Slide Away to Chase the Sun.......Again

Tony and Perdy

Slide Away to Chase the Sun.......Again

We plan to blog our trip & would like to invite you all into the no doubt crazy and turbulent 2 year journey ahead ! It has already been a rocky road before we have even left, but since when has a broken arm in 4 places and pending operation ever stopped me! Also extremely pleased to report mums good progress with her treatment which enables us to go. Therefore....

our route is as follows:

9-14 February - 5 day's in New York for Tony's birthday

1 March - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the almighty Rio Carnival

10 March - Ilha Grande, Brazil

12 March - Paraty, Brazil

15 March - Sao Paulo, Brazil

16-18 March - Iguassu Falls, Brazil

19-27 March - Travel through Uruguay

27-30 March - Buernos Aires, Argentina

1 April - Mendoza, Argentina

3 April - Santiago, Chile

4-8 April - La Serena, Antofagasta & San Pedro, Chile

9-11 April - Salt Flats, Bolivia

12-16 April - La Paz

16-20 April - Rurrenbuque & Pampas Amazon Trip

21-22 April - Lake Titticaca to Cusco, Peru

24 April - 1 May - Inca Trail Trek & Machu Picchu, Peru

2-4 May - Lima, Peru

5-7 May - Trujillo, Peru to Ecuador

8-12 May - Galapagos Islands, Equador

13-16 May - Quito, Ecuador

17-19 May - Travel to Columbia

20-22 May - Cartagena, Columbia

23-27 May - Santa Marta, Columbia

28-30 May - Bogota, Columbia

31 May - Leticia, Columbia

1-5 June - Amazon River Trip

6 June - Manaus, Brazil

7 June - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

8 June - Rio to London

15-30 June - Arctic Circle Cruise with mum & Riv

1 July -17 October - England

18-23 October - New York for Perdy's 30th

24-26 October - Chicago

26 October - 6 November - Route 66

6-9 November - Las Vegas

9-11 November - Los Angeles

13-17 November - Melbourne, Australia

18-22 November - Great Ocean Road, Australia

22-25 November - Adelaide, Australia

25 Novemeber - Perth, Australia

then............... who knows!

Christ the Redeemer - Rio de Janeiro

South America » Brazil » Rio de Janeiro » Rio de Janeiro June 6th 2011

Rio de Janeiro

Tony and Perdy

Our flight was 5 hours and we arrived back in Rio, where it had all begun. It was a bit early to head into Rio, so we slept on the airport floor for a couple of hours and then made our way to Copacobana. It all came flooding back to us, the long 2 hour journey on the airport bus, passing the favelas and the crazy drivers. We went to Rio Ritz where we had stayed for the carnival as Rafa had said we could store our bags there for the day while we did a bit of site-seeing. From Copocabana we took the bus to Corcovado Mountain where Christ the Redeemer was on top. This is considered the largest art deco statue in the world and has been the iconic centre piece of Rio since ... read more

Tabatinga to Manaus - Amazon Boat Trip

South America » Brazil » Amazonas » Tabatinga May 31st 2011

Amazon Sunset

Tony and Perdy

We were flying to Leticia from Santa Marta, dirt cheap and better than a 27 hour bus journey. From here we would be crossing the Columbia/Brazil border and boarding a cargo boat down the Amazon. It is very important for anyone doing this, to get their exit stamp from Columbia from the airport. There is no place at the Border you can do this, only Leticia airport. Leticia is not the most glamorous of places, but certainly better than Tabatinga on the Brazil side. It has some restaurants, bars and supermarkets but it is really just a stop off before either heading into Brazil or Peru. Followed is detailed information for those doing this trip - We had so much trouble trying to find people who had blogged this experience and was a bit nervous about ... read more

Diving in Taganga

South America » Colombia » Santa Marta » Taganga May 25th 2011

Tony doing his PADI

Tony and Perdy

We got back to Santa Marta and made our way to Taganga, approx 10mins out of town. Taganga was once a quaint, picturesque fishing village which has become over run by Scuba Diving Centres and rowdy tourists. It looks like it has lost a lot of its charm but it is one of the cheapest places in South America to do diving but other than that there is little else to do. We came here, as Tony was starting his PADI qualification so at last he could come diving and not be left behind. He did his course with Aquantis Dive School and started with 3 hours of theory at 7pm after our trek through the national park. This would then be followed by 3 days of training. The dive school was brilliant and Tony was ... read more

Paradise - Tayrona National Park

South America » Colombia » Santa Marta » Parque Nacional Tayrona May 22nd 2011

Tayrona

Tony and Perdy

Following 3 hours sleep in a hammock because our dorm was right next to a party that didn’t finish till 6am, we left the next morning with a girl called Liz we’d met at the hostel. As soon as we made our way to the bus stop, the heavens opened. This would be the start of a very wet and miserable hike to the National Park. Getting the public bus was definitely easy and saved a fortune on getting a taxi. They obviously knew where we were headed and shouted when we had arrived. Very nice Columbian people. An hour or so later and we arrived at the entrance to Parque Nacional Tayrona. There is quite a steep entrance fee but well worth it once you are in there. We were told that the furthest part ... read more

Cartagena - Caribbean Columbia

South America » Colombia » Cartagena » Sogamoso May 20th 2011

Old Town

Tony and Perdy

We flew in over Cartagena and from the air it was beautiful, the sun had been up a couple of hours and the day was just starting. We rushed from the airport and head to Getsemani, where most of the hostels are. We had no problem finding somewhere and made sure we dumped our stuff and went straight out. We only had the full day there and wanted to make the most of it. Originally we were due to spend a couple of days here but Tony had now committed to do his Open Water in Taganga so we needed to cut Cartagena short, a decision we were starting to regret as soon as we started exploring. The streets, buildings & houses were beautiful, they had so much charm and it was a very romantic place. ... read more

Quito, crossing the Equator and border into Columbia

South America » Ecuador » North » Quito » Historical Center May 17th 2011

Ipiales to Popayan

Tony and Perdy

We wanted longer in Banos so we only had the afternoon in Quito for a quick look around the new town, to have an amazing Pad Thai in a recommended restaurant of Lonely Planet and at last, found the best book exchange shop in South America. We have become really desperate for books. It’s not like Asia where there seem to be books everywhere, like they grow on trees, which I suppose in a way they do. We got to see a bit of Quito in our taxi the next morning on the way to the bus station and it was huge. It was set out a bit like La Paz, only much bigger. It’s so big that they have 2 bus terminals, one to service destinations to the South and one to service them to ... read more

Volcano & Waterfalls in Banos

South America » Ecuador » Centre » Baños May 13th 2011

Banos

Tony and Perdy

Disappointed we were now back on mainland Ecuador, we knew we had to do something good to cheer ourselves up. We had been told about a place called Bano’s, considering its named after a toilet we were expecting it to be a dump. We stayed one night back at funky monkey and got a bus to Banos the next day. We had been told not to do the journey at night as it was dangerous. After an hour on the bus we could see why. There were spectacular views but very tiny windy bendy roads heading up through the cloud, taking us higher and higher which meant a further drop for the bus when it went over the side of the cliff, which could be extremely like given the driving and no safety barriers. Well our ... read more

The Galapagos Islands

South America » Ecuador » Galápagos » Puerto Ayora May 8th 2011

Galapagos

Tony and Perdy

Our transport to the airport was the hostel owners beaten up old shagin’ wagon. Didn’t feel the safest of rides, especially as we knew he was up until 3am at least, drinking and then took us to the airport at 6am. But like all our uncertain journeys, somehow we make it. Check-in at the airport was quite intense, not only were there security checks like normal procedure but you have to pay for all sorts of national park fees, quarantine fee, park tax etc. and then have our bags fumigated in case we were carrying something onto the Galapagos that would be harmful to the ecosystem. Surprised they let either of us in to be honest. It was quite a bumpy flight but it was over in less than 2 hours where we arrived at Baltra ... read more

Machu Picchu - The Lost City of the Incas

South America » Peru » Cusco » Machu Picchu April 30th 2011

Machu Picchu

Tony and Perdy

Well if you can make a wild guess into what happened next, based on the last 16 blog entries then you might have guessed right. Perdy cried! But in all fairness so did a lot of people who walked around the corner after the arch. We don’t think any of us quite believed it but there it was; we had finally made it. There really isn’t any describing it. It was what we had been in search for over the last 3 days and there it was, staring right back at us. Undeniably the most spectacular archaeological site on this continent. It was a dream like vision. As we had walked through Sun Gate, this blanket of cloud was just passing over at the exact time we approached it and was gliding over the city giving ... read more

The Inca Trail - 4 day hike

South America » Peru » Cusco » Inca Trail April 27th 2011

Our group at the beginning

Tony and Perdy

Been up since 4am, fully dressed but still lying in bed at 5.55, we were starting to hope that our tour had forgotten about us and we could forget all about the Inca trail and go back to bed; then the doorbell rang. Dammit! William, our tour guide greeted us and we boarded the bus that would take us to Sacred Valley. Here we stopped for breakfast before the hour journey to the start point, Piscakucho, KM82. From here we would start the 4 day, 43km trek to Machu Picchu. We did introductions at the beginning. We had a group of 14. There were 3 Americans, Laura, Brittany & Tammy on a holiday together (funniest Americans we’ll ever meet), 2 brummies James & Sarah, 2 Northern Irish Alan & John, another 3 Americans Julie, Lee & ... read more

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