2 of my favourite things are spending time in mountains, whether it be hiking, biking, rafting or whatever.. and drinking wine. So given the above, it was no surprise when we ended up, after another marathon bus journey at the Western end of the argentinian plains in Mendoza. This is a farely non-descript, sleepy, leafy and pleasant town, that sits at the foot of the Andes, and in particular, the mighty Aconcagua, at 7000m, the highest mountain in the world outside the Himalayas and Karakorum. Mendoza is also the home of the Argentinian wine industry. Unfortunately, we dont have a h [View Full Entry]

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And so back to Argentina... and what can I say about it's capital, Buenos Aires?? Firstly, I should mention that the first disease that any traveller catches is exaggeration... everything becomes spectacular, awesome, etc etc... now sometimes this is actually true, but mostly the description comes in order to justify whatever time, money or hardship the writer has spent in order to visit the place in question... But... Buenos Aires IS quite simply pretty much the best city I´ve ever visited. It has the wide boulevards and grand early 19´th century architecture of Madrid or Milan, a renovat [View Full Entry]

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I bet, reader, that you probably dont know a huge amount about Uruguay... It is a relatively small, but affluent country on the Atlantic coast, nestled in between Brazil and Argentina. It´s mainly agricultural, and produces huge amounts of wheat and beef.. Fray Bentos is actually the name of a cow town here! It was also a banking and touism centre for rich argentinians, until the Argy currency crashed a few years back. Still, it is pleasant, without being spectacular, and with good roads, clean hotels, and great food all costing not a lot, a really nice place to travel through. [View Full Entry]

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And so, to Brazil.. the fifth biggest country on Earth. Due to the constaints of time, we were only briefly heading across the South East of the country... but it at least gave us a flavour for it.. Our first stop, from Argentina, was the Brazilian side of the Iguazu Falls. Equally spectacular to the Argy side, but still worth a visit to get a different perspective on this incredible place.. We then had a quick, ie 2 minute detour into Paraguay.. this was because we hadnt stopped to get a Brazilian entry stamp on our way in from Argentina. The [View Full Entry]

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A 46 hour bus journey took us from Potosi, in southern Bolivia, to Puerto Iguazu, in North Eastern Argentina. This involved 5 different bus journeys, and conditions noticeably improved once we crossed the border into Argentina.... The roads were paved, the buses were luxurious sleeper affairs, with free coffee and Hollywood films shown in English, and the food became noticeably more appetising... Eventually, after our gruelling journey, and in desperate need of a shower, we arrived at Puerto Iguazu, a pleasant, low rise town that sits on the junction of the Iguazu and Parana rivers, and is [View Full Entry]

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And so after my little whistlestop Peru side trip, back to Bolivia. After another uncomfortable overnight bus journey, this time back to La Paz, I embarked on a whirlwind of activities and tours with the idea of getting as much out of Bolivia in the shortest possible time... So with Rachael doing some charideee work in Cochabamba, and then visiting Sucre; I have been busy with climbing Bolivias 3rd highest mountain, Huyana Potosi. This is advertised in the backpacker agencies as a "non technical, easy 2 day hike to a 6000m peak". Well, this aint so.. climbing it was one of [View Full Entry]

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And so to the home of the Incas, and Paddington Bear... My trip to Peru was neither long, nor original. With time short, I basically devised a plan for a short, sharp hit on the jewel in the thorny crown of South American travel, Cusco, and Macchu Picchu. This is probably the most established tourist centre in South America, and dont they know it.. from the touts at Cusco bus station to the ski resort like prices at the Macchu Picchu cafe, you are reminded that you are certainly on the tourist conveyor belt. Leaving Rachael behind in Bolivia (she´d done [View Full Entry]

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Right then, after the Caribbean exuberance of Venezuala, and the European austerity of Santiago, it was time to stop arsing about, and get into the REAL South America.. you know; towering Andean mountains, barren plains at dizzying altitudes plunging down to the Amazonian basin and the sultry, sweaty jungle below, Indigenous Indian women with toothless, weather beaten faces, an ill fitting bowler hat and a small child wrapped in a colourful shaw, lllamas, excitable locals who will throw a stike/carnival/fiesta at the drop of a hat, and panpipes.. Oh, the panpipes.. so anyway.. you will find al [View Full Entry]

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And so, South... after the eventful final day in Venezuala, we spent a long day flying south, to Santiago, the capital of Chile. At first impressions, this is a grey, drab city - the weak spring sun fails to penetrate the blanket of smog, and the stern government buildings seem to be straight out of the 70s cold war architecture handbook. It is rather reminiscent of eastern europe, and the cold wind echos this mood. But on second inpection, you see the modern skyscrapers of western banks and mobile phone companies, and the steets buzz with fast food stores and designer [View Full Entry]

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Time for a little insight into the day to day trials of travelling. From the previous entries, it may seem as if we are having an amazing time, and doing and seeing loads of exciting things.. while this is undoubtedly true, I havent mentioned the less glamorous nitty gritty daily details... the chaos of bus stations, and finding the right bus with our decidedly basic spanish, of arriving in a town at night, struggling with the humidity and the bulky 20KG backpack that bumps into everything, and thus arriving at our destined hotel too tired to look anywhere else, and as [View Full Entry]

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