WIne, wine and more wine

With the half time oranges consumed and mid-game interviews competed, the second half has carried on where the first half left off, incredible! The first stop was the largest town in the Lake District area of Patagonia, Bariloche. After getting a local service bus from the bus terminal only to take us 5km from our hostel, from an initial 3km (don’t ask), we arrived in our lovely, small, family run hostel and proceeded to chill out after too many days hiking! This gave us time to plan two amazing days in this sunny, picturesque town with more amazing vistas than Portsmouth FC have points!

Day 1 included a nice wander around the town itself and then a hike (just can’t get enough of them) up to Cerro Otto, 3 hours walking from our hostel. This led to some unbelievable scenery and mild sunburn and was cracking fun. The evening we attempted the holy grail of cookery, the roast potato! Somehow it took nearly 3 hours to cook but with some delicious Argentine steak, was just what the doctor ordered!

Day 2 and a bus to Cerro Camapanrio for, as National Geographic put it, one of the top ten views in the world. Big statement but it did not disappoint with a 360 view of this magical area of Patagonia. After this we undertook ‘Circuito Chico’, a 24km bike ride up and down the mountains around one of the areas lakes. With perfect weather and great bikes great fun was had by all, especially the spectators to our glacier lake dip to cool/freeze vital parts off! A big BBQ, more 80p wine and party in our hostel finished off our time in Bariloche perfectly and we set off, albeit delayed and without Bingo, cheers Andersmar, to Mendoza.

With Mendoza producing 70% of Argentinain wine and us gaining ‘end-of-continentitus’ we had one thing on our mind and for once it wasn’t hiking! After of couple of chilled days trying to regain some vital energy and meeting a girl in the hostel who went to BRCC, small world? We undertook Mr Hugo’s Winery Bike Tour. Now Mr Hugo’s ‘tour’ was very different to previous tours. On meeting he gives you a bike and a map and you head off for some well deserved wine tasting and also some liquor and chocolate tasting which were delicious apart from the 75% Absinthe! When you return, slightly worse for wear and with a police escort for part of the ride he gives you a glass of Vino, very nice, then another, then another....until standing up becomes a challenge! Mr Hugo’s enthusiasm, friendly manner and unlimited supply of nice wine was a great end to a redonkulous 3 weeks in Argentina and an unbelievable 10 weeks in South America perfectly, which for me had called and raised North America.I am currently writing this on a bus to Santiago after a 5 hour delay at the Chilean border as we get ready for our flight to NZ late Thurs to embark to Continent 3 of the trip and a country that we have both dreamed of going to for years....This definatly beats working!

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...

Not enough, and lots and lots, of energy

The flight to Rio Gallegos was far more interesting than anticipated. We breezed through the quiet airport corridors and settled ourselves for a little power nap for the three hours it took to speed south. This was largely unsuccessful but we caught as much rest as we could. At one point I was rudely awoken by the drinks trolley slamming into my knee. On arousal, I also realised this contained the in-flight meal (served at the sociable hour of midnight), which Stu and I both preceded to decline in favour of some well earned rapid eye movement. Broken sleep took us to the proposed landing time, and sure enough we descended through cloud to be graced with the lights of Rio G. below. As I do on these occasions, I fastened my gaze through the little portal on the side of the aircraft to watch the final moments of flight exhaust themselves. Landing gear came down, so did the plane. I estimate that at approximately three seconds before the plane should have grounded itself a rather strange event passed in front of me however. All the lights in Rio Gallegos went out. This sudden blackout decided to spread its tentacles into the usually immune airport terminal for good measure and I also witnessed the lights go out on the parallel runway. My general response was initially, 'I'm sure that's not normal' and then 'I'm sure that's not good'. My concerns were confirmed when I glanced in Stuarts direction and saw the most bewildered look I think I've ever been party to, etched on his still half asleep features, and then when drives gunned the engines with all his might and the plane shot back into the air like a frightened rabbit. Needless to say, the power cut could not have come at a worse time, not could the airport have had a worse set of backups! Still, we did indeed manage to land after a scenic tour of Rio G's outskirts. Stu then smuggled some bananas through customs (we did buy them in Argentina, so couldn't understand the fuss) and then we both laid in the very comfortable and warm terminal and finished our nights sleep (hopefully sarcasm is still apparent in blog posting...).

At around 8 in the morning we taxied to the bus terminal and somehow managed to book not one, but our next three buses, creating a sizable dent in our budget, but providing security that we will indeed end up travelling north again. We then got on the first of these and once again slept where we could on the way to El Calafate.

El Calafate is very small. It's also for the most part fairly shoddy. It does however have some rather impressive surroundings and also affords access to Los Glaciers National Park. So we went there and sampled the Perito Moreno Glacier, which is massive. Like, truly huge. It is also one of the most dynamic natural spectacles we have come across and genuinely can consequently be described as very exciting. At first it just looks like a big chunk of ice, which isn't far off, but you only have to stand around for a few minutes to start hearing the cracks, creaks, and bangs. And then, if you are as lucky as us you also get to see chunks as large as 20 storey buildings just fall straight of the edge and plunge into the waters below. We managed to witness quite a few of these outstanding occurrences, but there was a serious cigar moment to come. There was one chunk of ice that looked like it was rather precarious. We both agreed that if it fell it would be the piesta resistance. It was perhaps a 20m high, roughly 8m diameter cylindrical affair, and so we always kept one eye on it and subtly prayed. After about 2 and a half hours we found ourselves on the balcony closest to this monster, and we basically sat there starring at it, half in awe, half in anticipation, sharing thoughts about how amazing it would be, that if, after all this time it actually went. Then stuff started falling out of a crack behind it. Then its neighbour fell. By this point we were on the edge of our... balcony. After about another half hour it simple slid off the top of the glacier, cascaded and exploded into a million pieces and thundered into the water accompanied by and almighty roar and crash. We were so damn happy! And so damn lucky!! It must have been like that for days. The fact that we picked it out, waited for so long, and actually saw it fall was far beyond unlikely and possibly one of the best moments we've had yet. The glacier is truly unbelievable, and as I said... exciting. We would jump at the chance to go back one day and watch it twist and turn and fall again.

We finished off our time here with a walk out round a glacier melt lake that borders El Calafate into the isolation of Patagonia (and the wind!!). We are now going to El Chalten, were the hiking is meant to be some of the best in the world. Worth coming south!!

Strictly Buenos Aires

With the New Year antics over and plenty of time to explore BA (maybe to much time if were honest due to flight booking) we undertook the sights and sounds of the city including the following:

Recoleta neighbourhood for the day to see the sights incl a very strange elaborate cemetery and unexpectedly the start of the recently moved Dakar Rally!

Palermo area for a morning run and an evening failing to find the mystical 'Argentinian Steak' and watching live music and dancing instead

San Telmo's famous antique market and live street tango

Self guided bike tour through various parts of BA including the Boca Juniors Stadium

The famous BA Bar Crawl which was messy to say the least. Which led us to really live like the locals and stay up till 6am and wake up at 3, which is still classed in BA as 'the morning'!

However, the two best things we did by far were to finally find the elusive steak, in a small but famous steakhouse in San Telmo called 'El Desnivel'. The sort of place where you just order steak, no veg, nothing, just steak! We risked it and when for a two person portion of the specials menu which was T-Bone with Spanish Potatoes which was incredible! It defined the term 'melt in your mouth' and was by far the best steak we have ever eaten. And to get a bottle of wine and two desserts as well for the grand sum of 10 pounds each, we certainly didn't leave disappointed.

The other best thing we did was a combined Tango lesson and show. Now, as you well know, we are not dancers nor Tango enthusiasts but everyone who comes to BA seems to do it and so we gave it a go and it was great fun. The guy giving the lesson to about 40 of us was a combination of Chris Rock and Borat and with limited English but unlimited energy he taught us a few steps and we went from there! Watch out for us on this years Strictly Come Dancing. We then had a break before watching the hour long tango show which also including singing, music and much more and exceeded both our expectations. Every act had some new and was finished with a Spanish rendition of 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina'. All in all, it was a fantastic night and certainly worth a visit.

Tonight we fly to Rio Gallegos in South Argentina to start our 10 day Patagonian adventure. Unfortunately this means an end to the weeks of shorts and flip flops weather but for some of the best hiking in the world, I can deal with that.

Happy New Year!

The consequences of our plan B style malaria resistance techniques in Iguacu prodominantly corcerned copious amounts of sweat. With temperatures still hanging around the 30's we were covered head to toe. Two elements made this worse. Firstly, no-one ese seemed to be taking any sort of precautions, with everyone lounging round the pool in our hostel covering only the bear minimum of skin. These people were either all on malaria tabs, or had little regard for the advice of the NHS, either way, it made us feel even hotter, but we simply wern't willing to take the risk. Secondly, we couldn't drink the tap water, which is no small matter when your perspirating at a rate comparable to the flow of the natural spectacle you came to witness.
Anyway, we got up and shot to the falls on a very crowded and of course HOT bus!! On arrival we stomped round every path we could lay our feet on and were generally awestruck, not only by the beauty, but also the extensiveness of the falls. Simply amazing, and for me, an easy winner over Niagara, if only for its fantastic national park setting and wildlife compared to Niagara's tacky touristy crap. We saw a toucan, lots of lizards, some strange mammels and an unimaginable amount of butterflies. Now I'm no big butterfly lover, but the little buggers have me converted now, so many beutiful varieties literally everywhere (including all over every person involved it seemed).
We also worked out that by the bus times availiable we were best leaving for Buenos Aires a night earlier. We felt we had seen everything we wanted to in the day we had, would have had little time the next, wanted to get south in good time for new year and also wanted to minimise the time in our hot, potentially malarial situ. So, we boarded the Calsberg bus. Unfortunately I am not saying that Calsberg operated the bus, but if Calsberg made buses... You get my drift. We had an evening meal on board, with drink (including wine if you fancied it), followed by a nightcap of either Whiskey (yes, Whiskey) or Coffee liquor (yes, coffee liquor). Good films on the flat panel TVs, fully reclining uber compfy chairs and then breakfast with fruit juice in the morning. We had heard about Argentinan buses... but this?! And fairly cheap!! We arrived in BA the day early, and planned the time we have here.
Buenos Aires is one of those cities that we both fell in love with on arrival. Some cities you grow to love, so you may have a great time in and love them for the memories, some, like Chicargo and San Fran before are simply amazing right from the moment you touch the soil and take your first whiff of the culture. We were therefore aready in love before our city wander in the day yesterday (New years eve), but it keeps getting better, and now we have had one of our best new years ever...
After changing hostel to the one we had already booked before our change of plans we learnt there was a bit of a BBQ party going down. Naturally we were inclined to attend, but we really wanted to be out in the street at midnight. So, we went and bought some 80p botles of wine and 50p bottles of beer (unbeleivable!), got very merry in the hostel and made some chums, but at 11.30 we wandered to an Obelisk in the city which is known as a kind of symbol of Buenos Aires hoping that other people would have the same idea. It was lovely. Not a heaving crowd but a sizeable congregation surrounded the structure and by the clock in the distance we measured the moment and cheers and fireworks lit up the night all around. It wasn't some eic specticle, but in a way it was so intimate and homely that I loved it in every way. As more fireworks were dotting the sky a group of lads, who were clearly a choir or similar starting singing carols, seemingly completely impromptue, and completed the atmosphere.
Even better, when we got back to the hostel we caught the massive hunk of chicken and slab of beef that BBQ man had laid on the coals and had an amzazing meat fest and met more peeps, including some crazy dutch, eating till about half two.
I hope everyone got as much out of the night as we did, it is certainly a new year I will never forget. All the best to everyone for the next 12 months...

Christmas in the sun

First of all...MERRY CHRISTMAS to you all and a HAPPY NEW YEAR fast approaching. We have has a very different festive period I feel. Upon leaving Ilha Grande (where we accidental-on-purpose forgot to pay for our room...) we arrived in sunny Rio and to our hostel located a stones throw from the Copacabana beach. On arrival we meet up with Josh, Dave and Guy again and decided to hit the town hard, and I mean very hard. We went to a place called The House and were astounded by the beauty of the woman and the strength of the drinks....needless to say it all ended well. Armed with heavy hangovers we quickly got our camera fixed (so no more black-smudge-ufo-things) and headed to chill on the beach which although quite crowded was great fun in the 30+ degree heat. Followed by a more relaxed evening at our excellent hostel.

Christmas eve started with a bang as me and Dave embarked on a 6km run of the beach to see the 'sights', although it was already 29 degrees at 9oc so was hot work but great fun! After a quick dip at the rival Ipanema beach, we wandered back down the Copa were I nearly got in deep trouble trying to take a photo I shouldn't....it was for u Dad! We followed this by getting a big game of volleyball going on the beach. Then to stay in Brazilian customs we had an amazing roast dinner (best we could manage esp with Steve and Guy throwing hot gravy around) and exchanged secret Santa presents on Xmas Eve and a few beers into the evening (and into the next morning as it happened) to get merry with fellow hostelers from around the world.

THE BIG DAY! and a scorching 34 degrees, so after a relaxed morning with a Brazilian breakfast we again frequented the Copacabana beach for more football, swimming, ogling, etc before an all-you-can eat Xmas BBQ and more beer to continue to merry theme. Obviously not a standard Christmas for us, but good fun all the same. To finish off Rio in style, Boxing day, we went on a self-guided city tour, some more football and volleyball on the beach then a cheeky game of vodka poker, some ufc fighting and a bar crawl in LaPa, Rio's party district.

All in all, we had an unforgettable Xmas period in a city which has quickly become on of my favourites in the world so far. The combination of weather, cityscapes, beaches, green scenic mountains, partying, woman (who are by far and away the best iv ever seen, you fall in love, on average, every 12 seconds) make it the premier destination for any trip to South America.

We are now in Puerto Iquazu in Argentina after a 25 hour bus ride, with Rod Stewart live on the TV, and sweating a lot due to suddenly finding out we are in a Malarial region with no tablets, so keep as much skin covered as possible! Then off to Buenos Aires for New Year....'tis a hard life!

Paradise

We survived! The horrific experience of doing four night bus journeys back to back is now just a grand story. We worked out that over 100 hours of a life we will never see again, 67 were spent being supported by four wheels, generally getting thrown around due to the desperate tarmac shortage that appears to be facing south American roads. As we were powering our way to and through the Brazilian border we changed our plans, and final destination became Paraty, a small colonial town a few hours south of Rio. Part of the ‘Green Coast’ it sits in a bay in which 65 small islands are dotted. The outlook from our beach front hostel was quite something. This however was unknown when we arrived shrouded by the night, and we all (still travelling in a five) simply found a bed and utilised it. When I woke in the morning, I was laying on a bottom bunk, my head was in line with the dorm door, which was open, and I could see the sea, maybe 20m in front of me. Paraty was used then as a chill out, relax, enjoy Brazil experience (for the most part, see day two story..!!). The first day we lounged around, had a swim, got a bit burnt and wandered round town. We also ventured out in the evening through the cobbled streets and enjoyed some cocktails and schemed about how to best explore the bay. We teamed up with an Aussie girl and agreed that the next day, when the other three in our party left, we would form a new posse, rent a canoe for the day and go hence forth.

Unfortunately it wasn’t that simple. Canoe man we had seen on our beach was nowhere to be seen. Armed with information that there was another guy on the next beach along we set off, took the wrong path, got lost in jungle wilderness and then became stranded on a rock from which we could see that target beach but not reach it!! Plan A was hatched, and Stuart swam to the beach hoping to persuade canoe man to give him a canoe (with no money, we didn’t want to get it wet) so that he could rescue us, we could hand over currency and be on our way. Plan A failed. On receiving the signal that Stu couldn’t get a canoe, we assumed money was the problem and I set about getting to the beach with the wallet under my hat, id keep my head up, pay, rescue aussie girl and wed be on our way. Plan B failed, due to the likelihood that my hat was not going to stay dry I had to swim to ‘shore’ and clamber over rocks and barnacles, bashing myself and also cutting open my feet on oysters, gradually skirting to the beach. On arrival I gathered from Stu that these injuries could be added to exhaustion from his swim and further abrasions! I also learnt money was not the problem, canoe man had simply decided to take his lunch break and bugger off. When he returned we arranged to get a canoe, and looked up to see aussie girl being rescued by a fisherman. So, I didn’t need to come to the beach, and now nor did Stu as we would have been saved had we stayed put. It then started to rain. Then a lad from Manchester arrived and told us it was a ten minute stroll round the road from the hostel. We were tired, bleeding and battered and gave up. The next day we got up early, got canoes and went for it, found little coves and hidden beaches and generally had a fantastic day. That easy.

From Paraty we took a small bus and then ferry trip to Ilha Grande, an island with no roads (for it has no cars), no banks and not many people. There is nothing here but beaches, restaurants and some souvenir shops. Its bloody marvellous. We are once again soaking up beach delights, dancing to late night samba-beats and also trekking into the Jungle. We saw monkeys and Lizards before dipping in freshwater pools in clearings and finding more hidden beaches with amazing Brazilian women. This seems as close to paradise as we are likely to get… but then there are still five months to go!!

A record-breaking week

After some respite in La Paz on arrival, Me, Steve, Dave and Guy decided to book a round of golf to treat ourselves (as we live such hard lives at the moment). This wasn´t to be any round of golf however, set at over 10,000ft we undertook a hack around the World´s Highest Golf Course. With our guide, Pablo, giving us the politcal low-down on Bolivia on the way, we arrived, met our caddies (yes, even invested in some caddies), and were instantly awestruck by the views of this course set in the mountains (and how posh it was!) Unfortunatly due to a lack of practice our golf didnt match the surroundings or the caddies expectations, but this paled into insiginifcance with the weather and the course providing the perfect setting to spend our last day in La Paz. Guy showed us how to play with Dave, Me and Steve a fair few shots back but great fun was had by all, even with ´a bit´ of sunburn!

That evening we headed on a night bus to Uyuni on the World´s Bumpiest Round, therefore sleep was at a premium. Our reason for heading south was to undertake a two-day tour around the ´Salar de Uyuni´, the World´s Largest Salt Flats. Bleary eyed our saviour ´David the tour operator´ got us a good deal for the 5 of us on a tour and we headed to see some salt, or rather alot of salt. After quick stops at the Salt Hotel (made completely out of salt) and a small salt mining town we reached Fish Island for some lunch and a look at the incredable vistas. Now its worth mentioning I cannot do the views justice in words, to have a 360 degree view of white with backdrops of Andean Mountains is something that needs to be witnessed. After lunch we moved away from the hords of other 4x4 and undertook in the abligatory, crazy salt flat photos where perspective can be manipulated before reaching our hostel for a well earnt night in a bed! Just before the needed sleep, we poped out and witness probabily the World´s Greatest Sunset, keep an eye out for the photos! (note: unfortunalty still no photos due to Bolivian Internet, the World´s Slowest Internet, we promise we will put them all up in around a week when in Brazil)



Day 2 started early with an accent up a Volcano near our Hostel on the egde of the Salar, this took us a few hours and to a new record height for the trip so far of approx 5200ft. Not much oxygen up there! This again gave us some more breathtaking views of the Salt flats and surrounding mountains, before heading down via some 1250BC Mummies! After lunch we cruised along the salt for an hour or so (Me and Josh sunbathing on top of a 4x4 as you do...) and saw some Lithium mines, cold water Geysers, and the Train Graveyard of old abandoned British and French Trains before arriving back in Uyuni to grab a shower and give David our photos before undertaking World´s Longest Bus Journey....

I am currently writing this in Santa Cruz, Bolivia where we are 2 out of probabily 4 consectutive night buses down to reach the coast in Brazil (still not set an exact destination yet). We are tired and smelly but the dream of of the Brazil lives on........

Jungle Fever

We jumped on the rickety, non-bano equipped bus to the rainforest. The journey was hot and long, and filled with many heart-in-mouth, i'm about to go down this precipice and die, moments. However, the scenery was immence. I rarely fill more like a backpacker than when i'm hanging out the window of a hot crowded bus, getting slowly sunburnt with my jaw permanently dropped. All in all it was simply an experience then, and on entry to Rurrenabaque (at 5 in the morning) we went of in search of shelter. We were accosted on the way by Louis, a wheeling dealing Israeli who seemed like the man to put us on the pampas tour we were after. When we realised we had to leave that same day due to a national holiday fast approaching for the elections in Bolivia, we went all in. By 8.30 we were bouncing along dirt roads in a four by four with our guide 'Juan Carlos' who we were imformed spoke 'enough' english. We soon found out this was 'no' english, but actually his eternal smile and nod manouver had him sold to us from the start. After a few hours we reached a river, jumped in a wooden canoe type affair and sped into nowhere. On the way we saw flipping hundreds of alligators, birds of paradise, capabara, kingfishers, condors, eagles, turtles, monkeys (which we fed bananas) and... well, so much other stuff it just got silly.

The shear volume of alligators came back to haunt us however when Juan decided to beach the boat and hand gesture we should get out to push it off. When there is a language barrier, muddy water you can't see into and a significant amout of hungry looking alliators about you become more than apprehensive. Juan smiled and nodded. We all jumped out, and actually this became a regular theme when the river became shallow. I wouldn't say we ever enjoyed the experience however! It took a few hours to reach our lodgings - Wooden, stilted and basic to say the least, but equally f-ing cool! That evening we popped a little further down the river to the 'sun set bar' and sipped cold beers watching the sun go down over the Pampas. On the way back we saw some alligators by night and fire flies...

The next day we went on foot through the pampas anaconda hunting. Unfortunately we failed to find said snake, but did enjoy a few rounds of 'hit the alligator on the head', which came with some amusing results. After we returned to camp (using our engineering skills to ford the river and reach a well earned lunch without the guides) Juan did indeed find an anaconda, but we weren't in the vicinity. After a siesta in hammocks, we went swimming with pink dolphins, which Juan had us believe was totally safe despite alligators on the shore. Good fun though!

On the third day we went fishing! Pirana fishing... We caught sardines for bait, chopped them up, then reeled in the snappers. Stu was successful in both regards, and also managed to find some cat fish. I only made enemies with the sardines, but was pleased to catch anything on my first ever fishing trip. The piranas were cooked up (Juan was some sort of Guru and added significantly to the pile) and we ate them with lunch - very nice with a bit of lime! That left the return journey with even more hair raising out of boat moments. It also decided to rain and completely soak us, but we were so unclean and un bothered by this stage it just became funny. In the jeep our driver did a masterful effort with the wheels, and we sailed through the bog road when all around us jeeps were getting stuck (including that of the party boat - woop woop).

The bus back to La Paz was delayed, broke a wheel and was hampered by rain and the uphill journey. It was horrific, especially considering most of us were stuggling with stomach altercations and once again a lack of toilet, but we survived. Well worth it...

More SA Tribulations

With the awe-inspiring Inca Trail behind us we headed for the Bolivia with Leonie (German/Italian girl) and a small town named Copacabana on the shore of Lake Titicaca. Unfortunately we had both now been struck by irregular bowel movements (along with a lot of other travellers we are finding). Steve: “Rear end problems have produced some funny moments however. To get across the Bolivian border we had to vacate our toilet equipped bus for a rickty minibus. After loading his bag onto said minibus Stu decided it may be prudent to utilize the loo one last time. Unfortunately with myself and Leonie on the minibus with Stus luggage and with Stus behind still hanging over the Bano in the first bus, the driver gunned it for La Paz. By all accounts Stu had an embarrassing moment flinging the door open to shout expletives at the driver whilst trying to control rectal outbursts. I had no idea what to do, thankfully Stu remembered the word for stop however...” Thankfully only my pride was damaged and we made it to the Lake, which was incredible.

At 3810m a.s.l. it is the world highest navigable lake is certainly an impressive sight. Once we had dropped our bags at a hostel, with a night bag packed we headed for a 17km coastal walk from Copa to Yamupata where we planned to catch a boat to the Isle del Sol (Island of the Sun). On route we saw some redonkulous scenery, floating islands and even partied and drank at a Bolivian street party for some Virgin, with the Bolivian woman desperate to dance with us, great craic! We made it, albeit very tired, to the boat and reached the Island for the night with 3 more ‘real life’ Germans for company. That night the Island of the ‘Sun’ experienced the biggest storm either of us have ever witness which kept us up but was impressive to say the least.
The next day we trekked from North to South on the Island with Seb the Bald German, with some ruin visiting and toilet frequenting en route (still not functioning well!) and caught the last ferry back to Copa for one more night before heading to La Paz the following day (world’s highest capital city) with Seb and an International Observer from Canada for the up-and-coming Bolivian elections, Go Evo!!!!

Once arrived at La Paz we met up with the 3 amigos (Welsh Dave, Josh and Guy, friends from Uni) and we proceeded drink the bar dry and fail miserably at the pub quiz. Steve still suffering with stomach issues at this point so didn’t think this was a good idea. Steve: “Missing beer!!” Also we found that our plans coincide up until Christmas in Rio so after a day of market frequenting today we head off north tomorrow to Rurrenabaque and a Pampas Tour to the Bolivian Amazon to swim with dolphins, hunt for anacondas, fish for piranhas, canoe down rivers and generally see tons of wildlife. Will let you know if we survive........

P.s. Apologies for lack of photos, good internet is hard to come by! As soon as we have it, you will see all the wonders we have encountered.