haydenleah

Well we had finally finished up with South America, and the next part of our adventure - travelling through Central America - was about the begin. Our flight from Bogota (once we managed to get on the actual flight), was non-eventful and on time. When we arrived in Panama City we were already impressed after stepping off the plane. The hot weather, the palm trees everywhere, and the carribbean accented english/spanish. We rocked up at one of the few hostels available in Panama City - staying in the old town (Luna's Castle). Panama City itself was very intersting, it was lively, and vibrant, and very busy. Along one stretch, near the coastal highway there are loads of high rises. And in the old town there are many restored old style buildings and architecture. The currency is ... read more

We arrived without any hassles or dramas off our super quick flights to Cartagena. Funnily enough, every flight in colombia stops in bogota and then goes to the end destination - Even if geographically your destination city was closer to your originating city. Wierd. However, Because we had been forced to buy our SA CA flights at the Auckland airport, we had no real clue back in February on where we would need to fly out of. The city that had popped into mind had been Bogota because it was the only one we really knew, and we were under pressure to make a snappy decision to make our flight. So it meant we had to double back whilst travelling Colombia, bypass Bogota and head to the north then make our way back down again. ... read more

When we were at home, and thinking about our trip to SOuth America, we had not really intended on spending too much time in Colombia. We didnt know whether it would be too dangerous (as the rumours back home imply). But Colombia turned out to be our favourite country in South America. When we got to the Ecuador/Colombia frontera we crossed over, with only a couple of dramas. As we left the Ecuador office, a guy called out to ask us whether we were going to the colombia border, we said we were, but that we were fine and didnt need any help, gracias. One of the first things you learn through experience in SA is never to follow any locals, unless they seem truly genuine - otherwise they tend to want money for absolutely everything. ... read more

Ecuador itself is a rather small country compared to others in South America, and contrary to what i thought it would look like (hot, barren) it is very lush and green, with lots of mountains and volcanos and some truly gorgeous scenery. Its also very highly populated, most areas in south america you drive for hours before seeing any signs of civilisation, but Ecuador had signs of population everywhere. So from Mancora we caught a bus across the Ecuador border and over into Guayaquil which is a big city, very westernised but very ugly looking. Best known as the jumping point to the Galapagos islands. Which unfortunately we could not afford to do (a few thousand just for an 8 day trip). We decided to go straight to the coast to a town called Montanita which ... read more

We finally left Cusco, 10 days after we had first arrived. It was a little sad to go knowing that we were leaving Monkey behind, but he hadnt turned up anywhere and it was time to move on. So we caught a 24 hour bus to a small town called Ica. Ica is definitely not a nice place, but it is surrounded by massive sand dunes. After arriving we went immediately to an even smaller little town called Huacachina, which is 5km out of Ica, and basically looks like a tiny lagoon with palm trees and a few hotels/shops. An oasis surrounded by massive sand dunes. We got a room in a place with a pool (it was our first HOT DRY day in over a month) and walked around to explore. That took 15 minutes. ... read more

Soo, we spent the first couple of days in Cusco doing some light exploring, eating Big Macs (HELLO macdonalds hehe), and sussing out a decent tour operator to do the jungle trek to Machu Picchu. Then buying our supplies to get us through the trek. Cusco itself is not a very big town, but is the jumping point for doing Machu Picchu tours. The main plazas are gorgeous, and very well maintained, but walk further then 7 blocks in every direction and you see the real Peru - back to unfinished mudbrick housing, and lack of modern day amenities. We had decided that we didnt want to wait around and spend the extra dosh to do the real Inca Trail of Machu Pichu, mainly because you need to book that tour in advance, and we didnt ... read more

Rightio, well when we left Copacabana in Bolivia, we decided we didnt want to stop over in Puno, which is the foreshore town on the Peruvian side of lake titicaca. We are very glad we didnt, because driving through it and then waiting for our bus to Arequipa in Puno was enough time there. Very small, dingy mud huts, no sign of anything interesting. As we drove out of there we high fived each other for making that call. Driving the 8 hours to Arequipa it seemed like Peru was going to be an 'interesting' country. We kept passing all these tiny villages with only half finished mud huts everywhere, and the scenery was like being on another planet - mountainous with no sign of vegetation, only endless hills of rock and sand. But then we ... read more

So, From Uyuni we went to Potosi. Wow what a change compared to what we had seen so far in Bolivia. It was the same scenery and everything, but a much bigger town. We actually needed a taxi to get around from one end to the other! Quite a picturesque place and Potosi is one of the highest towns in the world at 4090m!! Now the main draw card for Potosi is the mining 'industry'. Once upon a time there used to be silver in them there hills. Now however, the silver is depleted and what remains are a few minerals like zinc and nickel, that they are still trying to mine. We did a tour of the mine, and it was such a crazy experience. The mines there are unlike anything you would ever see. ... read more

Well Bolivia. What a country. We had heard a lot of differing things about this country. Some people loved it, and rate it their favourite of all. Others hated it - too 3rd world. Some people said it was really dangerous, others said it was safe as houses. Well, this was our experience of it ... So, we left off having just crossed the border from Argentina to Bolivia. We were travelling with 2 friends from Flori; I was sick with bronchitis/sinusitis/wierd fluey thing, and gastro; We all hadnt slept due to the uncomfy night bus; and it was about 7.30am by the time we crossed the border. Everybody we talked to had heard how terrible the buses were and not to use them - to use the train from the border town instead. Even the ... read more

Alrighty, sooo ... After we finally left Brasil and arrived back into Argentina, we decided to leg it straight across the country so that we could be a few steps closer to Bolivia. We sussed out the places we could have possibly visited and decided it wasnt worth stopping for. So we hopped on another 24 hour bus ride from Iguacu to Salta, in the North West of Argentina. By the time we got off the bus I was even sicker, the re-circulating aircon from the bus really didnt agree with my bronchitis. I couldnt stop coughing, everything was irritating my throat/lungs. We found a decent hostel in Salta and I spent the day in bed - the only thing was, although a cool hostel with loads of rec rooms and free dinner, the rooms at ... read more