Whin´s World

a new breed of tourist

2006-02-24T16:00:00.000-08:00

Can't believe that it's been a month since we've arrived back from our little world trip. It's so hectic and overwhelming. Among my list of things to do is to UPDATE THIS SITE!!!!!! When we're finally settled into our new home, which should be next week, I'm devoting an entire afternoon to updating our photos and diary. Oh, and then I might try to get the old slideprojecter out and invite friends over for a preview.

Right, so it's been a bit of a rollercoaster ride trying to get back into the swing of things. Very strange feelings going on here, but generally I think I'm feeling........disoriented. We've chosen to start work in March so we've had a few weeks to sort ourselves out. In the meantime it's been great catching up with family and friends, and interesting racing around the east with a gregorys and a couple of soy lattes/hot chocs-to-go looking for our new abode.

Dave loaded his rucksack again not long after unpacking it and flew off to NZ for a couple of weeks to go walking with the boys. After 365 days, 24/7, together I suffered a bit of separation anxiety....like my friend's cross cavalier dog who goes crazy when she's not around......but I got over it and loved my own space. Perhaps should suggest temporary single-life arrangement? 3 weeks on, 1 week off? Just kidding babe.

Found this article about the "flashpacker", as opposed to backpacker, a new breed of "individuals who are perhaps a little older than the post-uni, pre-life 21-year-old backpacker who have a larger budget but less time." I struggled with the stereotype of a backpacker while we were travelling because whilst we did rough it, we also had the choice not to. Our budget was generous enough to allow us to do pretty much everything we wanted to and more........without having to stay in flea ridden dorms and eating toast!

Now, I'm off to the beach............but after I contact my agent. Gotta find a way to help fund our next trip.

Browngirl's Masala Remix

2006-01-10T14:18:00.001-08:00

I just love this entry on Lopa's blog. It captures our experiences in India so well..........

"In the.....countries i've been to.....not one has been as open, unapologetic, and direct in displaying its way of life. In most of the countries i've visited you had to make an effort to get a glimpse of the 'real' world, the culture, the people and to partake in it. Not India - here you're immersed in it from day 1. Everything around you is a cultural attack on the senses - the smells of spices, incense, fumes, urine, all mix up into a masala, your eyes are blinded by the vibrant colors of saris, turbins, temples. Then there are the sounds - the sweet beckoning of a bamboo bansuri, the gyrating beats of the latest remixed bollywood track from a passing rickshaw, to the prayer calls from the nearby mosque. The tastes i can talk and have talked about numerous times - the hot fiery saabzis, sweet milky chais, refreshing sugarcane and lime juices... and some how Touch is not left out - there's the constant interaction with every human being around you, the soft brush of a sari's palu, the hot wind as inches away from you a taxi whizzes by, there's the grit and dust in the air that coats you as soon as you step out of the shower, the cold marble floors that cool your feet as you enter a mandir

...and finally there's the affect all of this has on you - the speed in which you can feel pure joy and freedom while hanging out the sides of the coromondel express along the gloriously green coast to the heartbreak every time you see an undernourished, underdeveloped child - begging for money, weeding through garbage hoping one of us has foolishly left some morsels in our plate of bhelpuri.

At times you can feel overwhelmed, unable to handle so much so quickly - but somehow you manage and soon enough find you're enjoying yourself despite it all because more than anything India makes you aware of how alive you are, how real things are and how lucky it is to be you."

2006!!

2006-01-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone!!

It took 20 staff at the Taj Residency to load this ice sculpture baby on time. Even then there was a risk that the whole thing would melt with temps being so hot! Have to laugh at the swan vegetable carving....the table was covered in them.

We lapped it up at this fancy place for a treat, checking into a suite and joining the festivities out on the lawn (a Jungle theme) stuffing ourselves with every possible indian delicacy on offer on the buffet. Delicious!

Met a really cool family of 4 (the only other foreigners).....with the most balanced, outgoing, intelligent kids and really down to earth parents ever. I was tempted to ask them what their secret was but I think it had something to do with his job as a drugs and alcohol counseller and her a psychotherapist for children and adolescents.

Missing the festivities on the harbour but this is just as cool.

Happy NY to my mates onboard the Love Boat c/off Nessie and Kenny. Wish we were revving it up on the Pacific Princess with youse having a boogie, drinking champers and watching the world's best fireworks on the harbour.

And....a big Happy New Year to my wonderful family...See you in 16 days!!

having one of those days

2005-12-30T20:23:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling a little frustrated and a little stressed out at the moment!! I know, I know, it's kind of weird being stressed out when you've been on holiday for almost a year but the pressure is on.....we've got less than 3 weeks left and we want to make sure we make the most of it before heading back to reality! It also probably doesn't help that the Keralan coast is not that fantastic and we are SURROUNDED by tourists looking like they haven't seen the sun in a year who've come straight off their charter flights on their 2 week holiday over christmas and new years. I'm not being a travel snob but it's not the travelling experience that we're after on our final few weeks.

Although, we had an awesome time cruising around the keralan backwaters in our funky houseboat for a couple of days. We went straight from Munnar down to Allepy to organise a houseboat which was a bit of a hassle - peak time, prices all hiked up 3 fold, loads of tourists and about 250 boats (un)available. Found a boat by luck due to a cancellation - a 2 bedroom wooden and palm leaf woven cocoon all to ourselves and with 3 staff to cook, drive and clean for us it was all very luxurious! All we had to do was laze on the lounges and cushions and watch the coconut fields, rice paddies and village life unfold (ie: women washing/doing the laundry/bathing etc and men sitting around having chai/fishing). We also hired a small narrow boat and sat on cane chairs like we were out on an safari while a guy navigated us around little canals with a bamboo pole. He claimed that Paul McCartney and Heather Mills hired his boat last year which was an entertaining romantic thought but yeah, took it with a pinch of salt.

Then from Allepy to Cochin - tourist ville central. It's fairly interesting.....the chinese fishing nets where you can buy fresh fish and have it cooked as you like in the little stalls along the seaside, the portugese and dutch architecture, the jewish quarter, the spice market.....it's all good but just too hectic for us.

So we're going to head out of here tomorrow, escape the crowds and go north via Calicut where we will spend NY, then to Wayanard Wildlife Sanctuary.....headin' inland where hopefully there will be less ppl!! A few days hiking and wildlife spotting there before heading to Mysore, Bangalore, Hampi and up to Mumbai avoiding the Goan coastline. That's the best plan we've come up with for the moment so fingers crossed it'll be awesome!

a Very Munnar Christmas!

2005-12-24T00:04:00.000-08:00

I was so homesick the first time I ever had xmas away from my family! I missed mum getting stressed out about the food, chilling out with dad, sis and lil' bro on the sofas while watching dvds with the a/c on to keep us cool from the 40deg heat outside, then rushing off to our extended family xmas gathering with all my titos, titas, nanay, cousins, cousin-in-laws and all my little nephews and lil' niece. The titos would sit around drinking chivas, the titas and nanay havin a goss and experimenting with 'midori and lemonade' (hardcore), the little ones running around like crazy, and my cousins and I having a laugh, drinking and eating till our stomachs hurt. Then we'd all have kris kringle, something we've been doing for years now and which always reminds me of a funny little incident with our cheeky nanay (something to do with picking out names from the hat...wink, wink....we know!!!!).

After the excitement of opening our gifts we'd watch all the little ones rip open their presents. I always love watching this! Then, we'd continue throughout the night into early morning, with nanay and the mums keeping the enormous buffet topped up in between competitions on the karaoke machine. After the dads have sobered up, we'd head home in the early early morning, drift off to sleep and on xmas morning open presents with mum, dad, bro, sis and partners underneath our xmas tree before having breakkie and lounging around for the rest of the day.

This xmas instead of our usual party of 50 or so there's 3 of us - dave, myself and lops - up in the tea and spice plantations of Munnar. Our cottage sits on the highest peak and overlooks the plantations below. We've decorated our little hut and we've set a budget of 100 rupees (that's 3 bucks!!) to buy each other presents. I bought dave a skipping rope. Then we're going to head to a xmas do here with a huge indian curry buffet, bonfire, games and bollywood disco! Hopefully get to win a couple of games.

Happy holidays everyone and a very merry xmas to all!!

you haven't been to India until.....

2005-12-14T16:12:00.000-08:00

They say that you haven't been to South America until you've been robbed or mugged. They also say that you haven't been to India until you've had a severe attack of the runs, dehydration and vomiting.

Well, feels like I've been to India and back at least a dozen times in the past 24 hours. Ironically, after 2 months of eating and drinking everything from the streets without any problems, I got food poisoning from THE fanciest and poshest restaurant in Pondicherry!! It would've been OK if I got sick from the food on the streets...at least it would have only cost me 5 rupees (15 cents)!!

In the height of my paranoia I thought I was coming down with meningococcal disease so we asked the hotel to call the doctor. He was the cutest man ever. He came bumbling in, all grey haired and rotund with a huge white streak of ash painted across his forehead. He'd just been to the temple to offer puja to his sri baba. "Do you know him? Here is Sri Baba", he says showing us a picture on his round silver key ring. Really surprising. I didn't expect a picture of a bloke who looked like a throwback from the 70s with an enormous round afro. Anyway, he was fab and confirmed that all I had was food poisoning and that I didn't have a serious, life-threatening disease.

So, now I really don't feel like eating anything or drinking any wine. A whole week in Pondi and I can't indulge. Bugger!

wine, seafood and the south

2005-12-13T12:50:00.000-08:00

Aaaaahh! Smell and feel that air! Sticky, hot and humid. Noice.

We're in the south now. Couldn't handle the cold of the north any longer so we jumped on the next flight out of Varanasi (scary, dodgy domestic airline via delhi) arriving late in Chennai for a night before driving down to Pondicherry (a french/indian seaside village) the following morning, a few hours south for some fresh air (well, not as polluted), wine and seafood.

It's rainy season though and luckily the cyclone heading this way decided to head further south. Still, it's back to wearing shorts....well, for Dave at least. Even though ppl say it's more relaxed in the south than the north (and easier for women), you still get stared/gawked at by the men (eeew!) so I'm sticking to my trousers and long sleeves. Have yet to find a salwar kemeez that I like. Luckily there is a FabIndia store down here as well as a boutique from Auroville with great western/indian fusion garments so will check it out.

Plans for the week in Pondicherry: A bit of western comfort including, but not limited to...

* Having a glass(es) of wine! Being a french colony there is plenty of wine and french cuisine available and at very low taxes.

* Eating lots of seafood

* Check out Auroville, a village 10kms out of here based on the concept of human unity

I love you

2005-12-07T16:55:00.000-08:00

I'm cringing with embarassment......

We just gave a quick call to Adam and Nicole to congratulate them on the birth of their baby son and it all went really well apart from the last bit when I had to pass the phone onto Dave and instead of saying "Love to you both" I ended up saying "Love you!" to which Nicole replied awkwardly that she loved me too. Doh. Am hoping she was still delirious from child birth to forget.

Goodmorning sunshine

2005-12-05T09:00:00.000-08:00

Just watched sunrise over the Himalayan range from the rooftop of the Rhaniket Inn snuggled in a blanket and sipping mugs of steaming chai. I can see Nepal on the right, the pass into Tibet and the 4th highest peak in the world......

The lunatic driver and his guru

2005-12-01T18:29:00.000-08:00

Still in Uttar Ranchal and luvvin it even though it's freezing. We met 2 american girls during our rafting trip down the ganga river that we got along really well with. The following day all four of us decided to go for a mammoth walk together in search of a temple up in the mountains behind Rishikesh. One of the guys at Red Chilli Adventures drew a little map for us but we ended up getting lost anyway (turn left when you get to the tree...??!). We only had a litre of water between us and 4 Parle-G biscuits but occasionally we'd walk through someone's house or bump into someone herding cattle so they'd fill us up with masala chai while we tried to figure out where we were.

Finally we found the village and the temple but by then the sun was setting and we had no way of getting back into town apart from walking back in the dark. Luckily a guy had just driven his guru up to the temple and was heading back down so we ran over and begged for a lift. All four of us, cramped in the back of his ambassador, were scared shitless for the next hour by the lunatic driver who thought he was in a formula one race and amused by his barefoot grey-haired guru dressed in orange who kept singing and clapping along to the blaring music completely oblivious to the threat of careening off the mountain. Had to cut conversations short with the race car driver who would continually turn around and have a chat, offer cigarettes/food/etc or hack outside the window and generally not focus on driving the car. So, whilst I was able to appreciate the view and the sunset, most of the time I kept repeating slogans off the side of the road - "Life is Precious", "Speed thrills but kills", etc - hoping he'd catch on and slow down.

Anyway, we made it back down alive. Dave said that he wasn't worried cos who'd ever heard of a car nose diving off a mountain with a guru in it?

Om shanti shanti shanti

2005-11-28T12:30:00.000-08:00

Dave and I are now in Rishikesh which has named itself the "yoga capital of the world". The place is right on the ganga river, flanked with mountains and humming with new-age stuff, ashrams and ppl looking like newtown hippies.

We've just come for the yoga and to chill and read for a few days. I've dragged Dave along to yoga and he seems to be enjoying it. Our day starts with a 2.5hr yoga class, followed by a masala chai and breakfast in the sun, then a couple of hours reading followed by a walk. In the evening we head down to the ganga river for the daily ganga aarti - river worship ceremony with singing and ppl sending marigolds, incense and candles down the river. Pretty cool sight watching the floating candles over the ganges during sunset.

I'm really enjoying tucking into yoga again although I dread the last part of the class because of the breathing exercises (which border pornographic). Dave and I try not to look at each other otherwise we start laughing. Today's exercise was just too funny (standing up, legs apart, big breath in then lunge forward with hands on knees, bum out, and expelling all the air from your lungs with a huge grunt followed by continuously convulsing your stomach muscles for a minute).

I'm not into the meditation part either and imagining you're a bird, lotus flower, or a silver tube. I spend most of the class trying to figure out what type of bird/flower/item I want to be and by that time it's all over.

Anyway, I hear there is a swiss lady who only does the yoga and focusses on correct positioning so I am off to find her today. I've heard that she yells but they all seem to including our guy in the morning who screams out "RELAAAAAXXXXX".

What a small world

2005-11-24T20:20:00.000-08:00

I am still spinning out about our past few days!

While in Jaiselmer, 80kms from the Pakistani border, and while admiring the marble work on the Jain temple inside the fort, I heard my name being called out and gasping for breath as a girl threw her arms around me. The crazy girl was our mate Lopa from NY and who we last saw in Japan 2 years ago showing me how to do the american bum dance against the bar while we drank margaritas. It was so crazy! The last time this happened to us was when we were in the Andes trekking around Mt Fitzroy when a hiker appeared out of nowhere who happened to be Dave's mate from England.

Lopa was heading the same direction as us towards Delhi so she joined us on our road trip in our little round ambassador car for the next few days. Lopa speaks hindi, as well as gujarati, and she loves food just as much as we do so we quickly got rid of our paranoia of eating from road stalls. We also got to talk some sense into our driver through Lopa about his efforts to steer us into the "best hotel" and the "best" carpet/paintings/jewellery stores (neverending despite being upfront with him from the start). Very interesting actually. He was honest about his aim to make an extra buck at any opportunity and that as foreigners, we have more money than he has so what was a few hundred rupees extra here or there? Luckily for us, his efforts were wasted.

We parted ways with Lopa this morning but will catch up with her during new years down south with a few bombay socialites she hopes to meet in tow.

Jaiselmer

2005-11-23T06:48:00.000-08:00

a long hard night

2005-11-01T01:10:00.000-08:00

I am writing this from a Korean love motel. Believe me, it wasn't intentional.

It all looked fine when we arrived - wooden floor boards, kingsize bed with crisp white linen sheets, surround sound, huge movie size tv, internet access in the room, sterilising machine - pretty cool stuff for a motel and right by the bus terminal too! Pretty good choice for one night in Gyuengju.

But then after handing over the cash and putting our packs down we noticed a few odd things such as a "Hot Love 114" dildo vending machine next to the bed (dildos starting at 10,000won), red and green flashing lights on the ceiling and around the bed, mirrors placed strategically, cleaning ladies working around the clock, men checking in with no luggage, and little packs of condoms and diaphragms alongside our complimentary shampoo and conditioner bottles!

Call me a prude but eeewwwww!! I'm sleeping in my sleeping bag tonight.

A lesson

2005-10-17T12:05:00.000-07:00

Great it works!

A little photo taken while in the Forbidden City.

Checking in

2005-10-06T06:04:00.000-07:00

I'm back!! It's been bloody ages since I've been infront of a computer because for some reason:

1. Finding an internet cafe in a remote village in Bolivia was far easier than finding one in an european village, and
2. There weren't enough hours between breakfast, lunch, siesta and dinner to warrant sitting inside a stuffy little cafe.

So, after running around for far too long in London looking for THE best and funkiest kombi, we threw out all hope of looking cool and ended up purchasing a sensible renault family station wagon, aka the silver bullet. Couldn't believe how much kombis were selling for so if anyone is keen on shipping some over from Oz and selling them at a ridiculously inflated price in UK then you have a booming business.

We arrived on the continent bang on Bastille Day so our first night was spent with throngs of holiday loving French (35hr working week by law and at least 5 weeks annual leave)in Paris, sipping red wine on the lawns while watching an awesome fireworks display off the Eiffel Tower. Brilliant start to our european jaunt and sure beats Bastille Day at our local boulangerie back home.

After doing the touristy thing in Paris, we picked up our brand new silver bullet, loaded up on camping gear at Decathlon (the best outdoor store eva) and spent the next few months driving a total of 9,000km around France, Spain, Italy and Switzerland eating/drinking/camping and generally putting on all the weight we lost in South America.

That's pretty much it in a nutshell. Oh, life is good!!

An Irish wedding

2005-08-11T08:44:00.000-07:00

Oh dear. Feeling very sorry for ourselves at the moment. We were warned about Irish weddings and oh my lord it exceeded all expectations!

Phil and Alex tied the knot in county Kildare over the weekend. We left the silver baron (ie: our super renault station wagon) in Barcelona to catch flight over to Dublin. Was very excited to catch up with friends who flew in that day from oz so of course we hit the town for a few guinnesses(?). Also managed to catch up with Denise and Don, Irish guys we met in Bolivia, as well as a few of Dave's old Irish mates he hadn't seen in 5 yrs before heading out to county Kildare for the wedding celebrations.

The ceremony was held in a tiny little church in the middle of a field. Bride looked beautiful of course and I loved the bridesmaids' dresses and flowers. Alex failed to mention that the reception in a 'tent out in her backyard' was actually a gigantic white marquee (tent) in the middle of thousands of acres complete with a private lake and road, racing horses, a race track, stables, a collection of sports cars and an enormous bright pink mansion (her backyard).

Celebrations went on for 2 days and in typical irish fashion we drank and danced like there was no tomorrow. The 600 bottles of vintage champagne and open bar helped us think we were ace dancers and we flapped around like wild geese with the irish dance troupe and the 4 bands. The harpist/pianist was sobering for a moment though and I'm sure I saw her talking to a plant before performing.

So, now we are well and truly suffering a hangover and there's no way we're touching alcohol while back here in Barcelona for the next few days. Although, while here I should have a little cava with my tapas.......

PS. I forgot! Alex caught Dave in the church looking very bored during the ceremony. Actually, he was trying to look serious which didn't help the fact that he'd been tricked into telling Alex's sister that Alex looked older.

Loads to catch up on

2005-07-25T14:17:00.000-07:00

Have been slack and haven't reported on any of our travels since Galapagos, however, I just wanted to post a quick one to report that I LOVE FRANCE.

That's all I have to say.

Will fill in the gaps since Galapagos at a later stage...........

Gliding away

2005-06-27T07:36:00.000-07:00

Awww, what a top shot!

Galapagos Islands

2005-05-25T20:30:00.000-07:00

Just back from the Galapagos Islands! Superb wildlife viewing and felt like I was in a David Attenborough documentary.

From Quito, Ecuador, we flew to San Cristobal where we boarded the Diamante, our yacht and home for the next week. Luckily she was a beauty and the crew was amazing. Our guide was even better and was one of the first inhabitants of Floreana island (just after all the mysterious disappearances took place) and a wealth of information. One of 12 children who were all delivered by her father, most of her siblings are involved in the conservation of the islands (one of them is involved in the eradiction of introduced species flying over the islands in a helicopter and shooting goats!).

For 8 days we walked amongst numerous endemic species of birds, mammals and reptiles and most of the time you had to be very careful not to walk on the wildlife!

unfinished

...and now I see

2005-05-18T14:10:00.000-07:00

Why haven't I had one of these earlier?! Back in Lima and have just had a great massage from a blind masseuse somewhere in San Isidro, on recommendation by one of the twins we met up at the amazon lodge. To test if he was 100% I 'accidentally' dropped 10 soles on the ground to see if he would pick it up. He passed the test, plus for good measure, he bumped into the wall a couple of times so I'm pretty sure he was bonafide. As I lay there, I thought how surreal it was to be in Lima, having a conversation in castellano while being massaged by a blind masseuse.

So, after a coffee and massage with the twins, we were suitably relaxed and enjoyed Lima better than the first time we were here. One of the twins is an expat and has been living in Lima for 4 years working on human rights policies. She, and another guy we met who is also an expat, love Lima. He voluntarily teaches english to underpriviledged kids and is supported by donations from friends back home. Wonderful idea although not so sure my friends will be all that willing to financially support my holiday without being there!

Tomorrow we are off to Quito, Ecuador, and off to the Galapagos Islands sailing. Have been raiding all the book stores around Miraflores and San Isidro to find a good book to read while lazing on the yacht. The selection has been dreadful (and pricey) but fantastic for those who are fans of Danielle Steel.

In the Jungle

2005-05-16T05:48:00.000-07:00

''GIANT ELECTRIC EEL ATTACKS CHILDREN'' is the front page headline of a newspaper I pick up on arriving to Iquitos. The frontpage shows a slain eel infront of a bunch of excited kids. Welcome to the jungle!

I think it was geography with Ms McCata (?) who inspired an interest to visit the amazon river and the jungle, so 18 yrs later we find ourselves waiting at the edge of the amazon river for a boat to take us 200kms upstream to start our jungle adventure.

We stayed at Mayuna Lodge, an eco lodge (very important), where for the next week we:
* Went birdwatching at the crack of dawn
* Swam with pink dolphins in the murky, chocolate brown waters of the amazon river
* Fished for piranha
* Ate piranha
* Caught anacondas and caimans by night
* Watched huge groups of monkeys jumping from tree to tree while tucans and macaws flew by
* Teased sloths (actually the guide did the teasing by pretending he was a hawke) perched high up in the trees
* Canoed our way through the jungle to spot tarantulas, more monkeys, bamboo rats, birds etc
* Walked through thick dense forest in jackets and gumboots with a machete loving guide and swarms of mosquitos who bit any bit of skin that was exposed and in fact bit through your clothes.
* Stopped by a local school for a bit of singing and games
* Feasted on golden catfish ceviche, corn tamales, palm hearts, fried bananas and little orange spheres of chilli
* Lazed about on hammocks

It was all good fun however the onslaught of viscious mosquitos immune to heavy duty deet and rubber was unbearable and after an owl decided to poop on our bed, we decided that we had enough of our jungle adventure and cut our visit short. 4 days was more than enough.

We headed back downstream to Iquitos where Dave drove the boat down the amazon straight for a hot shower and airconditioning.

Who would´ve known

2005-05-10T09:46:00.000-07:00

So who would´ve known that 15 years after watching that documentary about the Incas and Machu Picchu and wishing I could see it that it´d come true?

Well, it really was an amazing experience and we spent several hours at the top looking down at Machu Picchu in total awe. We hardly spoke to each other. We then spent the entire day wandering around the ruins checking out the temple of the sun, the sundial, agricultural terraces, mortar room, temple of the condor, caretaker`s inn etc... Amazing feat for the Incans and also for Hiram Bingham to `discover` the lost city in 1911.

As mentioned, we didn`t hike up the inca trail however went through the Sacred Valley (Urubamba valley) which was very beautiful. Went through ruins and towns (Pisaq markets, Calca, Yucay, Urubamba, Chinchero) eventually to Ollantaytamba where we hopped on the train to Aguas Calientes at the foot of Machu Picchu for the night so that we could catch a bus up first thing in the morning before the bucket loads of tourists arrived.

Notes:
* Suggest more than a day to explore the ruins.
* There are alternative walks to the the inca trail that are less populated and remote. With around 500 ppl hiking the inca trail every day, we had heard the the route was getting too polluted and that you end up walking in a huge line with loads of ppl.
* Unesco is threatening to remove Machu Picchu's World Heritage status based on the Peruvian government's refusal to limit visitor numbers to the site. It was suggested that numbers should be limited to between 250 to 500 ppl a day due to adverse effects on the site(there was concern about the ruins slipping down the mountain), however current numbers are up to 3,000 a day. On a quiet day the number is around 800. Can understand why the govt hasn't acted. Great revenue for them based on the amounts they charge tourists.
* Would I come again? Yes, only to walk the inca trail despite the warnings of it being too populated. I think passing through the sun gate on the final day would be pretty special.
* Overall, never seen anything like it before and definitely unforgettable.

The naval of the world

2005-05-06T17:40:00.000-07:00

Cuzco.....the naval of the world according to the incans.

A very pretty town full of cobbled streets, clay orange roof tiles and plenty of churches. Despite the aggressive restaurant touts on Plaza de Armas literally dragging you off the street to come and have free pisco sours at their restaurant, the droves of tourists (mostly american) and the hoards of children forcing you to buy finger puppets even though your own digits, including toes, are covered in them, it is a very beautiful naval.

We had a frantic time trying to organise a 4 day hike up the incan trail to Machu Picchu but alas, it wasn´t to be. Prior to leaving Oz we heard that there was a new regulation to limit the numbers on the path and that you must book at least 6 weeks ahead to guarantee a place. Although we knew this, a number of travellers advised that it was possible to turn up and book a hike within 2 days. Unfortunately the first hike we could book was in July so we had to make alternative arrangements to reach Machu Picchu. Disappointed but tried to console self that Machu Picchu was the highlight.

Anyway, there was plenty to do around Cuzco including exploring the surrounding ruins on miniature malnutritioned horses....a very frightening experience for both Dave and the horse. In between trying to coax the horses to walk faster than a tortoise we saw some very interesting ruins:

* Tambumachay: Incan baths and centre for the worship of water.
* Puca Pucara: ´´Fortress watchtower´´, a checkpoint and administrative centre
* Q'enqo: a labyrinth used for worship and ceremonies. Loads of carvings, holes and canals and underground chamber, and finally,
* Saqsaywaman: Pronounced ´´Sexy Woman´´. Enormous, zig zag shaped fortress in the shape of a puma´s head (the zig zag being its teeth).

Notes:
1. The walk from sexy woman to the centre of town was lovely with great views of Cuzco
2. San Blas area - great place for artsy stuff and cool cafes and restaurants. Note ecclectic bar ´´Fallen Angel´´ with bath tubs filled with goldfish and used as tables
3. Most of the tourists at our hotel had altitude sickness. Couldn´t help but feel relieved as Cuzco is the lowest altitude we have been in the past few weeks so we were absolutely fine!
4. Not game enough to try cuy (guinea pig) yet.....

Peru

2005-05-03T15:08:00.000-07:00

Peru has been a bit of a slap in the face since leaving beautiful, tranquil Bolivia.

Since crossing the border into Peru from Bolivia around Lake Titicaca into Puno, it´s been an onslaught of continual harrassment by local vendors, street touts, tour operators and huge groups of package tourists. A shock to the system and a rude interruption.

We only stayed in unattractive Puno to wait for the train run by Orient Express to take us to Cusco. In the meantime, we occupied ourselves with visiting the floating reed islands (Ouros) to investigate whether they were real or fake. There´s a rumour going around that the inhabitants are actually mainlanders who are ferried across to the islands in the morning before the tourists arrive and then taken back to Puno at the end of the day. Although a HUGE tourist trap, it was interesting (fake or not) to see how ppl lived on these islands where everything, including their boats, was made of reeds. We came across curious activity on one of the islands where we saw men and children hacking at the floor with saws and poles and discovered that the community was having huge disputes. To resolve the problem they decided to cut the island in half! Still undecided about the validity of the islands, we then went across to see the incan funerary towers which were of interest to Dave. These towers were colossal and I was quite impressed with the precise workmanship of the incans.

The train ride was fantastic and thoroughly recommended. We ´roughed´ it in backpacker class which we found was exactly the same as first class (silver service, food, entertainment) except for the seats and were grateful for the advice given by a local tour operator to not pay for first class tickets.

After 10hrs we reached Cusco.........

Beloved Bolivia

2005-05-01T10:28:00.000-07:00

My favourite South American country by far. The warnings (eg: food is terrible, transport not good, danger around the border) about the country, I found, were far from the truth and infact I found it a country with tranquil people, breathtaking landscapes, a fascinating culture and excellent food (especially the soups - quinoa es muy rico. Note, we were careful to stay away from the USD1.00 menu del dia (3 course set menu) although there was one time we accidently had it. We survived).

Even La Paz was an interesting place with it´s witches markets full of dried llama foetuses, pachamama and pachapapa statues, and other curious little ornaments to protect one´s home, health and wealth. For a small sum you could have your fortune read by one of the Quechua (indigenous) ppl on the street using coca leaves spread out on a colourful weaving, not that you`d be able to understand it. My castellano is challenged enough without having to comprehend Quechuan.

There have been so many prime opportunities for excellent shots but it was a little difficult to take them as the people are afraid of the ´´evil eye´´ of the camera believing that it will take their souls away. This also applies to their llamas and alpacas although a farmer on Isla del Sol in Lake Titicaca told me that his llama was prone to spitting if I took his photo. Anyway, I practised taking undercover photos as demonstrated to me by one of our mates which involves holding the camera by your leg and clicking away. This results in a lot of pictures of dirt roads though.

So, our journey took us from La Paz to Lake Titicaca where we chilled at Copacabana (yes, another town with that name) and then took a boat across to Isla del Sol, an high altitude (4,000m) island of 1,000 inhabitants whose primary activity is farming and fishing, where we did some walking and chilling. Fantastic to wander around the villages connected by pathways where the only means of transport are your feet. No vehicles, no roads. We did view some ruins (Chinkana - an Incan labyrinth) and other historical points of interest (sacred rock in shape of puma) in Challapampa, the northern end. The Incans believe that this island is where the sun dropped onto the earth to give birth to Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo, the first Incans. It`s still very primitive with it`s inhabitants living very simple lives. I loved watching the sunrise from our balcony and seeing a woman meticulously combing and plaiting her hair into 2 parts before donning her bowler hat. Sadly, we couldn`t stay longer.

It is a beautiful country and I love it all. This is a country I will definitely visit again. Hasta pronto Bolivia!

Mountain Biking down the World`s Most Dangerous Road

2005-04-30T16:55:00.000-07:00

WOW!! Have just mountain biked down the ``World´s Most Dangerous Road´´ (as dubbed by the Inter American Development Bank in 1995 - an accident (sometimes fatal) occurs on the road once every 2 weeks) from La Cumbre to Coroico!!

Initially had a few concerns before signing up but the team at Gravity Assisted were excellent and I thoroughly recommend them for their professionalism and top notch bikes (not that I´m an expert but apparently the bikes were wicked (where the hell did that come from!!)). Also, they had only ever lost one person a year off the edge, so it was all good.

After an offering to Pachamama (Incan Earth Mother) we began the ride at 4,700m and rapidly descended 3,600m for 65km down a twisting, dirt road barely 3m wide, with 1,000m sheer drops to our left, and passing through waterfalls, streams, a drug checkpost (!!), tiny villages, llamas, alpacas, pigs, car and truck wrecks and spectacular amazonian jungle. Everything went superbly apart from a minor incident where I was enjoying the scenery and didn`t see a van coming straight towards me. The bike had great hydraulic breaks!

After 5 hours we reached Coroico for some delicious cold beers, lunch and a shower (we were covered in mud) before we loaded ourselves into a van to return to La Paz again via the WMDR in complete darkness and thick fog! Very freaky and way too many trucks coming downhill but we eventually made it back to La Paz where we then headed off to Mondos for dinner and a couple of drinks.

Observations whilst hurtling/plummeting down the WMDR:
1. Downhill traffic sticks to the far left and must give way to uphill traffic. Very freaky as the left side is where the cliff just drops vertically down.
2. The man with his red and green flags. He lost his wife and 2 kids on this road and now voluntarily stands at his post everyday to watch the road and assist drivers. There are now a few men stationed throughout the road who do this voluntarily.
3. Some horror stories: The guy who was looking at the scenery and flew straight off the road; the french girl who got off her bike on the left side of the bike (not the right) to give way to a truck and fell off the road; the israeli girl with the faulty breaks who plummeted off the cliff.
4. A large number of accidents occur on the road due to disagreements over right of way and drunk truck drivers.
5. Time to buy a wicked mountain bike!

Some pictures taken by Gravity during our ride
(there are loads of photos (not only of us) and they will only be on the site for 60 days. View from page 10 onwards. Password to view is: photos).

Hola Bolivia!

2005-04-22T19:16:00.000-07:00

So THIS is the quintessential south america I was looking for and I´m loving it!

From Salta in the far north west of Argentina we crossed into the Atacama desert in north Chile with a lot of drama. Our 8 hour bus journey turned into a 15 hour journey when one of the passengers on board noticed that his bag, along with his passport, was stolen. Not so good when you are at the border crossing between Argentina and Chile at a height of 4500m! It was a crash course in acclimatising and damn it was hard. Loads of ppl on the bus were pale and ill due to to the altitude and lack of oxygen. Luckily I was able to snooze for a while which alleviated my pounding head and eliminated the need for me to walk anywhere.

We got to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile late that night which meant that we couldn´t organise anything for the following morning. However, we fortunately met up with a great bunch of ppl and organised a fantastic mountain bike ride the next day (40km)to a salt lake. Note, hard work with the altitude and sand tracks but spectacular scenery.

Our main purpose in Atacama, apart from seeing the landscape, was to organise travel through to Bolivia. We hooked up with a couple from South Africa and secured a 4x4 to take us across the border into Uyuni in Bolivia. We heard plenty of warnings about these trips but we thought that if we paid a bit extra and paid for our own jeep it would at least eliminate some of the horror stories we´d heard.

Famous last words, or intentions.....

However, our 3 day 2 night journey into the south west of Bolivia was the most beautiful I have ever experienced. Moments that I will never forget;
* The most beautiful sunset I have ever ever seen setting over Lago Colorado. An oil painting in progress complete with flamingoes! I had only ever seen flamingoes in Africa but I couldn´t believe they flocked here in Bolivia....and 3 species as well!
* The longest nail biting, head splitting, freezing, bowl moving, frustrating, uncomfortable night´s sleep at 4800m in a mud hut. Insomnia is a symptom of altitude sickness. Not pleasant!
* The most spectacular barren desert landscapes.
* Catching sunrise on the Salar de Uyuni (salt lakes) and not knowing where the sky and the land met. Breathtaking.
* Also on the Salar de Uyuni, turning 360 deg and seeing only blindingly white salt flats as far as you can see.
* Sleeping in a salt hotel where everything was made of, surprise surprise, salt!
* Watching salt farmers rake salt into uniform conical mounds.
* Indulging in bunches of coca leaves in the morning (great with hot water and a teaspoon of sugar) and chewing the funky stuff throughout the day to alleviate symptoms of altitude sickness. Coca leaves are a staple for the Bolivians who chew the stuff throughout the day. It was meant to give you some sort of buzz or numbness but I couldn't tell the difference.
* Thermal springs and active bubbling grey smelly geysers.
* The beauty and self indulgent feeling of being in complete solitude and isolation.

(For pictures of our spectacular journey through the south west of Bolivia, click here).

Our journey took us to Uyuni and from there we caught a 7hr bus journey to Potossi. Very eventful again - we were also warned about bus journeys in Bolivia and were told to try and catch trains where possible. Not so bad though we had to endure Michael Bolton and various local Bolivian musicians blaring through the speakers on the bus and a flat tyre. Welcome relief as the bus didn´t stop for toilet breaks so was able to sneak off into a local school to use their toilets and kick a soccer ball around with the little chicos and chicas.

We stayed in Potossi for 2 nights and had a fantastic time wandering about the town and watching loads of women in bowler hats, plaits and puffy pleated skirts plod around complete with babies tied in colourful rugs on their backs. Fantastic llama was to be had on the menu as well.

Potossi is the highest city in the world at 4090m and you can really feel it. When an Indian farmer lost his llama and began searching for it up on the mountain, now called Cerro Ricco, he discovered after lighting a fire to keep himself warm, that silver veins formed underneath it. The spanish then discovered the potential and began mining for silver and built the city of Potossi. They brought in Indian and African slaves to work in the mines and something like 8 million slaves perished within 450 years. The mines still exist and are now run by cooperative miners who work in terrible conditions, subjecting themselves to silica dust and other noxious fumes guaranteeing that they will succumb to silicosis pneumonia within 10-15 years. Very tragic.

Now we are in Sucre, about a 2.5 hr taxi ride north of Potossi and known as the Athens of the Bolivia, or something like that. It is again a beautiful place and we have secured a top accommodation with spectacular view of the city. Here again you see the women dressed in typical costume and loads of llama and alpaca produce.

However, now I must go as we have just had a top bbq with the guys we met a week ago and Dave has just brought me my bbqed chocolate stuffed banana.

We catch a flight to La Paz tomorrow so no doubt I will have loads more to report.

Will it pop?

2005-04-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

Government declares eruption alert in Pucon and has prohibited the ascension of Volcan Villaricca in response to increased activity! Click here for the article in today´s La Tercera.

The last time the volcano errupted was in 1984. Will be keeping a close eye as Dave is keen to see it erupt if it happens soon.

Siesta time

2005-04-11T13:25:00.000-07:00

They call Mendoza the Land of Sun and Wine so we thought it was a good idea to check out if this was true.

From Santiago we tried to offload a lot of our stuff by posting 25 kgs (yes that much) to the UK however the 5 bottles we bought the other day didn´t do anything to lighten our load. Big Dave´s solution was to drink the wine as quickly as possible, at any opportunity, and even would have cracked one open for breakfast...but that was going too far. The waiter during our first dinner in Mendoza was shocked when we cringed at the mention of ordering wine and it was only when we explained that we´d been over quaffing that he thought that it was acceptable.

Needless to say, we visited a vineyard, Viña Escoulihera, the oldest and most prestigious bodega in Argentina and had the most informative and hands on tour so far. So hands on that we stood with the ladies on the sorting machine and ate grapes while they sorted through the bunches.

Malbec is to Argentina as what Carmenere is to Chile although I think I prefer Carmenere more. During our long lazy lunch at their restaurant (again with another bottle of vino), we decided that we preferred Malbec as a blend with Shiraz or Cabernet. All wine talk!

To give ourselves time to detox we hired a car the following day to check out a few of the sites. The first was the Cristo Redeemer, a statue placed in between the Chileno and Argentine border about 100 yrs ago as a sign of peace after all the border disputes. It was a 4000m drive to the top where we picked up a hitchhiker (madness climbing the mountain) and didn´t understand a word he was saying. Most of the time we´ve got a good grasp of the language but there´s always an odd one and suddenly it´s all alien to us. Anyhow, we didn´t stay long at the top as I think I may have suffered my first symptoms of altitude sickness. The headache came on very suddenly and I was short of breath. Very unpleasant so we rushed back down the mountain.

From there we passed through the Puente de Inca, amazing thermal springs, then viewed the highest mountain in the Americas (and the second highest in the world after Everest), Cerro Ancongua (spelling??) at almost 7000m, and then to Upsallata where they filmed 7 Years in Tibet. I definitely noticed the difference in altitude and found it quite difficult to walk to the viewing platform. A dozen empanadas later and we hit the road back into Mendoza for another night before heading to San Juan.

As with most of the towns here, siesta is between 12 and 4 which I think is a great luxury. Although it´s annoying when you urgently need to hire a car to get out of the bus station in San Juan and call a company to have the sleepy staff member tell you that they are closed and will reopen in 20 mins. Seista is taken very seriously.

We eventually hired a car and spent a few days driving north of the town visiting San Agustin de Valle Fertil, Valle de la Luna and Jachal. The scenery was stunning and as always during this trip caught my breath at every moment. Some of the landscapes reminded me of Africa, from the wide open plains and the desert landscapes to the long straight road stretching far out into the horizon. Big Dave reminded me that there weren´t any hyenas, lions or elephants though.

A few notes:
1. Machismo is rife here and will apparently get worse as we head north. Numerous discussions with Big Dave about it however he thinks that I´m overly sensitive and too used to politically correct oz. However, after dinner last night in Jachal, it was so obvious that the waiter did not acknowledge my presence at all and directed all attention and questions to Big Dave. For eg, did senor want anymore meat?, did senor want anything to drink?, did senor want any dessert? How about asking ME what I want? Grrr. I love dessert.
2. The receptionist at the hotel in Jachal who was mortified that Dave and I were not married, and further, that we had checked into a matrimonial room. Thought this was a bit rude of the 20 yr old receptionist but then realised that the town is known as the ´´Town of Tradition´´, or cradle of tradition, so it was very funny.
3. All along the roads are shrines dedicated to the ´´Patron Saint of Mule Drivers´´. Hmmm.

Smoggy Santiago

2005-04-07T13:28:00.000-07:00

We spent longer than expected in smoggy Santiago. It´s true that the smog hardly ever lifts but it when it does it´s a breathtaking surprise to see the Andean range so close to the city. There were a couple of evenings where Big Dave and I would rush back to our hotel to have a bottle of vino on the top floor to catch sunset and watch the mountains turn red and orange.

Speaking of vino, we´ve happily quaffed some fantastic stuff worthy of Stephen Knight´s (our wine course instructor in oz) commentary. The carmenere variety is common only to Chile and is a top drop. On our second last day we rushed off to visit Viña Santa Rita on the outskirts of Santiago (Viña Concha y Toro was closed that day which was a bugger as I love their Casillero de Diablo carmenere and cab sav). The manager Marcelo great and squeezed us in on short notice when I called him in the morning although it was quite an adventure to get there on time - a train ride to a tiny village that smelled of fermentation called Buin and then hitch hiked to the vineyard as we couldn´t find any colectivos (taxis which act like buses) going that way.

After our lunch and tour of the vineyard, Marcelo drove us to the Fiesta de la Vendimia (Harvest Party) held by the vineyards in the Maipu Valley which was a lucky chance event for us. We walked around the stalls tasting different wines from the region, munching on antichiquos (different meats pierced through a very long stick with a piece of bread on the end) and empanadas, and slowly became intoxicated. It´s funny that when you´re intoxicated everything seems like a good idea so we ended up buying several bottles of wine, including Santa Rita´s top drop Triple C and the bottle that Marcelo slipped us under the table, not thinking that we were leaving for Argentina the next day and that we had to carry them in our rucksacks. What was also amusing was how we somehow became champion castellon speakers and had great conversations with a sweet local couple. Well, I think we did. We laughed a lot so it must´ve been good as they walked us to the train station and helped us buy our train tickets when the fiesta was over.

A note:
It was quite moving to be inside the main Cathedral in Santiago by chance when the bells started to ring announcing that Pope JP II had passed away.

Another note:
What´s with the all male standup coffee houses with waitresses in slinky outfits. Apparently it´s an institution visited by men all around South America and apparently only provides coffee service, nothing else.

Fat Cat update

2005-04-05T21:00:00.000-07:00

It seems Fat Cat is having border disputes with the White Russian. The latest news from foster parents Catiecate and Lozza is that his scheduled teeth clean and mouth operation had to be delayed until next week as he had a huge fight with aforementioned enemy yesterday and suffered a huge bite to his bottom. As he won´t let the vet see his bottom he is on antibiotics for the week until his operation where, under general anaesthetic, they hope to check out the whole situation. Poor fatty fatty cat.

Big THANK YOUs to his foster parents though for giving him lots of love and cuddles. Although, foster parents have brainwashed him into thinking that they are now in fact his new parents. We have now been demoted to benefactors for Fat Cat´s Institute of Injury, Teeth and Kidney Management!

While waiting for the laundry

2005-04-01T12:30:00.000-08:00

I´m bummed about:

1. Missing out on a Moruya family camping trip over easter.
2. Missing out on catching up with the old crew at Victoria Room.

It´s annoying to:

1. Pay three times the normal amount for a Lonely Planet guide book. $150 for 2 books when it would cost $50. Painful and annoying.
2. Explain over and over again that I am not Japanese.
3. Have no other choice on the menu apart from bistec a la povre (steak with fried eggs and fries) or fried chicken and fries and variations thereof (eg; would you like 1/2 a chicken or a whole one?) or big fat doughy pizzas with uninteresting toppings, or where the only salad options are:
a tomate ensalada (just peeled tomatoes)
a lechuga ensalada (just iceberg lettuce)
a palta ensalada (just avocado)
or, lucky last,
a mixta ensalada (surprise, surprise, a combination of the above!!)

I´m excited when:

1. We check into an apart-hotel to find a fully equipped cocina and cook our own meal!
2. We find Japanese restaurants and happily dine on sushi, sashimi and gyoza!
3. We have fresh, newly laundered clothes! .....Or we will, as soon as I finish up here.

Ciao ciao

Climbing the Volcan

2005-03-23T20:48:00.000-08:00

The last time I climbed a volcano was nearly 2 years ago with my cousins Shezza and Bons in the Philippines and I thought that was quite spectacular and a piece of cake. Admittedly the malnutritioned horses did all the climbing but the weather was scorching and it was hard work applying sunscreen.

Volcan Villarica didn´t allow the luxury of a horse but the guides we hired provided us with an ice pick, crampons and some sexy waterproofs (note to self: must buy myself an icepick). Apart from that, it wasn´t as difficult as I had imagined - thanks mainly to the amount of trekking we´ve been doing lately.

Luckily, we had clear weather, great guides and a great group, apart from the terrified Brazilian girl who cried all the way up the volcano and all the way down. I shouldn´t laugh...but I did.

Anyway, after a short ski lift up the mountain (to cut out a bit of time), and then crunching up volcanic ash and heaving ourselves through the ice with our trusted ice picks, we finally reached the summit gasping for air where we were welcomed by huge plumes of stinking sulfur. The guys with the funny masks I was laughing at earlier in the climb were not so stupid looking after all. However, putting up with suffocating from the noxious fumes did nothing to distract me from the spectacular vista from the top and even more exciting, watching the amazing show of churning lava bursts!! It was awesome. I´d never seen anything so full of life before. I felt like I was looking into the centre of the earth.

We finished this spectacular day by glissading down the mountain, ie: sliding down the mountain on our rears using only the ice pick to navigate or apply the brakes. Great fun!

Later that evening, Dave and I caught the sunset by the lake in Pucon and observed the top of the Volcan Villaricca glowing an eerie orange. Spooky but hey, what an excellent day!!!

What the...?

2005-03-21T11:40:00.000-08:00

To add to Chiloe´s quaint, yet quirky, nature, we stayed at a charming hostel in Ancud owned by an elderly chain smoking couple who got pissed every night with guests on pisco sours and liqor de oro (fermented cow´s milk) while sitting around the roaring fireplace with friends singing folk tunes and playing the accordian. Great fun and a great place to stay but very odd....particularly with the ladies toilet (a great contender for Rove´s ``What the?´´ segment). Click here. Luckily we had a bano privado.

During the times we weren´t being entertained (forced to drink or being fed in the kitchen) by the elderly couple Hector and Nalida, we drove around the little villages, shopped at the feira artesenals and feasted on fresh empanadas y marisco (seafood empanadas) and it´s local dish cauranto (seafood stew piled with loads of shellfish, carne, chorizo, pollo and potato dumplings). A nice (and welcome) change to the usual cuisine found in the south.

Could stay longer but our time around this area is limited and we have already pushed our flights back so we hit the road for Pucon......

The Chilote tow truck

2005-03-19T10:30:00.000-08:00

I convinced big Dave that it was unnecessary for us to hire another 4x4 now that we´re spending some time around the Lakes district where most of the roads around are paved. So, we now have a sexy volkswagen at half the cost and we have arrived comfortably in Chiloe without too much fuss. Although......our first experience shortly after disembarking the vehicle ferry onto Chiloe island from Puerto Montt was hilarious.

We drove into Caulin in search of a restaurant called Ostras Caulin to eat bucket loads of oysters but instead found a very distraught newly married spanish couple and a local farmer on the playa(beach)trying to heave their deeply embedded 4x2 out of the sand. Being ´´aussies´´ and well experienced in the whole 4x4 thing (ahem) we tried all sorts of things from letting air out of their tyres to laying out pieces of wood and rocks all the while looking very ´´experienced´´ (but in fact adding more to the problem). It was then decided that we needed a spade so us 2 girls got into our car and drove up a rickety old road in search of a farmhouse. Luckily we found a woman milking a cow who lent us her huge spade and who told us to go and see her neighbour about his 2 boys. Well, I thought she said 2 boys from her rapid castellano and I kept thinking that they were perhaps 2 very strong sturdy boys who could help push. Funnily enough, her neighbour brought out 2 of his biggest and strongest bulls which of course set us 2 girls off into a fit of hysterics. We tried very hard to contain our laughter whilst the farmer prepared his ´´boys´´ by tying a piece of wood onto their horns and then set off down the hill for the beach. Big dave found it very amusing to see a farmer and his 2 bulls followed by a volkswagen emerge from the hill half an hour later! It didn´t take long for the burly farmer and his bulls to tow the car out of the sand, and after a few photos and lots of muchos gracias, he rounded up his bulls and disappeared back up the hill.

We were then treated to lunch by the spanish couple at Ostras Caulin where we feasted on loads of oysters (natural, fried and oyster soup) and one too many pisco sours before we went our separate ways.

The Navimag experience

2005-03-18T12:42:00.000-08:00

As a compromise to not being able to book the 4 day trip on the Navimag cargo ship from Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt (nb: due to its popularity), we settled on boarding the cargo ship from Puerto Chacabuco, west of Coyhaique, to take us to Puerto Montt. After a couple of local buses, one of which the lights didn´t work and the driver was breaking world records to try to reach the town before dark, we hit the docks and watched trucks and livestock being loaded into the ship all the while thinking how surreal the whole operation looked.

After the initial excitement of boarding and sorting out our dorms, it quickly dawned on us that there was not much to bloody do on the ship and boredom quickly settled in. After all, the ship is primarily a cargo ship and only decided to take on passengers when one too many backpackers kept pestering them for a ride. Also, the weather was not too great and it rained the whole time so viewing what we could of the Chilean coastline and fjords was a very cold and wet experience. Luckily, the trip involved 2 nights and 1 day so we kept ourselves mildly amused (ie: slept a lot!).

**Dorms: Can be good and can also be very bad. We unfortunately got stuck with 2 yee-har americans, one who was very imposing, and the other who stank like there was no tomorrow. Unfortunately, our tiny curtains covering the beds did nothing to keep out the stench.

Uno pisco sour, por favor

2005-03-16T19:30:00.000-08:00

Back in Chile and currently working our way up the Carretera Austral highway in our beast of a 4x4 (a Mitsubishi Dad!). The Carretera Austral is not really a highway but more a rocky gravel pot holed network which is terrifying and stunningly beautiful at the same time. Terrifying because at times the road is only just wide enough to fit one car....and more often than not the other side is a cliff! We were undecided about the route we wanted to take to reach Puerto Montt as there are a number of options and all are stunning. One option was to continue following the Andes up through the Argentinian side from El Chalten and then up to Bariloche, crossing into Chile from there. Athough, we didn´t really fancy taking a small minivan up the RN40 after just coming off the RN40 on our way up to Los Antiguos. The other option was flying back down to Puerto Natales and catching the Navimag cargo ship up through the chilean fjords to Puerto Montt. We decided on the Carretera though as the path is less trodden and more difficult to access. Voila. Perfect. It was a concern though as driving up this way is tough on the old car and the road is very primitive. Still, the scenery is amazing.

Currently we are resting our heads at Puerto Rio Tranquielo in a comfy little hostel built by the owner (who also owns a farm with a glacier which we visited today!!) where my pisco sour waits.

Ciao for now!

And onto the other side

2005-03-14T12:37:00.000-08:00

Arggentina. Update El Calafate (Moreno Glacier) and El Chalten (Monte Fitz Roy) to be completed......

Nb: bus to Los Antiguos

Patagonia: Parque Nacional Torres del Paine

2005-03-05T08:26:00.000-08:00

Just back from an 8 day trek in Parque Nacional Torres del Paine in the southern Patagonian Andes, Chile! It was wild, amazing and beautiful!!

When we arrived in Punta Arenas after our flight from Buenos Aires we heard that there was a fire in the park which meant that most tracks and refugios (mountain huts)were closed. The fire was started by an irresponsible Czech tourist who chose to camp outside designated campsites. He got off with paying a fine (only 200 USD) and was allowed to leave Chile. Ppl are pretty pissed off with this as the damage is immense and a lot of visitors have had to change their plans, including us.

Our initial plan was to do the Paine Circuit however as some of the park was closed we decided to do the ´´W´´ circuit.

We started from Puerto Natales where we caught a boat up to PN Bernardo o´Higgins to check out the Glacier Serrano. It was so gusty and cold that I was swept off my feet a couple of times. Oh, I lost my favourite hat in the process. From there we jumped on a zodiac and sped up the Rio Serrano to the park administration in PN Torres del Paine, stopping for a break at a nearby estancia. That was a lot of fun and really enjoyed the lady next to me screaming her head off while the zodiac jumped through the waves.

Our trek totalled approx 90kms over 7 days and ranged from what I thought was moderate and at times difficult terrain. Definitely a mental and physical challenge especially carrying packs but it was all worth it.

Our trek details:

Day 1: Reached the park in the afternoon and stayed at Posado Rio Serrano for an early rest.

Day 2: Got a lift to the catamaran early in the morning (note Chilean time similar to Filipino time) in a rickety old VW combi to cross the river to Refugio Pehoe. Walked up the Valle el Frances up to Campo Britanico. Trail past Campo Italiano was challenging involving scrambling up boulders and rocks whilst weather condition was gusty (80km/hr winds) with lots of rain, and eventually snow. Watched my balaclava fly down the mountain as I lay on the ground clutching rocks after a sudden violent gust of wind threw me off balance. Gorgeous dave tried to search for it on our descent but to no avail. Beautiful views though and watching avalanches a definite highlight. Reached the refugio by 8pm after 9 hrs thoroughly exhausted and in pain (and silently cursing girl at Big Foot expeditions who claimed that the walk could be done in 6 hrs). Luckily had a good dorm with 4 others from the US who we had been sitting behind us at a restaurant in Punta Arenas a few days before. We remembered eavesdropping into their conversation as was interested in all the places they had travelled to. Had a great night sleep.

Day 3: Short walk (5hrs) to Refugio Grey on the western arm of the circuit. Beautiful sunny clear day and breathtaking views of lakes and mountain ranges. Refugio Grey was perfectly located by a lake by the base of Glacier Grey framed by the mountains. Met a lovely dutch couple also on a year long sabbatical. She works for IBM (trust my luck - they´re everywhere!).
Terrible night sleep due to noisy german group and walls that didn´t reach the ceiling.

Day 4: Plan was to proceed up the John Garner pass up to the next Camp but didn´t fancy the 14 hr walk up a very steep ascent and didn´t think it wise particularly as weather changes so quickly. (It apparently is very gusty, can get 100-120 km/hr winds, and very difficult). Instead we walked along the side of the glacier to a fantastic view overlooking the entire glacier through to the lake. Spent a number of hrs up there and could have stayed for longer. It was breathtaking. Stayed at Refugio Grey again but this time in a tent as advised by aussie ocker Vanessa from Katoomba (´´Go the tent and you´ll never look back´´)and had a ´´graaate noight sleep´´.

Day 5: Back down to Refugio Grey. Gorgeous weather again and warm enough to lay on the grass by the lake in shorts drinking beer. Met a very excitable cute couple from Belgium on an 8 mth holiday who gave details of a great website to check out.

Day 6: 5hr walk to Refugio Los Cuerros. Best refugio so far. Freshly baked bread and comfortable dorms. Part of the track was the one to Campo Italiano so this was the 3rd time we had crossed it. Tricky stoney river crossing involving one piece of wire.

Day 7: Los Cuerros to Refugio Chileno. A bloody steep climb up to this site that I thought would never end. Met great ppl: Tal and Samuel from Israel who have been driving around Chile and gave us some great advice re treks north of here; Sonia and Nicolas from France who have been travelling for 6 months and had just come from Australia and NZ; and Matties and Kirstin a couple from Austria who had extensive knowledge of the area and between them spoke about 15 languages (slight exaggeration).

Day 8: 4am start to try and catch sunrise up at the Torres del Paine lookout - the highlight. Dave, Nicolas, Matties, Kirstin and I got braved the clouds and rain with the hope that it would clear by the time we reached the top. No success. By the time we reached halfway the rain got heavier. The trail to that point was difficult in the dark and the rain (very muddy with steep climbs and ropes). We waited inside a makeshift shelter at the campsite for an hour hoping the rain would subside. It was freezing. There was no point continuing up the very steep ascent over boulders to the viewpoint (another hour) as we wouldn´t see anything and it was also dangerous, so we turned back. Was disappointed but glad to be back at the refugio and out of the rain. After an hour´s kip while waiting for our clothes to dry (poor dave burned his fancy new pants on the wooden stove), we packed up and hit the path for our final 2 hr descent downhill to end our trek. The rain and clouds subsided a little enough for us to see part of the Torres when we reached the bottom!

Overall, everything was a highlight and we have fallen in love with Patagonia.

Observations:
1. Totally addicted and excited to see more.
2. Never thought I´d be sad to lose a balaclava.
3. The 78 yr old american botanist who shared our dorm in refugio pehoe who walked to Glacier Grey and back with a full pack in gusty conditions. His tip: Walk everywhere.
4. The website is fantastic and was similar to what I had envisioned prior to our trip.
5. The porters carrying 35-40 kgs of packs travelling at record times, stopping only at streams to grab a drink.
6. It costs more for a horse to carry your pack than a human.

Gaucho wannabes

2005-02-19T15:00:00.000-08:00

Estancia Santa Rita. Beautiful. Just 1.5hrs from Buenos Aires and a great place to chill out and pretend you live on a farm.

The estancia is featured in a book called `Estancias in Argentina` and is really a beautiful place. I met the owner after dinner who is a retired doctor and now spends his time working on the estancia. It will be great to visit the estancia again in a couple of years time when he has finished renovating the former house. His 6 daughters take it in turn to help out on the weekends in between uni.

Big dave had his first encounter with a horse and is now very hooked and keen to do more riding. We also loved how everything was so chilled and how meals were such a long relaxed affair. All very cool and looking forward to spending time in plenty more estancias around Argentina.

Argentina: Buenos Aires

2005-02-16T09:49:00.000-08:00

Buenos Aires is the best. I luvit, luvit, luvit and wish we had more time here. The city is quite european with beautiful architecture and big friendly, happy meat loving Argentinians(the average argentine eats 60kgs of meat a year) who don´t make fun of our spanish. It feels so much more relaxed than crazy Brazil and better still it´s a lot cheaper and the shopping is fantastic!

We´ve been staying in Recoleta, a fancy part of town, which is great cos it´s a lot quieter than downtown. Our hotel has moved us into a different room every night but we don´t mind as it´s a great little place and also very cheap. Everything can be reached quite easily by foot or just a quick 5 peso taxi ride away. Although, our first taxi ride from the bus station was a treat involving an (unrequested) tour around the city plus our first counterfeit note! Cost: 30 pesos for what was only meant to be a 5 peso ride! Very funny. (We have been trying to pass the note but feel very guilty about it so we are keeping it as a souveneir).

Loved all parts of the city, including Palermo, San Telmo and La Boca (although La Boca is very touristy). Senor dave is now a professional tango dancer after our night out at Bar Sur, an intimate bar in San Telmo with about 10 little tables and great tango dancers complete with harpsichord, guitar, piano and a wrinkly old singer with a soulful voice. Tango is so passionate and serious, just the perfect thing for senor dave.

Apart from all the major sites around the city, I loved seeing Casa Rosada where Evita Peron (and famous others)stood on the balcony spurring on the nation as well as the famous Recoleta cemetary where she (and famous others) was buried. Also loved the Teatro Colon which would´ve been even better if their performance season began earlier. However, as much as Dave and I dislike group tours, we joined one to have a peek around the inside of the theatre. Fortunately, we lost the group and ran around ourselves so had a brilliant time watching an orchestra rehearse, then saw a couple of ballet dancers rehearse (one of them was a famous ballet dancer) in a studio, and then found an empty studio complete with a concert grand steinway (!!!!!!!) and had a tinkle. It was fab.

I also LOVE argentine beef. They consume copious amounts of the stuff over here and it is soooooo good. I think we have consumed the same amount the average argentine eats in a year in a week!

What I love about Argentine cuisine:
1. Dulce de leite is delicious and is slapped on almost everything. It´s like caramel but milkier and creamier (Jan would love it).
2. My favourite torta consists of a chocolate base, a layer of dulce de leite and a layer of meringue.
3. Alfajores from Havanna, or handmade from specialty chocolate artisans!! 2 shortbread biscuits with dulce de leite in the middle which is all covered in chocolate.
4. The argentinian asado (bbq) and parilla and the huge variety of cuts.
5. The helados (icecream)are fantastic.
6. A big slab of bife de chorizo is fantastic with chumichurri, a marinade made of parsley, loads of garlic, salt and olive oil.

An observation:
Everyone kisses everyone. Strangers meeting for the first time, men greeting other men folk. It´s fantastic although Dave finds it a little unnerving.

A limon.....

2005-02-15T21:25:00.000-08:00

There is always an exception, or lemon, to the aforementioned leito bus.

Crossing the border from Foz do Iguacu to Puerto Iguacu on the Argentinian side, we (un)fortunately found the last 2 remaining seats on the only leito bus left going to Buenos Aires. I thought perhaps that I could handle the fact that these seats were near the toilets and on the bottom level of the 'awesome bus' however, after one bloke with tragically bad movements in his bowels which involved the bus attendant banging on the toilet door demanding that he stop doing his business (the toilets can only handle urine), and the little girl behind me vomiting in the aisle whilst her father held her (the bus attendant 'fixed' the problem by dumping perfume over it), I demanded that we fly from now on.

Enough said.

Frontiera dos tres

2005-02-12T20:45:00.000-08:00

We are in love with leito buses which are an absolute blessing (but expensive) when travelling such long distances. The one we caught last night was awesome and akin to business class on a plane which came complete with a hostess handing out bags of goodies whilst we made ourselves comfortable on crisp clean blankets and sheets. Wonderful.

There would have been a total of 40 people on the luxurious bus/hotel which comprised of, not surprisingly, a few locals and, surprisingly, about 35 aussies on a group tour! Hmph, I guess we are now back on the beaten track which typically flows south from Rio through San Paulo to the falls on the way to Argentina. (It was nice though to hear the aussie accent again!).

Not surprisingly, we arrived at Foz do Iguacu feeling bright, refreshed and determined to better our budget and as a result we checked into our first budget hotel! Note, for R$80 it´s not too bad at all!! http://www.hoteldelreyfoz.com.br/site/

The best part about this hotel is that a short bus ride out of town takes you to the most amazing 277 waterfalls I´ve ever seen in my life. Iguacu falls from the Brazilian side is a sight to be seen. From this vantage you have a whole overview of the falls. At various places you see rainbows form and butterflies flitting about and at the forefront you hear the constant roar of the water reminding you of how powerful it is. The best part was taking a boat up the river, similar to the Ocean Extreme boat they have on Sydney harbour, against the current and up to the foot of the falls. We were absolutely soaked but it was brilliant.

Tomorrow we cross over to view the falls from the Argentinian side. It is amazing that we are at a place where 3 countries meet - Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. Tudo bem!!

Carnavale madness

2005-02-04T09:00:00.000-08:00

Back in Rio in time for carnavale!

We had a great deal with accommodation. Initially we booked a 2 star hotel described in the LP as having ´´dark and dingy quartos´´ as it was recommended by Gisele, a lovely woman we met up at the monastery who lived in Flamengo in Rio, who said that it was a very comfortable and cheap place to stay. For 5 nights during Carnavale time it was indeed very cheap! Fortunately, the hotel was chockers full of group tours and the hotel was finding it difficult to find rooms, so after a few tactful negotiations we were moved across to their 4 star hotel in Copacabana at no extra cost! (felt very cheeky as everyone else in the hotel was paying at least 5 times the cost......hee hee).

Brazil!

2005-01-28T15:37:00.000-08:00

Hello Brazil!! Or perhaps 'Oi' Brazil?

When we first arrived in Rio de Janeiro, (after an epic 36 hour journey with brief stops in Miami and LA which was a bit like watching a bad american sitcom), we hadn´t quite envisioned it to be the way it was. Admittedly we were jet lagged and slept most of the 3 days in the city however it was also very cloudy and rainy which meant that we couldn´t really go and see the big jesus on the hill or chill out on the beach in my newly purchased naughty bikini (nb: a modest outfit compared to the dental floss worn by the majority of the women around here). We then decided to leave Rio until Carnavale time in February and headed for a beautiful Monastery in the middle of a national park called Parque de Caracas up in the mountains 10 hrs inland in a region called Minas Gerias. The monastery is still run by the catholic church who hold regular services every night in a gorgeous 17th century church (also nb: perfect for 2 religious types like us). We spent two nights here eating in a huge banquet room full of locals, hiking and swimming in waterfalls by day and drinking wine whilst watching for wolves by night with the padre.

From here we moved to a small UNESCO world heritage listed hill town, which had been the centre of the brazilian gold rush (apparantly one of the largest). The bus ride was interesting - 75 kms in 3 hours through various beautiful and colourful villages with us reaching Ouro Preto by 7pm. We stayed in a wonderful old mansion full of antiques in the middle of town facing one of the 25 churches looking out over the valley. By night the locals would sing and play instruments in the town square which only got better and better with each Caiprihina (A$1 each here and very strong). Virtually untouched since 1730, the town was full of cobbled streets and hills so steep you fall down them and sweat up them.

After a few days here we caught another bus for some 8 hours (travel is very slow here - the country is just massive) to another Unesco listed hill town called Diamantina. Although similar to Ouro Preto this town is less visited with few or no foreign tourists, same deal with the hills too. By this point the training for Carnavale was fully under way with practise runs every night from 8pm until 11ish. Last night we went for a 6pm beer in the main square and then sat there until 11ish watching amazing drumming and the locals dancing with free abandon. Brazilians seem so full of passion without any pretention. While here we saw an activity which involved 5 local students shaving bits of their head, getting covered in eggs, food dye and paint and then begging money from anyone near them to fund a massive all day drinking session with them and all their friends. This then progressed to tearing each others shirts off and then underwear while still wearing their trousers (similar to a melvin in bill and teds excellent adventure) - all very messy.

From here we are catching a 20 hour bus to Salvador tomorrow, the heart of the brazilian african culture for a few days and then heading off to a few beach areas before returning to Rio on the 3rd for 5 days and the Carnaval (all signs are that this will be unbelieveable and far better than we even imagined - the locals view carnaval a bit like xmas but celebrated in all night parties for a week). We have decided to see the Amazon and Pantanal regions when we are in Peru and Bolivia as the distances are so great and we are bit strapped for time with Carnavale looming.

Tchau tchau until then..........

The most beautiful fat cat in the world

2005-01-13T21:58:00.000-08:00

The year ahead

2005-01-12T18:42:00.001-08:00

Here's our itinerary for the year, subject to change, but a rough guide in case you want to come and join us at any time:

Jan 15 Sydney to Rio de Janeiro
Feb 21 Buenos Aires to Punta Arenas
Mar 17 Puertto Montt to Santaigo
May 2 Lima to Quito
May 12 Quito to Miami
May 15 Miami to St Lucia
May 22 St Lucia to Las Vegas
May 27 Las Vegas to Chicago
May 29 Chicago to New York
Jun 02 New York to London
Aug 04 Madrid to Cairo
Aug 10 Cairo to Madrid
London to St Petersburg
(Trans mongolian to Beijing)
Beijing to Hong Kong
Hong Kong to Delhi
Jan 14 Mumbai to Sydney
2006

We're going!!!

2005-01-10T01:55:00.000-08:00

So we're doing it! We're heading out for the year! Not just for 2 months, but THE WHOLE YEAR!!!

Am I worried about the impact on my career or that most ppl our age are buying houses/getting married/starting families etc? Hell no! Actually, I was concerned initially but as Dave says, our investment is in ourselves and any employer who thinks that taking a year off to go travelling is detrimental is not someone I'd like to work for. Oh, and the whole "settling down" business - what does that mean anyway?

So, everything's in storage or at the folks', I finished my contract, Dave's been given a year leave, we're insured to the max, we've topped up our vaccinations, the cat's gone to his foster parents, we've cancelled subscriptions/gym memberships/arranged visas etc, and in the middle of all of that, we caught up with family and friends who've wished us well for the year. Hectic but all good!

15 January 2005 to 15 January 2006. We're going travelling!!!