Dave n Aisha

First i think an appology is due.... we have been utterly hopeless at this blog recently and to be honest, we dont really have an adequate excuse! Since february 26th we have been staying at an animal sanctuary called la senda verde (www.sendaverde.com) and it really has been the most amazing experience. its a relief to unpack our bags and settle into out lovely blue cabin. So much has been going on that its hard to know where to begin... i guess i could start at rattle snake soup! The day before yesterday a 1.5 mtr rattlesnake was found basking on the path and without hesitation Jil (a french guy who is volunteering) chopped its head off with a machete, as it is too much of a risk to leave alive. Zac, our amazing chef has ... read more

hey! All good this end, hows tricks in the uk? all we hear about off you lot these days is snow, snow, snow... or else, moaning about the lack of snow. here it is sunny most of the time but there has been quite a few storms too. we stayed one night on isla del sol and it was pretty incredible, minus the huge climb from the cove to the village which nearly had our hearts bleeding from lack of oxygen (its even higher than la paz). once we got up to the hostel it was so worth it though, ive never seen a view like it... huge expanse of lake, isla de la luna (which seems to float), then huge snow peaked mountains topped off with very low clouds. it just looked like an oil ... read more

we are in Copacabana, on the shores of lake titicaca... google earth it, its really quite incredible here. there´s the best of both... water and mountains. we are on a peninsula sticking out into the lake, but the peninsula is cut off by the peruvian border, so we had to get a boat over the copacabana. we went on a little boat, whilst the bus came over after us on what i can only describe as a glorified plank! when we got here on monday the whole town was mid fiesta... crazy loco fiesta! dave was in the hostel (as the altitude is affecting him a lot more than me, and he´s been pretty ill) whilst i went for a treck around town... didnt last that long as felt pretty threatened by the drunken throng. when ... read more

yo dudes!!! got to La Paz yesterday, and took most of the day to get used to the altitude!!! just under 3700m above sea level...the highest city in the world, and after about thirty seconds of walking about both our heads were spinning! Not very nice... but we'll get used to it i suppose (hope!) Just got back from the weirdest tourist attraction in the world... a two hour tour around the prison of San Pedro! (Don't worry parents it was totally safe!!!) A VERY strange experience to say the least! took plenty of photo's, so if you don't believe us we have the proof!!! Planing to go out tonight which should be fun, but I think taking it easy is a must (Too much alcohol and not enough oxygen makes us dizzy!!!) Then tomorrow going ... read more

We did indeed survive the death train, a 19hr journey from the border to Santa Cruz. Its not actually dangerous... Named because it is so deathly boring! An adventure all the same... at every stop women and little children get onto the train and sell their wares, as well as full meals in plastic trays. The train has to stop quite often and hoot its horn because animals wonder onto the track! overall, its pretty damn uncomfortable. we decided that a journey on the death train is like riding a horse on a boat! not only are you bouncing about but you're swaying all over the place. Oh yes, and top speed is about 30mph! So anyway, we are now staying in a really great hostel called Jodanga. it has a pool and a really nice ... read more

We are in Campo Grande, the capital of Matto Grosso do Sul. it is a city in a sort of bland lowland area, surrounded by cattle ranches and has a distinct wild west feel about it. lots of cowboy boots and john wayne wannabe´s! Got really over-excited because we read in the guidebook that there is a museum, called museo dom busco, that is mainly taxidermy animals, 10,000 insects and butterflies etc. So we got up early especially to find this place, wondering the streets in the heat for hours... only to find that the damn place is moving location. thats bad timing! On the topic of animals... we found the most amazing shop, Planeta. from the outside it looked like woolies but as we moved into the depths we heard the noise of a waterfall... ... read more

Yesterday we finally escaped from the clutches of Domingos Martins. It took us 10 hours to get to belo horizonte, driving through some of the most beautiful scenery... it was a bit of a shock last night to get here after all that lush nature. its a busy city, run down and more homeless people than ive ever seen. they will come into a cafe to beg and no-one seems to mind. They must make a mint!! stayed here last night and today we´re wasting time before we get on a night bus (24hr journey!) to Campa Grande. It is absolutely bucketing it down... we got stuck under the awning of a cafe in this picturesque park for about an hour because the rain was too hard... and we´re weather trained welshies! Imagine how the brazilians ... read more

Hello! here we go again.... not much has happened since we last blogged. we are 42km west of Vitoria in a small mountain town called domingos martins, the beddgelert of brazil! if we thought the rest of brazil was too civilized then its nothing compared to this place! you have to wipe your feet before leaving your hotel!!! theres a big german influence here which just makes the whole experince very strange, the whole town is chalet like and ahs the oddest christmas deco´s... they have made their own wooden christmas tree in the square!! still have not found any waterfalls or incredible walks... infact, the town is tucked between high peaks and cliffs so im guessing the only way is up up up! And the way we were feeling yesterday after going out ´brazilian style´ ... read more

Ola! We have spent a lovely week here at Pero but now it is time for the real nitty gritty traveling to begin... this brazil we are experiencing is far too civilized! Our plans have changed AGAIN... here is our itinary just so you know where we are in the world (dont know when we might come in contact with a computer again)... tomorrow morn we are getting the bus up Macae then on to Vitoria... final destination, domingos martins (a small mountain town where we can hike in the mountains and swim in the waterfalls) then onto belo horizonte, moving to campo grande.... then Bolivia here we come! Jazz requested tha i tell her about all the delicious brazilian cuisine... havent found any yet but still looking.... we´ve been living off hamburgers, pizza and sandwiches! ... read more

Well hello there! We are still aclimatizing to the heat and the madness of this place... got a bit over confident today õn the beach and ended up looking like streaky bacon! wont be doing that again.... We arrived last tuesday in rio and stayed for 2 days, we didnt see much of the city but what we did see was incredible. the most beautifully situated city we´d ever seen. Our hostel, Lemon spirit, was lovely... we got put right on the top the building with our own roof terrace and a lovely view over Leblon. it was only 1 block from the beach... heaven! but also very hot and stuffy and busy so thats why we´ve missioned 3 hours up the coast to a place called Praia de Pero, which is a small holiday town ... read more