i have included this blog to describe the crazy things that happened on my last days travelling in South America and to document how ripped off i was at the new zealand airport customs check on the way home. Well technically i have gone all the way around south america catching a plane from bogota to quito --> santiago chile --> then Buenos Aires... it has definately been a trek even though i have cheated at times and caught planes. My last days in Buenos Aires had been perfectly planned out... shopping, drinking, shopping, drinking, eating repeat. and all was [View Full Entry]

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They say sequals never live upto the original and one reason i don't like to visit the same place twice but i was drawn back to bogota and didn't regret it either. I spent the first day souvenier shopping as i hadn't bought one gift for my family yet... a combination of the fact that i am lazy, selfish and never think of others, a crap shopper, and the fact i am travelling and couldn't be arsed carting big ceramic pots and wooden carved grand father clocks all over south america. so i thought i should finally actually buy something, there [View Full Entry]

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So i decided to check out the close by city of Medellin since my time in south america is rapidly coming to an end... what did i find? well quite a nice city in my opinion not quite as nice as Bogota but quite similar in many ways once the drug trafficing capital of the world today it seems quite a safe but busy city. in the centre, markets line the streets selling rip off brands i almost picked up a pair of 'puna' (puma) shoes for a bargin price but they didn't have my size. Medellin is also the [View Full Entry]

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After a extremly long sleep in and late breakfast Sonia, me, Jamie, Andrea, Andrea´s boyfriend and a carload of others set off for Villa de Leyva for the weekend. Sonia´s family set off earlier and we would meet them there later in the afternoon. We arrived a tad late but stopped by a local hippodrome and besides my persistant requests to sonia asking if i could put some money on the races she told me that they don´t have gambling here and don´t be stupid....of course my horse won! but it was quite good to watch the horses seemed a bit [View Full Entry]

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Well i have flown into bogota and was really impressed! Me Jules and Robbie grabbed a taxi to our hostel which was located in the historical center and quite a nice section of town to walk around. being quite late we grabbed some dinner at a nice resturant and finished the night off with a couple of beers. The next day i had a chance to see a bit more of the city walking through Bolivar plaza and visiting the Botero museum which is up there with one of the best museums i have ever been to and it was [View Full Entry]

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Well i have had to back date this blog a tad as i have been off the radar for a few days. from where i left you guys in Manaus i have had to catch a quite expensive plane trip to tabatinga... which of course i had to pay in cash... this meant another trip to Bank do Brazil and 5 hours waiting in lines and getting my credit card approved. not the most pleasent day in manaus but i managed to get my ticket so i was happy. I decided to spoil myself today and went on a day [View Full Entry]

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still under the weather and barely eating i signed up for a three day jungle trip. I really wanted to do more and head deep into the jungle and visit some crazy amazonian witch doctor and drink and eat wierd amazonian animals but after my disatarous boat ride and the fact that i didn´t have any malaria pills i decided on a bit of a tamer version. (for those of you that want to know... i looked everywhere and couldn´t find malaria prevention tablets to buy... you seem only to be able to buy the medication if you get malaria here... [View Full Entry]

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Day 0 - technically not classified as a boat day as the boat dosen´t kick off tilll 9 pm but i have started the diary today as i have had to board the boat early and watch my hammack space around the dodgey characters that move about and setup their own hammocks beside underneath and above me... yes i am riding economy class where there are no designated hook spaces it is basically everyman for themselves string up where you can. The place really had to be seen to be believed. Last night was pretty wild i must admit Andrea made [View Full Entry]

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Once again i have defied the odds and managed to navagate from my last blog destination in Forteleza to Belem... running low on funds as everything was shut during carnival i jumped on a bus to belem a 24hour bus ride from fortaleza hoping when i got there the banks would still be open. Yes the race against time was on once again... firstly the likelyhood of a brazilian bus being on time was extremely unlikely and it was set to arrive at 1pm (banks in brazil genrally close around 3pm). secondly... banks are also closed on saturday and sunday today [View Full Entry]

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It has been six days some may say way too long but with the craziness of carnaval and booking hostels and my rapid travelling through brazil it has been a welcomed change of pace. I tried to stay in Macieo but it failed dismally when i couldn´t find a place to stay... so since salvador it has been a 8 hour bus ride to Macieo which was extended by four hours as the bus broke down then 12 hours walking around the beatiful beach area in Macieo with my bag (and stupidly my camera locked in the bus station locker). i [View Full Entry]

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