codemonkey

I've been home for a few days now, five in fact, so as good a time as any to finish this travel blog and write my final entry. With no more time left on the continent, it's about the ending of a new begininng. I left Quito for home back on the 9th, with a three leg flight that I had expected to be quite uneventful and plain laborious to be honest. And it was, for the most part. As a parting gift though, heading out over the Atlantic, New York gave me its own surprise. Around 9pm, in the black of night, a brightly lit New York looking astounding through the port hole windows. Quito had looked pretty spectacular the night before, but this was something else. Finally, a reason to have had endured the ... read more

I was worried that coming back to Mindo might actually spoil the memory that I had of it. As almost the first place we came to in South America it left a big impression upon me, an impression I now thought might no longer stand up in comparison to what we’ve experienced since. But I was wrong. Coming back to Mindo, has, if anything, made me realise more, how uniquely special this place is. It’s a different Mindo though, one bearing its cloud forest credentials more fully, with cloud playing a prevalent part now compared to the last time we were here. This gives it an altogether different feel, a little darker and perhaps a little more brooding than before. But that same emotion you felt when last here, of really feeling close to nature and ... read more

Sorata is our last stay in Bolivia before we head back to La Paz (again) and take the flight to Quito in Ecuador. We have been here for the last four days, and it’s been raining for most of it. To say it reminds me of a holiday in Wales would be an understatement. We arrived here to the sight of a road that suddenly stopped, the road we were on, and the road we needed to be on to get to Sorata. A landslide the night before had wiped it off the side of the canyon wall and we found ourselves booted off the bus and carrying our gear across the landslide to get to the other side. Us, and many other people, like ants carrying our stuff on our backs in trails, back and ... read more

The last day of our tour of the south west corner of Bolivia today, and this morning Walter is taking no prisoners. Yesterday, we left a little late because of a pile up in the shared bathroom. Today, though we don’t need to be up until 6.00 am, Walter has his car stereo on full tilt with the doors wide open at a mere 5.15 am. Needless to say, sleep from that point was then impossible and we had no choice but to oblige him. We’re not far from Tupiza now, but Walter and his family are hoping to get all the way back to Uyuni before the end of the day, not an easy challenge. After our disco alarm we were on the road again, with a day not too dissimilar to the latter half ... read more

A 4.00 am start to the day, waking up within these walls of salt, I had to question where I was. Many times recently I lose track of where I am in my semi-conscious state. We’ve often been moving so quickly, it’s disorienting and at times quite disturbing to not know where you are, let alone what day it is. Your conscious mind kicks in though and corrects the anxiety, and today I remember that I’m on the edge of the Salar, sleeping with my friends, and ready for a new adventure. A swift breakfast and we’re on the road, or should I say dirt track, down to the very south of the country. Setting out just as the sun was rising, Bowie on the stereo, we left the Salar behind us. Within five minutes of ... read more