Blogs from South America - page 5199

We picked up a taxi to Colegio Medico on the other side of Cusco where we met some of the other students from Excel. Luis, one of the Profesors de Español turned up a little after 8am apologising profusely for being late. We crossed the road to the bus terminal & skipped the first bus going our way as there was already people crammed into the aisles. The second bus left only moments later & came with a girl with a very hoarse voice who gave out sweets & then came round to say the sweets were six for one sol. Luckily we didn't take a handful. I was sitting next to Luis & we tried to converse in Spanish. It ultimately ended up being a conversation about football as most conversations in South America are. ... read more

This sleepy lakeside dusty town is a great place to just chill, do a little hiking, exploring and visit the island of the Sun while you´re at it. We stayed at Hostal Sonia for the duration, a good place - double room for $5US a day with a lukewarm electric shower - not bad, and took advantage of their laundry services. Clean clothes are good and by the time we arrived we were running dangerously low on tidy clothing. The family were very nice, we could have made use of the kitchen during our stay but decide to have breakfast there - great scrambled eggs and fend for ourselves at the many eateries in town - for such a small place they have plenty of choice. My favorite place was Orillas with a great variety of ... read more

After another quick breakfast in a considerably busier hotel restaurant, we readied ourselves for a visit to one of the Guaraní villages in the area. All of the students from University of New Mexico occupying most of our hotel were also getting ready for their visit to the Iguazú National Park. As they boarded a large coach (similar to the one that took us to the park the day before), a large truck, similar to an army personnel carrier, arrived at the premises to pick the three of us up. Our “expedition” must have seemed either terrible or much more interesting to the students, since the entire bus load could not take their eyes from our large 4x4 as we passed by their coach and left the hotel. Before actually heading for our destination, our driver ... read more

Imagens esta sao da Ruta 7 que liga Mendoza a Cordilheira do Andes , e termina em Santiago do Chile, sao 260 km de montanhas, muita neve, passando por diversos vilarejos, Puente del Inca e lOS Harcones onde esta localizado o Aconcagua, um dos lugares mais lindos que pude ver.... read more

So...onwards to Peru´s capital city. We stayed pretty close to the Plaza de Armas in the centre of the city, but Lima is a massive place with almost 10 million inhabitants and many varied districts. Wandering round the main square, which includes the presidential palace, it was very reassuring to see a myriad of riot police equipped with shields and tear gas guns, and there was even a tank peering round the corner. Great. At the time, Peru was gearing up for the election run-off between Alan Garcia Perez (former president from 1985-90, his term characterised by hyperinflation, devaluation of the economy and resurgence of the Sendero Luminoso - Shining Path) and Ollanta Tasso (radical nationalist, who by all accounts is a bit of a nutcase...promises to release the Shining Path leader if elected etc.). So ... read more