http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/shuriken22/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from shuriken22 en-us Sat, 30 Aug 2008 05:07:00 BST Sat, 30 Aug 2008 05:07:00 BST Still feeling fairly inhuman and rather tired I was most thankful when our bus arrived in the scorching heat of Santa Marta a big port town and the pit stop for our next destination of Tayrona National Park. Stopping for an hour to leave bags in the hotel we shot down to the beach for a supposedly speedy lunch from a local fast food restaurant. In true South AmericanCaribbean style this was sl http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Magdalena/Tayrona-National-Park/blog-286442.html After our time spent there we were all more than ready to leave Venezuela and head for the much anticipated Colombia. Having already changed as much currency on the black market upon entry to Venezuela we had already increased our spending power there getting nearly double the official rate however we were duly shafted upon leaving emphasized by their substantial hike 300 in departur http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Bogota/blog-265088.html A noticeable change in topography occured not long after the border as we moved into the outskirts of the Canaima national park area before stopping at our spectacular campsite Salto Kama nestled next to a 40m waterfall with a plethora of biting insects. There was little time to enjoy the falls however as we all mucked in with a couple of notable exceptions the usual suspects slinking off w http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Cartagena/blog-261753.html Heading on down to the docks in Belem we spent an appreciable amount of time hanging around amidst the constant smell of bananas although not as long as the guys who had gone down in the morning to try with no avail to save us all hammock spaces before eventually boarding the ship that would be our home for the next 56 days. Already bustling the rush was to find good hammock locations as t http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Los-Llanos-/blog-260505.html So the next leg of the journey begins bright and early with a departure from Rio and a sad goodbye to Matt with several fresh faces on the truck which itself is different along with our new driver Euan and our tour guide Mark. Newbies include a couple of Aussie couples Matt Sonya Dean Jana another Aussie Andy 3 dudes from Hong Kong Chung Yiu and Jonny Doug Laandoner Tracy http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Venezuela/Capital/Caracas/blog-257446.html Our last morning in Paraty was an early start after which we were divided into 3 separate groups to head into Rio our trusty truck Jack was in need of some TLC so was sadly unable to transport us split between another Tucan truck and 2 Budget Trucks. Enjoying a pub quiz along the way several hours later we hit the outskirts of Brazils biggest city signalling the end of the road for many of http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Par-/Bel-m/blog-251105.html Setting off bright and early the next day we drove out to the Brazilian side of the falls where we saw a couple of guys engaged in a street fight bricks and heads dont mix very well wandered around an excellent bird sanctuary and indulged in a helicopter flight over the falls. Feeling something like a military operation the helicopter headed up river before rounding the bend and offering un http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Pernambuco/Olinda/blog-248324.html Often referred to as the Paris of the South BA does bear a striking resemblance to its European counterpart even sporting a massive obelisk in the middle of its main thoroughfare the massive 22lane Avenida 9 de Julio supposedly the widest avenue in the world not a good place to jaywalk. Surrounded by suitably drab and decrepit suburbs the city centre is very clean and tidy feeling most u http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Pernambuco/Olinda/blog-246314.html After the windy buffetting we had all endured in Torres it was a very welcome stopover in Punta Arenas with aircon TV and comfy beds to the extent that some people barely left the hotel. Chiles most southerly town it is also a tax free haven with some good duty free deals to be had well by Chilean prices in any case and although not beautiful by any stretch of the imagination has some cr http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Bahia/Salvador/blog-245942.html Thankfully at a reasonable hour we emerged the next day passports at the ready best border control yet table tennis table to keep us amused while we waited to head for our next destination Bariloche in the Argentinian lake district. A very hot and long yet stunningly beautiful drive day took us past all 7 lakes reminiscent of Canada in parts before finally setting up camp some way from the http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Paraguay/Asunci%F2n/Villarrica/blog-238727.html Having passed more salt flats and ascending the andes once more over some very interesting hairpin bends having to stop every now and then to let our steaming truck Jack cool down we had the joy of yet another less than speedy border crossing. Upon arrival at the Chilean border all bags had to be lugged off the truck all lockers emptied and everything was generally prodded they even probed o http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Magallanes/Torres-del-Paine/blog-231616.html So onwards from the relative relaxation of Cusco for another brief 7 hour journey down to the town of Puno. Nestled on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca Puno stands 3855m above sea level which is very surreal seeing a body of water you can only imagine is the sea and still being out of breath just walking around After an entertaining night out on the town we ended up in a local rock bar play http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Antofagasta-Region/San-Pedro-de-Atacama/blog-227806.html Well hello again campers. How are we all diddling today I do hope everyone is fantastically well. Im currently loving being back in civilisation albeit at 3400m meaning breathing is exercise rather than automatic. But at least the toilets flushSo...on with the story. Upon tardy arrival at Arequipa we trotted out en masse to supposedly the best restaurant in South America Zig Zag for their Tr http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Cusco/Cusco/Cusco/blog-223578.html Right so on with the show..having just spent an hour yesterday trying to update blog only to discover it didnt save anythingAfter several sad goodbyes in San Jose it was time for round 2 so off I flew to Quito on the way getting some good time to practice my spanish with an Ecuadorian fighter pilot on the way. Quito is the second highest capital city in the world after La Paz nestling away http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Arequipa/Arequipa/blog-219327.html HI all. Didnt realise it had been quite so long since last blog but guess time flies when youre having fun Plus considerable amounts of dodgy internet connections get a bit wearing after a while Following on from the fantastic Copan Ruians we headed across Honduras to the Carribean coast to spend a couple of blissful days soaking up the sunshine on Roatan island. With a hotel in a fantastic l http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Ba%F1os/blog-214788.html Well it seems like a fair while ago that I first clocked in here on the first night of the trip as so much has gone on since then. As mentioned in the last blog we're down to 2 trekkers and 3 guides so has been more like a bunch of friends travelling for the last 10 days or so which has been great. Cancun second night was a bit of a blow out owing to general excess on the first night we opted http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Honduras/Copan-Ruins/blog-206221.html This is now country number 3 as Ive been through Belize since the last entry. Tikal was absolutely amazing highly impressive Cities of Gold style temples rising out of the jungle good old trek to get to them which makes it a very rewarding day. We were helped by the fact our guide Miguel was so knowledgeable and could talk to the monkeys whcich was very cool On from Tikal we carried along a v http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/blog-202783.html Well having been up for a good 40 hours I finally arrived in Guatemala City a joyous place to behold boasting lots of traffic and drivers with a deathwish a habit of overtaking on blind bends. Thankfully an easy shuttle bus trasfer took me door to door in Antigua nicely in time to meet up with the rest of the group and a nice comfy bed. Yesterday we kicked it off in style by moving on from Ant http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Flores-Tikal/blog-200569.html