http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/TrevandLiz/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from TrevandLiz en-us Mon, 28 Dec 2009 09:13:53 +0000 Mon, 28 Dec 2009 09:13:53 +0000 Should have sent this months ago. This was one of the most interesting places we went so read this We were actually waiting to receive pictures from the Brits that took a lot longer than expected. Never trust a redcoat. EnjoyWe left La Paz and grabbed another bus bound for the city known as Oruro. On the way Liz offered some gummy bears to a campesina country woman who was sitting nex http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Salar-de-Uyuni/blog-224852.html So sorry about the delay friends. Here is the last Chile entry of our trip. Better late than never...My parents have raved about Chile for almost a decade. For years they shared stories about the friendly people seafood and the everpopular... pisco sours. They first fell in love with the country when they started their Rotaplast International volunteer surgeries in South America operating in V http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Araucania/Pucon/blog-245289.html After 88 longdistance buses we decided to enjoy Chile's coastal cordillera by boat. The Navimag is an industrial ferry carting cars and livestock beneath the deck so its more a freight ferry than a cruise ship. But its also equipped with beds and a bar for a beautiful ride through the channel from Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt full of sights unseen from the roads. We decided it would be a gr http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Los-Lagos/Puerto-Montt/blog-245279.html Chiles worldrenowned national park is famous for weeks worth of hiking through amazing natural wonders including its namesake granite towers that transcend into the sky and one of the biggest ice fields on Earth. Naturally we wanted to see it all but we only had a week. No matter. We set off to cover 90 miles of trail in seven days. Sure we had done nothing but drink malbec wine and eat gra http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Magallanes/Torres-del-Paine/blog-241106.html After a late arrival in El Calafate 2am and no plans we set up camp in a BBs backyard. We ended up there for three nights with a bunch of other folks from around the world. We got up late and used the day to do our errands and check out the town which is very touristy. We spent that evening hanging out with a big group from around the world in the backyard. First we jammed and sang some c http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Santa-Cruz/El-Chalten/blog-237703.html ...the beginning of everything.We completed our adventure from the tippytop of Latin America in Mexico to the very bottom of the continent when we rolled into Ushuaia the worlds southernmost city. We got in after midnight and it was still twilight. Its light here until all hours which was lucky for us since we hadnt yet found a bed yet.The fridged waters full of sailboats cruise ships and a http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Tierra-del-Fuego/Ushuaia/blog-237708.html Welcome to our first guest blog ever Mitch is a professional so please dont expect writing like this to continue in the future when we return to blogging. We had so much fun with my Mom and Mitch for two weeks. They brought us the muchneeded love and cheer that comes with Christmas. But I will let Mitch tell you all about it...LETTER FROM ARGENTINA By Mitchell SchechterFor us Argentina is a p http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Buenos-Aires/Buenos-Aires/blog-237699.html A meat wave is moving steadily south across Argentina. My junior year in college I experimented for a month with a then unheard of all meat diet before old Atkins stole my idea. After eating only animal flesh for 3 weeks I promptly diagnosed myself with meat exhaustion and called the whole thing off. Upon first glance one might think that this sort of diet is unsustainable and take my firs http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Cordoba/blog-228069.html We are used to wild and crazy white Christmases. We usually brave an annual miniroadtrip on icy roads to see both our families at two to three houses before a snowy celebration full of skiing sledding and ice skating. This is the first time we havent been with our families for Christmas so we werent sure what we would do in summer by ourselves. Luckily our amiga Mercedes invited us to her fa http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Buenos-Aires/Buenos-Aires/blog-233174.html Well maybe a few butts...We discovered Sir Mixalots inspiration at Mar del Plata and it wasnt pretty. The thong is all the rage in the beach town south of Buenos Aires so butts abound. And beach etiquette makes for full back views. Instead of getting their bronze on sprawled across towels Argentines stand in small groups chatting with their feet in the chilly Pacific with their backsides fa http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Buenos-Aires/Mar-del-Plata/blog-233140.html We took a quick jaunt to Uruguay to see what some call the Miami of South America. The south beaches that we saw are cool and breezy the mall is the place to be and the people are addicted to matte. There was actually nothing gay about it if you dont count the guy crooning in fishnets and heels on the streets of Montevideo so we finally stopped the silliness and pronounced the countrys nam http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Uruguay/East/Punta-del-Este/blog-228278.html I doubt the rest of the kids will invite me on their honeymoon my Dad joked as we enjoyed our first wine and cheese happy hour high above the city on our hotel terrace. We like to say the honeymoon is over and ended at our Mexico hotel with infinity pool so we were thrilled to have my Dad meet us in Argentinas wine country of Mendoza. After pestering him to meet us in Ecuador Peru and Bolivi http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Mendoza/Mendoza/blog-226203.html Argentina is the country that started our entire Latin America adventure. Not only is it where we got engaged but also its where we were awed by Eurostyle cities 300foot waterfalls and our first trek through the mountains of Patagonia. We knew we had to come back some day to explore the rest of the country and the rest of Latin America. We just didnt know that some day would come so soon. http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Salta/blog-226207.html Seeing a few of our favorite friends in South America was like ringing in an early Christmas. Jocelyn Nick and Brandon were the best gifts we couldve asked for so we celebrated their arrival with pisco sours cervezas grilled alpaca and a tiny Christmas tree with a garland of all our familys photos sent with love from MM Mama Seelye and Mitch. The day after our entire group was together http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Cusco/Machu-Picchu/blog-221244.html Her name was Lizzie she was a showgirl....Alright enough of that you know that leads to me wearing a diamond. We had a few days before Brandon and Nocelyn showed up in Peru so we decided to spend some time in Bolivia basking on the shores of Lake Titicaca which happens to be the highest navigable lake in the world. Not sure what that means but we did learn that almost the highest everything http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/La-Paz-Department/Copacabana/blog-223790.html Trevor and I feel like we were either mauled by wild donkeys or just finished a marathon with an obscenely steep route. Dont worry were okay. We just climbed out of the worlds deepest canyon yesterday. Caon del Colca is more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. Its about 11000 feet deep with steep switchbacks that hug the baked canyon walls all the way to the Colca River that trickles th http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Arequipa/Colca-Canyon/blog-216935.html The Top Six Things We Loved about Lima6. Being back in 2007 and where the bigcity action is. Lima is a world of difference from some of the smaller indigenous towns where people still live like they did 100 years ago. The fancy parks full of dogs with actual owners and seaside highrises with surfers frolicing in front reminded us of California. The rest of the citys colonial architecture looks http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Lima/Lima/Miraflores/blog-215672.html After conquering Cotopaxi Trevor and I decided we had sufficiently experienced Ecuador. We spent a couple of recovery days in Baos and Cuenca and then spent 36 long hours on three buses to Peru. We even passed through Caon del Pato where our bus teetered on the edge of what could be the second most dangerous road in the world another in Bolivia already claimed the title and passed through 3 http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Ancash/Huaraz/blog-214065.html A heavyweight battle for the ages In the red corner the Colorado Comrades the Sultans of the Second City the Jobless Journeyers weighing in at a combined 270lbs the McSeelye Squad. Yaaaa Woooo In the blue corner the reigning champion Ecuadors second highest peak weighing in at a billion tons with a height of 19350 feet The active volcano Cotopaxi. Booooo The battle begins The http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Centre/Cotopaxi/blog-211039.html We spent four days in the mountains of the Quilotoa Loop a cluster of indigenous villages that surround Quilotoa a dormant volcano with a caldera 2.5 kilometers wide and filled with turquoise water. The Loop has awesome hiking trails and a landscape of pastures and farming fields so it looks like a patchwork quilt was thrown over the rolling hills. The place is teeming with exotic wildlife. We http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Centre/Chugchilan/blog-210466.html