Blogs from South America - page 2

Hello! Just wanted to give ya’ll a quick update. I arrived safely in Cusco, Peru! Travel was long- roughly 24 hours- and I spent the night awake in a Starbucks. Luckily, the Starbucks was full and I asked to sit at a table with a few girls, one who was wearing a Kappa Delta shirt! I asked her what school she went to and she said Cornell, and then I realized she was with Alma Sana! So I spent my overnight getting to know the girls I’ll be living with the next 3 months! There are going to be 6 of us living together. There will be a few other staff members coming in and out too, and one project manager who will be here with us the whole time. I’m the old fart of the ... read more

I am writing this in a bus around an hours drive east of Santa Cruz. It is 9am, 12 hours after we left the city. We were due in Quijarro, on the Brazilian border at 6am. Instead we are in the middle of a blockade that stretches for kilometres on either side for us. There are hundreds of buses, and many more trucks parked at various angles on the side, and across the road, with most of the occupants aimlessly wondering around the road with a look of despair. But let me go back a few days. Two days earlier, we had walked 20 minutes from our hostel in the middle of Santa Cruz to the third ring of the city. The city is made up of 9 rings, expanding from the middle, with an extra ... read more

Loved, loved, loved Sucre! The white city really is beautiful with gorgeous buildings and suspiciously well kept gardens everywhere! The 5 nights we spent there flew by, arriving at the hostel at around 6.30am on Monday only to be told that reception doesn't open until 8 and there "might" be beds for us right away. Luckily we were able to crawl into bed by 9 (oh after climbing a ladder up to the loft where we were sleeping) and have a nap before going out to explore the city a bit. First job; find somewhere for Spanish lessons, yep I had 16 hours of Spanish lessons over 4 days and I think I must have improved a bit (or I at least hope) the good thing so many people are awesome at Spanish and English I ... read more

After the Salt Flats, we crossed the Chile border into San Pedro. After 1 month in Bolivia, I was exited as I had heard that Chile was very similar to European countries, and I was definitely ready for some tar roads and supermarkets, and Fridges so the drinks are cold (non-existent in Bolivia!) There was 2 Australian guys on the bus, who had been told the same and was looking forward to it also. When we drove over the boarder, it was a little disappointing as it looked exactly like Bolivia maybe a different sign or two. Those who have been to a theme park, picture the section they often have the log rides in like The Wild West etc, this area is exactly what the town of San Pedro looks like! It is completely a ... read more

Chile has been a highlight so far, it was a shame our time frame only permitted us to spend a small amount of time there! Santiago itself, has a definite Melbourne feel. The food culture and cafés are great! The pubs have cheap meals, that you order for 2 and are full of the most amazing cooked meats and mushrooms etc. Santiago was the first place we have found a large supermarket with food just like home (I think we walked around it for about 1 hour) we found blue brie cheese, amazing red wine, and fresh veggies and with the hostels all having kitchens we could finally cook some cheap healthy meals up! Very exiting after 2 months of no kitchens, no access to fresh foods! The shopping mall in the centre is huge and ... read more

As our time restraints (with a flight booked out of Brazil) we had to also skim this section quite fast also. Mendoza is a wine town, with a large party scene and restaurant vibe. You don’t often sleep when it is dark, and you don’t eat before 10pm (unless you cook yourself). The best thing about Argentina, is the BBQ Culture, you can go to the local butcher and pick up huge amazing quality steaks for around $8.00 you will get nearly 1Kg, and all the hostels have BBQs you can use. We had countless nights drinking and cooking up a BBQ with the people we met at the hostels, and then before you know it its 3am and time to go across the road to a club on a weeknight – which is completely packed. ... read more

Firstly, thank you for all the contributions to my Free Belinda fund!! If someone could just let work know it'll be 2014 before I head back that would be super! Please don't stop the donations though, happy to never return to work, or maybe remote login?? Ok, ok, no more boring work talk! This last week has been busy as usual! When I last wrote I'd just arrived in La Paz ( world's highest airport, thank you for reminding me Rick) Highlights!! Survived the worlds most dangerous road on a push bike! 6 hours, a drop in altitude of 3,500 metres and 63kms with my hands squeezed on the brakes! No pedalling required! Found a few spells at the witches market which I know will totally change my life! Wish I had invested in ear plugs ... read more