Travel Blog Posts
May 27th 2007
Home Sweet Home! Back to Canada! Our trip had a typical South American ending...we were stuck 24 hours in Costa Rica after missing our connections due our late arrival! But I have to admit that TACA , the airline company, was not responsible for the bad weather...even if they said that they would wait for us! Fortunately, we succeeded to reschedule our connection with Air Canada in Los Angeles and we received free cab and meal vouchers at a nice Holiday Inn. in San Jose, Costa Rica where we rested from the last stressful and tiring hours on a shaky plane and in an hectic airport. We flew the next evening to Los Angeles where we spent the night before boarding the next morning on our flight for Vancouver. The wooden benches were hard and ... read more
May 4th 2007
Caracas, Venezuela May 4-9, 2007 After spending 24 hours on a bus and stopping for several military checks travelling from Cartagena to Caracas, we arrived stiff and sore to the Venezuelan capital. I have to admit that I was also relieved to arrive safe and sound as we heard unpleasant comments about crossing the Colombia-Venezuela border. Unfortunately, my first impressions of Caracas were darkened by the "non-welcoming" attitude of its inhabitants. I had the impression that because I am white I was automatically classified as a gringo. And believe me, it is not a good thing being a gringo in Caracas right now! Let's say any pretext is good to mention in my first sentence that I am Canadian! Because of the reputation of Caracas and the feeling I had during my visit, I have not ... read more
April 12th 2007
Colombia April 12- May 5, 2007 BOGOTA We were glad to arrive in Colombia to get back in touch with the outside world! Cuba has isolated us from the rest of the world for one month as we could barely use emails or phones due to their very slow speed and outrageous costs. The history of Colombia has been known for its constant struggles among the military, guerilla and paramilitary. The latter are known to be "sponsored" by the government to counteract the guerilla. However, we all know that this form of "counteraction", which is usually violent, is "forbidden" according to the international community's standards. In the last days, President Uribe has been omnipresent in the newspapers and on TV since he has been accused of being in "contact" with the paramilitary. It is hard ... read more
March 13th 2007
VIÑALES This rural part of Cuba was a true pleasure for the eyes! The small village was surrounded by limestone " mountains" and lush agricultural fields. Palm trees and fruit trees were filled with delicious pineapples, mangoes, oranges, grapefruits.... The coffee cultivated by the farmers had a delicious taste and wonderful smell! I have rarely tasted such coffee! The tobacco fields were abundant and you could see the numerous "wooden warehouses" were the tobacco was dried. We had fresh fruits and freshly grounded coffee everyday. We were relatively quiet during our stay in Viñales as we were both trying to recover from a bad cold that we caught at Maria La Gorda. We were walking throughout the fields, eating fruits with the farmers, enjoying the tranquility of the valley while discussing with the people. Farmers ... read more
March 13th 2007
Cuba March 13 to April 12, 2007 Cuba is a fascinating country and travelling one month on this island has been a tremendous experience. We were glad to have made the decision to travel to Cuba while Castro was still alive... Because of the high travelling costs and the challenge to use public transportation, we decided to restrict our exploration to the Western area of the island. Our one-month itinerary was as follow: La Havana-Varadero-Trinidad-Piñar del Rio-Maria La Gorda-Veñales-La Havana. I will first start my Cuba story telling with Varadero and tell about La Havana in my last blog. VARADERO Since we never experienced a full-inclusive resort, we decided to spend four days at "Villa La Tortuga", a medium-range hotel offering all-you-can-eat breakfast,lunch and dinner in addition to 24 hour open bar...not a profitable business ... read more
March 2nd 2007
Machu Picchu March 2, 2007 Our adventure to Machu Picchu started with a series of buses to get to the closest city to Aguas Calientes in order to take the train from there rather than from Cuzco... so that we can cut back on the prices imposed on tourists. The next morning, we embarked on the first bus at 5:30am and luckily were the first ones at the site. We therefore enjoyed a spectacular view of Machu Picchu as it was empty of any tourists. It was an exceptional sight... The surrounding of the Machu Picchu ruins is spectacular and this wonderful natural setting contributes to the unique beauty of the ruins. The landscape was breathtaking and the ruins themselves were extremely impressive. When you live in such environment, it remains impossible not to worship Earth ... read more
February 25th 2007
Cuzco, Peru February 25 to March 6, 2007 The magical city of Cuzco has seduced me with its colonial architecture and Inca legacy. The blend of these two different cultures creates an unique atmosphere within the city. From the main plaza "Plaza de Armas" to the narrow steep streets, it is always pleasant to walk throughout the symbolic capital. I have to admit that despite the presence of numerous tourtists, I do not feel overwhelm by the flow of travellers in transition to Machu Picchu. I actually enjoyed the infrastructure built for tourism; it feels great to have access to good restaurants and real bathrooms after one month spent in Bolivia! Besides, from my personal experience, Peruvians seem to be more extraverted than Bolivians. It will be unfair to omit the exceptional restaurant we have found ... read more
Bolivia: Lake Titicaca-Isla del Sol
Published: March 1st 2007South America » Bolivia » La Paz Department » Isla del Sol
February 22nd 2007
Lake Titicaca-Isla del Sol February 22-25, 2007 Early morning we headed to the beach to get a boat to transport us to the famous Isla del Sol situated at about two hours from Copacabana. After buying our one-way ticket on a wooden boat filled with locals and travellers, we started our navigation on Lake Titicaca. Sitting outside on a bench and feeling the wind and sun against my face, I truly enjoyed being on this immense lake and hearing the water splashes along the boat. From the boat, I got an interesting perspective of the different settlements found on the numerous islands of Lake Titicaca. Due to the steep terrain, people have to cultivate on the mountains and therefore, the land is leveled and organized for every type of grains, vegetables and fruits. This peculiar landscape ... read more
Bolivia: Lake Titicaca-Copacabana
Published: February 27th 2007South America » Bolivia » La Paz Department » Copacabana
February 19th 2007
Lake Titicaca, Copacabana February 19-21, 2007 What a relief to finally see the water and hear the waves along the shore! Despite the fact that Titicaca is actually a lake, its impressive superficy makes you think it is an ocean! The colourful fishermen boats were floating along the shore, small green mountains were surrounding the village, and fresh marine air were filling my lungs... Besides the pleasure of being close to the water, we ate fish for the first time in weeks (!!!) in one of the shacks along the beach: fried trout, rice, vegetables, and french fries for 15 bolivianos...with a Bolivian beer! As some of you may know, the majority of Bolivian food is fried: fried chicken, rice and french fries are the usual menus items in shacks and restaurants. In any case, getting ... read more
February 15th 2007
Carnaval de Oruro: Fenruary 15-18, 2007 The Carnaval in Rio, Brazil may have acquired an international reputation throughout the years but the Carnaval in Oruro, Bolivia definitely deserves a visit! I will even say that this Carnaval is intimate as the stands along the road, where the dancers and musicians parade, are located only few meters from this colourful and loud spectacle! The Diablada, which started on February 17, represents the entrance of the devil in the city and consists of a multitude of orchestras and of colourful dancers with amazing costumes! We arrived at our seats at 7:30am and remained there until the end of the afternoon. Besides the spectacular parade, music and dance, the Carnaval is also known for its famous water balloons and foam battles...or should I say "Get the gringo" contest! Throughout ... read more
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