http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Welsh-Wanderers/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Welsh Wanderers en-us Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:15:29 +0000 Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:15:29 +0000 Just when you thought it was all over and you didn't have to read anymore blogs.....along comes another one. Sorry but we forgot to post this one before we left Rio........but we thought we would send it anyway.With just 24 hours left before we had our final flight to catch we headed back to Rio and back to the 'Best Rio' Hostel which somehow didn't seem as good the second time round. But it http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Rio-de-Janeiro/Rio-de-Janeiro/Copacabana/blog-362082.html The final installment the last part of the chapter the end. Well I am sure that most of you are glad you dont have to read anymore inane comments written by a pair of illiterate goofballs or look at pictures taken from the wrong angle of two tall pale people. We are less than a week away from coming home so it wont be long before we all meet up again and the history of the past twelve months http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Rio-de-Janeiro/Saquarema/blog-366077.html There have been many different types of feelings that you have floating around the cerebral void when you are nearing the date of your return. You long for family and friends comfort of your own space and most important the wet nose of a canine. Our time was closing but we were not all spent out yet we still had a few miles left in the tank. As seasoned travellers we ventured onto the next amaz http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/blog-365710.html You have to love the Samba drum the beat and fever that it produces amongst its avid listeners and the result in a hip wiggling movement only seen in one of the most vibrant cities in the world. Everyone has seen the pictures most have witnessed video of the place but until you touch foot with earth you have not been Rioed.The place is a sprawling city that encompasses hills and mountains that http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Rio-de-Janeiro/Rio-de-Janeiro/Copacabana/blog-364727.html After 32 hours of travelling involving 5 buses many bus stations and many road side cafes eating too many empanadas or pastels are they are called here we finally arrived in the town of Paraty. Paraty is different to other Brazilian towns. It is only a few hours from Rio making it a popular holiday spot. It is a bustling small quaint village with cobbled streets and a picturesque harbour. http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Rio-de-Janeiro/Paraty/blog-363098.html Rather than take 2 buses remember turnstiles and large rucksacks and surfboards.... we opted for a taxi to take us across the border half the time half the fuss twice the price oh well we will be skint anyway when we get back...and it was much easier. Kenny our long haired smiling driver who like all taxi drivers in South America speak only their local language as we do tolerated Stu http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Misiones/Iguazu-National-Park/blog-361865.html New Year can be a stressful time for most people the eternal decision of where to spend your moment singing 'Auld lang syne' can burn the brain a bit. However most people choose to spend it with friends people that mean the most and in areas that are familiar to them. Well these two parameters were not available to us and we decided to embrace the Brazilian style and vibe getting down with the http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Santa-Catarina/Florian-polis/blog-360820.html The day we left Florianopolis was a typically hot sunny Brazilian day...typically. It was bound to be hot and sunny when we had a 14 hour bus journey ahead. But we had survived the hurricane and it was time to move on. When we planned our little RTW adventure 12 months ago we had both decided that a definite stop would be at the Iguassu Falls deep in the heart of South America crossing the borde http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Paran-/Foz-do-Igua-u/blog-360821.html We left Punta del Diablo having had a different but satisfying Christmas. Ahead of us lay our final month. Our last country Brazil the crazy one right at the end. We don't know anyone from Brazil or even anyone who has been to Brazil as far as we remember so our knowledge of the country and its people comes from media and travel guides. Images of hotted headed South Americans passion danger http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Rio-Grande-do-Sul/Porto-Alegre/blog-358322.html The devil and the deep blue sea what a connection. That was firmly in our heads when we started the on the bus again another trip but extremely uneventful. So safely arriving in Diablo only took a few hours and Em had spent most of that dribbling on my shoulder. Diablo was to be the most exotic place that both of us had spent Xmas and we were looking forward to getting some time with our own pla http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Uruguay/East/Punta-del-Diablo/blog-356174.html We had to go back on ourselves a bit here but it was the only way we could incorporate our cheap flight to Montevideo and still get to BA. So we found ourselves back at Colonia then onto the next COT bus to Montevideo with a quick pit stop for lunch and then the next bus to Punta Del Este.Bus travel has become part of our psyche it involves however a bit of thought and mostly the stubbornness http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Uruguay/East/Punta-del-Este/blog-356171.html Wow wow wow. What a fab place BA is It is busy and bustling constantly noisy full of life and intrugue. It is a really big city comparable with London or Paris but with a Latin twist.After getting off the catamaran from Colonia we managed to get a taxi from the port to the Hotel even though we didn't have any pesos and had to pay in dollars which probably cost more than it should. The Hotel http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Buenos-Aires/Buenos-Aires/blog-356168.html The bus from Montevideo to Colonia del Sacremento was fairly uneventful. We both slept our way through it. It was a civilised 3 hour journey on a comfortable bus passing through green fields and countryside. It was good to see greenery again after the constant desert and dusty villages of northern Chile and Peru which can start to look quite drab. The bus terminal at Colonia was small and efficie http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Uruguay/West/Colonia-del-Sacramento/blog-355103.html Sorry that the photos have the wrong heading but as you can assume they are of Monty.When planning the trip the country of Uruguay really did not conjure up any real pictures the reason for this was that neither Em nor I had really heard about it. No films or media reported stories the only main aspect was that it was close to Argentina. However our travels have brought about great recommendati http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Uruguay/District-of-Montevideo/Montevideo/blog-354817.html As we have been travelling for a while now we reviewed our progress as we sat in Miraflores one of the nicest suburbs of Lima. The chifa restaurant that we sat in allowed us to take stock of our progress and nibble on a prawn wonton at the same time. We collectively agreed that the pace that we had undertaken for most of our travels perhaps brought the most experiences towards our door but at thi http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Trujillo/blog-349647.html We arrived in Lima via a very comfortable flight from Cusco it took us an hour to cross the mountains and touching down in Lima was a pleasant sight. We had done a bit of research and from the LPs description we thought that it would be a mass of people all scurrying around in a hoard of unkept buildings and dirty streets. Well too be honest we could not be so far from the point it is a very m http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Lima/Lima/Miraflores/blog-349648.html We left Puno on the 16th November with our Inca Trek booked for the 20th and headed for Cusco on a Cruz Del Sur bus. The company is probably the most reputable of Peruvian bus operators. In order to prevent accidents and hold ups they put you through strict security procedures akin to getting on a plane and apparently the drivers are breathalysed. Firstly your luggage is 'checked in' then you a http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Cusco/Inca-Trail/blog-349650.html We had only hoped that we would have either enough time or be in the right area to visit Lake Titicaca try and say that after a couple of Pisco Sours it will get your tongue in a right twist. The whole idea of visiting the lake was to coincide with our original route towards Cusco. Lake Titicaca is famed as being the highest navigable lake in the world without sounding all David Attenborough i http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Puno/Lake-Titicaca-/blog-349651.html So there we were on the bus for the 8 hour journey through the highest border in the world on our way to the highest capital in the world passing by the highest navigable lake in the world. All in all there were a lot of highs. The bus journey started well on time and comfortable we were even given snacks on the way. They played really bad Spanish comedy films a la Benny Hill that had all t http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/La-Paz-Department/La-Paz/blog-349657.html Well we ended up having to stop in Arica anyway. Our original intention had been to stop for a look because they have some of the biggest waves in Chile. But then we heard that it wasn't the most interesting of places and we had just seen huge waves in Iquique and besides the clock was ticking for our booked Inca Trail trek. We needed to get to Peru. We were hoping to do it in one hit and get a 2 http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Arica-and-Parinacota/Arica/blog-349658.html