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!

Belated Xmas Musings

It's always hard to drag yourself away from the daily delights of holidaying to sit down at a computer screen for half an hour to document your thoughts.  This, coupled with the invariably long queues to use the computers in the hostel, has meant that this blog is some week and a bit overdue.  In fact, I have written 2 entries in my notebook now that have to be written up...and I am just realising that there is a steady queue forming for using pcs so I may have to abandon this attempt too!

Since my last entry in Paraty, Ash and I have attempted (and succeeded) in completing our 'whistle-stop tour' of Brazil (well at least of one small stretch of the humongous country) before setting our sights on Argentina, where we are currently residing.

After an evening on caiprinhas, card games and a hearty stew courtesy of Justin (see...told you it'd get a mention!!) in Paraty, we embarked on a 20 hour journey to Campo Grande via Sao Paulo. Considering how unprepared we were for this epic journey (no tickets, little to no idea of when the buses actually left) things miraculously fell into place and soon we had arrived at Campo Grande ready to organise our 3 day tour of the Pantanal (the amazon basis where loads of cool wildlife apparently hang out).

We spent a day and night in C.G., which was cool as we got to see a bit of 'real' Brazil - a city that seemed more geared towards normal day-to-day life than tourism.  We were slightly disappointed, however, that we were unable to find one suitable eatery in the whole city; Brazilians seem obsessed with sweet bread and cheese, cake... and not much else.  I put my foot down when Ash suggested Macdonalds and instead suggested a road-side eatery, that turned out to the big mistake on account of the lashings and salt and cheese piled onto my hotdog. I seriously felt as though my mouth had been cured or something after eating - not pleasent!

The morning after we set off on the 4 hour drive to the Pantanal.  We were shown to our 'bedroom' (hammocks hanging in a wooden shack) and introduced to the rest of the group.  More cairprinhas were the order of the day (..when in Rome...) and we wiled away our first evening playing 'Tudo Bem' (a card game adapted in homage to the popular Brazilian saying).

The following day the planned activities started in earnest (breakfast at 5am!!) and were soon trekking through swamp-land and jungle, spotting macaws, howler monkeys, scores of tropical birds and more caiman (alligator types creatures) than you could shake a stick at.  Our guide was a survival expert and showed us loads of cool stuff, like trees whose sap helped relieve the itching from mosquito bites and nuts that could be used as soap.  The Pantanal seemed so much hotter and humid than anywhere else we'd been so far, so much so that the middle section of the day was good for nothing else than swinging on hammocks and sleeping.

The rest of the time in the Pantanel was spent trying to avoid caiman in the camp´s watering hole, fishing for pirannas (i actually managed to catch a fish which was rather exciting!), going on night safaris and more general wildlife spotting

After the Pantanal, we concluded our Brazilian trip with a visit to the spectacular Foz do Igazu (big waterfall to me and you).  Although I´d read how cool and awe-inspiring these falls were, nothing prepared me for how outstanding they really were.  The sheer power of nature you felt while viewing the panorama of falls was incredible and using the wooden walk ways to get up-close amplified this sensation further. It almost felt as though you were on a (really awesome) ride at a theme park with the power of the water and wind smashing into your body from every angle... very exhilaring indeed!

So...with the trip to Foz complete, our time in Brazil had come to an end, something that I felt sad about.  As a country, Brazil had taken me by surprise.  I was astonished about how friendly and willing to help the people were (despite our embarrassingly awful attempts at Portuguese).  I also couldn´t believe the diversity that the country has to offer.. even in the small fraction that we were lucky enough to visit.  No one place was the same and there were so many different landscapes, eco-systems and types of architecture to cater for anyone´s taste.  On the down side, I wouldn´t say I was too enamoured by the food (how much salt and cheese can one girl tolerate?) and I suppose it was quite dear, especially in Rio.  All things considered, though, a brilliant country and a good time had by all!

Greetings from Brazil

Almost a week in the trip now, so thought it was about time to update the old blog.  We’ve just arrived into Paraty, an old colonial town about 4 hours from Rio famed for its cobbled streets and white-wash buildings.  We’ve yet to look round the town as have prioritized the glamorous task of doing the laundry – I can’t believe how much we have managed to amass in just a week – it’ll be all that hiking we’ve been doing in the 30+ degree heat!

So, our trip started off a little further from the ideal due to a cancelled flight from Heathrow to Rio.  The first issue was the ´minor´ (or so we were told) problem with the plane’s hydraulic system – despite being herded onto the plane we were still waiting on-board for a good 3 hours until the problem had been diagnosed and the new part been ordered.  Would have been good to get away on time, but we weren’t too worried at this point – they’d turned on the in-flight entertainment so I happily relaxed into a viewing of ´Made in Dagenham´ and snacked on the freebies they were handing out.  The entertainment was interrupted for an announcement from the pilot, which we all thought would be news of our imminent departure – we should be so lucky!  Instead the call was to ask if there was a doctor of medicine on board; a young child had fallen and hit their head and assistance was needed.  Unfortunately, there mustn’t have been any knight in shining armor on-board, as the next call was to inform the now rather fidgety passengers that an ambulance had been called and we would have to wait for the injured´s luggage to be removed from the craft.  As you can imagine, the mood on board was not great and was only further exacerbated by the lack of a Portuguese speaking crew member on board. It all turned a little embarrassing for BA when a Brazilian passenger had to volunteer to translate over the tannoy.  Just when things couldn’t get any worse, a group of agitated passengers had decided enough was enough and demanded to be let off the aeroplane.  We were told that if this group persisted with their demands that we’d all have to wait for their bags to be taken off and their details taken etc.  The likely outcome of this would be that we wouldn’t be able to depart inside our allotted window, thus meaning the flight would be cancelled. What then ensued was a battle of wills and a debate that wouldn’t seem out of place in an A-Level RE Ethics lesson (greatest good .. and all that).  Despite pleas from the captain and fellow passengers, the splinter group still insisted on leaving, meaning we were off to the Ramada Jarvis for our first night, rather than the far more sunny and exotic climes of Rio de Janeiro.

After this fall at the first hurdle, things started to work out a bit better for us – we were able to cancel our hotel and rearrange our transfer. Our first ´real´ night was spent in Botofogo in Rio in a hostel/hotel.  We grabbed a few beers in the local before setting our heads down for an early start of Sugar Loaf touring and hostel relocation.  The next day, after ´cable-car´ing it up Rio´s most famous (or maybe joint most famous) peak, we moved to Ipanema, a more backpacker friendly part of town fully equipped with its own Louis Vuitton shop and everything.  The next 3 days were spent in the Ipanema Beach House meeting people and seeing the sites.  St Teresa, with its old rickety tram and bohemian atmosphere, was a highlight.  

I spent most of the initial time in Rio being massively paranoid of getting robbed, but, alas, all was fine and I started to relax into it all a lot more when we took a trip to Lapa for a night out.  Lapa is an area of the centre of Rio renowned for its street parties, where musicians improvise to the samba beats and locals and visitors alike dance until the early hours.  Street stalls sell amazing kebabs and strong caiprinias to keep to partiers happy.  We spent the majority of the evening dancing under the arches of the St Teresa tram with new Brazilan friends.  I couldn´t get over how friendly everyone was and we spend the evening having our drinks topped up by and dancing with fellow revelers.  I think we may have taken the party spirit a bit too far by mindlessly sauntering in to one of the bars with our street-bought cocktails and dancing to the band without actually buying a drink – we were soon told where to go!

On Sunday, we left Rio with two new friends, Justin and Emily, to Ihla Grande, an island a couple of hours south.  The island was so absolutely gorgeous and I can see why it’s a popular destination for Cariocas wanting some time away from the city. The Lonely Planet was certainly on the money when it compared the island to those of Thailand, and I did feel as though I was on the Phi Phi of yester-year.  The island also reminded me of the Perenthian Island in Malaysia, with its sweeping white beaches and laid back charm.  We spent 3 nights here in a lovely hostel and completed a couple of walks/ treks as well as having some well-deserved early nights and some cocktails with a crazy group of Chilean guys – there must be something in the water in South America as I´ve never seen a group of men with so much rhythm - they certainly put our dancing to shame!!

So… that brings up to today and Paraty. Ash isn´t feeling too great at the moment (he seems to have been unlucky with reaction to malaria tablets and sun-burn) and so we’ll probably stay here for a couple of days to recuperate before heading up to Campo Grande for a spot of jungle adventure in the Pantanel.

Until next week… Bom dia!

P.s. I´ve just been on my blog to find people have actually ready and left comments – LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

Our first destination

Just working out how to add pictures :)

Golden Rules

Just over 2 weeks to go now and all starting to become a little more real. I think dreaming that we'd missed our flight last night was perhaps the wake up call that I needed to realise it's now time to pull my finger out and actually do some preparation.  The same dream also featured one of those rucksacks with a front zip that you can open like a suitcase, which was good as I needed some help deciding which to buy (I've taken this night-time apparition as a sign!!)  

Another form of preparation has been in trying to learn a bit of the language before we head off. Hopefully my Spanish skills will suffice for at least the basic interactions; the same unfortunately can't be said for my Portuguese prowess (or lack of).  In attempts to address this deficiency in my 'skill set', I've downloaded some free podcasts and had Ash kindly install some Rosetta stone software on my laptop... hopefully I'll be fluent once this week is out (errr...)

With leaving the country for 6 months, has also come the need to pack up our stuff up and re-locate to my kind sister's abode.  This process has certainly un-earthed some 'treasures' among the dust - old school projects, philosophy essays, notes on statistics modules from days gone by - all interesting reads!  Have also found the obligatory old diary or two from my teenage years, which are always nice to have a look through.  Having flicked through a couple of pages, I can confidently say that I haven't changed one bit in the past few years - apart from perhaps now being better at masking some of the less attractive idiosyncrasies!  There was one particular entry that made me laugh - the 'golden rules' that I had set for myself for night outs on the town as a 17 year old.  The first 4 are WAY too embarrassing to write down anywhere publicly, but the 5th ('Don't drink so much that you don't known what you're doing') and the 6th ('Don't do embarrassing things, like fall over, pull girls and go into the men's loos') are definitely tips that are still as valid for the 25 year old me ... when will I learn eh?

Reading these 'golden rules' got me thinking about life and the 'learning curve' that it really is. Given that will be my second 'travelling jaunt' (God.. I use a lot of inverted commas don't I?), surely there are some pointers that I can take from my first experience? Surely there are some mistakes that I need to remember not to make again? The answer to these questions is a resounding 'yes', the first of which being never to trust a Malaysia hairdresser with your barnet. Maybe a trim is OK (I recall Kerry coming away unscathed from our South East Asia salon experience), but anything more and you are definitely asking for trouble.   My new ‘do’ definitely epitomised the sentiment of ’not breezy' (our travelling catchphrase) and I recall it taking a good few months to grow out all the dodgy layers. Lyn (who had also been foolish enough to partake) also looked like she had walked straight out of 90's FRIEND's set, which we also found rather amusing.

Another piece of advice to myself is this – remember, whilst travelling, that just because food is twice as cheap, doesn’t mean you have to eat twice as much. I made this fatal error last time and the endless gorging on thai green curry and kangaroo stew ended up affording me an extra stone that has taken me a good three years to shift.  So... it’ll be just one steak for dinner, rather than two then!  Rather like my aforementioned diary ‘golden rules’, some of the advice I would give myself is also too embarrassing to reflect on here … just don’t let me near shaving foam or body lotion, that’s all I’m saying! Perhaps best to not go into any more details.

I am that person what blogs

Never thought I'd be here writing a blog.. not exactly my normal type of activity but I guess it kind of goes with the territory with this travelling malarkey. 

 

So, in the midst of a spot of Sunday 'Come Dine with Me' salvation, I've decided to take the 

plunge and set up by this site.  My experience so far is that 'blogging' is far from easy; immediately you are tasked to make those oh so vital decisions about your 'digital presence' - what photo will you have, what’ll be your background of choice and what font do you feel is most apt.  It's all a bit too reminiscent of MySpace for my liking (at least on Facebook you are constrained to the standard blue and white affair).  

Anyways, I am now all set up and ready to rock, having opted for the exact same ‘jelly bean’ background that I had/ have(?) on my MySpace page.  Luckily, we don’t go for another 8 weeks ish so plenty of time still to change that background to something less garish or to swap Trebuchet to Arial (all important decisions I’m sure you’ll agree).

So...apart from the design of my new blog, other things on my mind at the moment: Devising the perfect travelling capsule wardrobe; deciding whether 10 days is too long to spend in Buenos Aires is; whether blogging is self-indulgent? 

Answers on a post-card please.