Travel Blog Posts
August 17th 2009
300km south of Rio, Paraty is one of Brazil's first planned urban projects and today is considered one of the world's most important examples of Portuguese colonial architecture by UNESCO. The town is a grand spot to relax in but the prices of everything are incredibly high, and we know we're nearing the end of our trip and so the funds are getting low, but everyone we met all complained of the same. Still, we had fabulous weather here and divided our time between wandering through the cobbled streets of Old Town and walking the golden sands of Trinidade beach, 21km away. Every hour a local bus heads to Trinidade village and the steep slopes and tight turns makes the journey a rollercoaster experience! The lucky local kids had all gotten an extra two weeks of ... read more
August 12th 2009
The Iguazu falls.... .....is composed of around 275 separate falls. .....tumble for some 2km from the Rio Iguazu Superior over a 70m cliff to the Rio Iguazu inferior below. .....are at their most spectacular after the heavy rains in June and July. .....currently has the greatest average annual flow of any waterfall in the world. .....has a 3km semicircle of rock called the Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat), over which hurtles 1800 cubic metres of water per second. From here, mist rises between 30 metres (98 ft) and 150 m (492 ft). ..... a person can stand and be surrounded by 260 degrees of waterfalls. .....legend has it that a god planned to marry a beautiful aborigine named Naipí, who fled with her mortal lover Tarobá in a canoe. In rage, the god sliced the river ... read more
August 7th 2009
Move aside New York, there is a new girl in town, her name is Buenos Aires. To say this is one of the coolest cities I have ever visited would be an understatement. Just like the dance it's famed for, the city encapsulates you in its gaze where you spend endless days wandering its streets and relaxing in its many cafes. In over all the city is lacking in a large number of attractions but that doesn't seem to matter, it charms you nonetheless. One of the key attractions is the neighbourhood of La Boca. which was originally settled by Spanish and Italian immigrants during the booming 1880s where most people worked in the processing and shipping of Argentina's beef. After sprucing up the shipping barges the locals would splash the left over paint on the ... read more
August 3rd 2009
Our stay in Mendoza was like this blog entry will be - short but sweet. For Karen's birthday, we booked into a fabulous 4 star hotel and after our day long trip over the stunning snow capped Andes, we were equally wowed with our huge, luxury room. We had a wonderful few days here ambling around the squares and markets enjoying the sunshine. The locals were a bit amused to see us in summery clothes and one elderly lady jokingly tried to bundle Karen up in her red scarf. So far the Argentinians are a wonderful, welcoming people, we're going to like this country a lot. ... read more
August 1st 2009
We actually were in Santiago twice. The first time was back on July 8th before we flew to Lima on the 10th and then we flew back in on July 29th and we liked it so much more the second time round. It may be because it was warmer or that the part we stayed in second time round was nicer. The smog in this city makes it seem grey and a bit rundown. There aren't many major sights here - a few churches, the plaza, a fort and the cable car to a viewpoint (which turned out not to be working!) Finding good food on a budget in this city was very difficult, when you find yourself in a McDonald's you know things are bad. We did find wee cafes selling tasty empanadas but there ... read more
July 30th 2009
We arrived into San Pedro with only one thing on our minds after two days on the Salt Flats - a long, long hot shower! After we were presentable again we set out to explore the town which didn't take too long. This is a town which seems to exist only for or because of tourists with the main street choc a block full of restaurants, tour agents and well fed dogs. Still, the sun was shining and it was fabulously warm after the extreme cold we had endured on the salt flats so we were happy to relax and enjoy. From here we took a trip out to the Valley of the Moon where we had a superb guide who explained how the strange landscape was formed and led us down to explore an underground ... read more
July 28th 2009
Our journey from Potosi to Salar de Uyuni was one I don't think we'll ever forget, we have never seen so much dust inside a bus before! The road was not sealed and with cracks above him in the ceiling the dust was soon raining down on Vinny. Whether it was the amount of dust he inhaled or the generous mouthfuls of coca leaves chewed earlier, poor Vinny was ill when we reached Uyuni but thankfully he made a full recovery for the start of our tour through the salt flats. We loaded into the 4x4's with the first stop at the train cemetery, where 100 year old steam locomotives have been left to rust. Then we headed out onto the salt flats where the reflection is blinding but the scenery was absolutely stunning. On the ... read more
July 25th 2009
Our journey to Potosi was an interesting one, by taxi in the dark with lots of driving in the middle or on the wrong side of the road! Curiously, the taxi driver had to give a list of his passengers into the police to be stamped before we left Sucre and then it was checked again as we entered Potosi. The next morning we got up and each dressed in oodles of layers as advised to visit the silver and zinc mines on the outskirts of town. First stop was the miners' market, where we bought coca leaves, biscuits, alcohol and TNT as gifts for the miners. They chew copious amounts of coca leaves in the belief that it will act as a filter against the dust in the mines. Vinny took a handful to chew ... read more
July 24th 2009
Sucre is the constitutional capital and when we drove into the city past the crisp white colonial buildings, we began to wonder had we somehow boarded the wrong flight and left Bolivia. One thing for sure though is this is a great place to chill, hang out and enjoy some down time which we gladly did. Our days were spent soaking up the winter sunshine in the Plaza de las Armas, browsing the market stalls lining the side streets, catching the latest Harry Potter film and sampling the delights of the local chocolatiers.......... without a doubt this backpacking lark ain't so bad!... read more
July 21st 2009
Crossing over the border from Peru to Bolivia was completely painless, a very relaxed affair, even the guards on duty were standing around drinking smoothies with a dog lying sleeping at their feet. Once on the Bolivian side there were dogs and donkeys everywhere! We were heading to La Paz , Bolivia's admin capital and the highest capital in the world. Before reaching La Paz itself we had to go through El Alto, a city on the doorstep. The two cities are world's apart, the general rule of thumb however is the richer you are the lower down the valley you live, the poverty in El Alto was shockingly evident. Some of the Bolivian women wear a very distinct type of outfit - pleated skirts, blouses and jackets or shawls with an apron over the top ... read more
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