Gemster
Gemma Bridge Joined: January 30th 2007
Logged in: October 18th 2008
Logged in: October 18th 2008
Travel Blog Posts
Few more photos added to "rain, rain, go away" and "fire theft and injury". Apologies for the mammoth blog below. I have been a bit slack about doing it recently and had a huge chunk to tell everyone about before the trip ends in a couple of days time. For those in the UK and especially in and around London I get back on 9th June but will be stopping at Tom's first so I won't be back in London until 10th. I've got a week to sort out tons of stuff to do with my PhD etc before starting work again on 18th June. But hopefully many an evening/weekend can be devoted to catching up with as many of you as poss. I will text my new mob number when I get it sorted. Can't ... read more
Exploring Arequipa I must say that I fell in love with Arequipa somewhat. It doesn't seem like somewhere in which you are going to find beauty when you enter the city through the arid desert of the surrounding mining region. But as soon as you begin wandering around this colonial treasure you realise the hidden treats that it has in store for you. The main delight is the original colonial buildings that were built using very white volcanic rock which makes the city sparkle. I decided to do some of my sight seeing solo for once so I could take it at my own pace and chill. So I wandered down to the Plaza de Armas (haven't I encountered a few of these in South America!) to check out the pigeons and beautiful colonial arcades. The ... read more
The museums of La Paz NEW PHOTOS: "Whirlwind of activity" is now complete and there are a few on the next one. Thankfully all my comrades returned from their Death Road experience in one piece, with only a couple of minor falling off incidents. Some of us celebrated this with a tasty Lebanese meal: it's amazing what you types of food you can stumble upon. Day two in La Paz was a big one for myself and Lizzie. We raced around from the Mirador (great views over La Paz), via the Amex to the Coca Museum and the Museo de Metales Preciosos Precolombinos where we got our fill of gold and silver artifacts from the Tiwanaku culture (from 1000 yr BC). The Coca Museum had pretty basic displays but the info was really interesting - I ... read more
Photos of "Hiking Madness" are now completely up to date and there are a few added to "Whirlwind" but I've had even more problems with uploading in Bolivia and my camera is currently locked away in the truck. Sorry! Salta On driving from Cafayate to Salta the escapades that hit our truck continued. We were supposed to be spending the first night camping at Salta Rafting, about two hours outside of Salta. This was an outdoor adventure haven with rafting, canopying and kayaking all on offer. The first issue was that even if we had got there we wouldn't have been able to raft because for the first time in 10 years they were tinkering with the dam upstream of the river. However we never reached Salta Rafting because the only road there was blocked by......a ... read more
John post-fall
Refugio in Flames Goodness me, it's only been a week since my last blog but it feels like sooooo much has happened! Ok, breathe Gemma and try and start from the beginning. The first big drama was the refugio at our campsite in Pucon going up in flames! The refugio was the wooden hut with basic cooking facilities where we had been eating meals and hiding from the rain next to the big open fire place. In my last blog some of us were hoping that the weather would change so that we could stay on in Pucon to climb Villarica Volcano. This idea was scraped once the drama unfolded. I was rudely awoken at 2ish in the morning by the screams of "get out your tents!. At first, in my sleepy state, I thought ... read more
Easter Bunnies
Sorry guys, I somehow managed to publish this and then unpublish it so it hasn't been on the web even though you got an email about it. Here it finally is for reading!!! Oh yes, the obligatory photo update. All the photos have now been added to "drive, drive, drive" and some to "Hiking madness". Take a look to check out the penguins.´ A LOVELY EASTER SUNDAY Easter Sunday in Bariloche was a gorgeous sunny day, just perfect for my horse ride through the slopes of the Lake District. However the day was made even more perfect by the welcome we where given by the family who organised the activity. Their family had been living on this land within the national park for over 100 years and had passed down stories of Patagonia and the ... read more
Sorry, forgot to say take a look at "The Ferry to Tango City" as it finally has photos to accompany it. There are also a whole load of extra photos on the blog about Montevideo. Sorry that I'm still sooooo behind on the photo front but I figured you'd rather info and no photos than no info at all. I will try and catch up properly in Santiago! Gemsxxx... read more
The road to Morreno
Morreno Perito Glaciar I have well and truly DONE the Morreno glacier from every angle!! We took the “alternative” tour which started with us taking a slower dirt road to get to the glacier giving us a different view of the landscape. We stopped on the way to look at various birds of prey eating carrion off the road and also to meet a baby guanaco (like a llama). I fell in love with her big beseeching eyes and fluttering eyelashes. Once at Morreno we hiked for an hour and a half to giving us views of the glacier from a distance and close up. This was the most “alternative” thing as the main hordes of tourists just get coached to the platforms, take a picture and move on. We also “did” the platform views ... read more
Beagle Channel Lighthouse
STEALING A PENGUIN Goodness me, where was I! The last you knew I'd gone off to steal a penguin and so much seems to have happened since then. The boat trip was GREAT! But unfortunately there was a slight slip up. We were booked onto the wrong trip. There was a coach trip to penguin island where you could get off and walk but on our boat trip we were just taken very very very close to the island. But, to be honest, I think I prefer our trip as we got to see so much more. The boat took us down Beagle Channel through stunning scenery. This is the channel that most of the trips to Antarctica set out from with the famous lighthouse. We passed the island with this lighthouse and also loads ... read more
Mr and Mrs Penguin
Sorry, I seem to start all of these blogs with info about photos. But I like to say it here rather than at the end which I know some of you might not make it to!! More photos added. This time to "Snorkelling wonder" (I got a chance to upload fishy photos from our cd) and a few more to "more waterfalls and montevideo". One day I will try and get back up to date so the photos actually come with the blog! Right, back to the actual purpose of the blog. Last night in BA Having dashed off at the end of my last blog I ended up in a rather posh restaurant in BA for Nikki's bday. It reminded me a bit of the gentleman's club in the 1920s, not that I have ... read more
