http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Adam-Fish/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Adam Fish en-us Tue, 29 Dec 2009 07:48:40 +0000 Tue, 29 Dec 2009 07:48:40 +0000 Cusco's a beautiful city with many squares and many things to do. Machu Picchu is one of the attractions that mainly leaves out of here. I stayed for a few days to see the city then booked a four day trek that ends with MP. I would have loved to do the Inca trail but it costs more than twice the price than some of the alternatives. I ended up doing an Inka Jungle Trek that was pretty nice and http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Cusco/blog-401180.html If you havent heard theres a place on earth called Lake Titicaca. Its a marvellous place with an even better name. Just a few hours outside of La Paz you can reach a place called Copacabana which is right on the lake. From town theres an hour and a half boat ride to Isla del Sol Island of the Sun. This was a great chill place with a few hostels and restaurants scattered around a few sm http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/La-Paz-Department/Isla-del-Sol/blog-398719.html First thing you notice when you get to La Paz is that your bag seems to be quite a bit heavier and you can barely walk two blocks without getting winded. La Paz is located in a very high valley surrounded by mountains. Think the city is somewhere around 1112000 ft in elevation havent checked the facts though. We stayed a great hostel with a good happy hour. La Paz seems to be one giant mark http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/La-Paz-Department/La-Paz/blog-392472.html Bolivia huh Didnt think Id ever be finding myself here. First on our agenda were the Uyuni Salt Flats. After quite a bit of time bouncing down dirt roads in handmedown buses we reached the town of Uyuni. Here we scheduled a three day tour of the surrounding area. Six of us piled into a 1980s Land Cruiser and set out to see the sights. The sights included a rusted out train cemetary gla http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Uyuni/blog-387951.html Heading back to Argentina I figure Argentine wine country is a good spot to hit. Mendoza is a nice city where I spent a few days walking around eating steak and of course drinking wine. I took a wine tour of a few wineries and though they were nice I didnt feel they understood exactly why people go on wine tours. Sure we care how the wine is made which Ive heard a few times in my life i http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Cordoba/Cordoba/blog-387945.html Well after Pucon we headed to the Capital of Chile Santiago. We spent a few days chilling at our great hostels swimming pool complete with swimup bar and seeing the city. Santiago has a great pulse good empanadas great nightlife and Im sure some great sites which I cant describe from personal experience.After a few days there I headed to the coast to swim in the Pacific once again. V http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-387938.html On my own now I decide over a few homebrewed beers from our great hostel in Bariloche that Chile needs a visit. I hear about a place called Pucon and thats about all it took. While on the bus I notice an overwhelming sensation that I cant explain. Maybe I felt like I was home maybe it was a feeling of unexplanable togetherness nope all wrong the bus was just full of Jews. Apparently Chi http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Araucania/Pucon/blog-383180.html After an amazing time with our boys from home I left them behind for Andrew and Lu to deal with sorry guys and headed to one of the new natural wonders of the world. My plan was to see the Brazilian side of Iguazu Falls for a few hours then meet up with my friend Alissa on the Argentine side where wed being staying. Taking an early morning plane from Rio to Foz do Iguazu was made difficult b http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Paran-/Foz-do-Igua-u/blog-379246.html Before meeting up with team Shenanigans we headed out for one last great dinner in Curitiba. All you can eat Brazilian BBQ home delicious meats and the Brazilian favorite Corozao de Frango chicken hearts yum. After the chicken hearts we headed for Sao Paulo to meet with some more Brazilian friends and anxiously await the arrival of our American buddies. Forro club SambaRock Futebol ga http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Sao-Paulo/S-o-Paulo/blog-379240.html One can say futebol pronounced foochieball is part of the culture here in Brazil. On any given day you can see about one in three people wearing some sort of jersey. So we desided to go to a game to get some culture. We figured what better game than when the two Curitiba teams are playing eachother what's the worst that can happen Well the super fans are called fanaticos and to tell you t http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Santa-Catarina/Florian-polis/blog-372696.html With one day left to spare on my Visa the 17 year old Sao Paulo Immigration Officer didn't even blink at the date. He was probably thinking more about the party he had to leave to come to work. It's summer in Brazil and hot. We were picked up from the airport by one of Andrew's friends and taken to lunch and a little tour of Sao Paulo before hopping on a bus to Curitiba. Greeted by Lu at the bu http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Paran-/Curitiba/blog-369106.html Were in this country called Costa Rica in a town called Jaco but why does it feel like were back in San Diego There are many answers to this question but were really excited to have made it here. Costa Rica is beautiful and its really nice to be back on the Pacific. Jaco is a definite tourist destination. Not to say it isnt beautiful theres just a bunch of other travelers here. I take i http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Jaco/blog-363192.html To get to Costa Rica from Honduras one must pass through this country they call Nicaragua. After a couple days of driving from Utila a glorious send off from Honduras with and equally welcoming reception from Nicaragua wish sarcasm translated through writing better we find ourselves in Leon. Its a nice colonial town where we spent New Years Eve. Lots of fireworks though not much of a cele http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/blog-363188.html So theres this place on Earth called Utila. To find it on the map locate Honduras such as. On the Carribean coast there are some Islands called the Bay Islands and one of them is called Utila. Though Honduras calms this place as their own it does not fit in. This is a funny place. Most people would tell you they come to Utila for the diving which is indeed amazing. We happened to meet http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Honduras/Bay-Islands/Utila/blog-363185.html Anyone crossing from Guatemala to Honduras at Copan have fun. Guatemala wasn't bad though Honduras had a barn with no electricity for an immigration office with officers just as official. Their attention to detail ended up giving us a bunch of problems when trying to leave the country since a grey pickup is not the same as a blue SUV. I shouldn't be so hard on them it was probably an honest mi http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Honduras/Copan/blog-361306.html Next destination was the colonial town of Antigua complete with cobblestone streets and great views of a nearby volcano. We spent a day checking out the town and the market. We hadn't planned much to do in this city but luckily our hotel owner knew all the things to do. The first excursion landed us hiking up a volcano and practically standing on top of lava. You couldn't stand in one place too http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Antigua/Antigua/blog-361300.html So missing a turn in Guatemala seems to equate to driving 100 miles on a dirt road for five hours. Good times but well worth it. After a top three worst driving days we founf ourselves in an amazing place Lanquin. The pictures really don't do this place justice and we happen to hit this spot called Semuc Champey on a beautiful day in between rain. It is a rain forest I guess. There's a river http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Lanquin/blog-361295.html We're still alive but now far from some of these places. Flores was a pretty city with red roofed buildings built on a small peninsula. We spent a couple days here exploring including some highly unregulated caves. Nice chill place in Guatemala. The hotel we stayed at was cool with a palapa roof and hammocks overlooking the lake. http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Flores-Tikal/blog-361283.html Crossing our third border into Guatemala was fairly painless except if you count the various fees those with badges are so good at extorting from you. Our first stop was Tikal. Not far from the border Tikal is a massive Mayan city taking all day to see. We got in around dusk so we set up our tent and went for a bit of a jungle walk. Nightfall came very fast and we found ourselves walking through http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Flores-Tikal/blog-353756.html Crossing to Belize wasn't much of a hassle and it took some getting used to hearing English again. After a night in Belize city we hit Ambergris Caye for our first taste of Carribean waters. The night we got in was the De la Hoya fight so we hit the local sports bar. These people were not too happy when their boy Oscar didn't show up. The next day we took a snorkeling trip to a couple spots in th http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/Belize-Barrier-Reef/blog-353749.html