Natalie Grace

My South America tour has finished and while I didn´t enjoy the tour conditions, I have some wonderful memories of some beautiful countries, cities, people and geography. Highlights: the countryside of Ecuador; the coast of Peru; waking up to views of mountain glaciers during the Inca Trail; celebrating my 31st birthday on the Inca Trail; the city of La Paz, Bolivia; the steak in Salta, Argentina; the shopping in Asuncion, Paraguay; Foz do Iguaçu on the Argentinian side; do-it-yourself ice cream parlours in Paraty, Brazil; the energy of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; buying an authentic Carnaval Showgirl costume in Copacabana, Brazil. The friends I met, especially my two room mates, made the trip enjoyable. They learnt early on about my addiction to all things Barbie and female Walt Disney characters and kindly pointed out all the ... read more

We are finally in Rio de Janeiro for Carnaval! Woohoo! Our hotel is right in the centre of town and the shopping is wonderful! I bought a few dresses I wouldn´t normally wear but I couldn´t come to Rio and not buy some colourful dresses. This morning we went to see the Christ The Redeemer statue. It was a clear day so my photos turned out pretty good. Then we went to a neighbouring mountain and took photos of the city and the big guy together. Today is a good day because our tour officially ends and Carnavale officially begins. The energy is amazing, kind of like Mardi Gras but everyone here has a permatan. We bought feathers and glitter to spruce up our outfits for when we attend the parade on Sunday night. If it ... read more

We finally got to Paraty, a beautiful colonial town by the ocean, after catching two coaches. First stop was Curitiba then Sao Paulo and then finally Paraty. There was no way I was getting back on the cattle truck the tour uses so two of us booked a coach. We were told by various bus lines that there was a direct bus every hour from Curitiba to Sao Paulo but that was not the case. We had to wait at the Sao Paulo bus terminal for eight hours. We were warned that the Sao Paulo bus terminal is one of the most dangerous in the world but we were fine. Some of the young men were obvious in their staking out of your luggage but we kept ours close to us. Our hotel in Paraty was ... read more

I´m in Brazil! Yesterday we visited Foz do Iguazu on the Argentinian side, walking around the top of the falls and then a speedboat through the falls at the bottom. It was amazing!! It was 30C and the drenching we got in the speedboat was a perfect way to cool off. This morning we took a helicopter ride over the top of the falls on the Brazilian side and it was just as awesome! So far I like Brazil. The weather is great, the people are lovely and I´m finding it a challenge to stop speaking Spanish and to try some Portugese. ... read more

A few of us took a bus from Argentina to Paraguay before the rest of the group in order to sort out my Brazil visa issues. The Brazilian Embassy in Bolivia refused me a visa because my bank statements didn´t have my name on them, just my account number. No amount of explaining that my bank does that for security reasons was going to make them issue me a visa. So I created some statements with my name on them ready for my next visa attempt. Yesterday I applied for the visa at the Asuncion Embassy armed with my bank statements and they didn´t even ask for them. I couldn´t even give them away! And instead of a 48 hour turnover, my visa was ready to pick up in three hours. So that allowed more time ... read more

What can I say about Salta other than it is paradise. I have eaten enough steak to make up a cow, drunk enough cocktails to milk a lime tree dry and found a use for my Cuban salsa lessons. I went out dancing last night with the girls I upgraded with. It was a last minute decision after a late dinner at the hotel restaurant -- no dress ups, no make up, just beach dresses and flip flops. The club we went to had a young salsa band and we danced our feet off. The other girls went home and I ended up sharing a pizza and fanta with the band and roadies. Now it feels like I´m on holiday.... read more

No more altitude!! Salta is like being in Sydney -- dry heat, cosmopolitan restaurants and cafes and more dry heat. Our campsite is listed as the best in South America. God help the rest of South America. It is a shit hole with one giant swamp/pool in the middle. Some of us upgraded to a nearby hotel and I´m loving it. Cheap and cheerful with a pool. The last seven weeks have been difficult with the cold and altitude. I am not cut out for cold weather. From here on it will be hot, hot, hot!... read more

Bolivia is amazing! We spent three days in La Paz where the remaining ten people joined our tour. We now have a full truck. La Paz is a beautiful city and I´d definitely go back there. We spent a day driving down the ´most dangerous road in the world´ by 4WD. Some others did it on bicycle but my bike skills are hopeless with handle brakes. The road has a reputation for being dangerous because it´s a gravel road around a mountain with only one lane for two vehicles. Now there´s a new sealed road for drivers to use. The Brazilian Embassy in La Paz denied me my Brazil visa because my bank statements didn´t have my name on them, just my account number. When I tried to explain to them that that was how the ... read more

We spent three days in Puno, which sits on the edge of Lake Titicaca. The others did an overnight trip to Amantani Island but I stayed in Puno to recover from my parasite infection. Six days of bed, medication and cramps did not make me lose weight, how can that happen? The hotel in Puno was so new, they were still sticking mirrors on the walls as we checked in. I didn´t mind Puno, nice restaurants, nice people. I finally tried Guinea Pig, it tasted like roast pork. I wouldn´t order it again unless it came with the meat off the bone, it takes too long to find the meat on such a small animal.... read more

Happy New Year. My new year was spent in bed recovering from a parasite infection and watching a chick flick while the others battled illegal fireworks, pick-pockets and crowds on the streets of Cusco. I think I had a better new years eve than most. I came down with symptoms of the parasite on the second last day of the Inca Trail but the doctor said I probably caught it in Cusco before the Inca Trail. Being bedridden also worked in my favour because my legs were still in pain after doing the Inca Trail so the only dancing I would´ve been able to do is the Robot.... read more