http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Channie/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Channie en-us Sat, 26 Jul 2008 22:45:39 BST Sat, 26 Jul 2008 22:45:39 BST The next day after arriving back in San Jose I was back at the airport to meet Tara and she treated me to a night in a nice guesthouse near the airport before our flight to Drake Bay the next morning. The treat turned into a trick as we seriously think it was haunted. The guy drove us there locked us in there was no one else there and then the tv started turning on by itself. We slept that n http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/blog-239243.html After all the excitement in Cartegena the 4 of us headed to Santa Marta on New Years Eve after Lisa had been to court to give her evidence re the attempted robbery. We left it quite late to get to the bus station and just caught the last bus to Barranquilla which we got on as the bus driver told us the buses would keep running till 9pm from Barranqilla to Santa Marta. It should have been predict http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Santa-Marta/Ciudad-Perdida/blog-235660.html After a quiet christmas spent baking under the ferocious sun of Santa Marta I took a 5 hour bus ride along the coast to the old colonial city of Cartegena to meet up with Tina Lisa and Aimy whom I had met and travelled with in Costa Rica and then the excitement really started...We spent the first part of the day strolling around the old town within the city walls. Once we got to the walls themse http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Cartagena/blog-230886.html After being so lucky to have locals looking after me in Bogota and finding out that whenever I ask the price of anything it is always double what they are told I have been extremely frustrated travelling on my own and am constantly wary of the locals. I met an old man at the bus station on my way back to San Gil from Barichara who tried to befriend me I was thinking hes old enough to be my gran http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/San-Gil/Barichara/blog-229883.html I really wasnt sure what to expect official channels scream of the dangers of Colombia whilst everyone that I met that had been recommended it as the best place they had been to in South America so here I am to see for myself. I had planned to stay only a few days in the capital before travelling round the country but 10 days later I was still there. The hospitality of the local people is ph http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Bogota/blog-229137.html Its been a while and theres so much to update I was supposed to stay in the jungles of Costa Rica for 10 weeks of voluntary conservation work but ended up escaping after 6 weeks following the second evacuation from camp due to flooding with water up to my chest and the threat of having a piece of me chewed off by the Caiman but anyway that is another story to be told later.So safely back in S http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Mal-Pais/blog-229132.html Ecuador this is probably a very skewed view of Ecuadorians tarnished by the bad experiences I have suffered here but if Im not being robbed then Im being ripped off. The family I stayed with squeezed me for every last dollar I had left and there werent that many left as I still havent received my new bank cards yet. After the week of spanish classes I went off to see the only worthwhile sig http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Quito/Quito/blog-209840.html My last 2 weeks in Chile and I took the lazy option and booked a tour of the north of Chile. Not too sure about the beach stops in the middle of winter ...but anyway I will stop there as all I seem to do is complain about the cold ....well I am English. The lazy option turned out to be brilliant the group was really good fun and I had lots of laughs with the crazy driver and guide in between http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Antofagasta-Region/San-Pedro-de-Atacama/blog-205889.html Good food good wine and excellent skiing what more could I ask for maybe some central heating. It's so bloody cold I really don't know how the Chileans manage to survive the winters here without heaing in their homes This is one of the most expensive and stable of the South American countries but apparently gas is too expensive. I wish I could speak better Spanish but as far as I can gathe http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/blog-193164.html Being a pikey traveller I decided to still take the bus even though I had been warned that the mountain pass through the Andes is frequently closed during the winter due to extreme weather conditions well the 21 hour journey turned into a 48 hour journey. I decided to splash out an extra 5 GBP for the long journey and went first class in a fully recling bed seat pure luxury. However once we http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-192927.html I wasn't sure about BA when I first arrived the pavements are dog poo assualt courses and it was FREEZING 3 weeks on and it's still freezing but I love it BA that is never the cold. Signed up first thing for spanish classes and feel my spanglish is getting pretty good just put an o onto the end of every word the Argies love it Actually the Argentines have been so patient and friend http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Buenos-Aires/blog-192116.html So the blog site crashed but thankfully I seem to have recovered most of my blogs Big thanks to Chee The latest ones however seem to be lost forever though booThe Iguacu Falls.... oh what a long time ago it seems now. But at least I still have my 100 photo's of rainbows and waterfalls. They were truly spectacular over 100 waterfalls all cascading into one river the power of the water http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Misiones/Iguazu-National-Park/blog-191106.html The waterfalls were more spectacular than anything I could have ever imagined. I spent 5 hours walking the trails to see all the different parts of the park and have taken far too many photos of rainbows and waterfalls. The power at the start of the falls Diablo Gigante was quite phenomenal and I could hear it thundering down before I even saw it. The splashback was also quite phenomenal and http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Misiones/Iguazu-National-Park/blog-183614.html Heard this morning that there had been a big plane crash in Sau Paulo and there was going to be 3 days of mourning. Brigid and Dave were bombarded by text messages all day from friends checking that they were ok. No one asked after me but Im not sulking at least I know who my real friends are now i.e nobody. The 6 hour journey to Sau Paulo passed quite quickly the coach was very comfortable an http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Sao-Paulo/blog-182914.html Was feeling a little down after my journey to Paraty and the constant downpour didnt help either. However once the rain cleared I went for a wander around the historical centre of the pretty little fishing village and it really was worth the trip. Afterwards I went and sat by the sea and marveled at the stunning scenery it looked like an oil painting I really felt at peace whilst I sat there. http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Rio-de-Janeiro/Paraty/blog-182445.html Brazil First weekSusanne ChanI spent the 6 hours waiting for the ferry giving myself sunburn as I couldnt be bothered to find my suncream in my rucksack and then sought some shade and a nice cup of tea. It wasnt too bad passing time on a paradise Island. Got the 4.30pm boat back to the mainland in Angra but it was already dark by the time I arrived. Decided it would be better not to travel http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Rio-de-Janeiro/Angra-dos-Reis/blog-182040.html So I was thinking that things seemed to have been going swimmingly and finally here I am sat in an internet cafe trying to pass the time. I asked the receptionist what time the ferry left for Angra to which she confidently replied 10.30am. It left at 10am. The next ferry isnt until 4.30pm so I have 6 hours to kill. Also checked a few hostels online and they are full argh I dont like thi http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Rio-de-Janeiro/Ilha-Grande/blog-181530.html South America Brazil Rio de Janeiro By ChannieJuly 14th 2007 Susanne ChanHad a great time in Rio. The hostel I stayed at was so nice and met some really cool people there. Went and did all the famous sights with 2 british girls who were really good fun. We managed to go see the big Jesus take the comedy tram up to Saint Theresa I cant believe how many people they can fit on its worse th http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Rio-de-Janeiro/blog-181389.html It's been a week since I left work and I've been enjoying lazy days although after only 4 days of living with Mama and Papa Chan I have already begun regressing into a teenager again something to look forward to when I come back.But for now I've got my knapsack on my back and the wind in my hair...See ya later losersxx http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Hampshire/Portsmouth/blog-178537.html