http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/jamieborley/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from jamieborley en-us Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:50:36 +0000 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:50:36 +0000 Hello everyoneI've suspended writing blogs on here for a while because I'm not travelling too much at the moment just idling in Santiago breathing fumes counting thieves plugging my ears and teaching English.I am however continuing my blogs at this sitehttpwww.thisissouthwales.co.ukblogs.htmlSaludos desde Chile...JamieP.S. The photos are from a trip back to Wales in may 2008. http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-329373.html Hello again. Itrsquos been a long time since Irsquove even thought about this site let alone written anything until I was reminded of it recently by a man called Mike from Swansea whorsquos bored with his job and prefers to read my stories.So I suppose you may or may not want to know whatrsquos been happening down here in Santiago Chile for the last four months. In October we went do http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-244533.html One month into my Chilean move things have been interesting. After a hard fifteen hours of flight from London to Santiago via an early morning Sao Paolo I arrived in Chile to be greeted by Jessica and her family wielding a huge Welsh flag cameras mobile phones and camcorders. Flash Pop Click Flash went the bulbs and buttons as someone hung the flag over my shoulders like a long di http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-209597.html Well it's been some time since I last put finger to keyboard in anger and now it's time for that to change. For one reason or another I haven't seen some of you in a long long while. Maybe it's because we live on different continents or we've inexplicably lost touch in this modern communication age. Maybe it's because we've changed addresses lifestyles phones and friends. Maybe we've just ch http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Wales/Swansea/blog-189966.html I have spent four weeks in New Zealand and yes it was OK. It was beautiful and breathtaking safe and clean and the people were very nice and polite. I cannot lavish much more praise upon it so I won't. You know sometimes you just don't click in the places you'd expect to and maybe you normally would if you hadn't been to somewhere you consider more inspiring beforehand. Maybe the truth is that http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Christchurch/blog-51836.html For those of you who know me best you will know that I change my mind often. And after the last blog where I was almost defeatist and slightly downbeat about coming into New Zealand and simply finding a job after the memorable adventures of South America had passed... Things have changed. I have now bought a little mock campervan fitted out with a bed gas stoves cutlery plates cups cupbo http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/blog-50248.html The time has come now to move on and leave Latin America leave behind the sweet language the warm people the rolling landscapes the culture the music the many friends the life... But not forever. Of this I am sure.Ten months of lucid memories I shall never forget. Ten months of noise and confusion. Ten months of ups downs and travelling Euroclowns. Ten months of vitality and jadedness. T http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-46656.html It's a strange little fact that not that many people know about not even most Welsh people but deeply tucked away in south America there are small Welsh colonies in the Patagonia region of Argentina nestled away off the usual beaten gringotrail. Being from Wales and travelling south America anyway I decided to pay them a visit for a few days. And heres the brief story...The first band of We http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Chubut/blog-39850.html The thin strip of south american land that faces the thundering Pacific ocean is Chile. That's where I am. What's it best known for Stealing part of Bolivia's border and its access to the sea Augusto Pinochet and his deadly rein of power Salvador Allende and his sad demise the atacama desert of the north the once worldrenowned seaport of Valparaiso and the stunning landscapes of the south.. http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Los-Lagos/Chiloe-Island/blog-37686.html So what have I done Another year over and a new one just begun. I spent my christmas and new year's eve in that small dusty beach town called La Paloma in Uruguay. It was so lowkey and relaxing. It was perfect. A sweet antidote to the usual drunken debauched foulmouthed thumpingmusic and untenable hungover times of years gone by. And so here we are... 2006.Buenos Aires I travelled here by http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Mendoza/Mendoza/blog-34293.html Being almost seven months to the day that I left the cold and rainsodden shores of my beloved Wales for my Latin American adventure it has seen its ups and downs which was to be expected. Some I have documented some I havent. The truth is upon arriving in Uruguay after some heavy days and nights in Rio and seven months of travelling just a bit too fast from country to country I was ready to http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Uruguay/District-of-Montevideo/Montevideo/blog-30907.html After leaving Paraguay where youd be hardpushed to find a tourist anywhere I then crossed on foot the noisy bustling friendship bridge at the border and over to Brazil the total opposite of its neighbour. Different language different culture marauding gangs of picturehungry tourists and a much more expensive daytoday cost of travelling than other Latin American countries. The first diff http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Rio-de-Janeiro/blog-28806.html As the TAM 701 flight I had boarded in Cochabamaba Bolivia descended down through the heaving patient clouds and into the realm of Asuncin Paraguay I got my first glimpse of this unknown unpopular country through the small plexiglass window adjacent to my economy seat. And what did I see The principal feature that struck me was the outrageous number of football pitches the length and bre http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Paraguay/blog-27188.html It brings a smile to my face to inform you that I now feel happier after the dull time I spent in Ecuador pining and longing for Colombia. Peru has lifted my spirits easily like a phoenix from the flames and tempered my everchanging moods. I have triumphantly returned to the country I visited briefly last year. And I feel I now know it better this time with improved Spanish more native friends http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Cusco/Sacred-Valley/blog-24239.html OK OK OK... That's probably being very harsh on this probably very wonderful country anyone who's been there is surely cursing me right now for this outrageous headline. The truth is I am still missing Colombia and its people tremendously. You all know the feeling... You go on a great holiday for a few weeks have a wonderful time somewhere maybe drinking dancing tanning you come bac http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/North/Quito/blog-22809.html And so...I left Bogota on a bus to Medellin for reasons I now can't remember. I spent three days in Medellin with 3 friends I met on the bus they were going to Medellin for a 10 day book fair and have promised to show me further around Bogota upon my return there. I went to see my mate Patrick at the Casa Kiwi before he left for Quito with his bad back and I did very little else in those thr http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Cali/blog-20458.html Looking at the beginning of my last entry I think I was myself being a little oversensational about what goes on in Colombia. Probably just playing up to the ususal stereotypical fears of the ignorant public at large in order to hypeup the story. And I apologise to all Colombians for doing so. This country is truly something else the level of warmth of the people I have only ever enco http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Bogota/blog-19211.html Colombia Well as you all know this country gets some real bad press. Awful in fact. And OK if you are a politician or businessman or even related to one you are probably going to get kidnapped threatened with death or murdered at some point in your life. It has the highest amount of kidnappings for any country on earth. If you score an own goal for the Colombian football team you may http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Santa-Marta/blog-16740.html Thats what my home city of Swansea was once called and its an apt description of Caracas Id say although Swansea is a lot prettier. I flew into Caracas after a one hour stop in Colombia got my backpack and rode an expensive taxi into the city centre after dark. Caracas is a kind of edgy freaky bustling modern dirty loud and dangerous city that probably deserves its reputation http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Venezuela/Capital/Caracas/blog-15409.html Soon after the last posting I did a few more reasonably constructive things and heres a quick rundownsummary of what came to be after leaving DavidYou read me wrong audience for your information David is a town not a guy lets get that straight for startersBOQUETE a lovely sweet small and charming town an hour from David in the Chiriqui highlands. Rivers run through it w http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Panama/Panama/Panama-City/blog-13734.html