole, where we trusted our ill fitting wellies to grip on to the crumbling rocks as we descended to level 2. Our torch lights highlighted all the seams of minerals in the rocks, fools gold, zinc, nickel and the tiny slivers of silver. We ducked and dived our way along the, Indie eat your heart out, passageways until we met the miners and handed over our gifts of dynamite and juice. We then reached a small cave where a musuem dedicated to the history of the mine and Tio, the extremely well endowed god that the colonial spaniards had created to scare the native Indians into working hard, lay before us. After providing some 96% proof alcohol to the god and some coca leaves we moved back through the mine and out into the sunshine and bustle of activity as lorries were loaded with minerals and local women hammered the stones to show the value of the mined ore of the day.
A truly frightening place where safety is non existent and families still live in small stone houses on the mountain but a hell of an interesting experience.
Arrive into the beautiful city of Potosi, grab the other white girl on the bus and flag a taxi to our accomodation, high up on the hill, 4,100m up. Quick hot shower, followed by a good dinner in a hot restaurant . We like this city!
The next day we booked on a tour to the still active silver mines. We dressed up in our highly sexy yellow suits and hard hats to head for the miners market. Shopping list - drinks for some of the miners, water and dynamite (oh yeah baby!).
We climbed in the bus up the red mining mountain where Don compacted some dynamite in his hands, careful not to get his lovely new ring dirty, and inserted the fuse ready for blast off! Our trusted guide then climbed a little down the hill and lit the fuse. Now we have videoed this bit and my god did it go KAAABOOOM! Wild! Good fun for a Wednesday morning!
We then climbed to the top of the mountain and entered a small gap in the mountain and into the mines. We clambered in, walked along the dark narrow passage to our first big hole, where we trusted our ill fitting wellies to grip on to the crumbling rocks as we descended to level 2. Our torch lights highlighted all the seams of minerals in the rocks, fools gold, zinc, nickel and the tiny slivers of silver. We ducked and dived our way along the, Indie eat your heart out, passageways until we met the miners and handed over our gifts of dynamite and juice. We then reached a small cave where a musuem dedicated to the history of the mine and Tio, the extremely well endowed god that the colonial spaniards had created to scare the native Indians into working hard, lay before us. After providing some 96% proof alcohol to the god and some coca leaves we moved back through the mine and out into the sunshine and bustle of activity as lorries were loaded with minerals and local women hammered the stones to show the value of the mined ore of the day.
A truly frightening place where safety is non existent and families still live in small stone houses on the mountain but a hell of an interesting experience.
Jeep-tastic
An early morning start, OK so actually only 8:30am but for those who know us this is an early start. Sun shining and the jeep, our virtual home for the next 4 days is clean and welcoming. About 9ish, our companions Lorraine and Taigh turn up. A delightful couple from the Republic of Ireland. Shortly after we pull out of Tupiza to climb through the canyons of Tupiza and onto the Altoplano on route for Uyuni.
The views climbing up through the red, ochre and grey mountains are amazing and up to the Altoplano which actually has quite a few plants on it to give it a vaguely yellow/greenish tinge. Up at this height (3900m) the air is thin and when we wander round some ruins at lunchtime we are well aware of just how much effort every step is.
After lunch we travel on through several villages admiring the herds of Llama that seem to be everywhere and opting not to buy all the llama wool hats and jumpers that are available. The jeep just keeps on climbing until we reach our first overnight stop. A small village up at a height of 4200m. The locals seem very friendly and even offer to show us a condor, needless to say we follow the two boys outside, where it has got very cold, and they dive into an outhouse. What sort of condor can they possibly have in there we wonder and with a scream Clare jumps back as they pull out a fully grown condor. A moment later we realise that it is actually a dead one. Two minutes later we dived back into the warmth of the kitchen to finish off the cup of tea that we had started before the two boys broke into our conversation with Condor chat. Dinner was a fabulous beef stew and mashed spuds. Later that evening we were trying to get to sleep and needless to say the non-purchase of warm hats and sweaters was a very bad idea. Clare may have been colder than she has ever been before!
Next morning the jeep headed off early with four shivering, tired tourists in the back of it. After about 3 hours the Sun started to get some warmth into it and we woke up enough to start enjoying the scenery again. A succession of lakes/lagoons, volcanos and iced up river crossings until we got very close to the Argintinian and Chillian borders (near San Pedro de Atacama) where we were able to jump into a hot spring pool. Wonderfully warm to be in it but getting out into the freezing air was difficult.
After lunch we went even closer to the border to see the White and Green lagoons then headed north into Bolivia again and up and up and up. After the tour we found out that this is the highest driveable road in the world. At about 5100m up the jeep was confronted with a steaming mountain which turned out to be a bunch of bubbling sulphorous pools and geysers. It was like something straight out of a Dr Who story. Walking about panting because of the height while trying not to breath in the fumes, not an easy combination.
At that height it was also seriously cold so we dropped down to a far more reasonable 4200m where there was a large red lagoon. Closer inspection of this lagoon showed a good collection of Flamingoes wandering about the waters. In the summer months there can be thousands of these birds feeding in the lagoon, but even with just a few small flocks it was a great sight. It turned out that this was the end of our second day and we settled into a hostal. Sadly Don dropped our bottle of Bolivian Wine onto a concrete floor which meant that a serious cleanup operation was required and a more sober night followed.
Next morning saw a fairly sociable 8am departure to drive up past the 5 lakes that are used heavily by Flamingoes. Each one quite beautiful and different to the previous ones. Past them the jeep travelled over a very rough road for a while before dropping down to a vast lava plain under a steaming volcano which is very much still active although it has been a good few years since it kicked out anything much.
We passed over a salar which consisted of Borax, used for washing powder. Bizarrely this flat plain had a cargo railway line going right through it which we followed in the jeep for a while until we came across a military checkpoint manned by 16year olds only. Bribes done with half a bottle of coke! Our next stop was at an Inca burial site which was quite incredible. Lots of strange rock formations that contained the bones of the Inca. Clare´s love of cemetaries came to the fore and she had to be dragged away. Next big sight is the Salar de Uyuni but before that a night in the Salt hotel beside the Salar.
As usual, the overnight stop was bitterly cold but we had fun playing cards and drinking a pile of beer and rum that we had got in the village beside the cemetery. The locals joining in a game of "sevens". After a quick vote that evening we decided that getting up to see the sunrise on the Salar was not a viable option so we had the joy of not getting up too early to set off the next day. About 9ish we headed out onto the Salar, what can only be described as a large loch that appears to be frozen solid. However the "ice" turns out to be 6m of solid salt, with a lot of lithium trapped inside it, all sitting ontop of a thin layer of water. Running about on this salt we all start acting like 7 year olds and jump about doing star jumps, cartwheels etc. An amazing place. Once the giddyness leaves us a bit we drive up to an Inca Island in the salt and the jeep feels just like it is coming up like a boat to be beached. Fantastic expanse of empty whiteness.
Drove on that afternoon to Uyuni, a very small town that looks like God forgot.
The views climbing up through the red, ochre and grey mountains are amazing and up to the Altoplano which actually has quite a few plants on it to give it a vaguely yellow/greenish tinge. Up at this height (3900m) the air is thin and when we wander round some ruins at lunchtime we are well aware of just how much effort every step is.
After lunch we travel on through several villages admiring the herds of Llama that seem to be everywhere and opting not to buy all the llama wool hats and jumpers that are available. The jeep just keeps on climbing until we reach our first overnight stop. A small village up at a height of 4200m. The locals seem very friendly and even offer to show us a condor, needless to say we follow the two boys outside, where it has got very cold, and they dive into an outhouse. What sort of condor can they possibly have in there we wonder and with a scream Clare jumps back as they pull out a fully grown condor. A moment later we realise that it is actually a dead one. Two minutes later we dived back into the warmth of the kitchen to finish off the cup of tea that we had started before the two boys broke into our conversation with Condor chat. Dinner was a fabulous beef stew and mashed spuds. Later that evening we were trying to get to sleep and needless to say the non-purchase of warm hats and sweaters was a very bad idea. Clare may have been colder than she has ever been before!
Next morning the jeep headed off early with four shivering, tired tourists in the back of it. After about 3 hours the Sun started to get some warmth into it and we woke up enough to start enjoying the scenery again. A succession of lakes/lagoons, volcanos and iced up river crossings until we got very close to the Argintinian and Chillian borders (near San Pedro de Atacama) where we were able to jump into a hot spring pool. Wonderfully warm to be in it but getting out into the freezing air was difficult.
After lunch we went even closer to the border to see the White and Green lagoons then headed north into Bolivia again and up and up and up. After the tour we found out that this is the highest driveable road in the world. At about 5100m up the jeep was confronted with a steaming mountain which turned out to be a bunch of bubbling sulphorous pools and geysers. It was like something straight out of a Dr Who story. Walking about panting because of the height while trying not to breath in the fumes, not an easy combination.
At that height it was also seriously cold so we dropped down to a far more reasonable 4200m where there was a large red lagoon. Closer inspection of this lagoon showed a good collection of Flamingoes wandering about the waters. In the summer months there can be thousands of these birds feeding in the lagoon, but even with just a few small flocks it was a great sight. It turned out that this was the end of our second day and we settled into a hostal. Sadly Don dropped our bottle of Bolivian Wine onto a concrete floor which meant that a serious cleanup operation was required and a more sober night followed.
Next morning saw a fairly sociable 8am departure to drive up past the 5 lakes that are used heavily by Flamingoes. Each one quite beautiful and different to the previous ones. Past them the jeep travelled over a very rough road for a while before dropping down to a vast lava plain under a steaming volcano which is very much still active although it has been a good few years since it kicked out anything much.
We passed over a salar which consisted of Borax, used for washing powder. Bizarrely this flat plain had a cargo railway line going right through it which we followed in the jeep for a while until we came across a military checkpoint manned by 16year olds only. Bribes done with half a bottle of coke! Our next stop was at an Inca burial site which was quite incredible. Lots of strange rock formations that contained the bones of the Inca. Clare´s love of cemetaries came to the fore and she had to be dragged away. Next big sight is the Salar de Uyuni but before that a night in the Salt hotel beside the Salar.
As usual, the overnight stop was bitterly cold but we had fun playing cards and drinking a pile of beer and rum that we had got in the village beside the cemetery. The locals joining in a game of "sevens". After a quick vote that evening we decided that getting up to see the sunrise on the Salar was not a viable option so we had the joy of not getting up too early to set off the next day. About 9ish we headed out onto the Salar, what can only be described as a large loch that appears to be frozen solid. However the "ice" turns out to be 6m of solid salt, with a lot of lithium trapped inside it, all sitting ontop of a thin layer of water. Running about on this salt we all start acting like 7 year olds and jump about doing star jumps, cartwheels etc. An amazing place. Once the giddyness leaves us a bit we drive up to an Inca Island in the salt and the jeep feels just like it is coming up like a boat to be beached. Fantastic expanse of empty whiteness.
Drove on that afternoon to Uyuni, a very small town that looks like God forgot.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Tupiza Cowboys
Yea! The border has opened and with a break for it we break into Bolivia with both Argentinian exit stamps and Bolivian visas for a 90 day visit.
Following a fairly long and slow day in the Bolivian border town of Villazon we finally catch the 3:30 to Tupiza. The train is straight out of the picture one has of the wild west towns. Kept on expecting to see Clint Eastwood riding off into the sunset! The train ride was fantastic, the views of ever changing mountains and climbing up riverbeds was superb and arrival into Tupiza is like coming into town at the turn of the century.
First day saw us saddling up and heading out into the countryside and through the canyons just outside Tupiza. Perfect place for an ambush as we rode through but we saw off the bandits and rode into the sunset. Must admit to having a rather sore bum afterwards but really enjoyed the experience.
Off on a four day jeep tour round the far lying regions of Bolivia tomorrow. Yippee!!!!
Following a fairly long and slow day in the Bolivian border town of Villazon we finally catch the 3:30 to Tupiza. The train is straight out of the picture one has of the wild west towns. Kept on expecting to see Clint Eastwood riding off into the sunset! The train ride was fantastic, the views of ever changing mountains and climbing up riverbeds was superb and arrival into Tupiza is like coming into town at the turn of the century.
First day saw us saddling up and heading out into the countryside and through the canyons just outside Tupiza. Perfect place for an ambush as we rode through but we saw off the bandits and rode into the sunset. Must admit to having a rather sore bum afterwards but really enjoyed the experience.
Off on a four day jeep tour round the far lying regions of Bolivia tomorrow. Yippee!!!!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Border bandits
Jumped on the 10:30 bus up to La Quaicha from Salta. A fantastic ride through the mountains, rising from 1000m above Sea level to a whopping 3600m in 8 hours of amazing views. The rocks were a plethora of reds and oranges with thousands of giant cactii to add atmosphere. Not to forget all the gauchos riding along the roads herding the cattle or capturing wild horses.
La Quaicha is a fairly dull place, really the only reason for its existence is to allow people into Bolivia (Villazon) but as the bus arrived at 6pm we decided to stay the night and get up early to cross the border and catch the early bus to Tupiza. . . .
Rising early and gobbling down some stale bread we walked, with packs, in the thin air to the border. Can you imagine our faces when the Argentinian guards told us the border was closed!! That explained the crowds standing at the border brandishing fire and large sticks with raised voices (it was cold and the elderly ladies wanted to keep warm, but it sounds much better). Turns out there is some sort of internal issue in Bolivia at the moment with Oil and Gas being cut off, to protest to this some idiot decided to close the borders. Really annoying, especially when the highlights of La Quaicha are seen in 5 minutes and not even worth a mention here.
Ho hum, another night in La Quaicha.
La Quaicha is a fairly dull place, really the only reason for its existence is to allow people into Bolivia (Villazon) but as the bus arrived at 6pm we decided to stay the night and get up early to cross the border and catch the early bus to Tupiza. . . .
Rising early and gobbling down some stale bread we walked, with packs, in the thin air to the border. Can you imagine our faces when the Argentinian guards told us the border was closed!! That explained the crowds standing at the border brandishing fire and large sticks with raised voices (it was cold and the elderly ladies wanted to keep warm, but it sounds much better). Turns out there is some sort of internal issue in Bolivia at the moment with Oil and Gas being cut off, to protest to this some idiot decided to close the borders. Really annoying, especially when the highlights of La Quaicha are seen in 5 minutes and not even worth a mention here.
Ho hum, another night in La Quaicha.
Salta - it´s all about the culture darling!
Climbing out of the 23 hour bus ride, we slightly regretted downgrading to normal seats compared to the luxury of the previous flip back seated journey to Iguazu.
Extremely cold on arrival and glad that there was a hostel hawker or 2 at the bus station. Ended up in Catedral apartments, very nice when we finally got into our room after the first couple of hours sitting with the owner who was trying to sell us every tour under the sun. No gracias senor!
Beautiful european-spanish style square where we settled for lunch in the sunshine. The temperature change is extraordinary and there were a couple of burnt noses after a couple of hours. Wandered round the town - lovely! Ended our day up the telefonique for a beautiful panaromic view of the city, which is in a valley surrounded by the hazy clouded Andes. Met Matthew a fellow busser and wandered down to enjoy our first Salta beer or 2. And of course out for a bit of beef and red vino later. Have to make the most of it whilst we are still in Argentina.
Salta - day 2!
Local bus to San lorenzo to explore the local hills. Uber wealthy suburb, not for us backpackers! Sadly on the walk through town a small pack of dogs (ok 2 but they were the hounds of the baskervilles) followed us to the start of our hike. Clare not overjoyed by the company bar Don! Hiked it up what we reckon to be about 3/4 of a munroe, not bad in the sunshine and lazed in a cafe after with a refreshing freshly squeezed jug of naranja (orange).
2 bottles of red vino later - happy days!
Salta - day 3
The culture darling, the culture! Museum frenzy and a spot of lunch in the tango area. We visited the High Altitude Archeology Museum which was home to 3 mummified Inca children that had been perfectly preserved in the mountains after they had been sacrificed to the Gods, aged 6,7 and 15, pretty horrific but an interesting insight into traditional Inca life. After that it was off to the modern art musuem to view the sculptures and paintings by a local Argentian artist. Unusual use of the penguins and barbies - will just need to wait till we get home to view the catalogue.
For dinner we ventured into for a all singing, all dancing show and a bit of pasta and chicken, sometimes you just can´t have beef.
Extremely cold on arrival and glad that there was a hostel hawker or 2 at the bus station. Ended up in Catedral apartments, very nice when we finally got into our room after the first couple of hours sitting with the owner who was trying to sell us every tour under the sun. No gracias senor!
Beautiful european-spanish style square where we settled for lunch in the sunshine. The temperature change is extraordinary and there were a couple of burnt noses after a couple of hours. Wandered round the town - lovely! Ended our day up the telefonique for a beautiful panaromic view of the city, which is in a valley surrounded by the hazy clouded Andes. Met Matthew a fellow busser and wandered down to enjoy our first Salta beer or 2. And of course out for a bit of beef and red vino later. Have to make the most of it whilst we are still in Argentina.
Salta - day 2!
Local bus to San lorenzo to explore the local hills. Uber wealthy suburb, not for us backpackers! Sadly on the walk through town a small pack of dogs (ok 2 but they were the hounds of the baskervilles) followed us to the start of our hike. Clare not overjoyed by the company bar Don! Hiked it up what we reckon to be about 3/4 of a munroe, not bad in the sunshine and lazed in a cafe after with a refreshing freshly squeezed jug of naranja (orange).
2 bottles of red vino later - happy days!
Salta - day 3
The culture darling, the culture! Museum frenzy and a spot of lunch in the tango area. We visited the High Altitude Archeology Museum which was home to 3 mummified Inca children that had been perfectly preserved in the mountains after they had been sacrificed to the Gods, aged 6,7 and 15, pretty horrific but an interesting insight into traditional Inca life. After that it was off to the modern art musuem to view the sculptures and paintings by a local Argentian artist. Unusual use of the penguins and barbies - will just need to wait till we get home to view the catalogue.
For dinner we ventured into for a all singing, all dancing show and a bit of pasta and chicken, sometimes you just can´t have beef.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
No Mr Bond, I expect you to die!
No trip to foreign lands would be complete without a Bond moment. This one is a viewing of the Itaipu dam, now the second largest in the world and a perfect Bond location.
For the geeks like me out there, it generates huge amounts of power, enough for 20% of Brazil's needs and 80% of paraguays. the Dam is 26km long and took almost 20 years to build.
For the geeks like me out there, it generates huge amounts of power, enough for 20% of Brazil's needs and 80% of paraguays. the Dam is 26km long and took almost 20 years to build.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Iguazu and the sandwich stealer!
After a fairly comfortable 20hrs on the bus we arrived in Puerto Iguazu. Nice first impression of a small but friendly town with all the traveller would need. Checked in to the hostel inn and watched as the huge droplets of rain continued to pelt the red roads. Braved the elements and headed into town for dinner.
Mmm red wine and steak!
Off to the falls, words just wont do the impressive awe inspiring sight justice so watch this space and hopefully we can get pics up on the site soon. Basking in sunshine for the day, listening to the roar of the falls, the day was almost too perfect until lunchtime....
Sat down for a bite to eat in one of the outdoor cafes and noticed that there were a large amount of what Don and I decided were ant eaters (raccoon like creatures!). Not being the most comfortable around animals i was beginning to get slightly nervous and then as if they could smell my fear one leaped on to the table and grabbed my sandwich clean out of my hand. The little bastard! One indoor sandwich later we spent the rest of the day kicking racoons, I mean admiring the falls!
Settled into a wee restaurant-bar for the evening and had fun night with an Irish couple who happened to have got married on the same day as us and who did the voice over for the Irish green power ranger, not sure which is cooler! Also enjoyed another bottle of red wine. Watch out Dad Slatford - your cellar is in trouble!
Mmm red wine and steak!
Off to the falls, words just wont do the impressive awe inspiring sight justice so watch this space and hopefully we can get pics up on the site soon. Basking in sunshine for the day, listening to the roar of the falls, the day was almost too perfect until lunchtime....
Sat down for a bite to eat in one of the outdoor cafes and noticed that there were a large amount of what Don and I decided were ant eaters (raccoon like creatures!). Not being the most comfortable around animals i was beginning to get slightly nervous and then as if they could smell my fear one leaped on to the table and grabbed my sandwich clean out of my hand. The little bastard! One indoor sandwich later we spent the rest of the day kicking racoons, I mean admiring the falls!
Settled into a wee restaurant-bar for the evening and had fun night with an Irish couple who happened to have got married on the same day as us and who did the voice over for the Irish green power ranger, not sure which is cooler! Also enjoyed another bottle of red wine. Watch out Dad Slatford - your cellar is in trouble!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Iguazu
Hola! Now we are fluent Spanish speakers...... OK, so we have only actually just completed a three day course.
The last few days have been full of fun in Buenos Airies (BA). The mornings have been filled with the tourist-tastic sights. Namely the Plaza de Mayo with the balcony where Evita spoke to the Argentinian people from and the museum and Cathedral. Other sights include the great obelisk and the congress buildings. Fab!
The weekend we had off from the Spanish lessons and went out to Palermo for the day, an area of BA that is filled with parks and all the BA greats out to enjoy the sunshine. An excellent place to while away the hours. Sunday is a day to hit the markets and the streets of San Telmo are filled with antique markets and street entertainers. All the usual suspects are present with various mime artists and jugglers but we also came across some that are not so often seen, namely the puppeteers (sp?) and Tango dancing.
Sunday night and the overnight trip to Iguazu.
The last few days have been full of fun in Buenos Airies (BA). The mornings have been filled with the tourist-tastic sights. Namely the Plaza de Mayo with the balcony where Evita spoke to the Argentinian people from and the museum and Cathedral. Other sights include the great obelisk and the congress buildings. Fab!
The weekend we had off from the Spanish lessons and went out to Palermo for the day, an area of BA that is filled with parks and all the BA greats out to enjoy the sunshine. An excellent place to while away the hours. Sunday is a day to hit the markets and the streets of San Telmo are filled with antique markets and street entertainers. All the usual suspects are present with various mime artists and jugglers but we also came across some that are not so often seen, namely the puppeteers (sp?) and Tango dancing.
Sunday night and the overnight trip to Iguazu.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Slorbs hit Buenos Aires!!!
Yay, married and now off on the big adventure.
What an exciting few days it has been. After the fun of the wedding and seeing everyone we jumped a flight down to London and then on to Argentina. Our pilot pals pulling out all the stops resulted in an upgrade! Life is good!
On arrival in Buenos Aires one of the first sights we see is a tall ship! How cool is that? We are now attempting to learn some Spanish which is keeping us very busy but in a couple of days with all our new found knowledge we are heading off to Uruguay for a day and then on to the North and the great Iguaza Falls and the fun of Paraguay. Yippee!!!
What an exciting few days it has been. After the fun of the wedding and seeing everyone we jumped a flight down to London and then on to Argentina. Our pilot pals pulling out all the stops resulted in an upgrade! Life is good!
On arrival in Buenos Aires one of the first sights we see is a tall ship! How cool is that? We are now attempting to learn some Spanish which is keeping us very busy but in a couple of days with all our new found knowledge we are heading off to Uruguay for a day and then on to the North and the great Iguaza Falls and the fun of Paraguay. Yippee!!!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
And closer still
11 Days to go. Really close so the panic about getting the speech written is starting to set in. All the main events I think are now sorted out so it is just the little details to be resolved. How many things are there still to be forgotten about? I lose count! Could be a busy weekend coming up.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Not long now...
Thats us down to 23 days to go till the social event of the century. (OK, so it may be slightly over-egged but...) Really not sure at all what is still to be sorted out but Clare has had a fitting for a dress (and gone for a liquid dinner afterwards) I have been in contact with the band to finalise the music to be played, we have even picked our first dance. But you will have to wait till the 31st to find out what it is.
A few meetings planned over the next three weeks, one with the celebrant to try and figure out just what the service will look like, one with the caterer and another one to try and teach us how to dance. Once that is all out the way then look out South America, here we come.
A few meetings planned over the next three weeks, one with the celebrant to try and figure out just what the service will look like, one with the caterer and another one to try and teach us how to dance. Once that is all out the way then look out South America, here we come.
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