San Agustin - Cali - Medellin - Bogota - Santa Marta (Taganga) Colombia is awesome! The landscape is stunning, the people are so friendly and well, they just seem to have a bit of everything! We started our trip in colombia convincing the bus people to sell us a ticket to travel the lesser known route to San Agustin (ie. the local route!). It was basically driving in a bus along a very fine ridge that was situated very high along a mountain side in the colombian rainforest. An awesome view, however a little frightening at times, like when the bus [View Full Entry]

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Ecudor - Cuenca and Quito We had decided before arriving in Ecuador, that we would not stay long. And as the heading says.... we spent 6 days!! We began in Cuenca, which is the third largest city and it is a beautiful one, with less crime associated with it! The first night we went to a hotel recommended by a taxi driver as being the cheapest ....... it was very cheap at $4 a night each, but also pretty terrible! The floors were sticky, the room was anything but hygenic and the night security guy seemed a bit nuts! Needless to [View Full Entry]

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Huanchaco (Trujillo) - Chachapoyas (Kuelap) - Mancora I must warn.... this is written at least a month after being there! So it really isn´t one of my best! From Lima we took the 10hr journey heading north to Trujillo, which is the Peruvian town our Melbourne based Spanish teacher is from. Trujillo itself had a cute square and a lively park on the weekends, but otherwise nothing much was happening.... so we caught a taxi 12km NW to Huanchaco (a fishing village). Huanchaco is known for it´s 'high-ended, cigar-shaped, totora (reed) boats called caballitos´. Fisherman use these to paddle beyond the [View Full Entry]

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Cusco - Pisac - Urubamba - Ollantaytambo - Agua Calientes (Machu Picchu) - Cuscu We arrived in Cuzco the with same intentions as the thousands of other travelers who visit there, to see the Sacred Valley and visit the famous and mysterious site of Machu Picchu. Cusco was susprising; chock a block with trendy cafes, resturants, bars and the usual artisian fare.... no doubt due to the many visitors it receives day in, day out. We soon discovered that it wasn´t going to be cheap getting to and from machu picchu directly. So being wary of overpriced travel agents and budget [View Full Entry]

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After Copacobana we caught a 3hr bus and entered Peru to stay at Puno.... which also lies on Lake Titicaca. Our sole purpose was to visit the Islands which we decided to start doing the following day. We were able to visit the Islands of Uros and Taquile on a day long tour, so for ease (especally after the other side) we decided to sign up! Uros islands are grouped together and are referred to as the floating islands! They were made from the reeds found within the lake, with the locals first making reed boats, which they then tied together [View Full Entry]

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From La Paz we headed to Copacobana to visit Isla del Sol (the Island of the Sun) on Lake Titicaca (the world´s highest navigatible lake found on the border of Bolivia and Peru). We unfortunately decided to follow the ´lonely planet´s'recommendation to walk for four hours to another village closer to the Island and then hire a boat across, rather than taking the normal boat from Copacobana itself. Well what was promised to be a magnificant walk was, for an aussie and new zealander, pretty average and really not worth the effort, considering what was to come! Not only that, but [View Full Entry]

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We travelled to Rurrenabaque, Bolivia in a tiny 16 seater airplane.... with a crash history to boot. However we landed safely on a dirt runway in the jungle area after a fantastic view of the snow capped Andies. It was quite different then the rest of the country, stinking hot and humid and in the 35deg heat we were still dressed in our warm clothes needed for the cold, high altitude climate we had just left.... so we set off in search of accomodation so we could change. We then went in search of good food, which we thought may be [View Full Entry]

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We arived in Sucre ready to take on a short course in Spanish. As it had quickly come to our attention that without it we woud be paying through the nose for everything. We found a decent hostel and deliberated over a teacher. Vivi(bibi) and Patricia seemed fine and we soon settled in for a week of study. Its common to study here because its really cheap, about $4 per lesson. Two days in, Nell fell ill with Salmolnella.. not uncommon in Bolivia. But she battled as hard as possible and didn't miss a page of homework but did miss a [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Tupiza, Bolivia with the sole purpose of booking a 3 day 4x4 tour to the salt flats of Uyuni. Tupiza itself resembles that of an old western town, minus the saloon and tumble weed. Mudbrick constructions pass as housing and shops and there is about 20 meters of actual sealed road, makes for a great town for passing through. After a miner setback on our hotels behalf, we were off for the adventure of a life time. As per usual pictures do a complete injustice of the sights and images of the Bolivan desert. First stop, a small [View Full Entry]

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Entering Humahuaca was a welcome change to the rest of South America, we had been experencing. Dusty, dry and very hot, suronded by catus forest, it is a stereotypical South American town. The long bus ride from Iguazu Falls through Salta, gave us an upclose look at some diverse and interesting landscape. The citys gave way to multicoloured, sandy, layered mountains of unusual pinks and reds and greens. The town itself is small and friendly, and steeped in its own culture of native Quechwan speaking folk. We took time out ,with a helpful guide, who for a small fee, showed us [View Full Entry]

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