The next 75 days in Colombia (Part II)

Of course the 7 hour bus (as usual in Colombia) turned into an 11 hour bus ride and we collapsed into our dorm beds that evening. I took massive advantage of a nearly empty hostel with cable TV, free coffee and a roaring fire for the first day…fantastic when the rain is hopping off the ground outside. After my fill of Friends, Seinfeld and the Office we went to explore the city with visits to museums and galleries and massive supermarkets (which are a luxury in South America) to make delicious meals. Bogotá was much more fantastic than we’d heard and went down as one of our favourites of South American cities. After a few days we flew from Bogotá back to Cali to begin our 2 weeks of volunteering in the mountains outside. We got pretty clear instructions on how to get to the goat farm we’d be volunteering…get on a bus to Buenaventura and get out at the 28th Kilometre then ask someone where the Finca las Cabritas (Goat Farm) is…hmmmmm?! Anyway, after a lot of queuing in the bus station (apparently the ticket people were on strike) and getting taxis here and there we were on a bus towards Buenaventura (and were nearly thrown off with people roaring “no gringos, no gringos, no hay espacio!”)…space or not I was getting on that bus! And we were off!! I explained to the ticket girl that we needed to get off at Kilometre 28…at which point she explained to me that, yes, we were on the bus towards Buenaventura but it was not the direct route – that route was closed. Super! So after 8 hours of standing on a bus we arrived at Buenaventura (the second rainiest place on the planet receiving 8 metres of rain annually). I won’t go through it but that journey was nothing compared to the bus back to kilometre 28 the next day. Eventually we arrived at the farm and settled into our little cabin nicely. We had the weekend to chill out and got our instructions that Monday morning for our farming jobs for the next 2 weeks. We quickly relaxed into the stunning surroundings and feasted on fresh fruit and veg (which was badly needed) and managed to buy the local shop out of all their beer pretty fast. Unfortunately we couldn’t stay for longer than 2 weeks as the 60 days on our visa was coming to an end and we had to get an extension back in Cali. So back to civilization it was…first things first…mega large popcorn and coke and 2 tickets to see Harry Potter! Bliss!! After a few panics we sorted out our visa extension – which meant we had to hang around Cali to wait for them for another week and a half. But we that also gave us a chance to visit the other farm in the valley (owned by the couple we were volunteering for) in a little town called Jamundi which was good fun…I also got to feed a baby goat so I was delighted! But soon enough it was time to move on again so we packed our bags and hopped on a flight back up to the Caribbean coast for Christmas week to await Mitch’s mom and brother’s arrival. Exciting stuff…!!
(pic 1: Mitch & I with 1 day old goats; pic 2: Feeding a baby goat in the farm in Jamundi)

The next 75 days in Colombia (Part I)

So I've been an extremely lazy girl the last 2 months and haven't updated our blog...so I'm going to try and condense our last 2 and a half months in Colombia into two entries...deep breaths everyone! After saying goodbye to Kim we swiftly got on a bus to Manangue (about 6 hours south of Cartagena...once again - see map!) where we needed to change for a boat and then a taxi (through extreme flooding) to get to our destination Mompóx (pronounced Mompos). It was like jumping into Huckleberry Finn world with baking heat, rocking chairs in every doorway and intense humidity. It didn't take long to see the entire town so we moved on after a couple of nights (and after being followed around the town by the only tourist guide trying to get us to buy a tour). It was more of a struggle to get out of there than it was to get in and we found out when we returned to Manangue that we'd have to pay an arm and a leg to get to our next destination Medellin...we considered our options and eventually hopped in a car with a friendly Colombian who brought us to the nearest big city, Sincillo, where we would be able to catch a bus the next day. Unfortunately we had to stay in the hotel of horrors next to the bus station...shtinky! We arrived in Medellin pretty hassle free in time for Halloween and boy was the city pumping! Before all the madness began we decided to get some sight-seeing done and visited Botero's art gallery which had me in fits of giggles (...he is truly obsessed with fat things) and then on to the cable car to take in the views the city. After some lame attempts at costumes and very sore heads we left Medellin to relax in the sleepy little colonial town of Santa Fe de Antioquia (a couple of hours outside) for a few days. We quickly bunked down in a gorgeous guesthouse on the main plaza in Santa Fe. There’s not much to the town – about 5 blocks by 5 blocks so it doesn’t take long to get around. We quickly got familiar with the town and enjoyed the laid back vibe and what was supposed to be a 2 night stay quickly turned into 5 nights. We spent a fantastic evening with the owner of our hotel and her friends (one of whom was a famous Colombian painter of about 80 and decided to draw me that evening) where Mitch got to practice his newly (fantastic) found Spanish skills. We reluctantly parted ways and hopped back on another long bus down to the coffee region to the town of Salento. We checked into our hostel which was actually built on a coffee plantation and the owner owns a coffee farm just down the road. We arrived late at night so were stunned to wake up to the beautiful sights all around the next morning. We quickly got the feeling that what was supposed to be a quick few days would turn in to longer…and so it did. We took a fantastic tour of the owners coffee farm the next day where we got to taste some delicious freshly ground coffee and found out some great coffee facts. In fact we enjoyed the farm so much that we decided to spend a night there and volunteer to pick coffee cherries the next morning…and got a free lunch out of it as well! We could only relax for so long until we had to haul our asses on another trek through the cocora valley to the valley of the wax palms about an hour from Salento. After the Lost City we thought we could conquer anything else that was thrown at us…apparently heat has a lot to do with taking away achy muscles! As it was rainy season in Colombia it didn’t take long for the rain to arrive around midday and last all day long. So we got up early and started trekking around 8am. It actually wasn’t as bad as everyone made out…until the rain came! Then we were sliding all over the place. But we made it to the top ok and turned around to see the fantastic sights of the wax palms only to be greeted by cloud, cloud and more cloud! Oh well! We made our way back down and managed to get some good glimpses as the clouds began to fade away. Roasting hot coffee was very welcome back at the farm that afternoon and it was with heavy hearts we said goodbye to Salento and hopped on a bus to Bogotá…

Charming Cartagena

After trekking a few hours in the midday heat we arrived at our bright and cheery hostel equipped with a pool and sun loungers...perfect. We decided to check out the old town first as we'd heard how beautiful it was...it didn't disappoint. Cartagena is actually a UNESCO World Heritage Site so not many things have been done to the city itself keeping it's charm and beauty. It's quite easy to get lost in the city but a pleasure to as well. You could stroll around the beautiful colonial streets for hours and not get bored. We spent the first evening in Cartagena Colombia-style with a bottle of rum, a bottle of coke and planted ourselves on the edge of the main plaza, Plaza Domingo, people watching and chatting to some locals, once or twice having to take shelter from the pounding Caribbean rain. We spent the next few days taking refuge from the midday heat in our hostel pool and spending the evenings taking in the delights of the city. We'd read and heard some interesting things about the Volcán de Totuma so Kim and I decided one morning to venture out there to see what it was all about. The Volcán de Totuma is a mud volcano located an hour outside of Cartagena - it's a natural phenomenon of "hot mud" from under the lagoon "spraying" out the top. We were looking forward to relaxing for a while in the warm mud, maybe getting a massage and a facial. We arrived in a bus with another 20 people and took a look at this volcano and just burst out laughing. It looked like an oversized ant hill. We reluctantly stripped down to our bikinis and head up the side of the volcano to the mud baths. At first sight we were terrified at what awaited us...the bath was about 4m by 4m and was completely full with just 15 people in it...as they were all lying down on their backs while they got "massages" from these random Colombians. At this point there was no turning back so I closed my eyes and dunked into the extremely weird feeling mud and tried to relax while screaming to the men trying to massage me "don't touch me, don't touch me", while Kim wet herself laughing from outside the mud pit! After our 5 minute mud fest we were guided into the nearby "lagoon" i.e. a swamp, to wash off. At this point the trauma reached it's peak when the women proceeded to whip our bikinis off to wash them out...once again, we were thrown into a fit of giggles when a poor misfortunate boy next to us couldn't speak Spanish and just held onto his pants for dear life! Altogether though it was a funny experience...and one to remember. Unable to think of the prospect of leaving my sister once again (twice in one year is too much!) we kept ourselves busy for the next few days...lounging in the pool in the heat of the day, taking in the fabulous beauty of the city and topping the evenings off with oodles of rum and beer. But of course the inevitable day arrived upon us and we said our teary goodbyes until 2011 and Mitch and I packed up our rucksacks once more to head south for further Colombia exploring!
(Pic 1: Kim & I traumatised in the mud pit; Pic 2: Cartagena)

Celebrations in Taganga & some beach time in Tayrona Park

After a gruelling 5 days trying to make it up to the Lost City some celebrating and relaxing on the beach was in order. Once we reached our hostel in Santa Marta we grabbed our bags and we all squeezed into a taxi to Taganga...unfortunate for those who didn't do the Lost City trek...quote from Aoife "guys, I'm sorry, but you absolutely stink!" (as she gagged out the taxi window!). So we quickly checked into hostels, showered, put on our glad rags and hit the town. The Lonely Planet describes Taganga as "a relaxing fishing village where you will be lured by sun and sand"...this it is not! But it was a nice little town to chill for a few days. After a fantastic slap up meal we managed to sniff out the dodgiest bar/club in town where you could only order rum by the bottle and shake your booty to salsa all night long. Being the only gringos in there we stuck out like sore thumbs but, as with all Colombians, they welcomed us with open arms (literally...as I was swung around the dance floor by a big Colombian dude teaching me some salsa moves!). Anyway, we did some good celebrating. We woke the next morning with sore heads to explore the town and quickly booked a boat to Tayrona National Park, a boat ride away, to search for these white sandy Caribbean beaches I heard so much about. It certainly didn't disappoint, We arrived in the early hours of the morning and grabbed some hammocks looking over the beach and lay our bums on the soft sand under some palm trees to do absolutely nothing for the next 2 days. It was a great couple of days and with burnt bums, legs and patchy tummies we said goodbye to Tayrona Park...for a few weeks anyway! So we jumped on a boat again to head back to Taganga for one more night...not before having another yummy slap up meal and dubious rounds of happy hour Maracuja Mojitos for the road. Our next stop would be Cartagena and we couldn't wait to see the beautiful city we heard so many amazing things about...we were hoping the Lonely Planet wasn't lying to us this time!!
(pic 1: Kim & Mitch having a swim on Playa Grande; pic 2: Kim & I in our hammock cabin)

First steps in the Carribean Sea & Ciudad Perdida

After a very pleasant flight into Santa Marta (broken in Bogota with some yummy Barry's tea and many Cadbury's chocolate bars courtosy of my amazing sis!) we got our manky, sweaty selves checked into a hostel and dived into the pool with some cold beers. The heat of the Carribean hit us hard! We celebrated our first proper night together with some yummy Mexican food, numerous rounds of beers, shots of whiskey (?) and some interesting games of pool. It was an interesting first night! The next morning we rose bright and early to see the most we could of Santa Marta and book our trip to Ciudad Perdida (the Lost City). Unfortunately the heat prevented us from such crazy enthusiasm and it took us an entire day just to book the Ciudad Perdida. Luckily we found a reputable company for a good price so we booked it for the next morning. Unforunately the packing for the trip wasn't so easy. As it was rainy season we really had no idea how much we would need and as we had to carry all of our stuff we didn't want to weigh ourselves down...so we decided to be wet and smelly for 5 days and be dry in the evenings and one spare set of clothes if that all went to shit! And boy were we wet and smelly for 5 days...I don't think there's ever been a time where I've been so repulsed by my own odour. But we started the trip with open minds and massive enthusiasm. As we had already done Machu Picchu a month or so before we weren't expecting the same wow factor...but the journey itself was AMAZING. We had an extremely interesting journey getting to where we would start the hike...the bumpiest ride on earth! The first day would be the latest we would set off of all the 5 days and we soon found out why. One hour in the heavens opened and it didn't stop all day and all night. We were drenched and felt a little foolish for beginning the trip by tip toe-ing our way over rivers. Everything we were wearing was soaked to the bone...and even though we had covers on our backpacks, my sleeping bag got soaked through and Kim's book too...which she had balancing under her cover between her back and her backpack! Not good! But we felt like new people once we'd changed into dry clothes and out of our shoes...which were now just portable pools (and would stay that way for the next 4 days). We were very lucky the next couple of days...the rain didn't hit until about 12pm when we had already landed to the next camp so all we had to bear were wet feet and trousers (from wading through thigh high rivers) and damp tshirts (from the inability to dry with the humidity mixed with litres of sweat...imagine that smell!). Day 2 was a pretty tough steep climb but our surroundings were amazing. And we made in record time to our third camp so we made a group decision to keep on going to Ciudad Perdida that day (which otherwise we would have done the next morning) so that we could spread our energy over the next 2 days. We climbed the 1,200 steps to the Lost City and it was an amazing sight that greeted us. We were pretty much the only people there (apart from the soldiers that protected it) which was awesome and the city is pretty much untouched. It was incredible. We took our time strolling around and we were cursed that the rain didn't hit until we made our way back to the camp. We spent the evening playing cards and celebrating with a few beers before we collapsed ready to take on the next 2 days hike back (which consisted of the first 3 days we already did). We powered through...stopping in the evenings to launch ourselves into rivers to cool off and then running for cover when the rain hit to change into our dry gear and pull out the cards again. What was most amazing on this trip was meeting the descendants of the Tayrona people along the way. It was certainly something that has stood out for me, not only on the trek but the year so far. The Cogi people are still very much present in the mountains around the Lost City and their culture is still very strong. It was fascinating to see them go about their daily lives as we passed by. Once we reached the town where we started once more we were very tired but happy people. It was an amazing 5 days with an amazing group and amazing guides! One of the best experiences so far for sure. So we all packed ourselves into a van to head back to Santa Marta, grab our rucksacks and head to Taganga where we were going to chill out for the next few days. But first things first...showers!!!
(pic 1: Kim & I bunking down our first night; pic 2: Trekking across one of the many rivers along the way; pic 3: Mitch & I on another of the many rivers)

The long way round to Colombia

Unfortunately we didn't leave ourselves a lot of time to enjoy Quito. We hadn't heard great reviews about the city but what we saw of it we really liked. We hadn't anticipated how awkward it would be to get to Colombia so we had to spend a whole day running between bus stations to get a route in place...of course my sister was arriving the next day so I was hopping with excitement! After we had our tearful hello we pretty much collected our bags straight away and hopped on a bus to the border (unfortunately our plan of getting a bus direct to Cali didn't work out). Once we got our stamp out of Ecuador we strolled across the border to Colombia where we got our entry stamp and then hopped in a cab to the nearest town (you don't want to be hanging around dark border crossings in Colombia for long). From there we tried to get a bus to Cali but as we'd heard it wasn't a good idea to take that road at night and the people selling us the tickets were also not too keen on it, we just hopped on a bus to Pasto ready to get an early bus the next morning. After a very bumpy, cramped and sweaty 8 hour bus journey the next morning we arrived in sunny Cali. We checked into the cutest little hostel on one of Cali's many beautiful Colonial streets and set off to explore and unwind. Cali is a beautiful city with the most beautiful café's and restaurants...so we didn't waste our time gulping down a few coffees and beers! We spent a lovely evening and morning in Cali before we had to catch our flight up north to Santa Marta on the Carribean...super exciting stuff!!
(pic: Kim and I entering Colombia!)

From Mancora on to Ecuador

After a bit of a hiccup trying to get out of Trujillo we eventually arrived in Mancora - a small surf town on the northern coast of Peru. We set up camp again on the edge of town and made our way towards the beach. There's not much to Mancora but it's a nice place to balm out on the beach for a few days...which is exactly what we did. Lazing about by the pool in the campsite and balming out on the beach for hours on end watching the surfers (the waves were bigger than Huanchaco so we didn't attempt another surf) until the sun set. We took advantage of the cheap seafood again and stuffed our faces with ceviche and prawns to our heart's content. Sadly we could only stay for 2 days so booked a bus out of there pretty quickly. After packing up our tent and belongings we rocked up to the bus stop only to be told we didn't actually have a reservation (even though we'd paid for it) and would have to come back tomorrow. Lovely stuff! So we carted our asses back to the campsite and having no energy to pitch a tent again we checked into the room hopeful that we'd be able to leave the next evening. To be fair, there are worse places you could be stuck for a day! So we rocked up again the next day at 8.30pm to be told our bus wouldn't be arriving until 1am. Eventually we were on our way to Ecuador at 2am. We arrived in Guayaquil the next morning and quickly hopped on a bus to Montanita (another little surf town). We made it there pretty quick only to discover that our camera was stolen on the way. I was not impressed - a destroyed iPod and stolen camera all in the space of 2 days. Not a happy camper by any stretch of the imagination. But anwyay, we quickly checked into our hostel and tried to forget about it. Luckily we transfer all our photos onto the laptop regularly so we had only lost the last few days of photos. As we were in another small town it didn't take much time to stroll around and take in any sights. The next morning the weather was pretty rubbish so we didn't waste much time there. Unfortunately we had to go to another town an hour or so away to get a police report for our insurance company. After a bit of tooing and frowing between police stations, we finally got our report and were en route to Quito!

Sandboarding in Huacachina/Surfboarding in Huanchaco

After a tiring week in Cusco we moved westwards towards Huacachina for some sandboarding fun! Having skipped this activity many times in Chile already we were keen to get on the boards. Huacachina is an interesting little town set in the middle of a desert of sanddunes with an oasis in the middle. There are literally sand dunes as far as the eyes can see and tiny little town plonked in the middle of it. We were definitely glad we waited for Huacachina for sandboarding. So we didn't waste much time. After another long busride we were picked up that afternoon in our hostel by a sand buggy and brought on a rollercoaster ride up and down the sanddunes (and I mean rollercoaster)! Everyone we've spoken to about sandboarding here failed to mention that the buggy ride is absolutely terrifying...well, for wimps like us anyway. We stopped at various locations to take our boards out and board down the dunes...starting out with a little 'un and then moving on to monstrous mountains...at least that's how they looked from the top when you're lying on your board. It's quite difficult to stand up on your board (snowboarding skills don't seem to help much) so we spent most of the time lying on our fronts racing down the slopes. With smiles on our faces and sand literally EVERYWHERE we pulled out a cold beer and watched the sunset before another rollercoaster ride back to the town. There's not much else to do in Huacachina so we moved on quickly the next morning to make our way to the coast...our first time on the beach since Brazil we were very excited!! Our plan was to rough it with a local bus 6 hours to Lima and change buses there for an overnight bus straight to Trujillo...but unfortunately I fell ill again so we had to fork out for the "fancy" bus to Lima which arrived there a lot earlier than expected! So I lay out in the bus station in pain with Mitch stroking my head to put me to sleep while other passengers staring at us strangely. Anyway, we made it through the night and eventually found a place to stay in Trujillo and took off to explore. We quickly found out there is nothing to do in Trujillo and were glad we were moving on the next morning. A quick 15 minute ride the next morning and we arrived in Huanchaco - a little fishing/surfing village. We found an awesome little campsite looking onto the sea and bunked down for a few days...although we could have stayed for weeks. Huanchaco is definitely one our favourite places so far. Nothing spectacularly beautiful about the place it just had a buena onda (good vibe!). The next morning we grabbed boards and wetsuits and hit the beach...what a disaster that was! 2 very amateur surfers caught in very big waves...not cool! But we had fun anyway and it was certainly an experience. We spent the next couple of days filling our tummies with seafood and the most epic hamburgers we've ever had (from the cutest old lady in the world for 2 soles) and lounging around the beach until we reluctantly hopped on a bus to move northwards to warmer climates and more beaches!
(pic 1: Sharon & Mitch on the sanddunes; pic 2: us with our surfboards in Huanchaco)

Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu

We arrived in Cusco in the early hours of the morning and liked what we saw - not as impressive as Arequipa but still pretty cool. We checked into our hostel and began touring around the city to see what Machu Picchu trek we would do. We had it in our mind to do a jungle trek - which included hiking and biking but staying in hostels. As we wanted to get the true experience and camp all the way we settled on the Salkantay 5 day trek at a bargain price...we were happy. We met our group of 14 early the next morning and started our trek with our two guides - Miguel 1 and Miguel 2, and our two cooks - Vincente 1 and Vincente 2! Easy enough to remember. The first day was quite easy going...nothing too strenuous and got our muscles stretched out in preparation for day 2...which was slightly more strenuos (in the morning anyway). We rose early in the morning (woken at 6am with a hot cup of sweet coca tea) and began our trek up to the Salkantay glaciar (6271m high). Trekking uphill at 4,500m we quickly found it very hard to breathe and we were euphorious when we reached the top! After lunch we then trekked down into the jungle which was pretty awesome. It was quite an experience trekking next to a glaciar with wooly hats and jackets on all morning to stripping down to shorts and covering ourselves with mosquito repellant a few hours later. That night we camped down in one of the most beautiful surroundings - with little chicks running around our feet, horses neighing in the backround and the sound of gushing rivers below us. We savaged down whatever food was put in front of us, more coca tea and listened (painfully) for an hour to what Miguel 1 & 2 told us we'd be doing the next day. We had another trek through the jungle the next day (getting eaten alive by mosquitos) and finished off in the town of Santa Teresa. After lunch we were packed into a bus to go to the hot springs nearby. We weren't expecting much but boy were we smiling when we arrived. Hidden behind a rock quarry, and literally in the middle of nowhere next to a gushing river, it was a very strange sight. But we weren't complaining! We quickly dived into the roasting water to ease our aching muscles and were served by the side of the pool with ice cold beers at a very cheap price. We were very happy campers. 2 hours later we pulled ourselves out with hazy heads and dragged our asses back to camp for dinner. With pisco sours for 5 soles (£1) it seemed that tonight was the night to party...unfortunately not for me. Not long after arriving back I realised that it was my turn to have the funny tummy on this trek and spent the night bent over in pain in our tent (while Mitch partied the night away!) unable to eat. This carried on the next day but we powered through and with little energy made it to Aguas Calientes (where we found out there was a train strike so would have to hike back after Machu Picchu the next day). We all went out for dinner that evening...excited about the prospect of Machu Picchu the next day, the table was buzzing. Miguel 1 & 2 gave us another excruciating hour long chat about what we'd do the next day and just before we left to hit the hay after a very tiring day, Mitch & I were pulled aside to be told we weren't going to Machu Picchu...because our moronic company never transferred the money for our entry ticket! Well, anyone who knows me can only imagine the screams that errupted after this. Exhausted from 2 days of hiking with no food, I was LIVID. Mitch just stood there with his mouth open, unable to talk and visibly (I kid you not) shaking from head to toe with anger. Seeing as Miguel 1 & 2 were completely useless, Mitch took control of the situation, calmed me down, and found an internet cafe to get the number of our tour agency (yes, that would have been too organised for Miguel 1 & 2 to have!). He then called them, gave out a bit...handed the phone back to Miguel 2 when he couldn't understand what they were saying and an hour later, very stressed out, we were promised we would be going to Machu Picchu the following morning. Too tired to confirm this for sure we slumped back to our beds to get 4 hours of sleep before, we hoped, we would be trekking up to Machu Picchu. Fortunately (for Miguel 1 & 2...for they did not have to bear the full wrath of Sharon) we arrived up the 2 million steps to Machu Picchu at 6am the next morning and boy was it worth every aching muscle! It was the single most rewarding experience of our lives. There are no words to describe it. We suddenly got a burst of energy and after touring around the ruins for a few hours we practically ran up Wayna Picchu (the much steeper mountain towering over Machu Picchu) where another amazing sight greeted us on the top. If we wanted to catch the bus back to CUsco (as the trains were on strike) we would have had to leave pretty early that day to hike back so Mitch decided we were staying another night...we were going to enjoy it while we were here. So after we hiked down from Wayna Picchu, the whole group took a nap amongst the ruins and we lazed about the grounds until closing time - I think we spent 11 hours there altogether...the ticket people couldn't believe it! With smiling faces, we made the last trek down the mountain and made plans to meet everyone for dinner. We arrived back at the hotel to be greeted by a nice surprise - a friendly little man knocked on our door with train tickets for 9am the next day, an official apology from our tour company and an extra free night's stay in the hotel. We were gobsmacked! We couldn't believe it! So we celebrated that evening with a huge pizza, happy hour beers and a big lie in the next morning...until 8am!!
(pic 1: a very exhausted Sharon at the end of the day in Machu Picchu; pic 2: a very happy Mitch & Sharon with our entry stamps for Waynu Picchu)

Beautiful, beautiful Arequipa

From Puno we went straight to Arequipa - one of our favourite cities so far in South America. A stunning city with a beautiful main square in front of a towering cathedral with a great vibe and amazing food! In fact, we loved it so much we stayed a week longer than we should have. With our new found bargaining talents we found a cheap hostel with a great view over the city and spent the week eating cheap Mexican food washed down with cold beers. We also visited the mummy 'Juanita - the ice princess' which was pretty fascinating - she was sacrificed by the Incas on the summit of Ampato (over 6000m) over 500 years ago. The Incas sacrificed young children in order to please the Gods when they thought they were angry - this one was for a volcanic erruption they thought would stop after the sacrifice. She was pretty amazing to see - immaculate and the offerings buried with her were like new as well...awesome! While we were in Arequipa we also visited the Monesterio Santa Catalina - a convent (I dont know why it's called monastary) occupying a whole block on the main street with massively high walls guarding it - it's like another city within a city. We decided to take a night tour of it which was an amazing experience. There are hundreds of tiny cells where the nuns would sleep with little kitchens off each one - because we were there at night every room was lit by lanterns and all the fires were burning. That was definitely an experience to remember. So after lazing around for a week we decided we needed to get off our arses and burn some calories so booked a 3 day hike to the Colca Canyon. We left at 3.30am the next day and a very bumpy four hour journey later we arrived at the Condor Mirador to watch the flight of the condors at 8am into the canyon. Unfortunately when I looked behind me to grab Mitch (who was sitting 3 rows behind) I was greeted by a very green faced man and a bag of puke! Not a good start. So I went in search of Gatorade while Mitch sat with his head between his legs (not impressed at all by the 3 metre wide condors flying above his head). An hour later we were back in the bus heading to the town of Cabanaconde to begin our trek. Unable to eat or keep down even a sip of water, Mitch looked like death warmed up. We really didn't know what to do. But being the little trooper that he his...Mitch powered on. And what a trooper he was! It was a pretty steep downward climb into the canyon with gritty paths that didn't give much in the way of support. But 4 pain-staking hours later Mitch collapsed into our little shack (where we were staying for the night) exhausted! 14 hours of sleep later he was like a different man and managed to wolf down a few pancakes to energise up for the next few hours of trekking. That next day we arrived into an oasis which was pretty awesome...we arrived around midday, sweaty and aching and jumping into the cool waters of the oasis was exactly what we needed! The next day was the strenuous task of hiking back up the canyon which actually turned out to be a lot better than we had anticipated. Phew!! All in all it was an exciting adventure and we were pretty chuffed with our achievement. We stayed one more night in Arequipa and then reluctantly booked our bus to Cusco...to start another trek!
(pic 1: me next to the bell tower in the big cathedral over Arequipa; pic 2: Mitch and I day 2 of the Colca Canyon trip)

Lake Titicaca

After leaving Rurre we ended up back in La Paz for a few hours before heading north to Copacabana - Our last stop in Boliva before heading to Peru. Copacabamba is situatated on Lake Titicaca - a rather large and high lake. From Copacabana we headed to Isla del Sol with our camping gear planning to rough it for a few days. The island itself was a dissapointment. Lots and lots of grey stones dont really do it for me. Several unexpected fees for staying on the island also did little to lift the mood. Nonetheless we enjoyed a night of camping, sharing a field with a rather sombre group of sheep. We felt a sense of accomplishment after creating a pretty decent fire without the compulsory fire lighters/fuel/hairdryer. The island suppossedly contains several inca ruins. These however proved elusive. The highlight of Copacabana was a short walk up the nearby hill. It was used many years ago by the incas for something - i cant remember what. From the sumit you get a fantastic view of the lake, which we enjoyed at sunset. Next stop - Puno (Peru). Puno was our first stop upon entering Peru. Its a smallish town that whilst not blessed with any kind of elegance or beauty does manage to feel warm and welcoming. We quickly oragnized a trip to the floating reed islands. Several people had alerted us the the extremly toursit nature of the islands so we ventured off without expectation. Personally the islands were very interesting. They were formed by an indigenous tribe who were fleeing from the incas. Originally they were boats but they grew in size until eventually they were tied down into the lake. On the islands We were treated to a peruvian chorus of 'Row, row, row your boat' (in english) and for dinner a traditional Peruvian dish called Cerviche, the latter of which was highly enjoyable. And so we started our journey into Peru...love Mitch.
(pic 1: sunset over Copacabana; pic 2: our campsite in Isla del Sol)

Volunteering in Rurrenabaque (1st - 31st August)

20 hour bus ride later we arrived in hot, stuffy, humid Rurre...and boy were we delighted to be there. With cold beers in hand and swinging on hammocks, we threw off our trainers and hoody's and slipped on our flip flops! Oh the feeling of hot, sticky air on our skin...beautiful. Rurre is a cute little town - about 5 blocks by 5 blocks and no sight of cars...just motorbikes! Everyone in this town seems to have a motorbike and they'll fit as many people as possible on the back. I think the record we saw was 5 people and a 32 inch TV...priceless. It's funny the way Bolivia works...being the poorest country in South America, everyone still manages to buy a motorbike in a town you could walk around in aobut 20 minutes and where you have to get permission from the army to buy diesel. But I guess that's it's charm as well. Anyway, we had a day to enjoy the little town before we needed to head into the jUngle. We chose a tour with an "eco-tourism" company where they don't touch any of the animals and completely protect the area in which they tour. From staying in Rurre for so long we soon realised these type of companies are few and far between. We spent 3 glorious days in a protected area of the jungle called Serere. Serere is privately owned land that was about to be destroyed about 20 years ago before it was rescued by a woman called Rosa-Maria Ruiz. She was the driving force behind Madidi National Parque (which you will see from most maps of Bolivia and Peru) - she hiked and canoed through the entire region of the Tacana Indigenous communities for about 2 years educating the people on what would happen if they didn't get together to turn this region into a national park (already it was being severely exploited by loggers and hunters). She got the leader of each community to sign a treaty which was then brought to the government and Madidi Park was formed. Years later, she started protecting the area of Serere...where we visited. After 3 days trekking and canoing through the jungle and seeing many different mammals, reptiles and birds we decided to volunteer for the company and ended up staying in Rurre for a month. We spent some time in the office in Rurre promoting the project and trying to get tourists to visit Serere - there is no such thing as government funding here so this is the only way to get money into protecting the area. We also spent some time in Serere enjoying the complete peace and beauty of the area - with no electricity and sleeping in cabins with just mosquito nets for walls it was complete heaven. While we were there we set projects for ourselves as well - Mitch painted a murel of the Serere bird on the wall outside the office, dedicating it to Rosa Maria and we both re-designed the website for Madidi Travel (after seeing the website we decided this was a necesity!). We worked everyday for a month...quite happily...with 4 other volunteers...from 8am-8pm (shouting "beer o' clock every evening at 7pm when one of the boys would have to trek to the shop for cold beers) loving every minute of it! We were quite lucky to get an inside look into the indigenous communities around the region and also into Bolivian family life - the family who ran the office in Rurre lived above the office and very openly welcomed us into their family! But we had to move on at some stage and with heavy hearts we said goodbye to our adoptive family and Rosa María and moved started our trek into Peru!
(pic 1: Us with a spider monkey who lives in Serere - her mother was hunted so she was adopted by Rosa María...she literally jumped on top of me 30 seconds before this photo; pic 2: Mitch next to his finished murel; pic 3: Us with our adoptive family - Murilo, Pampi, Rosa María (with a baby spider monkey whose mother was also hunted), Guido, me and Mitch)

La Paz (27th - 30th August)

After an amazing 40 minute flight to La Paz...seeing Bolivia from the air is something spectacular, we arrived from El Alto into La Paz. The journey from El Alto into La Paz is something everyone visiting Bolivia needs to experience. The city literally looks like it is spilling onto itself from the valley it is built in. Unlike Sucre, La Paz definitely isn't a beautiful city but it certainly is an amazing one. This is what I love about South America. Every major city we've been to is so completely different to the next. After a few days of exploring the wonders of the city I booked a slot on a tour of Death Road...while Mitch booked a round of golf in the world's highest golf course. Death Road was pretty awesome...I think I was quite lucky because it was such a clear day (apparently it gets quite foggy!) but this also made it a lot more scary! The drops were way too clear to see for my liking...but definitely worth doing! Meanwhile Mitch had an awesome day golfing with his first caddie ever and hitting the green on all the Par 3's. But by about the 14th hole he was ready to collapse - the alltitude is great for hitting a good ball but not so good for trekking large distances! We both came home with smiles on our faces that evening. With an unreal craving for a curry since we've set foot on this continent we were more than delighted to find a "British/Indian Curryhouse" where we treated ourselves to some onion bhajis, naan bread, rogan josh, jalfrezi and some cold beers. It went down like a treat. After 4 glorious days in La Paz (and several weeks in high altitude) we crossed our fingers and hopped on another bus to hit the Bolivian jungle...looking forward to the heat!!
(pic 1: mitch playing golf; pic 2: sharon at the witch's market)

Trotting around Tupiza & Sunny Sucre

With no sign of electricity returning to Uyuni, we hopped on a jeep and made our way south to Tupiza...the setting for Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid...and boy was it! It truly was the backdrop for all the Western movies I painfully sat through as a child...it was breathtaking! We spent the first day wandering this little town, eating and drinking all around us. Enjoying just how cheap this country is! We didn't waste much time booking a day of horseback riding and spent a glorious day in the sunshine, trotting through canyons, past cacti and over streams (where I nearly fell off!). We had a blast. With sore bums, we enjoyed another few days in Tupiza...drinking ridiculously cheap fresh orange juice every morning and eating deep fried jalapenos stuffed with cheese (that blowed our heads off...yummmm!). Then we hopped on our first real Bolivian bus experience overnight to Sucre. And what an experience it was. 4 people to a seat, minus temperatures and squating for a pee with 20 other Bolivian women against a wall at 3am. Beautiful stuff and not one to be forgotten quickly! But it was worth it for beautiful beautiful Sucre. Sucre was like no other place in Bolivia we'd seen (or wouldn't be either). Beautiful plazas, amazing food and endless white washed buildings. Our first day there was spent biking, hiking and "boating" (or so we were told...plain and simply, it was a four foot dinghy!) in the hills and canyons around Sucre. Speeding down the worst roads we'd ever seen at ridiculous speeds...it definitely was preparation for death road! This was also our first experience of proper heat in many many months...we were happy! The rest of our days in Sucre were spent eating many many giant fruit salads, drinking many many cold beers, catching up with old friends and strolling around the beautiful streets. During this time we also decided to give ourselves one luxurious treat on our year of travelling. And that treat was a flight to La Paz...and what a treat it was! The best £40 we've ever spent.
(pic 1: Mitch on his horse in Tupiza; pic 2: Mitch & I having a rest on top of the steeple in a church in Sucre)

Our interesting journey into Bolivia

Our trip across the Salt Flats has definitely been one of those trips that will be told for years to come. What a fun filled 3 days (she says in a sarcastic tone!). We greeted our group of 2 enthusiastic Canadians and a very generous Swiss girl (who loaned us some money when the lack of electricity in the town for 2 days prevented us from getting any money for our trip) in San Pedro and headed for the Bolivian border where we would be greeted by our guide and jeep. We attempted to have breakfast at the border where the wind had picked up and it was virtually impossible to stand outside the jeep which making eating very difficult! After a few official passport malarky we were on our way to the salt flats. Our guide, Teo, seemed quite reputable so we crossed our fingers and headed through the rest of the desert. As we stopped to look at roasting hot geisers and natural pools, we began to realise that it was becoming quite hard to stand outside the jeep without protection because of the strength of the wind and the sand it was carrying that was blowing forcefully into our faces...not fun! The first day we stopped in what can only be described as a shack for lunch around 1pm and were told this was where we were staying for the night. After lunch we spent 6 hours sitting in our sleeping bags, all shaking from head to toe with the cold and staring at each other with literally nothing to do. By the time dinner time came we had nearly hit breaking point. Although, apparentl e we had the best seats in the shack - next to the heater. Heater may be an over statement because you could have sat on it and still not be able to heat your arse up! But anyway we powered through the night and were looking forward to reaching a lower altidude than 4,200 metres where we hoped it would be warmer. We were to continue the next day towards the Salt Hotel which was, shockingly enough, on the salt flats. After being told to be at the breakfast table at 6am that morning for an early start, we were still sitting around twiddling our thumbs at 8am with no sign of breakfast. By 9.30am our guide showed up and told us the storm had gotten worse and we would have to wait another hour or so before we could get a move on. We eventually did...in covoy with 6 other jeeps in case anything went wrong. Two hours in we were in deep shit in the middle of the worst sand storm in 10 years (video posted soon). How fun! We considered going straight to Uyuni and skipping the salt flats but it looked like we weren't going anywhere. We practically crawled in the jeep to the next town and were put up in another shack for the night. Except the door on this shack didn't close! With 10 bolivianos on us we decided it was time for alcohol so used our last ration to buy a couple of cans...sur' we'd be able to get money in Uyuni anyway! We awoke the next morning the beautiful sound of silence...the wind was gone. We were over the moon! So with sand in our hair, eyebrows, pockets and other places you can't imagine sand could get to with all of your clothes on, we hopped into the jeep to finally get a glimpse of the salt flats. And what a sight!! Blinding white for miles and miles all around...there are no photos in the world that does it justice. After some unimaginative photos and full bellies we were on our way to Uyuni - hot showers and hot food was all we could think about...until the biggest bombshell was dropped on us and we were informed that there was no electricity in Uyuni. We think this was the low point of our travels so far. After spending our last ten bolivianos on 2 cans of shite beer we literally had nothing. Mitch suggested selling the ipods and did not get a good response so that idea was scrapped fairly quickly. But, Teo, our guide saved the day! After making a few calls we were quickly brought to a bank that was running on a generator and managed to get a cash advance from England (at a hefty price!). And let me tell you people, that was the best shower we've ever ever had...never to be forgotten...or the numerous beers that followed. Welcome to Bolivia!!

Pachamama Bus Tour (north Chile)

After a fun filled day of visiting vineyards all over Maipu and with very sore heads we hopped on a bus back to Santiago to start our 6 day tour up to the north of Chile. We were joined by 4 others and our very strange guide, Yerson. OUr first stop was in a small fishing village where we caught our first glimpse of the Pacific ocean and later in the evening we stopped in a town called La Serena where we rested our heads for the night and after a few bottles of wine our guide felt the need to divulge his most intimate sexual fantasies...nice! The next morning we hopped back on the bus to make our way to Pinguíno de Humbold National Park. And as the name suggests, it's where we could sight some penguins that make their way from Patagonia during winter to the Chilean coast. So we hopped into the teeniest boat ever where the people on the one side of the boat had to hold up some plastic sheeting to protect us from the icy water and headed to the island where the National Park was. It was incredible. Seeing a little penguin waddle off into a cave, hundreds of sea lions perched on rocks in the middle of the ocean and dolphins swimming along side us. It was fascinating! We stopped on a small island for lunch with the most beautiful deserted beach we'd ever seen. That evening we stopped in a place called Bahia Inglesa. We stayed in a little cabin on the beach where Mitch cooked up a storm and we drank the night away with our 3 litre bottles of red wine! With very sore heads the next morning we walked the beach to clear away the cobwebs and when that didnt work we cracked open the beers and basked in the mid afternoon sun. Later that evening our guide started up the barbie and we ate like kings and queens for the night! Of course the highlight for me was finding 4 puppies underneath our cabin! The next day we started our trip into the Atacama desert - the driest desert in the world (apparently the last time it saw rain was in the 50's). We also passed through the Chilean salt flats and finished off the evening watching the flamingos take flight at sunset...amazing! The next day we arrived into San Pedro de Atacama a few miles from the Bolivian border. We spent an amazing day in the Valle de la Luna climbing through caves and canyons, listening to the Pachamama (mother earth in Quechua) talk to us and finished the day watching the sun set over the dunes in the desert. After a few days in San Pedro (where we had no electricity) we said goodbye to some great friends and hopped in a jeep for a 3 day trip to Bolivia.
(pic1: Flamingos in flight at sunset on the Atacama Desert)
(pic2: All of us in front of a huge hand structure randomly placed in the middle of the Atacama Desert)

Chilly Chile & Skiing

After an incident with a bulb of garlic and a turnip in our bag (with the threat of a $200 fine) we crossed the boarder into freezing Chile and landed in a town called Puerto Montt. If we weren't starving, smelly and exhausted we would have moved on immediately because this was without a doubt the most depressing and miserable town we'd ever seen. So we found somewhere to rest our heads for the night (and a cinema to watch Prince of Persia...there's 2 hrs of our lives we'll never get back!) and moved on early in the morning for Pucón. We had heard that there was a possibility for skiing here on the volcano which towers over the town. When we arrived it was raining and it didn't stop raining for 4 days solid so there went any hopes of snow arriving. But Pucón itself was quite charming so we hung around for a few days (of course there was no travelling allowed when England were playing...rubbishly may I add!). After walking through the town we found a reasonably priced hostel owned by a little "abuela" (grandmother) who didn't speak a word of English...so we settled there for a few days. She was definitely the most memorable host we've had - pottering around after us, wrapping us up in blankets on the couch to make sure we were warm enough. It was almost enough to make us feel homesick...well not quite! We fit in a trip to some thermal baths as well to warm up. Mitch was extremely reluctant given the minus temperatures and rain but once he saw the steam rising and felt the heat he was in heaven! After a few days of lounging and one disastrous England match we packed our bags once more and made our way north to Santiago. We checked out skiing straight away and found out the price was pretty shocking. So we decided to think about it for a few days and enjoy the city. Santiago itself is stunning...especially with the backdrop of the snowy Andes. After a few very drunken nights and a lot of research we headed east back into Argentina to Malargüe where we would commute to Las Lenas ski resort for the next few days. It would be an early start every day (with a 1 and a half hr commute) but we were dying to get on the slopes.
The first day was a bit shaky with LOTS of tumbles (on my part) and a bit of sunburn but the next few days were heaven. The snow was very different to Europe and the views stunning...we were skiing/snowboarding in the Andes...we were very happy! With very sore bums, aching limbs and big smiles on our faces we moved on back to Mendoza a week later to begin our tour of the vineyards...and we can't wait to get stuck in!
(pic1: View of Santiago; pic2: Having a rest on my snowboard with a beer)

Bariloche (27 May - 15 June)

After waiting long enough in vain for the snow to come to Cerro Catedral we have up and left Bariloche and moved on to Chile. But what a time we've had! We arrived to Barilche coming from 22 degrees in BA to freezing weather!! About 5 degrees during the day and minus temperatures at night. That took a bit of getting used to let me tell you. We settled in nicely in time for Mitch's birthday where we spent the day kayaking (see pic) which was a lot of fun...although at the beginning we were terrified of falling into that icy water! Mitch was captain which basically meant that I had to do all the rowing while he shouted all the orders. He enjoyed that a lot! Then we spent the evening boozing it up with some new friends in a dingy Irish bar...where else?? Suffice to say we didn't go back there again! While waiting for the snow to come we occupied ourselves with some hiking, a trip to some lakes, a disastrous biking trip (which started out great & ended up soaked to skin cycling uphill through the icy rain unable to see where we were going) and a day out at a black glacier (black because of the volcano)...which was fun...freezing but fun! We then decided to move hostels where we were pretty sure we had jobs to find out that 2 guys picked them up the week before. We were livid!! So we spent the next week boozing it up waiting for the snow. We reluctantly said goodbye to Bariloche with no hope of snow for at least another 2-3 weeks and try our luck in Chile. Fingers crossed! Here's vid of Mitch trying his hand at cycling...was very amusing at the time to watch him!

Buenos Aires (7 – 26 May)

After nearly 3 weeks in Buenos Aires and 3 different hostels we finally tore ourselves away...and boy was it hard! Our first week was spent doing an intensive Spanish class – 4 hours a day. This was the most brain power we’d used in a long time! Poor Mitch was shattered – he had a one to one class because he was the only beginner and his teacher refused to speak any English to him. I think the funniest lesson was where he was trying to explain what kind of music he liked and started pointing to his shins to describe the band! The teacher started translating Shins into Spanish...there was much confusion!! Anyway we got through the week and were determined to show off our knowledge of the language...we quickly realised that people don’t talk to you as slowly as the teachers do! Once we had time to stroll around and enjoy the delights of the city we quickly fell in love with it. We spent our first Sunday strolling around San Telmo market – sitting in the sun with a bottle of wine and choripan in hand watching the world go by...there’s nothing like it! I also managed to pick up a pair of vintage Ray Bans for 150 pesos – what a steal...apparently my birthday present from Mitch. We spent another day strolling around Recoleta and visited Evita’s grave. The cemetery was so interesting...nothing like we’d ever seen before. And of course we sampled the amazing Asado (BBQ) many many times...washed down by many a bottle of Argentinean wine. Our fabulous friends from Buenos Aires also brought us to some amazing places around the city that we wouldn’t have found otherwise – to see some amazing tango dancing in one of the best venues we’d ever been to and some very interesting clubs and parties to boogie with the porteños! And then came the biggest party of the century...25 de Mayo celebrations started the last weekend we were there. It was the 200 year celebration of the revolution in Argentina. We were just blown away by the celebrations. They went on for 4 days taking place on the main avenue (Avenida 9 de Julio) in Buenos Aires. The entire city shut down to celebrate on the streets! There’s nothing like standing in the middle of 2 and a half million people while they belt out their national anthem...it was insane! Although my favourite bit was on the last night when after the national anthem everyone started jumping singing “If you’re not jumping you’re English!” . I was gutted we weren’t in the crowd for that part...Mitch didn’t mind too much! Anyway, with very sore heads we tore ourselves away from Buenos Aires and our extremely hospitable friends – Clarisa and Inti to make our way southwards to freezing Bariloche. The prospect of skiing and snowboarding definitely pushed us on to that bus! Mitch had already started pricing 2 bedroom flats in San Telmo so I had to get him on a bus quickly.
(pic: Mitch looking out at Rio de la Plata)

Sharon’s birthday / Córdoba / Rosario

After another gruelling 24 hour bus journey we arrived in Córdoba on the morning of my birthday. We checked into what could only be described as a cell of a room with no windows only one into the kitchen...very handy! I keep forgetting that Argentina has no health and safety laws. We took a tour around the city which is mainly a university town and lunched for 2 for £4.50 (including ½ litre of wine)...we were happy. After a much needed nap and a giggle about the birthday cake that turned out to be pre prepared sponge to use in a cake you want to make yourself...see snaps!!

We hit the town! Suffice to say there were major hangovers the next day. The following day turned out to be a bank holiday followed by a Sunday where absolutely no shops are open (apart from pharmacies for some reason!) and with not even a restaurant in sight we decided to pack our bags and moved on to Rosario (the birthplace of Ernesto “Che” Guevara).
We arrived at midnight to what could only be described as the best hostel in the world...Che Pampa. We were delighted...especially after the hell hole we had just come from. We settled in nicely with a few beers and were dead to the world shortly afterwards. Unfortunately when we woke the next morning our roommate looked like she had too black eyes and that she had just been attacked by a swarm of bees. Turns out she’s allergic to bites and had been attacked by bed bugs during the night. The walls started to close in around me and I broke into a cold sweat with just the thought of them! We moved into another dorm at the other side of the hostel and after a thorough search and enclosing myself in my silk lining the next night I was assured that we were safe.

Rosario isn’t huge but is a beautiful town – gorgeous architecture and “birthplace” of the Argentinean flag and of course Che Guevara...which is evident everywhere. We took a walk to his old home which is now inhabited by the insurance company Mapfre...yes, my skin was curling! Running along the east of Rosario is the river Paraná which is the second widest in South America and there are a few beaches running along side the river as well. We overestimated the heat at this time year! We met some great people at the hostel here (who gave us good advice on Central America)...although not that great encouraging me in a karaoke bar...as if I need encouragement! Anyway, Mitch and I were very proud of our rendition of Endless Love although Mitch did sing the Diana Ross part which was quite hilarious. And I got a bit too into Zombie by the Cranberries...screaming instead of singing some parts when it got a bit personal...although got a great clap in the end so I was chuffed. We were a little worse for wear the next day and it was the first day where we didn’t leave the hostel since we got here but it was worth it. And we were on our way to Buenos Aires and very excited about it!

Iguazu Falls

Big waterfall, very very big. Check the photos. The falls are on the border between Argentina and Brazil. From the Brazilian side we got a great panoramic view but made the mistake of staying in the most miserable town known to man for 2 days – Foz do Iguaçu. Bad idea!! But that made us even happier to land on Argentine soil. A language one of us could sort of understand and much much cheaper for a pint...smiles all round!!

On this side we could get up pretty close to the falls and had the opportunity to get a boat ride under them...the river had risen to more than twice its normal height so all of the boats were cancelled from one point on the river. To get the boat from further down we had to get the whole package which included a jeep tour. Was a bit more pricy but definitely worth it because we got to see a toucan and some monkeys swinging about as well...one was very rude and decided to masturbate in front of us...lovely stuff!! And we also nearly walked on a snake on our way back to the bus. Anyway, it was certainly a few days to remember and a great start to our trip into Argentina...next stop Córdoba!

Florianopolis (20th - 25th April)

We had heard so much about Florianopolis (or Floripa as the locals call it) so we couldn’t wait to get here – surf, sea, sandboarding...what more could you ask for? For it not to rain for the entire 5 days we were there! That ruled out the sandboarding so we’ll have to put that on hold until we get to Peru so I was a bit gutted about that but that didn’t put the surfing on hold. I finally convinced Mitch to go for his first lesson! And what a lesson it was. Getting over the initial mortification of Mitch doing stretches in his wetsuit (so not cool!) we grabbed our boards and headed into the water with our surf instructor who had 3 phrases in English and not a word more...”Shayne (as in me!), put pressure in front”, “Meech, stand up, stand up now” and “very good”. But what can I say...Mitch was a natural, standing up on his very first wave and riding it into the shore. I couldn’t believe it. It was the definitely the best fun we had on the trip so far. For a guy who didn’t have a word of English, he was the best instructor I’ve had as well...a far cry from Californian Mike (private joke between me and my sis!). After a few days of rain we decided that we’d had enough and made our way west towards Foz do Iguacu to see our first wonder of South America and make our way onto Argentinean soil...I couldn’t wait!

Shar x

(pic: Barra Lagoa)