Travelling Today Travel Awards - RTW Travellers of the Year

So, once again it's that time of the year, when Travelling Today, your favourite Bi-weekly Travel mag, hands out it's annual awards. In the 'super lad' category, for 'Best all Round RTW Travellers', the winners are Steven Tideswell and Stuart Luffman, having successfully reached the halfway stage in their epic 9 month jaunt. Our Spanish reporter Trev El Lure went to meet the boys in Bariloche where they shed some light on how things have gone, and what is still in store...

Trev: Hey guys, firstly, many congrats on gaining this coveted award. You must have been through quite a lot. I understand you have just arrived here from El Chalten though. That's somewhere I've always wanted to go, how was it?

Steve: Well, damn good if you want honesty Trev. On the first day we did a 6 hour Hike to Cerro Torre and took in some fantastic landscapes, really variable stuff, some climbs, some glaciers and a view of the peak itself. On the second day we strode out again on a 8 hour hike to Cerro Fitz Roy, which was a much more challenging accent at the end, but such a good vantage point to reach, and well worth the effort. You have to go, the rumour is it's some of the best hiking in the world, and from where I'm standing I'd find it hard to disagree. Not so cool was the 36 hour bus from there to here. We actually spent the day that marked half way entirely on a bus, and the night before and after!! Worth it though, the scenery here also looks fantastic, just the view from our hostel dorm is enough to get the blood pumping.

Trev: That certainly does sound good. How does it compare with other aspects of your trip though, for example, what would you consider to be your favourite five minutes?

Steve: Absolutely no idea. I do remember however, having the most amazing feeling of exhilaration when I stood on the maid of the mist at Niagara when we went up to the falls and I got battered by the water. But I also think times like the taxi ride from Lima airport are real highlights, when I felt serious culture shock and a million and one things blew through my mind as the possibilities for the continent played out in my mind. The mix of excitement and fear like that should be classed under a whole new emotional bracket.

Stu: Mine has to be the five minutes we took the craps table to the cleaners. One, because of the shear adrenaline of the moment, two, the financial benefits it had as has meant we can now afford a skydive and three, I always dreamed of any amazing Vegas moment and that was it!

Trev: Wow! I guess there has also been some lows though right, what was the worst five minutes?

Steve: Aha! That's far easier. It has to be when, after spending a whole night in Lima being sick every hour on the hour, I was taking my most recent dash to the toilet, but having particular difficulty containing myself. I got to the toilet in very bad shape, managed to get in and get the door closed, swivel and expertly aim into the bowl before the convulsions overcame me, only to find that the toilet seat had been put down. The velocity at which liquid left my body, coupled with the position of said seat resulted in a redecorating on a biblical scale, which I had to try and clean up still feeling like death. Not fun.

Stu: Slipping on the fishing boat in Miami, after not catching any fish, and having searing pain through my leg combined with the sinking feeling that travelling could have come to an abrupt end. Again not fun.

Trev: Nasty. I guess in moments like those you start to miss some home comforts. What would you say you missed the most?

Stuart: I would do some horrible things for a roast dinner at the moment! Also miss having a bedroom to myself and playing sport/going to the gym. Also I suppose, at a push, friends and family are slightly missed too.

Steve: Ah, it may sound cliche but the friends and fam jump out. One of the best aspects of travelling is the human one, the people you meet and share experiences with, but even if the memories live on, the relationships tend to only last a few days. It will be nice to get back to some solid relationships and beer time.

Trev: And the least?

Stu and Steve: Responsibility...

Trev: Ha ha ha. Fair. Surely you are getting some interesting food to replace that roast dinner though boys? What would you say the best meal you have eaten is?

Steve: We've had some crackers. The Chicago deep pan pizza, which is actually deep, not like the crap you get in the UK is a winner, so is the fresh fish we had in Florida, but the overall best has to be Argentinian steak. What a texture and flavour, super stuff.

Stu: Agreed...

Trev: Nice, can't beat a good steak! Talking of Chicago, what would you say were your favorite and least favourite cities? You must have been to a few by now!

Stu: Good question, we have been to a fair few now with some excellent ones jumping out. For me, it has to be Rio de Janerio! The weather, the beach, the music, the partying, the women....and with Jesus looking over it certainly seems like a place God has designed! Least, probably, Lima. When one-third of the population live in one, large, polluted metropolis the results are not ideal for me.

Steve: Hmmm, I'm gonna head back to the US for this one. There's a titanic battle for the number one spot going on between San Francisco and Chicago. Maybe the Pizza swings it, perhaps it was the sorority party we got dragged into, or maybe just because it was so damn cool, but Chicago gets it. Worst? Well, Stus had a good shout there, Lima is so bloody busy and noisy, but at the time I found it really exciting (apart from the illness!). I'd go for Miami. I found it really pretentious and disappointing, and soooo expensive. It was also on the 'it's so hot i feel like my entire being is going to melt' side of too hot for me.

Trev: OK, I see where your going with those. Let's stick to places you have stayed. How have the hostels been? Whats been your favourite hostel?

Steve: Hostels are epic. They are so cheap, and if you book the good ones they can be as good as or better than hotels, you just have to be willing to stay in a dorm. They are so much more social than hotels too. Picking out the best one is very hard, all the best ones have different highlights, from the Jacuzzi and hippie attitude of Asheville (we love you Justin!), to the expert advice and fresh cooked muffins at breakfast we found in Niagara (we also love Patrick), in fact, damn it, I can't choose between those two.

Stu: There certainly have been some amazing ones, CapanaCopa as well in Rio should the thrown into the mixer! Although I'm gonna say Bon Paul and Sharkys in Asheville. Justin was amazing and a hot tub! 'Nuff said.

Trev: A hot tub, in a hostel, wow! These hostels must have provided some good nights too. What do you think has been the best night so far? And the worst hangover?

Stu: The night spent at a sorority (female frat) party was pretty good as you can imagine! Made even better as we didn't go out expecting it and with cheap drinks and good music and with some baseball batting before hand it certainly was a great one! Worst hangover, after free drinks for a few hours in Rio and trying to keep up with Josh 'The Machine' Carter, was fairly jaded the next day!

Steve: Worst hangover... Montreal, I was taken out for pretty much the whole day. Bloody Australians. Best night could well be Halloween in San Fran. We went from zero to full costume and cocktail in hand in about 20 minutes, generally had a laugh, and any night that ends with you locked in the laundry room with a french girl can't be bad. In the word's of one of the guys in the hostel the next day 'Ooooooh, what an evening'.

Trev: Does sound like fun lads, and I feel your pain. I guess to get that drunk you must have sampled some interesting international drinks, no? Best and worst of those?

Steve: Worst is easy, and somehow we managed to get it on my birthday, thus keeping the dirty drink alive for all the lads back home. It was Chicha, and was sampled, and quickly left in a bar in Cusco. The best is a little harder, but I think the wine we tried at the winery along the edge of the Niagara river takes the biscuit. I believe it was 'Niagara view', look out for it, but don't expect it to be cheap!

Stu: Worst and best from me both from Cusco. Worst, by far, the Chicha as Steve has already pointed out! It was horrific! Best is a drink called 'Pisco Sour' which is a cocktail with lime and egg and a white spirit called Pisco. Very sharp, sweet but pleasurable taste.

Trev: Very nice. You have covered such a distance now you must have a favourite journey? And one that was more horrific than the others?

Stu: There have definitely been some horrific journey's undertaken but equally some amazing ones. Best for me was the scenic drive down the winding road of route 1 from San Fran to Santa Barbara. With the car just hugging the mountains and the pacific ocean below I can see why its described as the best road in the world. Worst, after taking 25 night buses and counting, there is one that stands out. From La Paz to Uyuni, 15 hours of being thrown out of your seat on a disgusting Bolivian bus without a toilet and therefore no sleep. Not for the faint-hearted!

Steve: The worst for me, not surprisingly, also occurred in Bolivia. The 20ish hour bus back from Rurrenbaque, which was delayed leaving for 5 hours, then dropped us of in the middle of nowhere for a rest stop and promptly disappeared to fix its front wheel and left us stranded for hours trying to work out what was going on in our still very broken Spanish. When we did finally get back on the Bolivian stomach demons came too and on a bus with no toilet this is no small deal. I had a horrific 6 hours at the end needing to relieve myself, the wild rover hostel toilet, with toilet paper and flush was a sight for sore eyes. The best is a real random one for me, it was the Greyhound that took us to Niagara. I don't know why, but with the leaves turning into their autumnal colours, the sun shining, some good music playing I really got what we were doing and had the best feeling of adrenaline and excitement for absolutely everything, an amazing feeling.

Trev: Amazing stuff, your making me jealous, I need to get back on the road! We've talked a bit about cities, but what was your favourite natural phenomenon?

Steve: The Perito Moreno Glacier. An unbelievable and crucially, dynamic, feature. I want to go back already and feel that excitement again.

Stu: Agreed, what a natural phenomenon!

Trev: OK, it seems that one was easy. Maybe this will be harder. What are you most looking forward to in the second half?

Steve: A Sky Dive in NZ (Cheers Vegas!), meeting monks in Nepal, hiring Scooters in Vietnam, and India in general. I could go on. Maybe you should come back in another four and a half months Trev?!

Stu: I second the Sky Dive shout, literally cant wait, also for the Bungy too. The OZ beach, beer, BBQ lifestyle and the any means possible travel in SE Asia are two others that jump out. The fun just keeps on coming.....

Trev: Not a bad few months ahead then boys, congratulations again for the award, thank you for your time, any last thoughts?

Steve: Well, I have, but unfortunately when I started to write them down it started running to multiple pages, so maybe I'll put a link up if people are interested to read when I've finished... It may take commitment though!

Stu: Only to say if anyone reading this is thinking about travelling, in any form, just do it! You will never regret it. No other time will you be able to see and do so many amazing things and meet countless incredible people along the way. It also gives you time to think whats important in life and what you want to achieve, and that can never be underestimated. Also you begin to realise that the fun isn't in completing something but in the ride you took to get there...