pn76
pn76 Joined: October 7th 2007
Logged in: April 10th 2011
Logged in: April 10th 2011
Like a rolling stone that gethers moss, like an itchy skin condition, and like the wanderlust of varying amounts that will never die, I am off to get some culture of the Latino kind in South America.
First up in a Christmas aboard an Antarctica vessel scanning for wildlife, ice camping, XC skiing if the weather coperates, and lots of silence. All with the aid of 3 discounted Gap tours, Quark Expeditions, my travel buddy in Brazil and myself....plus the many people I am yet to meet and am looking forwards to.
After a New Year in central Patagonia, I will head to the Torres Del Paine for some refugio hiking, the Argentine eastern coast and western towns for half of January, the Atacama desert and salt flats of Bolivia and northern Chile for late January, Machu Piccu hiking, Peru in early February, Ecuador, Amazon and the Galapagos in mid to late February, and back to Rio for the world's biggest party and best beaches (so Brazilians say), Carnaval 2011! Some tentaive hip swinging and beaching later, I will head to Iguassu, the wine region of Argentina, and get some extra European culture in Santiago before blasting off to the past on Easter island (how many civilisation were there??). Back home at the end of March 2011 for a much needed job.
Need I be encouraged?
Ola!!!
Travel Blog Posts
Iguassu from air
I left Iguassu and the jungle sounds of the lodge after one night for the dry plains of Mendoza province. A delayed taxi driver who had the gumption to ask an extra 20 pesos to stop at an ATM en route completed my time in the tropical tourist capital, which was overshadowed by a kind gesture from a fellow passenger on the Aerolineas flight that got me to the bus station for free. With under an hour to spare I made for the supermarket for essential supplies and managed to get an early bus to Uspallata in time, 3 shopping bags and my luggage in tow! Now that is how I keep so fit, my eyes are bigger than my stomach. Some came over from Chile, without anything (produce is prohibited) expecting a restaurant to be ... read more
Pousada 'don't-recall-your-booking' in Saquarema
Our jaunt to the highlands after leaving Rio was short lived. After deciding we were both too stuffed and bus weary to figure a side trip to nearby Petropolis, we headed back to Rio in heavy traffic on a morning bus, connecting with incredible efficiency and genuine service, to the surf capital, Saquarema. Evidently this place heaves at carnival time and hosts surf carnivals and competitions of international standards. And testament to this, the long stretches of white sand extended from Jacone, our first coastal glimpse on the bus, to Saquarema about 30 more minutes away. Deciding 15 Reals was a rip off for our midday hike to the hostel, we made the walk there in little time, hot 33C and bothered but with the choice of 3 rooms of different prices. This was despite being ... read more
Cristo the Redeemer
Frantically frivolous and featuring fantasies of food…followed by sleep and relaxation (if time permits) Rio. De Janeiro. When my baby smiles at me I go to Rio is what springs to mind, god bless that tune, and who knows where it came from but one knows that when your baby smiles at you, there is a reason you go to Rio. For a start, Christ is there to greet you. This is as Catholic as the rest of this continent seems to be. High on a hill top, scratching the heavens with his open arms and welcoming all and sundry to this fantastically frivolous city. That is if he is not obscured by mist that plagues this monument for most of the year. The steep railway that carries you there was built about 100 years ago, ... read more
Cuenca plaza de flores
The morning in Quilitoa dawned magnificently, and with several phone calls to change a private transfer and decision made to tackle the public bus service. As the road is is terrible shape, schedules mean nothing and so the 9am bus arrived at 9.45am with the rush of potato sacks, feathered-hatted women and 3 gringos who happened to be from Auckland, NZ! As chance had it, we mused about Ecuador and costs whilst a local sussed us out or maybe our packs out before moving on disinterested that we had not given him change no doubt. And what a trip it was. Sprayed with water projectile though window from roadside vagrant kids. And was bumpy as hell up to Quilitoa with my large and small packs wedged beneath my knees up against my belly, to top it ... read more
Garzacocha sunset
To be surrounded by stars so vivid, dark so black, sounds so pure, smells so scented, water so….brown was the absolute best contrast to the wildlife seen days before in the Galapagos islands. A flight out from Quito, after 2.5 hour delay due to foggy conditions in Coca (eastern Ecuador) began this sojourn, arriving in time to greet the 2nd La Selva staff member that day, Luis. Coca, a town of approx. 20,000 people, sits aside the Napo and Coca river confluence, and our 2.5 hour long boat ride downstream to the lodge went by quicker than planned, thankfully. The conversation topics were fast diminishing with only 2 of us, the captain, and his crew of diesel supplies and meat for the hordes already there. 6 tourists evidently failing to come, I got the welcome star ... read more
A Land iguana
The Galapagos islands were the next destination. In a word, the archipelago is a freaky reality for 10 days of the land based Gap tour. This freaky reality involved close encounters with all things wild and alive…turtles, sealions, fish, frigate birds………..with no fear of humans and a playful, novelty instinct that lead to great photos and plain fascination. Sealions ply the promenade of Santa Cristobel’s main town as though it is (and it is!) their home, defending at times proudly (especially the ‘alpha’ males) or just plain comically with waving fins or aggressive nudging, the slab of sand/ rock/ concrete where they live. Our first day involved travelling from Quito, via Guayaquil, and plunged straight into the action with a wet afternoon downhill bike ride, with rain, roads and fog……and resulting in early carnage for one ... read more
Local flooding, Arequipa
Delays and rain in Arequipa kept at bay my intentions to head north, and so spending extra time there allowed exploration of flooded streets, fine architecture in dismal weather, the smelly and vibrant Mercado San Camilo, glimpses at Santa Catalina (amongst others) mansions and monastery whilst waiting out airport reopening, loitering in the wet Plaza de Armas eating a packed lunch, and surfing the Net briefly for a measly 30c/ 15 minutes or 1 sole/ hour. It seldom rains here, let alone buckets down and fogs in an airport on the edge of the Atacama desert where the town and agriculture production are desperate for water. Tired of the polluted and taxi clogged streets, I sought out a pool, in Cayman district that was cold and disorganized and worth missing. A fish out of water literally ... read more
traditional weave
After the long haul from Copacabana, and settling into bustling Cusco for a night, the Gap tour started. It was a bit light on information regarding track condition, viability of hiking Lares even in such recent heavy rainfall, and so decided to continue as planned. The Sacred valley was the first stop on day two, passing the well known and altered name site of Saqsaywaman (said ‘Sexy Women’) and breezing along a muddy road to a village where handicrafts were made and sold to Gap tourists, evidently amongst others. This was part of their commitment to sustainable tourism by supporting communities and encouraging traditional crafts. Looms spun and knick knacks purchased, the muddy road veered towards some ruins where we did a meanderin acclimatization trek at over 3000m for 90 minutes with plenty of stops for ... read more
Killer knife, UYuni
Last I left it was the spare day in Potosi before a night bus. Much to my delight I ate steak, spuds and veges for dinner (elusive here to have veges and not some dodgy salad) that night, the next day having the luxury of a midday check out. And on the better side of feeling acclimatized at altitude on a fine Potosi day, a UNESCO labeled city 10 hours south of La Paz. And so I tested the exercise waters by going for a stroll that morning, but nausea seems to always strike. The day was spent lazy as most others did, chatting over doing internet ‘work’ , roaming the streets for those cheap medicines, electronic equipment or bargain nutritious meals, and snapping moments with locals going about their street sport, pack or child hauling, ... read more
Morning breaks at statues, Valle de la Luna
Salta was our home for several days, an excursion arranged to Cafayate travelling through the renound Shell Gorge, competition for Colorado or central Turkey (and I guess many other places) scenically. The early starts continued for 2 days, first being 7.15am and the departure day at 6.20am with early breakfasts both days. On the way we passed an amphitheatre (natural) with some spontaneous gigs happening amongst brilliant acoustics, the Devils throat so called for it’s shape carved out by erosion of 90 million years or so, and of course Cafayate winery visit for sampling the local cabernet sauvignon and Muscat varieties. Average in my untrained palate. The town was alight with market and song in the main square so I elected to browse there and the artesian markets, buying lovely earrings in the ‘Chaman’ ( a ... read more
