http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/GlobetrekkerChic/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from GlobetrekkerChic en-us Sun, 20 Dec 2009 19:57:35 +0000 Sun, 20 Dec 2009 19:57:35 +0000 Salar de Uyuni Part 1So far so good. We managed to avoid yet another strike in Uyuni which would have resulted in us potentially having to reduce our time on the salt flats or Salar. Thankfully the strike was resolved on the day we were due to leave Potosi so we set off midafternoon in our 4x4 jeeps the only mode of transport that you can use to travel through the flats surrounding ter http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Salar-de-Uyuni/blog-407214.html Bolivia is the land of the Worlds Highest ......... The worldrsquos highest airport The worldrsquos highest skifield although it hasnrsquot actually had any snow for the last few years... The worldrsquos highest golf course and now the worldrsquos highest city.......Welcome to Potosi altitude 4200 m.s.l.We left mid afternoon the following day from Sucre but not before my ear http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Potosi/blog-409632.html Copacabana is not the place Barry Manilow was singing about I celebrated our last night in Peru by treating myself to my last ever Peruvian pisco sour in Puno before heading of to the lsquoRock Reggaersquo bar for a few games of jenga and cuba libres with the rest of the group. What with cheap drinks and not much else to do it was no wonder that the night disintegrated after one too many http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/La-Paz-Department/La-Paz/blog-408290.html The travelling refrigerator After saying my goodbyes to those in my group who were leaving us in La Paz I set off together with the rest of the group and some new additions to Sucre the Legislative capital of Bolivia. It was going to be my first overnight bus experience in Bolivia and not one that I was looking forward too for two reasons. Firstly I hate overnight buses and Secondly because http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Chuquisaca-Department/Sucre/blog-408292.html The neverending journey A miners strike at 3am in the morning Could this day possibly get any worse After being on the bus for 5 hours we were woken up at 3am to be told that we would be forced to sit on the side of a road along with dozens of other trucks buses cars waiting for the local miners to remove the boulders loose stones they had put on the road to block the way. By 9am http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Arequipa/Colca-Canyon/blog-401585.html Goodbye Cusco We had a full day in Cusco after the trek to rest up. I didnrsquot do very much that day. Was there any surprise in that I spent some time wandering around the city looking around before going back to the hotel for some RR. After four days of hard slog we deserved a party. And party we did. We participated in a pub quiz and won although really we had to split our group http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Puno/Lake-Titicaca-/blog-408223.html The Inca Trail is my bitch This was the one part of my trip that I had dreaded the most feared the most. The Inca Trail. For months before I had contemplated chickening out and getting the train up to Machu Picchu on the last day just so I could avoid the trail itself but I didnrsquot want to regret it later on. Eventually lsquoDDayrsquo rolled around and it was time to do it. Tim http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Cusco/Inca-Trail/blog-402850.html Pisco The Ballestas Islands What can be said about the town of Pisco Weeelllll Not much really Granted the town had been heavily destroyed by an earthquake in 2007. Nevertheless we were only using it as our overnight base to visit the nearby Ballestas Islands otherwise known as the lsquoPoor Manrsquos Galapagosrsquo. We caught our early morning boat from the port of Paracas and http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Ica/Nazca/Nazca-Lines/blog-401567.html Baos The next day we boarded the public bus to take the very long 6hour journey south towards Baos a town renown for their hot springs. Cramped lethargic from our journey my first activity for the evening after our arrival was a visit to the public baths for a dip in the skin peeling hot water to relax.The town of Baos elevation 1800m sits at the base of the very active Volcano Tungura http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Centre/Banos/blog-397589.html Peru was the next destination on my South American jaunt and our first stop was a few days along the coast to appreciate some Peruvian beaches. It was going to be a relaxing 4day start to our intensive few weeks in Peru culminating of course in The Inca trail something that I was both highly excited and extremely nervous about. But to get anywhere on this continent You have to travel vast d http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Trujillo/blog-399015.html I never envisioned that the landscape of Peru would be so arid so desert like. As we left Trujillo to make our way to Lima on our 12 hour bus ride I saw nothing but stretches of sand broken every now and again by glimpses of the coast in the distance a very nice pepsi sign or two.We got to the suburb town of Miraflores in Lima late in the evening leaving us with only enough time and energy http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Lima/Lima/Miraflores/blog-399014.html Amazon River Rio Napo Our first two day stint on the Amazon was along the Rio Napo about 67 hours East of Quito near the town of Tena. We stayed in a Jungle Lodge Cotococha Lodge along the banks of the river and used that as the base to explore the jungle visit some of the local Quichua families. Our first afternoon was a visit to one of the local families to try lsquochicarsquo wh http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/East/Tena/blog-396303.html QuitoI had two whole days before the start of my intrepid tour to explore Quito. I stayed at the same hostel that my tour was booked for to save me the hassle of moving location and met up with another couple from my tour who had also arrived early.This being Quito our first visit was to the lsquoMitad del Mundorsquo or the Equator Monument about an hour away from Quito by metro. For whate http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/North/Quito/blog-395259.html Leaving the US behind I was soon on my way to Ecuador for the start of my Intrepid Tour and of course a visit to the Galapagos Islands. This was the start of the final leg of my year long adventure and I couldnrsquot figure out where all the time had gone but of course of I still have 3 months left and I wanted to make the most of it.It was on that note that I found myself in the queue at Q http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Galapagos/blog-395017.html Sorry for my extended absence on the blog front but I have been skipping continents the last few weeks in a frenzied whirlwind of activity. I have just now paused for breath and am now able to provide an account of where in the world I have been and what I have been doing since my last updatehelliphellip.so here goes. Goodbye Costa Rica I spent my last few days in Costa Rica in the town of La http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/blog-389791.html I now know what it feels like to be inside a blender As you can imagine it wasnt a pleasant experience I was up for another long travel day to get to Monteverde. It was on a bus on a ferry on a bus on another bus.....Then quick as a flash I was dropped off in Monteverde. Monteverde is the complete opposite of Costa Rica's Pacific coastline. Set up in the hills in a cloud forest it http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Monteverde/blog-385552.html 7 hours after leaving Liberia I eventually got my first glimpse of Montezuma.I had no interest in hitting any of the other beaches along the Nicoya Peninsula beaches like Playa Tamarindo Playa del Coco was according to other travellers nothing more than condominium cities filled with hordes of shops and were far to lsquogringofiedrsquo.I had some hope that Montezuma had not suffered the http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Montezuma/blog-385122.html I start this blog with a very big ldquoThank Yourdquo to all you nice and friendly locals out there that go out of your way to help lost and confused tourists like myself. It makes travelling so much more worthwhile whenever you get an experience like this.I caught the early morning local bus to lsquoLa Fronterarsquo Or the lsquoborderrsquo. To do this I needed too first catch the http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Guanacaste/Liberia/blog-384721.html Every day is a good day to go to the beach in San JuanI said goodbye to Isla de Ometepe and set of for some beach action at San Juan del Sur a beach town near the border between Nicaragua Costa Rica. After many discussions the previous night with my newfound kayaking buddies it turned out that we were all planning on going to the same place the next day so it was perfect timing as far as I http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/San-Juan-Del-Sur/blog-382909.html An island getawayWhich island you ask Isla de Ometepe is an island formed by twin volcanoes rising out of a lake. The lava flows from the two volcanoes Concepcin Maderas created an isthmus between them forming the island. It lies on Lake Nicaragua south of Granada.I got a shuttle from Granada to the port in San Jorge and from there caught one of ferries to the town of Moyogalpa 1 12 hr http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Isla-de-Ometepe/Merida/blog-382652.html