http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/windiburrow/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from windiburrow en-us Sun, 12 Oct 2008 02:34:36 BST Sun, 12 Oct 2008 02:34:36 BST The Gran Sabana 12th to 15th May We're up relatively early feeling very tired after such a long journey the night before. We wouldn't have made the early morning bus but we do manage to catch a taxi from this Brazilian out post to across the border to Venezuela.Its a 3 hour journey and our taxi driver stops at the border to drop off some packages. We're really glad we can be of help seeing as w http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Venezuela/Guayana/La-Gran-Sabana/blog-159156.html Natal 24th April We wake up very tired as our flight landed late in Natal at 2am. We had finally got to bed at 3am and needed to be up early as we are going to explore the sand dunes today. We are picked up by George in his open top beach buggy at 9am. There are already a couple in the buggy so its a big squeeze on the back seat to fit 3 people in This couple are very sweet and are on their http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Brazil/Rio-Grande-do-Norte/Natal/blog-156415.html Salvador 14th to 16th April We wake up at 7am feeling slightly debilitated from our partying the night before in Rio. We frantically pack and leave for the airport to catch our flight to Salvador. Given our previous check in experiences with GOL airlines we think we have given ourselves plenty of time to check in. How wrong could we be there are about 20 checkin desks but every time we queue http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Brazil/Bahia/Salvador/blog-155160.html Fernando de Noronha 19th to 23rd April Fernando de Noronha is an archipelago 400km of the coast of mainland Brazil. In the past the main island has been used as by the Portuguese as a prison colony the French used it for aviation research the Americans as base during WWII. Now most of it is a protected Eco reserve where sea life flourishes to sum it up its stunningly beautiful its wh http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Brazil/Pernambuco/Fernando-de-Noronha/blog-152018.html Rio de Janeiro 10 to 13th April Since we have been travelling on our own we have booked most of our accommodation through the Hostel Bookers website. Unfortunately the Internet on Ilha Grande had conked out so we couldnt get hold of the address of our Hostel in Rio all we knew was the name Alpha Hostel the area Botafogo. When our boat arrived on the main land we offered to pop to an Inter http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Brazil/Rio-de-Janeiro/blog-152012.html Paraty 2nd to 6th April We finally managed to catch our flight from the Pantanal to Sao Paulo after wed been up for hours unsuccessfully trying to get tickets for Glastonbury. When we arrived at Sao Paulo we had to get a taxi to the bus station as we were hoping to catch the overnight bus to Paraty. No such luck as it was fully booked so we booked a ticket for the next morning. We then fr http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Brazil/Rio-de-Janeiro/Paraty/blog-152003.html 26th 30th March When I was a child I was obsessed with wildlife loved to read Gerrald Durrells books describing his career working with animals. In one book he described travelling to the Pantanal on an animal collecting expedition for an English zoo not exactly PC in this day age but when I was a kid it was spell binding. His descriptions of the abundance of exotic wildlife there ha http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Brazil/Pantanal/blog-151658.html 12th 19th March On our first full day in Buenos Aires we spend most of the day wandering around the local district we are staying in. Our hostel is called the Chill House and the staff are good at giving advice and lots of tips as to what to do whilst we are here. We walk around Palermo which is a leafy green suburb of BA. There are lots of excellent looking cafes and restaurants so we stop http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Argentina/Buenos-Aires/blog-149246.html 20th to 25th March Oh if every journey could be as pleasant as the night bus we took from Buenos Aires to Puerto Iguassu. We had seats that reclined fully into beds with so much leg room theyd give thew M.D. of any airline a heart attack. We were served a three course dinner with wine then given a nightcap of champagne for me or Whisky for And. We arrived after 14 hours refreshed from a http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Argentina/Misiones/Iguazu-National-Park/blog-149237.html Before Antarctica 23rd to 25th February When we land at Ushuaia we catch a taxi to our hotel the Tango BB. We are warmly greeted by Raul and Christina and shown to our room. Its a good sized room with a very comfy bed. Plus the walls are thick so we cant hear anyone else for once Raul and Christina are very sweet and want to look after us Christina even say I am your mother away from h http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Argentina/Tierra-del-Fuego/Ushuaia/blog-140939.html Overnight we sailed away from the Antarctic peninsula so we wake feeling a little sad. Kate gets up for early to watch sunrise over a huge tabular glacier. Im slightly more lazy and get up at 7.30am In the morning we have a landing at Half Moon Island back on the South Shetlands. We land on a beach and walk along the shore and over some rocks to the tip of the island. There are lots of Chinstrap http://www.travelblog.org//Antarctica/Antarctica/South-Shetland-Islands/blog-140017.html Wow It's hard to describe Antarctica with out gushing too much. Although you'll probably think we'll have done this anyway I have even resisted the temptation to start this blog with a line of poetry unlike And believe me the temptation was strong We travelled there on a Quark cruise I think the enthusiasm of all the expedition team staff was infectious. Our time was spent cruising thr http://www.travelblog.org//Antarctica/blog-137130.html Antarctica is a separate world. One can feel its presence in the approaches sailing south from more temperate climes. Standing on deck one may follow the reeling albatross feel the drop in temperature the bite of the wind and the motion of the waves. Yet it is the presence of ice from the first occasional fragments escalating in shape form and frequency and finally dominating all else th http://www.travelblog.org//Antarctica/Antarctica/South-Shetland-Islands/blog-137110.html El Calafate and Glaciers Galore 20th to 23rd February Kates cold kept us all awake most of the night. I felt pretty sorry for her really especially as she kept jumping out of the top bunk to go outside and blow her nose. Little did she realise that the walls are so thin in the hostel in El Chalten that we could all still hear her Anyway the lack of sleep doesnt matter too much as we are u http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Argentina/Santa-Cruz/Perito-Moreno-Glacier/blog-137093.html El Chalten and the Fitz Roy Massif 15th to 19th February We get an early morning bus from Puerto Natales to El Calafate within the hour we cross the border from Chile to Argentina. We feel sad to leave Chile after so much time here. We arrive at El Calafate and immediately book a bus ticket to El Chalten to leave in a couple of hours but then I see a sign saying that there isnt an ATM or http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Argentina/Santa-Cruz/El-Chalten/blog-132726.html Chiles Best National Park 9th to 14th FebruaryWe spend a day running around Puerto Natales trying to sort out our Torres Del Paine trip. Its also an incredibly frustrating day as we have to find out whats happening with our tickets for the cruise to Antarctica and end up running to a fax machine to send all the details still needed even though the trip is less than 2 weeks away Ive also mana http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Chile/Magallanes/Torres-del-Paine/blog-132468.html What is it with us and boats First there were problems when we booked our tickets in Santiago as we had picked the wrong dates it was a bugger to change them. Then theres the panic when we are told that one of the two Navimag boats had broken down half the cruises had been cancelled so we had to spend a morning desperately trying to phone our sales person only to find out that our cruise wa http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Chile/Los-Lagos/Puerto-Montt/blog-132444.html Chilo is a long thin island one of the largest in South America which lies just of the mainland south of Puerto Montt. Frommer's Guide describes it as .... ... a land of myths and magic of emerald rolling hills shrouded in mist and tiny picturesque coves that harbor a colorful palette of wooden fishing skiffs. The landscape here by and large is pastoral with a deference to development http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Chile/Los-Lagos/Chiloe-Island/blog-132443.html Los Alerces National Park 15th to 16th JanuaryWe drive to Los Alerces National Park considered to be one of the most beautiful in Argentina with its stands of Alerce trees much like the giant sequoia countless lakes and lagoons cascades and snow capped mountains. We arrive at national park and are shocked to put it lightly by the sheer number of people in the park. Were excited to arrive http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Argentina/Rio-Negro/San-Carlos-de-Bariloche/blog-127363.html Valparaiso 30122006 03012007 According to the guide books Valparaiso or Valpal for short is Chile's most interesting town. With it's steep hills crowed with a jumble of multicoloured clapboard homes a mixture of wooden shacks weather beaten mansions it's many rickety old acensors carrying people where it is too steep to build a road. All the books say that the city has seen better da http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Chile/Valparaiso-Region/Valparaiso/blog-125999.html