Austin, Texas

We took a flight from Vegas to Austin the next day and were greeted at the airport by a live band – so far the self-proclaimed music capitol of the world was living up to its reputation.  We checked into a Travelodge and spent the next couple of days soaking in the atmosphere of this young, lively and pretty city. 

Not being ones to miss out on a bit of history, we spent one sunny afternoon visiting the capitol building, where we tagged along to a school trip tour learning all about the history of the lone star state. Being the ignoramus that I am, I hadn’t realised that Texas was once under Spanish rule and then part of Mexico. The main thrust of our school-trip tour, therefore, centred on the two most significant battles in the Texans’ fight for independence, The Alamo and San Jacinto. The former saw just two Texans survive the battle against the Mexicans, whilst the latter, just a couple of weeks later, finally ensured them their freedom.  It was really interesting hearing a Texan’s account of the history, especially as the guide referred to the battles as some of the most significant in world history….and there I was thinking Alamo was just a car-hire company!

The city of Austin gave me the impression of being very ‘alive’ (for want of a better word).  There were heaps of trendy bars with live music constantly flowing throughout the streets.  Restaurants, bars and clubs, alike, all offered something a bit different and there was a nice, friendly vibe about the place.  One noteworthy evening was spent at a lovely restaurant called ‘Moonshine’, where Ash had the best steak of the trip (yes, even better than Buenos Aires).  Another evening we head out on the famous 6^th street to get a slice of the nightlife that we heard so many positive things about.   We certainly weren’t disappointed as we ended up seeing the guy who taught Carlos Santana how to play the guitar for just $5 each.  Despite having well and truly left South America behind, we were suddenly plunged into a world of Spanish speakers with Ash and I being the only non-hispanics in the whole place.  It just goes to show how culturally diverse the state is and how Mexico and Texas still hold a strong connection, although the power-balance has probably shifted somewhat since the days of The Alamo battle.

Austin is also a famous university city and the leafy grounds provided a perfect spot for an afternoon’s walk.  Unfortunately we visited during Easter holidays and so were unable to go and watch a football match (or even gate-crash a frat-party), which would have been cool to do.  Nonetheless, we were able to see the student areas and there were still some students milling around, meaning that we could get a bit of a feel for student life there. 

Just to make sure we had got our fill of live music, the final evening in Texas’ capital was spent at a reggae festival (just going to show it’s not all cowboy boots and ‘yee-has’) where we got to see some bands and enjoy the festival atmosphere.  The night turned a bit sour, unfortunately, as we ended up getting lost on the bus on the way home, having to travel all the way to the terminus just to come back again. Luckily the bus driver was kind and let us stay on the bus for the return journey and we eventually made it back in one piece. 

We were a bit gutted about inadvertently getting a late one that evening, as the next morning we were to travel to the airport to pick up our first, very own hire car.  To say that I was anxious about driving in the States would be an understatement and I was more than jittery for the first day or so. I made it a personal mission to get fewer than 5 beeps across the whole trip, and the first and only 3 were achieved that first day.   We had decided to drive back into the centre of Austin (kind of equivalent to driving through London) after we picked up the car so that we could visit a park that someone had recommended to us.  It was definitely worth the effort – the park was positioned near to the river and you could walk along the waterside watching people kayaking, with great views of the city.  There was also a piano that had been placed overlooking the water that Ash and I had a good tinkle on.  If that wasn’t enough, the park was also home to a fresh water spring so we were able to have a dip to cool down from the strong Texan sun.  p.s. We also got the hire care stuck in a ditch, which was fun and quite embarrassing!

After enjoying this other face of Austin, we eventually set off again to our next destination in Texas - San Antonio, the site of The Alamo, for our next dose of history!

Vegas and the road trip begins..

And so to Sin City for 3 days of indulgence and inappropriate amounts of spending.  Just to continue the theme of great accommodation, we were pleasantly surprised to hear we had been upgraded to a suite in our first hotel, Bally’s.  Although a little tired with decor reminiscent of the 80s or early 90s, the room we were given’s size made up for any such misgivings - no joke, it must have had a square footage to rival our own house back in Nottingham.  We had a bar, 2 living areas, a dining table, a sunken bath, his and her’s bathroom areas and a humungous double bed all placed in two separate spacious rooms.  The view over the ‘Eiffel Tower’ wasn’t half bad either.

 

So much space, so little time!

Being that we were in Vegas we thought it best to not fall in the trap of spending too much time in our room, and so ventured out that evening (still with the family in tow) to paint the town red.  We started off sipping cocktails, before moving on to a bit of ‘cheap and cheerful’ casino nearby for Karaoke.  Having practised the routine in Cusco, I opted for a repeat performance of ‘These boots are made for walking’, while Katie took to the stage for a rendition of ‘I love rock and roll’.  Lots of fun was had by all and we spent time sipping on 2 dollar daiquiris and soaking up the unique atmosphere.  After having been in the Californian ‘bubble’ for the past few weeks, it seemed as though Vegas was the perfect stage for introducing us to a more representative view of America.  There was a real mix of people from all the different states enjoying the evening entertainment and I felt I was getting more of an insight into the diversity of this huge country, something that I was keen to get my head around. People were, once again, hugely friendly and we met some real characters that evening, including a women who was telling me all about her belief in aliens (!).  I tried to get her to do Nirvana with me on karaoke but she unfortunately had to leave (or so she said!).   

After our singing jaunt, we headed off to the Encore nightclub for a spot of drinking and dancing.  As one of the premier nightspots in Vegas, clubbing here came at a cost and we all winced at the prices as we pay for our drinks.  Nonetheless, the club, that wouldn’t have looked out of place in the film ‘Save the Last Dance’, provided a fun night of dancing and another insight into another face of the Vegas scene. 

Party time:

The next day we headed to the more upmarket casino, The Bellagio, which came in at $300 a night, a ridiculous amount to spend on a backpacker’s budget.  We soon realised that the price tag was justifiable as we ambled into the beautifully decadent foyer and looked on the swanky bars, multiple indoor gardens and the quaint butterfly house.  The Bellagio is also famed for its incredible fountains, that we were lucky enough to look out on from our room.  To make matters even better, we discovered that we had been upgraded AGAIN to a twin suite on the exclusive 29^th floor, only accessible by the private lifts. If we thought we had lucked out at Bally’s, we felt as though we were living in a dream when we entered our Bellagio room.

My favourite part of The Bellagio - the flower-filled foyer:

 And our fabulous suite, with the perfect Vegas view:

Aside from gawping at our amazing room, the 2nd day in Vegas was also spent enjoying the Bellagio's famous all-you-can-eat buffet (never seen so many different cuisines under one roof), discovering the other hotel/ casinos on the strip (visiting Venice, Paris and ancient Rome along the way) and finishing it all off with a trip to see The Lion King stage show.  Now, we all know that the Disney film was a bit of a tearjerker (especially during Musafa's death), but would you have guessed that the show had me and my sister's waterworks going from the opening bars of 'Circle of Life'?  It must have been something to do with all the amazing animal puppets jumping around, or the stirring vocals from the lady playing Rafiki.... whatever it was, something managed to get us started!  We soon cheered up, though, and continued to enjoy this spectacle of a show. 

The 3rd day was initially a rather sad one as we would have to say goodbye to my family.  We had been traveling together for getting on for 3 weeks now and now was the time to bid farewell for another 2 months before our arrival back home. After a few more tears shed (I still blame The Lion King) Ash and I prepared to move to the slightly less upmarket hotel, 'Circus Circus', where we were to stay for the 3rd night.  

Having been used to the grandiose of The Bellagio, we decided to escape 'Circus Circus' for the evening and head to 'Winn', apparently the most expensive casino on the block.  Here we enjoyed a gorgeous Japanese meal and continued our new found obsession with slot machines, figuring that if we played for 1 cent each time we could sit and drink for free for hours on end!  We actually managed to do quite well on the slots on the 3rd day and think we completed our session up on money (probably a first for Vegas!).  The thrill of starting  with a dollar and coming out with 40 was brilliant and we could see how these things could get addictive.  However, being the sensible people we are we managed to pull ourselves away before we could lose our earnings (or save them to go towards our poker game that evening).

Upon returning to Circus Circus, Ash and I finally plucked up the courage to get involved in a game of poker, something that we had been really apprehensive about doing.  I was scared that everyone would be really good and that there would be bullyish and aggressive play, but it turned out that the players were friendly, just wanting to have a good time, like ourselves.  Ash and I committed ourselves to the minimum $60 buy-in, eventually doubling our money before checking out.  I think we both won a couple of hands -  one of mine being particularly sweet, beating 2 guys with royal pairs with my triple 4s.  I was 'all-in' at this point so was glad to be able to continue playing. 

After our successful night of poker, we retired to our less than glamorous hotel room (not worthy of  a photo!) and prepared to our next venture to Austin, Texas, where we would pick up our first hire car and 'hit the road'.

USA - California

3 weeks into the North American stint of the trip and only just about getting used to putting toilet paper down the toilet, and not in the rubbish bin (oh, I’m sorry, ‘the garbage’). It’s amazing how quickly you pick up the lingo (“I filled up the gas today, walked along the sidewalk to find the the atm etc”) whereas the old habits of chucking the loo role in a different location seem to die hard….strange that! 

Today, Ash and I had our first ‘Oh, I love your accent’, which we loved..obviously!  My theory is the further you get away from California the more special you are and the more attention is lavished upon you…certainly sounds good to me.  In actual fact, having attention lavished seems to be a running theme here in North America, whether it be for our English-ness of otherwise.  The States, as it turns out, is a damn friendly place to be, especially here in Texas where we’re currently staying.  On our journey so far, the level of customer service found in bars, restaurants, shops etc, as well as the friendliness and eagerness to assist by the locals, has really taken me aback.   The cynics among us may wager that the former instance serves purely as a necessarily by-product of the tipping culture over here, but I think that this view may be just that…cynical.  Even in clothes shops, for instance, where tips are (I assume) not on the cards, the assistants go out their way to deliver a service that leaves you walking out the doors feeling just that bit better than when you stepped in.  Once again, the cynics among us may say this feeling of betterment is due to the new pair of shoes or dress that managed to find itself into your wardrobe, rather than any lasting effects from the service provided, but I would perhaps beg to differ.  We’ve also been offered lifts by locals and were helped out of a ditch that I stupidly drove into on the first day of our car rental….oopps! We’ve had coffee shop worked print maps out for us, hotel assistants upgrading us to palatial suites in Vegas and passers-by asking us if we need any help.  A girl on our flight even took the time to write us a ‘What’s Hot and What’s Not’ list of things to do in Austin after hearing our British accents.  All in all, it’s not been going so badly for us.

San Francisco

As mentioned in a previous post, we began the States in San Francisco, the city that everyone had gone out of the way to tell me how much I’d love.  And love it I did…as most people who visit seem to.  Ash and I rented a gorgeous apartment in the Nob Hill area, which had every amenity we could have wished for.  Having come from 4 months hostelling in South America, finding a blender in the kitchen and a fridge stocked with Hersey’s chocolate and organic walnut and cranberry bread was nothing short of amazing and we got stuck in to ‘playing house’ for the next 6 days.

Playing host to the 'rents at the apartment:

We spent a lot of time in San Francisco walking, getting used to the area and visiting all the different districts.  I think, for me, getting to know the distinct areas of the city was a real highlight. A few notable areas we visited were the Italian area of North Beach, the overtly Chinese China town, where you could walk for block upon block without seeing another white face,  the old hippy district of Haight Ashbury, with so many excitingly weird and wonderful shops and bars, and the gay capital of The Castro, where my Mum particularly enjoyed and where Ash seemed to get a bit too much attention…     We also dined in the Mexican Mission District, cycled over the Golden Bridge, schmoozed around Salsalito and did the really interesting tour of Alcatraz. It was Ash’s bday whie we were away and we celebrated by visiting the Exploratorium, checking out the Palace of Fine Arts in its beautiful lake-side setting and going for a great Japanese meal at a sushi restaurant in The Marina.   We also had the chance to entertain in our lovely Nob Hill abode, as it was San Francisco where we met up with my Mum, Dad, Sister and Brother-in-law.  It was really nice to see them all after  so many months and we made up for lost time whilst chatting away over  glasses of wine in our sunny living room.  Now that we were with some proper adults, we were able to rent a car, meaning that we could begin the American Road Trip in earnest and head down south along the Atlantic coast, first stopping at the seaside town of Santa Cruz.

The trip down the coast

Now equipped with our 6 seated people carrier, we set off on our trip down south towards Santa Cruz.  While in San Francisco we had spent some time researching holiday rentals and somehow managed to bargain with the owners of a grand golf ‘french’ villa just a short drive from downtown.  The villa was only costing us 35 pounds a night or so each a night ... something we couldn’t believe when we set our eyes on the property.  Each couple had our own beautifully decorated double en-suite and the living areas were huge and very grand, including several patio areas with outdoor heaters and speakers and humungous barbecues waiting for us.  I knew they did things bigger this side of the pond, but we really did seem to land on our feet with this property.  Wine seemed to be the theme of our time in California, and the patio areas in the villa were the perfect arena for a spot of al fresco drinking and dining. 

Although we found it hard to drag ourselves away from our beautiful abode, we did manage to spend time visiting the downtown area (going shopping for clothes!) and boardwalk of Santa Cruz. We also spent a day in Monterey visiting the spectacular aquarium as well the overly touristy drag of Cannery Row (from John Steinbeck’s book of the same name).  It was interesting to learn about the fishing industry in the area that enjoyed such a boom in the first half of the 20^th century but later crashed as a result of such high levels of over-fishing.  The aquarium, in particularly, did a good job at providing information on this history and there was a whole area dedicated to warning us of the perils of such abuse.  On the way back from Monterey, we visited the upmarket town of Carmel and drove through Pebble Beach golf course and surrounding areas (where I reckon lots of rich Californias must live – we even had to pay to drive through). The golf course also features on the Tiger Wood’s Pro-golf game, something that Ash was particularly excited about!

           

The next destination was Morro Bay, mainly planned as a stop-off point between Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara.  Here we stayed in a nice hotel that had free cheese and wine in the evening and Ash and I enjoyed the added benefit of having a Jacuzzi in our room (a gift from the parents for our birthdays).  The next day (my Bday!) we visited the amazing Hearst’s Castle, a huge estate build by a very rich Californian who was in the newspaper business (apparently the guy that Citizen Kane was based on).  Hearst was so interested in art and architecture, that he systemically filled his house (more like a castle) with pieces from all over the world.  His outdoor swimming pool, for instance, featured real Roman columns and tapestries once belonging to Louis XIV hung of the walls of the reception rooms.  Back in his day, Heart also had a plethora of wild animals roaming the grounds, including polar bears, lions and zebras.  The whole estate was really impressive and it was nice to see how an art lover, who had the money to indulge his passions, had incorporated some many interesting and beautiful pieces into his home. 

After leaving Hearst’s castle, we set off again to Santa Barbara to another great rental property.  Although not as grand as the Santa Cruz place, this house felt like a Californian home should with 180 degree views of the coast (the best view being from our en-suite toilet!).  There were comfy sofas to lounge around on, a separate ‘den’ and balcony areas surrounding the property.  Once again, it was starting to look like the Americans really did know how to live.  The owner was really lovely too and provided us with up-to-date magazines and newspapers, wine, crisps and a range of lovely toiletries to use (the kind of things you get excited about after backpacking!).  As it as my birthday, I was treated to massages from my mum and sister and sipped champagne before going for a really nice meal at a place called the Fishhouse just opposite the beach.  My food was really good and I even tried an oyster, something that I was very proud of!

We had planned to do Karaoke after the meal but we were all too full and tired and so retired back to the pad to watch a spot of ‘The Sound of Music’ (another first for me).

Santa Barbara turned out to be a really lovely place and the spent time perusing the shops and bars downtown.  We also visited a great vineyard in the area for wine tasting and picnicked lakeside in gorgeous green settings.  As with Santa Cruz, we felt sad to leave our new home, but by this time we had all begun to get excited about Vegas, where we would be staying for the next 3 nights.

Quick last bit of Bolivia..and Peru

Quick last bit of Bolivia

Ok, so I should be filling in on the rest of Bolivia in this post, but, to be honest, I have forgotten most of the finer details, given that we left some 2 months ago now.  From what I do remember was all positive:  We dressed up and danced at carnival in Oruru (involving ourselves in many 'espuma' (read 'foam) fights), checked out Cochabamba and spent a great week in La Paz, a city that we loved.  I took some Spanish lessons and Ash completed 'The World's Most Dangerous Road', leaving me a gibbering wreck while I waited for his return.  We spent our time in the capital with Paige and Lloyd and managed to fit in beer drinking at our micro-brewery hostel, visits to coco leaf museums and general partying.  After La Paz, we ventured to Isla del Sol on the border of Bolivia and Peru with P and L staying a hotel that must have one of the best views in the world over the majestic Lake Titicaca (one side looking out over Peru and the over Bolivia).

Onwards from Isla del Sol was the next destination of Peru!

Peru 

The last couple of weeks in the South American leg were spent in Peru.  Unfortunately, given the amount of time spent in other locations, we only ended up with a brief 10 or so days to discover the 5^th country on our journey.   With this in mind, we decided to concentrate our time in Cusco, the ancient empire of the Inca’s, the last ruling group to fall at the hands of the Spanish.  With Paige and Lloyd still by our side, we set off from Copacabana on the rather uncomfortable journey to Cusco (seemingly having been downgraded from ‘cama’ to ‘semi cama’..grrrr…).

My first impressions of Peru, (and maybe this was due to prior influence from guidebook), was that it was a lot more ‘tourist-ready’ than Bolivia.    There were more English speakers, more flyers being thrown at you and more people trying to lure you into buying their tickets/ tours/ bus seats etc.  Even after you had walked past, you could still hear the continuing ‘Machu Pichu’, ‘Bus to Lima’, ‘Tour to Amazon’ taunts following you down the street; you certainly couldn’t knock them for trying!  I also found it notably strange that there were no searches crossing the border from Bolivia into Peru.  Compared to the border crossings into, say, Chile, where they would shoot you for having an apple in your bag, this procedure (or lack of it) seemed rather lax.  Perhaps, we reasoned, both countries had reached a point of saturation with regards narcotics, general contraband … and apples…that there was no need for control anymore.

In any case, we arrived safely into Cusco and checked into the notorious ‘party hostel’ Loki.  I had wanted to check out this place since Brazil, mostly due to have being informed of the weekly pub quizzes hosted in the bar.  The other 3 were less unconvinced.  Our first foray into the bar confirmed their fears…huge crowds of 18-24 year olds (the age bracket below us!) flooded the dance floor, adorned in fancy dress and falling all other the place.  Drunken young men line danced on the bar and cigarette smoke engulfed ever corner of the bar space. It couldn’t have been more perfect… just what the doctor had ordered!!  We got into the party spirit with a few beers and bumped into our old friend Herman, which was great.

As we found out over the next couple of days, Cusco has a lot to offer to the tourist: world-class eateries, culture coming out its ears and an interesting and beautiful mix of Incan and colonial architecture decorating the town centre.  Add the nearby ruins of Incan fortresses and a plethora of great shops, and Cusco proves itself an enjoyable and stimulating place to spend your time.  As Liverpool was awarded the European city of culture, Cusco took the crown for the Americas, and you could see evidence as to why as you walked the stone paved streets.  Many of the walls in the city are Incan originals (having withstood two earthquakes in the past 400 years) and the Spanish style arches around the main plazas are strategically lit up with dramatic effect.  

Whilst in Cusco, we visited Sexy Women (ok, it’s not spelt like that, but that’s what it sounds like), the Incan fortress, shopped, went to the most AMAZING restaurant called Fallen Angel (never seen anything quite like it in terms of  décor)  and set off on our trip to Machu Picchu, the ‘lost Incan city’.  Whilst most people chose the 5-day trek to this spectacular archaeological site, we chose the less demanding option of hopping on the train, spending a night in Aguas Calientes and bussing up in the morning.  At least we thought this was the easy option…. Our driver was late on picking us up to take us to the train station meaning that we were in for the ride of our life in attempts to make the train on time.  We bombed down winding roads, took detours to avoid traffic and ran a final stretch down a stony path to try and catch the train that we were already 30 minutes late for.  As predicted, we missed our transport and the company ended up having to pay for us to be upgraded to the more expensive train (with food and everything) to take us through the Sacred Valley to Aguas Calientes. The scenery en-route was nothing short of spectacular, with steep cliff sides, cascading rivers and lush greenery covering everything the eye could see. 

Aguas Calientes, itself, was also not as bad as we’d expected.  A small town set among two massive mountains with the roaring river intersecting at a steep gradient made for an impressive initial impression.  It was soon, clear, however that the town existed for one reason only (as the entrance to Macchu Picchu) and the people were even more ‘tourist ready’ than Peru in general.  Despite this, we managed to have a pleasant evening, tucking ourselves in early for a 3.45 start in the morning!

Getting up at quarter to 4 in the morning wasn’t much fun, but was deemed necessary if we were to catch a bus up to Machu Picchu in time for registration for the walk up Wanu Pichu (the mountain often seen in the background of the Macchu Pichu postcard shots).  We also started our guided tour early so as to avoid the crowds coming in later.  Machu Picchu is one of those things that, despite having been seen on postcards and in guidebooks so often, did not fail to impress me.   The very location of this famous site was as much of a charm as the ruins itself and almost magical with the green mountains poking out from the blanket of mist and clouds.  It almost felt as though you were walking round a city in the sky and I half expected a Jetson to drive past in a jet-car, or a character from Galaxy High to appear besides me.  Below are some pics that, once again, will do the site better justice than any of my words can:

 

We actually ended up stranded in Aguas Calientes for another night, due to a landslide that had fallen onto the train tracks.  Luckily the situation wasn’t as bad as it had been previous years, when helicopters had had to be sent to pick us the tourists, and we were able to move on the following day.

After two more evenings in Cusco, we sadly said our goodbyes to our friends Paige and Lloyd with a final night out on the tiles, and bussed the 20 odd hours to Lima, another unpleasant journey on what seemed like the world’s most windy road, albeit with good scenery.  We made up for the treacherous journey once we arrived into Lima with a gorgeous meal in the rather upmarket cervicheria, where we gorged on some beautiful seafood, pisco sours and white wine.  The next day, the final day in South America,  was spent with our friend Herman site-seeing around the centre of Lima (much nicer than expected) before flying out later on that evening.   The fact that we didn’t know whether our flight was confirmed until that morning all added to the excitement of the day (mmm….think we’ll be having words with STA Travel when we get back).

We arrived into San Francisco early the next morning, after a comfortable flight, and I could hardly contain my excitement as I made my first ever steps onto North America soil. Another continent ticked off the list with just Antarctica to go now…not bad going for a 25 year old eh?

Beginnings of Bolivia

Writing this as head into Bolivia from Peru...once again with lots to catch up on.  I think these entries are going to end up being a little blurred, and with the odd hole here and there...but hopefully I should  be able to cover most areas off!

Longing for more...

So, I leave Bolivia with, like many others, a lust for more.  Despite spending a month here and having visited a plethora of varied locations, I definitely feel I could come back here for more:  Rurrenabaque, the jump off point for Amazonian explorations; the easten districts encompassing the richest areas of the company and the laid back dwellings near Saimapata are all places that will demand another visit some day.  One place, in particular, captured my imagination over a thai lunch in La Paz.  It was here we met an Amerircan/German/Italian guy who owned an Organic Farm near to Samaipata called Ginger's Paradise. At the risk of sounding all 'good life', the promise of organic food, lessons is jewellery making, helping in tofu production and digging in on the farm all compounded to make this sound an attractive proposition.  However, given the 20 hour or so travel time from La Paz and our ever impending flight to the States, Ginger's looks like it'll have to wait till next time.

So, what did we do? 

Enough of what we didn't do and on to what we did!  Perhaps it's best to start with an quick conclusion or sum up, if you will. I have come out of this country with a deeper understanding of Bolivian folklore and history, an appreciation of the cultural and political signifiance of the much revered coca leaf, a slightly improved level of Spanish expertise (after some lessons in La Paz) and a brand spanking new addition to my right foot in the form of small star tattoo.  Whilst in this country, I have pondered why there are so many pharmacies, why every shop on any particular road sells exactly the same range of products (surely any business acumen would suggest that a little distinction could only be a good thing?) and why there is so much emphasis (particularly with regards the naming of streets) on dates throughout history.  While the first two points still leave me baffled, the latter is perhaps a more serious one, insofar as highlighting the rocky history of the nation and how significant these milestones dates are for her development (Bolivia is apparently a women by the way).  Bolivia, in particularly, seems to have had a rough time of it over the past centuries, first struggling for independence only to have a sizeable portion of its land taken away by the neighbouring countries of Brazil, Chile and Paraguay.  The losses suffered by the Bolivians included, most significantly, their coastline - something that still ruffles their feathers to this day.    

Really.. what did he do..

Iquique - Sucre

Managed to go off on a tangent again...I do apologise!

The final destination before Bolivia was the unashamedly tacky but super fun beach bum centre of Iquique in northern Chile. Here we relaxed on the beach, partied hard and... that was about it...loads of fun though, if not completely devoid of culture.  Before that we visited San Pedro de Atacama, which was the place for geyser discovery, salt water floating and 2 for 1 pisco sours. We had gone to SPDA (the driest desert in the world) primarily to partake in a 'star tours' session, where we would be taught all about the night sky by a french astronomer. Unfortunately, however, there were too many clouds for the duration of our stay so we were unable to attend - something we were very sad about :(.  We managed to console ourselves with a few cocktails, though, so all was dandy! 

After Iquique, our newly formed gang of 5 (Canadian Chelsea, American Paige, Ozzy Lloyd and Ash and I....latterly known as Gash and The Colonies) trundled across the border to the city of Oruro in Bolivia. The crossing turned out to eventful to say the least.   Firstly, whilst waiting at the bus station, Paige's laptop mysteriously disappeared.  The fact that it had presumably been stolen right from under our noses without us noticing left us all a little unsettled. The second event, the witnessing of the aftermath of a car crash, was even more macabre and we were all a little shaken by seeing two dead bodies on the edge of the road.  The van, that had been transporting what looked like a family, had toppled off the windy road into a cliff face with the surviving members now left waiving for help to passers by.  Another disturbing element to the tale was that no-one seemed to stop, despite the constant gesturing of a mobile phone made one of the men in the group.

Luckily the rest of the journey went a little more smoothly (apart from Paige suffering from a bout of travel sickness and Ash getting locked in the toilet on the bus) and we were welcomed by darkness into Oruro later on that night.  Oruro is an old mining town in central west Bolivia that apparently is the most representative of the 'real Bolivia' among all the destinations that a tourist might visit.  It was very different to other places we had visited so far, with an abundance of Cholitas (women dressed in traditional Bolivian dress), markets everywhere and a generally slightly dirtier and shabbier feel to it.  Oruro had been the choice destination for 2 reasons: firstly, it was here that we planned to catch the train down to Tupiza, where we would start our Salar de Uyuni tour and, secondly, to book our accommodation for the fast approaching carnival. As the home of South America's 2nd most famous carnival destination (after Rio), accommodation in Oruro books up quickly over the festive period (as well as being VERY dear), so we made sure we were all set with the reservations before we headed down south.

The 12 hour or so train journey down to Tupiza was spent celebrating the 27th birthday of Gash and The Colonies member Chelsea.  Pass the parcel, dodgy champagne (read Perry..or maybe Cider), balloons, party games and cake were all part of the order of the day and we wiled away the hours drinking and being merry...like all birthdays should be spent!

We arrived in Tupiza early the next day and spend a couple of days here walking, horse riding and generally enjoying the novel cheapness of Bolivia....as well as laughing at misspellings/ misinterpretations of food items on menus.  Some personal favourites of mine included 'Eggplant to the Iron', 'Pasta to the garlic', 'Mounted Loin' and, of course, the famous 'He/She/ It calls' for Lama (anyone who knows Spanish will get this...for those of you who don't rest assured that this is a very bad and very funny mistake!).

Tupiza was also where we embarked on our 4 day/ 3 night tour of Salar de Uyuni...something that 99.9% of all visitors to Bolivia will take part in...and for good reason.  To write about the beautiful scenery and experiences on this trip would only serve an injustice, so instead I defer to a couple of photographs below:

What with the brilliant scenery and our fabulous guide Santos and cook Fortunada, our trip around these Bolivian highlights turned out to be among the best things we have seen so far...a sentiment that you often hear echoed around South America among the backpacker community.

We finished our trip in Uyuni, a town, like Oruro, that was centred around mining and so a little drab and depressing.  We only had to stay here one night, though, before heading off to the more cosmopolitan and rich city of Sucre. Once the capital of Bolivia, Sucre is now considered the most beautiful city in the country, with white-washed buildings and a buzzing university population.  Lloyd, Ash and I left Chelsea and Paige for a few days to visit this city and I got my man fix spending time with the boys alone.  Ironically, we spent a large proportion of our time in Sucre buying thread and learning how to make friendship bracelets...perhaps I had rubbed off more on the guys than the other way round...

We left Sucre to meet back up with the girls in Oruro again, where we were to done our fancy dress and got involved in Carnival festivities.....

 
Carnival

Dancers in traditional Bolivian dress.

Oruro was to be our location for The Carnival celebrations....a party lasting for 3 days (and beyond).  The 5 of us piled into 2 small hotel rooms and started the party in earnest by becoming ill (well Paige and me at least).  Luckily I had already sourced my fancy dress and so could spend the Friday in bed, preparing for the next 2 days of partying.  By the Saturday I was feeling a lot more chipper and dressing up as a bumble bee only added to the excitement.  

Ash, Chelsea, Paige and Lloyd also dressed up to the nines, including a gold glitter beard, red lipstick and a red wig for Ash..I think everyone (including the scores of Bolivians who stopped to stare) agreed that he looked amazing, in an 'Axyl Rose' on acid kind of way (see pic). 

 

We managed to get seats on an old rickety bench about 3 metres up next to an old flower store and settled down to watch a day of parades through the city.  The procession featured numerous different dance groups from different areas of Bolivia, and representing different elements of Bolivian folklore and history.  One group, for instance, represented the Bolivian culture of growing coco leaves, with the dancers' costumes beautifully embroidered with golden leaves on their backs.  Another group featured dancers wore elaborate white beards, representing the Spanish conquistadores, with other dancers dressed up as African slaves, wearing balls and chains round their ankles.  A bit of research into the history of Bolivia informed me that somewhere between 8 and 10 million African slaves died as a result of poor conditions working the mines in the times - a statistic I found really shocking.
 
Carnival had been a real eye-opener of Bolivian culture and tradition and I am really glad we made the effort to go back to Oruro to experience it. 

The Grape Escape....y mas.... muchos mas

Three countries on and still not managed to update the old blog....same old story!  Why I decided to wait until Bolivia where the internet connection is slower than a snail on valium to continue is beyond me...too busy having fun eh!

So, after The Great Escape, first, comes The Grape Escape (ok, so I stole that phrase from The Lonely Planet), where copious amounts of fine wines were discovered, disgested and deliberated.  The first stop on the grape tour was Mendoza, where we found the most amazing hostel called La Empedrada.  Wine tasting lessons, laundrey and phone calls back home were all part of the freebies offered by this homely hostel.  The nightly free glass of wine and a delectable breakfast of dulce de leche pancakes, pastries and fruit were the icing on the cake. We seemed to cram a lot of activities into our time in Mendoza, whilst still having ample time to relax in the pool and enjoy the vine covered courtyard.  Paragliding, wobbly wine tours (vineyard visits on bikes), olive oil factory visits and an obligatory night out on the town were the orders of the day, helping seal friendships with many of our hostel mates (some of whom we are still travelling with or planning to meet up with soon).  

The girls from Mendoza...

And the boys...

After Mendoza, Ash and I headed north to the Argentinian city of Tucuman.  This was definitely the worse place we have visited to date and we struggled to find enough to keep us entertained partly due to the never ending rain. Luckily the next stop of Tafe de Valle  was more of a success and we spend 2  days in this pretty town in the foothills of the mountains, cycling around idigenous settlements and watching horse ball matches. The next stop was the slightly larger town of Cafayate where we stayed in another great hostel, which, whilst quieter than the Mendoza abode, was a great place to relax with yet more vines bearing delicious grapes ready to eat.  We met our friend Chelsea and Herman here and spend yet another day cycling around vineyards, tasting the regional specialities of  Malbec and Torrentes.  By the end of the day we were getting quite good at commenting on the wine in spanish, as well as formulating our excuses for not buying ( I´m sure backpackers aren´t their favourite type of clientele!).  We were also able to sample the delectable (if not a bit unusual) wine ice cream that I believe is unique to this one shop in Cafayate.  Ash went for Cabernet with a second scoop of orange, whilst I chose Torrentes with grapefruit...yum yum!!  Cafayate was also where my mate obsession began.  For those of you unaware of this Argentinian institution, mate is a drink made of Yerba (kind of like tea) and hot water, the drinking of which is steeped in tradition and ritual.  We participated in a mate class at our hostel and discovered the ´dos´ and ´don´ts´ associated with the mate preparation and consumption process.  Mate is typically shared with friends, with one person elected to serve the drink to the rest of the party.  Whilst at first bitter, the taste improves and you find yourself enjoying the process of sharing a cup with your fellows. (See below)

If all that wasn´t enough, we also managed to fit in a visit to the ´Quebrada de Cafayate´, a national park with spectacular rock formations (apparantly a bit like the grand canyon and zion national park), before heading further north still to the city of Salta. 

In Salta we met up with friends from Mendoza Chelsea, Gilbi and Patricia and decided to rent a car for a road-trip up north. Lots of stories from these eventful couple of days but this will have to wait - bed is calling...it´s getting late and we have an early start for our Salt Flats tour tomorrow. Until next time chicos!

Hasta luego chicos!

The Great Escape

Panic over...since last writing we´ve finally managed to drag ourselves away from Puerto Natales and continue our trip up through Argentina.  Given the state of play in Chile, we didn´t manage to leave the country in the most conventional of ways, but it was definitely more exciting than catching the regular bus over the Frontera!

After a couple more days of waiting at the Red Cross base at the school continually being told that the buses were to be delayed further, Ash and I had just about given up all hope of ever leaving. After engaging in talks with our new friends, we had collectively decided that we would walk the 25k across into Argentina the next day.   As you can imagine the prospect of embarking on this mammouth journey with all our belongings in tow wasn´t too inviting so Ash and I decided to console ourselves by indulging in a slap up meal at ´Afrigonia´, Puerto Natales´ Patagonian/ African fusion restaurant.  As bizarre as the concept sounds, the resulting fare was exquisite and we enjoyed crab mousse, fillet steak with wild mushrooms and ostrich with rhubarb and cheese sauce (better than it sounds) before making our way back to the hostel.

Upon arriving back to the hostel that evening, we were greeted with the excited shrieks of our fellow backpackers urging us to pack up our belongings and be ready to leave in the next five minutes. Apparantly the government had been putting pressure on the protesters, demanding the barricade to be opened for a couple of hours to let some traffic through.  Juan, the hostel owner, had kindly volunteered to risk dissaproval from the strikers and ferry us across the border. By this time is was approaching 11pm and we had to hurry through the blocquade and the border before it was too late..it was all very exciting, not least for the fact that we had finally managed to escape and embark on a new chapter of the journey.  Once passing through the Chilean and Argentina border, we prepared ourselves for the 5k walk to the nearest town in Argentina, Rio Turbios, where we hoped we might be able to find a room for the night. Luckily, just before we were about to set off, I was bundled into a car with my backpack squashed against my face and told that we were getting a lift... thank God!  The next 6 or so  hours was perhaps the most uncomfortable travelling experience I had ever had, as we rushed onto yet another bus that a smart Argentinan had had the foresight to put on (no doubt profitting somewhat from the incident).  To say the bus was cold would be an understatement and I shivered all the way to Calafate, until finally arriving at 5 in the morning, with no hostel to check into and no Argentinian pesos.  The group that we were travelling with (Miguel, Joaquin, Tito and Sarah) and Ash and I managed to find a random hostel to sit in for a few hours, before scrapping enough money together to buy some croissants and hot chocolate. Fortunately, we were then able to find a hostel that let check in at lunchtime and we settled down to a well deserved sleep.

The next four or so days were spent in Calafate, a pretty Ski-resort type town, with an abundance of chocolate shops and a backdrop of beautiful snow-capped mountains.  Most of the people in our log-cabin style hostel had also been in Puerto Natales so we had a great couple of evenings celebrating our successful cross over to Argentina with old friends that we had made in Chil (see pic below).

In Calafate, we also visited the famous Perito Moreno glacier, a piece of ice that is apparanty the size of Buenos Aires. This was also a very chilly experience and you could hardly raise your head to look on the ice for the strong cold winds blowing towards the boat.

We were having so much fun travelling with the 3 spanish musketeers and Sarah that we booked our 30 hour bus ride together to Bariloche to continue the fun. Bariloche is a city nestled in the Argentinian lake district and our hostel was perfectly situated with a panoramic vista of Lake Nahui Huapi, a beautiful body of crystal clear water set against yet another stunning mountainous backdrop (see above).   We spent our time in the lakes visiting the picture perfect towns of El Bolson (where we visited a hippi market, watched live music, drank tasty fresh juices and ate the most amazing cherries my mouth has ever had the pleasure to entertain) and Villa Angostura.  We also rented a car so we could drive round the 7 lakes surrounding the city and spent a day whitewater rafting, which was lots of fun.

Leaving Bariloche also meant saying goodbye to our new friends and heading off by ourselves once again towards Mendoza, the wine region of Argentina, which is where we are at the moment.  Lots of antics to report on from the last couple of days but that'll have to wait for another day. One thing I will say now though is that if I ever see a bottle of vino tinto again it'll be a day too soon!

Stranded

Once again, I´ve been really lazy and am now running about 3 weeks late on my blog so lots to cram in today! It doesn´t help matters that I´ve got an awful hangover and would really be more happy lying down in front of a film with a dose of painkillers and a tub of ice-cream... but hey ho...

After spending the last couple of weeks in Buenos Aires and travelling south through Argentina, our current location is the Patagonian town of Puerto Natales in Chile and our official status is "stranded". The people of the cold south have, quite rightly so, taken exception to a proposed hike in gas prices in the region, deciding to go on strike and block all access in and out of the region in protest. What this means for us is that there is no way of getting out of here.. and we are stuck here for foreseeable future.  Luckily for us, though, the shops in the town have started opening up now so no more rationing of pasta portions for the time being!

Fortunately, too, it seems as though we hit the jackpot with the hostel we chose to be stranded in. The owners and staff have turned out to the most hospitable (and fun) we could have hoped for.  We have been spoiled with asados (BBQs) and all night partying sessions with our fellow stranded travellers...hence the hangover now. It does feel a little bit as though we are Groundhog Day though ...we wake up, bum around, make some food (pasta), bum around, play cards, start partying, dance around a bit, go to bed...not the worst cycle to be caught up in I guess.  

The initial reason for our visit to Puerto Natales was to complete the "W" trek in Chile´s most famous national park "Torres del Paine".  After arriving in the town about a week ago, we stocked up on high energy goodies, rented some camping equipment and headed off enthusiastically to embark on our 3 night, 4 day adventure around park. Not being the most fit individuals on this planet we didn´t quite manage the whole "W" (it was more like a lowercase "v") but still managed to see some gorgeous scenery and enjoy the delights of riverside camping. The towering mountains, turquoise lakes and lush forests were all wonders to behold but the cumbersome and very heavy rucksacks we had to lug around with us detracted somewhat from the experience.  Evenings were mostly spent hobbling around the camp, drinking cheap red wine to numb the pain. We wisely chose to leave the park after 4 days, meaning that we got back into town just in time for the strike to commence. Given the lack of transport in the region, had we not left then we´d still be there now, trying to make our last ten pounds stretch to food and shelter for an indefinite period of time... not much fun!

Before arriving in Puerto Natales, we visited Puerto Madryn in Argentina and the Chilean town of Puntas Arenas, where we saw penguins, dolphins and whales. We were extremely lucky to spot the latter, as apparantly they don´t normally hang around in that area. Even the guide on our boat was so shocked that he shed a tear when he first noticed the spurts of water rising out the sea (this may have just been the wind but I´d prefer to go with my version of the events).

I can´t remember now whether I have written about Buenos Aires yet in this blog but, if not, think it may be a task for another day. My eyes are tiring and the steak sitting in the plastic bag next to my feet is crying out to be cooked.  Hopefully next time I write we´ll have managed to continue on our journey up north and escaped the throes of this political unrest....if not, it´s Chile for the next 5 months...Que bien!