Blogs from South America - page 9

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South America » Argentina » Buenos Aires » Buenos Aires November 11th 2023

A Remembrance Day Flight to Forget This was an adventure that Stan and I have never before experienced. Currently traveling in Argentina, we arrived at the Puerto Iguazu airport at 5 pm Friday evening to catch our 90 minute flight to Buenos Aires at 7 pm. We did not know that Buenos Aires was experiencing heavy rain storms: the very same storms that caused Taylor Swift to cancel her November 10th concert in Buenos Aires that evening, and that caused the domestic airport in Buenos Aires to be temporarily closed. As a result, our flight was repeatedly delayed, until finally, six hours later - at 1 am Saturday morning - we boarded the plane that would take us, along with close two hundred plus other very tired passengers, to Buenos Aires. But it did not - ... read more

South America » Argentina » Buenos Aires » Buenos Aires November 4th 2023

Soccer, Tango and Vibrant Street Culture On our first four days in Buenos Aires we laid pretty low. The twenty five hour flight left us jet lagged and in need of rest, as the pre trip preparations had us exhausted even before we departed. But on day five we began our explorations. And this city is so beautiful, the people so kind and accommodating, and the culture and history so rich, that we soon compiled a long list of things to do while here, and immediately started the process of checking the boxes. Our first venture out of the apartment and into the big city of two million plus was to La Boca, an area of the city known for its large and colorful murals, tango street culture, and most significantly, its being home to one ... read more
La Boca Soccer Club Stadium
The heart of Caminita, La Boca
Street Mural, La Boca

South America » Peru » Cusco October 29th 2023

Saturday, 21 Oct The train journey from Puno to Cusco begins with heavy rain from the hotel to the station. It’s an easy check in process and our carriage is full, mine is the only single seat and table, so I guess I was lucky getting a booking. Travelling in luxury from Puno to Cusco is around 10 1/2 hours, however there are fashion shows, music, dances and fine food. The train arrives at 5.30 in the evening and I’m taken under the wing of a Peruvian named Alex who helps find me a taxi to send me to my hotel. My hotel is right next to Plaza de Armas the main square of Cusco. It’s been twenty years since I was in Cusco and traffic has grown exponentially. On my last trip my memory is ... read more
Machu Picchu
Religious Procession in Cusco.
Cusco Procession

South America » Bolivia » La Paz Department October 14th 2023

Thursday, Oct 12 I’m solo now. Dick has gone back to the States and I’m carrying on with my South American adventure. The flight to La Pas is with Avianca a particularly no frills airline, you don’t even get offered a glass of water, and are actually required to purchase a bottle of water. Having said all of this, the flight is short and I was able to upgrade to get more legroom for US $50. I’m in La Paz at 2.15am local time feeling a little light headed because of the altitude as the airport sits at 4,062 meters (13,326 ft). It has been known for passengers to just pass out when arriving from sea level, however I’ve been at altitude in Bogota and also, everyone else on my flight seems ok. Customs is a ... read more
Pre Match Warmup
Train Graveyard
Getting ready for a ride on the Salar

South America » Colombia » Bogota October 8th 2023

Friday, Oct 6 The flight from Cartagena is just over 1 hour and we are quickly in an Uber to the Tequandama Suites Hotel in downtown Bogota. Unfortunately, check in isn’t until 3pm and we are there at 10.45am, however there is an option to pay half price and get a room now. And it is a suite, sitting area and closed off bedroom, our most spacious to-date. A quick walk around our immediate area is on the cards, unfortunately the altitude is giving Dick some problems, but he perseveres. As Bogota sits at around 8500ft we spend the afternoon relaxing at the hotel and don’t venture out until dinner time. The restaurant Republique is our choice and it’s an Asian fusion menu makes for a very pleasant evening meal for me, however I don’t think ... read more
Plaza de Bolivar on Domingo.
Dynamic Duo in La Candeleria
Now that’s a Cat!

South America » Colombia » Cartagena October 2nd 2023

Saturday, Sept. 30 The flight from Medellín takes just under an hour and we arrive in Cartagena at 8.45pm. on exiting the airport we immediately take a taxi, state our destination, but along the way it becomes evident that the driver doesn’t have a clue where the hotel is. Finally he announces our arrival, but on attempting to check in are told “your hotel is not this one“ and the one you want is in Getsemani near the old town. Another taxi sees us going slowly through Saturday night revellers to a hotel just outside the historic district. Not quite what we thought we were getting, but it has an elevator, the room is clean and they do a great breakfast. It’s fine for the 7 nights we are in town. The first thing I noticed ... read more
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South America » Peru » Lima October 1st 2023

Lima I arrived in Lima in the evening after the boat tour and stayed in a cute area called Barrenco which is super hipster with lots of restaurants, bars and cafes, street art and has a really cool atmosphere so I spent the evening walking around there. The next day I explored Miraflores and had a nice, steady day which was great as I have been go, go, go for a week and I haven’t slept in the same bed for more than 1 night in a row! I was surprised by Lima as I expected it to just be a big capital city but it had lots of character, charm and the Miraflores/ Barrenco region was green and had lots of parks and a great sea promenade for walking, running and cycling. I really liked ... read more
Lima promenade
Puerto Maldonado
Amazon

South America » Peru » Arequipa September 26th 2023

Peru I took and overnight flight to Lima followed by a flight to Arequipa and got there early in the morning. Arequipa The second largest city in Peru. High altitude, surrounded by volcanoes. The centre is very cool architecturally with cathedrals, monestaries, lots of Juliette balconies and courtyards. Lovely coffee shops, nice place to hang out for a day. The main reason why I wanted to do Arequipa was the Colca Canyon which is a very Deep canyon in the Andes. I did this with a 2 day trek tour with a very early pick up of 3am! We arrived at the Canyon after having breakfast in a town along the way and stopping to watch Condors. We then descended into the canyon and walked along the bottom for the day. We stopped for lunch and ... read more
Colca canyon
Colca window
Huacachina

South America » Colombia » Antioquia September 24th 2023

It’s 3.30am on Sept 23, as we board the shuttle from the Airport Marriot in LA to begin our journey to Colombia. The final destination for the day is Medellin. I’m accompanied by my friend Richard (Dick) Avery who has made a couple of trips with me in the past. Normally, it’s my English friend, Malcolm from Fiji but he’s decided to retire from travelling. The journey is long, LA to Atlanta, Atlanta To Bogota and Bogota to Medellin (city of eternal spring) arriving in Medellin at 23.33 local time (2 hours in front of LA time) Then a taxi from the airport to La Campania hotel in El Poblado; a touristic district of town. Rather than try and work out Colombian Pesos at 12.30am we pay the grand total of US $30 for our 30 ... read more
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South America » Ecuador » West » Puerto López September 24th 2023

It's been a relatively hectic two months, mostly because I've been teaching a lot. Two afternoons a week I teach English classes in my dining room (nine students in their 20's and 30's), Two more afternoons are the Spanish conversation class (a group of expats who have lived in Ecuador anywhere between one and twelve years, ages 32 - 75). Scroll to all the way to the end to see pics of these two groups of learners. I've been teaching more steadily during the past six months. Aside from some much-needed income, it also provides some rhythm to my otherwise leisurely existence. Although I prefer teaching in person, I still have two online students on Sunday mornings! I still schedule half- to full-day Scrabble dates with Shana two or three times a week. I enjoy preparing ... read more
Farewell Bonez
CiCi Saying Good-Bye
Tacos by Gabo




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