http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/lapamela/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from lapamela en-us Thu, 24 Dec 2009 06:27:40 +0000 Thu, 24 Dec 2009 06:27:40 +0000 Much of the enjoyment of a place for a traveller depends on luck and I guess it was the nice weather and the great company that made El Chalten my favourite spot in Patagonia.Unlike El Calafate this little village is still developing and has not yet turned into a tourist trap. As soon as we arrive the people who manage the national park the entry to which incidentally is free on the ground t http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Santa-Cruz/El-Chalten/blog-362479.html Yesterday I arrived at El Calafate the entry point to visit the famous Perito Moreno Glacier. I was told the town is nothing special and it's true it looks like a ski resort but I still prefer it to Ushuaia. For starters it has a bus station and an information point inside it which makes things a lot easier for the traveller. Secondly it's considerably warmer here. And despite being very expe http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Santa-Cruz/El-Calafate/blog-362475.html After spending New Year's Eve and New Year's day at Puerto Natales it was time to plan my trek to Torres del Paine. I didn't like the idea of going on my own and for a moment I considered going on a day tour where you sit confortably on the bus looking at the beautiful landscape. I had even made a reservation but in the end I couldn't do it. That tour is exactly the type of thing that I hate. The http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Magallanes/Puerto-Natales/blog-362466.html Another mistake today. I went on a tour to Peninsula Valdez and did not go on a boat trip to see the whales because it's expensive and it's not really whale season anymore. When the other people came back from the trip all excited proudly showing me pictures of the whales they had seen I felt really bad. I decide that Puerto Madryn is not a lucky place for me so I am not going tomorrow to see the http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Chubut/Puerto-Madryn/blog-358513.html After a few days at Puerto Madryn I made my way to Ushuaia the end of the world where I spent Christmas.I can't really say I am crazy about this place. OK the treks inside and outside the National Park are nice and I enjoyed the boat trip on the Beagle Channel but this town is far too expensive and too touristy for my taste.Or maybe the reason I am not liking it so much is that I am stuck here http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Tierra-del-Fuego/Ushuaia/blog-358509.html I should have learnt by now to always trust my guts and my gusts were telling me Don't do it. And instead I went for it I joined my room mate on a scuba diving trip because it was too late to buy a tour too windy to rent a kayak or a bike and with today being Sunday there was nothing to do in town.When I boarded the boat I began to feel scared and I knew I was making a mistake. But I had alr http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Chubut/Puerto-Madryn/blog-356218.html People have been asking why I haven't written in my blog for a while. The truth is I feel totally unispired but so that you know I am still alive I decided to make a list of what I do and do not like about Buenos Aires where I have been for the past week.Things I like It has beautiful squares and buildings People are generally friendly unless you try to purchase a cheap item with a big bill in http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Buenos-Aires/Buenos-Aires/blog-355180.html If the Brazilian side of the falls was impressive the Argentinian one is beyond impressive it's by far the most beautiful place I have seen in my life. No matter how many people tell you about it nothing can prepare you for the spectacular view that opens up in front of you. The magnitude and power of the water take your breath away. It is so overwhelming that I almost cried. I think if you hav http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Misiones/Iguazu-National-Park/blog-351915.html Tonight I went back to Argentina. The delicious wine the empanadas the mate tea... how much I have missed this country. I'm so happy to be back it feels like coming home. http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Misiones/Puerto-Iguaz-/blog-351912.html ..For yesterday I saw the Iguau falls and I only have one word to descirbe them WOW http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Paran-/Foz-do-Igua-u/blog-351525.html You cannot judge a city as big as So Pulo in a few hours which is why I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt and think that I only saw the worst part of it. Because from what I saw today it could easily be the ugliest city in the world it's just dirty tall buildings and shopping malls. It is difficult to find your way around actually it is always difficult for me but here is even more diffi http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Sao-Paulo/S-o-Paulo/blog-350698.html Here in Ilha Grande I have finally found the Brazil I was dreaming of. This island is a tropical paradise.Today it was reasonably sunny and I hiked for two hours to a beach surrounded by trees. Both the trial through the tropical forest and the beach were amazing. I am not even a big fun of beaches but this one is impossible not to like. The quietness of the place and all the green around it make http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Rio-de-Janeiro/Ilha-Grande/blog-349497.html Today I finally left that house of sin that was my hostel in Rio and headed to Ilha Grande a tropical island a hundred and something kms from Rio. I love it here. I realise that no matter how beautiful a city is and Rio is arguably one of the most beautiful cities in the world it will never make me feel the same sense of peace and happiness that I get in smaller places. Actually the island http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Rio-de-Janeiro/Ilha-Grande/blog-349206.html My stay in Rio isn't going exactly as planned. With the exception of last Thursday morning the weather has been consistently bad sometimes even raining heavily. As a result Rio' s main tourist attractions the beaches and the two hills overlooking the city are off limits. Instead I went on a favela tour hanged out in markets wandered around the centre a bit but mostly during the day I have http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Rio-de-Janeiro/Rio-de-Janeiro/Ipanema/blog-348280.html The journey to Rio is even longer than I had expected as my bus is delayed and I arrive in Rio at 1 am with no hostel booked and no map. I am welcomed by a dozen taxi drivers offering me a ride they are like vultures not exactly what you need after more than 30 hours on the bus. I pick the cheapest one and I am taken to the steet where a hostel reccomended to me by a fellow traveller is. Only I http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Rio-de-Janeiro/Rio-de-Janeiro/blog-347242.html On the 14th I left the Pantanal and arrived in Bonito in the evening.In my previous entry I talk about the bad standard of services in Bolivia but here we fall into the opposite extreme. Everything is so neat and organised that it feels like being in a holiday resort. You can only do activities on an organised tour where they pick you up at the hostel and guide you all the way and our hostel even http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Mato-Grosso-do-Sul/Bonito/blog-346884.html So I finally made it to Brazil. As soon as I arrived to Corumba I bought a tour the Pantanal. Although it was a bit disappointing as I was expecting a lot more jungle exploring and a lot less silly activities such as tubing which involves floating in the river on a tyre my first impression of the country is definitely positive. What makes the difference is the friendliness of the people. On the http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Mato-Grosso/Pantanal/blog-345407.html Today at 4pm I am boarding on a bus to the Brazilian border and I feel a mixture of excitement and fear. It's the same feeling I had when I left Argentina for Bolivia. You travel in a country for a while get to know it and to feel reasonably safe in it and you leave it for the unknown. And in this case there is the additional worry of not speaking the language. Still I am very happy to leave. My http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Santa-Cruz-Department/Santa-Cruz/blog-343685.html I had quite an interesting day in Villa Tunari. In the morning I visited the park where I unsuccesfully fought with a monkey to recover the tissues she has skilfully stolen from my pocket. Apparently she is quite keen on cameras too so I guess I can call myself lucky.In the afternoon I went to the other park 7km away from the village walked to a river and ended up going in the water with all my http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Cochabamba-Department/Villa-Tunari/blog-343002.html I'm getting really bored here in Santa Cruz as everything seem to be shut at weekends apart from hairdressers. Even finding an Internet place proved to be a challenge. The bad news is I am stuck here until Monday as no trains to Brazil are running on Sundays. I am so bored that I actually went in one of the few open shops and looked at the clothes. People who know me know that going shopping isn't http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/blog-343000.html