Isla de Sol We spent our final couple of days in Bolivia in Copacobana, though we didn't meet any showgirls, never mind one called Lola! We took the world's slowest boat ride out to Isla de Sol and trekked from the north end of the island to the south, paying tribute to just about anyone who felt they needed a cut of the income from all the tourists. Nevertheless, the views were amazing and the island lived up to its name as I acquired some interesting burn patterns on my arms. Cusco In short, Cusco was fantastic. One of the best [View Full Entry]

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..we´ve got fun and games! Or, as we discovered, an incredible variety of biting insects - and folks, they´ll bite you just about anywhere! Rather than a gruelling 18 hour bus journey, we opted for the spectacular flight from La Paz to Rurrenabaque. The plane was essentially a cigar tube with a row of single chairs down each side, all with an excellent view of the cabin and the pilots. A few minutes after take off and a glance out of the window revealed that we were the same height as a number of the local peaks, incredible, if just a [View Full Entry]

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Potosi A late night bus and a close encounter with a petrol tanker, we arrived safely in Potosí, the highest city in the world. Set at a mere 4200m (about 14,000ft) above sea level, Potosi was, in its pomp, a city to rival London and larger than Madrid. Also, it contains one of only three Spanish colonial mints (the others were in Lima and Mexico City, fact fans!). A new city meant another search for a new mirador and the perfect picture. In this case, a great view of Cerro Rico, whose mines furnished the Spanish with a considerable amount of [View Full Entry]

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Don´t cry for us Argentina.... Leaving Iguazu, we stopped briefly in the sleepy little town of San Ignacio to see the ruins of the "best preserved" Jesuit mission in north west Argentina. While the entrance to the former church was reasonably well preserved and the the detail in the facade was still visible, the rest is best described as ruins of ruins! Twenty hours after leaving San Ignacio on the sweatiest bus imaginable, we arrived in the picturesque town of Salta. We stayed in a beautiful little colonial hotel right on the central plaza. We headed straight for the rat [View Full Entry]

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BA Part 2 After a fantastic 2 weeks, the first in BA and the second in Patagonia, we returned to BA. For me, it was not without a little trepidation. Could the couple of days here live up to the first week? Silly question. Of course they could! BA is such a fabulous city, I think we could have stayed here for a month and not run out of things to do. After a tense walk about Palermo trying to find our hostel (we had forgotten to write down the address and could not remember the name - perfect kindling for [View Full Entry]

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Leaving BA All packed and a little sad to be leaving our little flat, our trip to Patagonia didn´t get off to the most auspicious start. Stavi was unwell, though whether it was the quantity of red wine consumed over the week or something she ate, I don´t think we´ll ever know! Stavi slept through the flight down and for me the boredom of the three hour flight, having finished all my books, was broken only by the delight of a double helping of lunch! El Calafate Recommended by Dave and Carolyn we´d booked the America del Sur hostel (thank you!). [View Full Entry]

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BA Part 1 Apologies to our regular readers (!), but we´ve been having too much fun to write the blog. Today though, we´ve got to some time to relax and finally update it.... Buenos Aires or BA (as it shall be known) was/is simply amazing! We rented an apartment for the week in the rather swish area of Recoleta, just a stone´s throw from the famous cemetery, where Eva Peron (allegedly - it depends who you believe) resides. It´s just incredible how much time you can spend in a cemetery without getting bored. We went on the first day we arrived, [View Full Entry]

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Mendoza Took the overnight bus from La Serena to Mendoza. Got to see far more of the Andes than I was expecting thanks to the large, elderly gentleman behind me who had the largest variety of snoring noises I´ve ever heard! Believe it or not this was my first ever land border crossing. It wasn´t as problematic as expected and the overly cheerful Argetinian Customs officer (it was 5 in the morning, not time for whistling) marvelled at Stavi´s passport and all the Greek wonders displayed within.... Arriving in Mendoza, buoyed by the Rough Guide´s assurance that Mendoza is overflow [View Full Entry]

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Santiago - Valparaiso - La Serena We arrived after nearly 24 hours travelling and nearly missing the plane in Madrid! Who knew that 2 flights for Santiago left within 15 minutes of one another! Despite only being three hours behind, we were both knackered, so spent the first day chilling in the central square-Plaza de Armas- enjoying the sunshine and wondering where on earth everyone was. It seems the locals don´t really go out on Sundays... Santiago is somehow different to what we were expecting. Far more european to what we had in mind. Kevin was almost disappointed that our intro [View Full Entry]

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Just sitting in our lounge very comfortably still not wanting to believe that the time has come!!! Very excited now but still not as excited as Kevin... Trying to decide what are the odds our luggage gets lost at Heathrow tomorrow and not joining us in Santiago. Be positive! [View Full Entry]

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