http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/James---Anne/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from James Anne en-us Wed, 09 Dec 2009 23:57:07 +0000 Wed, 09 Dec 2009 23:57:07 +0000 The final leg of our 15 months round the world extravaganza takes us from Belem at the mouth of the Amazon 6000km south to Rio which claims to be one of the greatest cities in the world.We set off south on a 28 hour slow and uncomfortable bus journey to Forteleza one of a series of large cities on the north east coast of Brazil. Staying in an OK German Swiss pousada only 2 minutes walk from the http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/blog-106987.html Heather left us on the 14 October we were alone again. We had about 2 months left to travel the 12000km to Rio in Brazil. Our first stage was to cross the Andes for the ninth and final time following which to travel to the Atlantic ocean via the mighty Amazon river. First stop was Chiclayo a small city merely a stopping point for our continuing travel to Chachapoyas. Here we visited the ruined p http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Amazonas/blog-96027.html A long journey from Arequipa to Lima was followed by a nice hotel to celebrate Anne's birthday. We were waiting for Heather James' sister to arrive from USA so had a second day in Lima Miraflores district merely hanging around. An early start to meet Heather's plane from Mexico where she was transiting. We arrived at the airport around 5.30am but much to our annoyance the plane was delayed by http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Cusco/Cusco/blog-86720.html After arriving in Arequipa a city of 1 million we found ourselves a nice hotel for around 8 pounds a night fully equipped with Cable TV and excellent shower. First point of call was coffee and black jungle cake sitting in a cafe overlooking the central plaza. Life is relaxing at the moment. Some nice Italian food followed by a comfy bed. It was time to do some more exercise. We joined a guide an http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Arequipa/Colca-Canyon/blog-83959.html So after our climb up Huayna Potosi we deserved a 2 day rest in La Paz doing very little except watching cable TV eating and buying new jeans for Anne.July 26 saw us set of in a taxi to 4800m and the start of the Choro trek. This time our guide was Sixto who also was our cook and carried all the food. Normally Anne carries the food and fuel so her rucksack was light whereas James still carried th http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/La-Paz-Department/La-Paz/blog-80183.html Well James and I have had a fantastic week since our last blog We started off by visiting a tourist agency called Alberth Bolivia and somehow ended up booking a guide to take us up Huayna Potosi a 6088m mountain although it is supposed to be the easiest 6000m peak in the world in just 3 days time We also booked a tour for the next day up Chacaltaya a 5395m which is a very easy mounta http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/La-Paz-Department/Huayna-Potosi/blog-76974.html So we have finished our luxurious stage of our South American journey Chile and Argentina and now are heading into Bolivia. The plan a three day trip across the volcanic landscape and largest salt flat in the world in South West Bolivia. After leaving the paved road behind in Chile we drove in 4 X 4 jeeps up to 4600 m to the Bolivian immigration control. After a dubious breakfast of bread che http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/La-Paz-Department/La-Paz/blog-74708.html Our bus across the Andes from Salta to San Pedro de Atacama left at 7am so it was a 5.30am start to get to the bus station in time. Another comfortable bus this was to be our last luxury bus as we will soon be in Bolivia. Unfortunately for both the bus and ourselves within two hours black smoke was pouring out the back and we ground to a halt on the side of the freeway. Luck was on our side howe http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Antofagasta-Region/San-Pedro-de-Atacama/blog-72592.html So a 14 hour comfortable first class bus journey to Buenos Aires from Mendoza was successfully completed. Arriving at 7 am on a Sunday morning to a dead city was accompanied by a tube ride on the relatively safe but slow underground to the Faculty of Medicine. We were greeted by a giant building which looked like an abandoned hospital from the 1920s. Later we were to find out that this was one of http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Salta/blog-70835.html Santiago just happened to be in midrevolution when we arrived back following our trip to the hardware store to buy a plug adaptor some pretty fancy Spanish was used to get this. The students in Chile take any opportunity to riot and protest a few months ago they complained that the bus ticket prices were increased. On this occasion it was something to do with student fees. Clearly they dont h http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Mendoza/Mendoza/blog-67219.html So after a 16 hour flight from Sydney with a transit stop in Auckland we arrived in Santiago Chile. A horrendously polluted city which has a constant layer of smog over it blocking any view which there might be of the Andes.We enrolled on a Spanish course for a week and we are now fluent in Espanol. No not really. Although surprisingly for the first time James can remember Anne is better than Jam http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-63199.html So we left the hot and humid but beautiful Whitsunday Islands and decided that it was time to head back south to cooler climates. After nearly running out of petrol it was soon time to camp still using broken tent and pole held together with masking tape An OK campsite was found but with noisy parrots we were up at the crack of dawn and combined with a swim in an icy swimming pool we were soo http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/blog-58957.html So James completed his scuba diving course and is now a certified diver We dived down to a wreck and saw a 1.5m turtle from about 30cm away very cool. Also looked around the shipwreck which has now become an artificial reef with lots of exotic fish and the like.After finishing the course we drove on up to Rockhampton to a scrappy looking campsite on the outskirts of the city. We were camped a http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Airlie-Beach/blog-56033.html So sadly Peter and Rachel left us in the Blue Mountains no longer could we afford the luxuries of hotel and hostel accommodation from here on its camping only.So we found a reasonably nice campsite in the Blue Mountains after leaving Pete and Rach and hammered pegs into rock solid earth. The evening passed quickly as we started learning Spanish again after our lapse of several monthsThe followi http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Bundaberg/blog-54285.html So what should have been a relaxing time in Christchurch turned into a rapid stressed affair whilst we tried to sell the car and sort things mainly banking stuff out for Oz. We managed to visit the Antarctica Centre but that was about all.So an uneventful flight led to Sydney arriving in the early evening a dubious shuttle bus to Hotel 59 a nice friendly place although as we were to find out l http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/Bondi-Beach/blog-53644.html We left Bluff at the southern point of South Island to drive through the scenic countryside of the Catlins. Camped on a deserted campsite visited a fossilised forest and saw Elephant Seals on Nugget Point before reaching Dunedin.Stayed at gorgeous Backpackers essentially we had a house to ourselves. The next day we drove down the Otago Peninsula failed to see the Royal Albatros but went on to http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Christchurch/blog-49663.html HelloSo we left Qweenstown amid beautiful sunshine our plan to drive to Milford Sound and then onto Southland proper. The weather was still shining four hours later on our arrival. After securing the tent we walked down to the bay and were greated by stunning views of the glacial fiord. This was unfortunaetly not to last as the forecast suggested 3 iniches of rain over the next 12 hours. We awoke http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Southland/Stewart-Island/blog-47566.html So James finished in AE on 18 Feb and was picked up by Anne who has basically had a 6 week holiday already. We drove up to Mount Rupehu 2774m the highest mountain in North Island and camped in a DOC site. The following day was perfectly clear so we decided to climb the mountain after some hard scrambling and some interesting snow crossing with long run outs we climbed onto the top into perfec http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Otago/Queenstown/blog-45123.html