Penny & John`s travels 3 month journey tag:travellerspoint.com,2005-10-07:/blog/?domain=pennyjohn 2005-12-01T19:54:02Z PennyJohn img/travel-blog-feed.png Bariloche Argentina to Puerto Varas Chile tag:travellerspoint.com,2005-12-01:/blog/?domain=pennyjohn&thisblog_entryid=18&entryid=3917 2005-12-01T19:54:02Z 2005-12-01T19:54:02Z Getting close to the end of our travelling around however things are still enjoyable. Had a enjoyable bus trip from Mendosa to Bariloche, travelling semi cama class where the seats lie back at about 45 degrees and there is a leg section that comes back from the seat in fron, to the front of your seat. The seats are quite wide and allow you to lie on your side although you are not flat - still managed to ... Getting close to the end of our travelling around however things are still enjoyable. Had a enjoyable bus trip from Mendosa to Bariloche, travelling semi cama class where the seats lie back at about 45 degrees and there is a leg section that comes back from the seat in fron, to the front of your seat. The seats are quite wide and allow you to lie on your side although you are not flat - still managed to get a few hours sleep. Woke in the morning to find the weather changing and it is becoming a lot windier and colder, and as we continued south it really changed. It really started pouring just as we started travelling in the mountain region so although we saw some of the scenery we didnt get the distane view. Arrived in Bariloche to find it raining really heavy and 6 degrees and after Mendoza it was a bit of a change where it was 35 degrees. arrived at the hotel that had been booked for us by the hostel in Mendosa to find that they had no record of our booking and they were full. So off to another hotel that they found and it was a real dump but as it was pouring rain, and freezing cold we elected to stay there for one night and look again in the morning. Changed our minds and looked for hostels in the town, and found one right on the edge of the lake, for the same price as the dump so moved. The new room was on the top floor, 9th, and we had great views over the lake to the mountain ranges on the other side of the lake.
Got the bus the next day up to the local mountain area where there are some mountain walks, and met up with two alaskans who were there to do some mountain climbing. When we got to the mountain it was pouring with rain and again freezing so we had lunch and went back down again. The girl is the base camp manager at Mt MCKinley in Alaska which is one of the worlds best climbing area, and he goes up there ice climbing. The girl told some pretty amazing stories of the life up there and dangers that she has been exposed to by the climbers trying to get off the mountain when they want not when they can. She said that every year someone dies on the mountain during the climbing season which is only for three months or so. she actually lives in a tent, on the glacier, and manages the arrival of the planes bringing up the climbers, and mans the radio for the climbers 24 hours a day. The next day we got the local bus out into the National Park, and then walked around to the other side of the park and got another bus back. The scenery was pretty amazing with incredible mountain ranges right alongside the walk trail, and deep gorges - it again was ok weather wise just sprinkling and just as cold as previous days. Had lunch at one of the lookout areas and met up with an aussie girl from Orange who was returning to australia after working in london - surprising the people you meet in the strangest places. On the way back we stopped at the oldest, and poshiest, hotel in Argentina and had a coffee. Before we could get in the security guard had to ring and see if it was OK for us because we didnt have a booking. We mixed in very well with the other patrons with all their best clothes and us in our walking clothes. Couldnt guess what the price was but it would have been pretty high considering the hotel ambience, position, and appearance.
Bariloche was another one of those special places that we have been to, you can see the german influence with the design of the buildings and even in the name of buildings and restaurants, and in the name of food at the restaurants. Lots of really good steak, great chocolate, more chocolate, and more great steak. In a restaurant a 300 gram steak would cost around A$3.00 - not bad. Although we arrived for the first two days with rain and really cold, the last few were really great with no rain, although still cold with maximum temperatures of around 9 degrees and it seemed to stay like that all day.
The next day the weather had changed for the better so we got the bus up to the mountain and climbed up to a place called refugio Freye, a climbers and mountainering hut at 1700m. We went up there as the alaskans had gone up there the day before to do some climbing, and a couple that we met in Mendoza that we met up with again in Bariloche had done the walk and said it was really good. It was a four hour walk up from around 760m to 1700m, around the mountain ranges, through very pretty forrest, and then up through the tree line and across snow to the refugio. The refugio is in a pretty place surrounded by steep scraggy rocky faces right outside the door. The weather was also very kind to us with blue skies and just a gently but very cold wind blowing. The refugio is an alpine hut where the climbersand hikers can stay at all year round and there is a caretaker who does cooking etc if needed for a small cost. Whilst we were having lunch, pasta and sauce and two coffees each A$7, we watched the guys on the rock face climbing and it was amazing to watch them moving up these rock faces that seemed to be really smooth. As we started our walk back down we were ccompanied by 4 dogs that seem to have made the national park their home. They seemed to be strays as there are no homes around the place but they were all in pretty good condition. They were really friendly and ran around you all the way down, then out into the bush and then back again. After walking for around two hours down, we met two blokes walking up the mountain so the dogs turned around and took off with them. Both of us ended up with sore shins after the walk down, but it was a really great adventure.
Next day saw us leaving Bariloche on the bus and boat trip across the alps to Puerto Varas in Chile. Again we were lucky with the weather and woke to find clear skies and no rain forecast. After a nervous start as we didnt get picked up by the bus at the time we were told, and trying to communicate with the night porter at the hotel, but when we got on the bus it soon transpired that everyone was told that they were getting picked up at the same time. Anyway after that we had a really enjoyable journey across the alps with great weather the whole way. Teamed up with another couple or ages, who it turns out are doing a trip to the Antarctic around the 15th December on a smaller type trip and they are doing kyaking down there. They live at Clareville on Pittwtaer / he is starting a new job when he goes back as the general manager for LJHooker in New Zealand. Also met another American couple, climbers, who knew of the girl at the base camp as he is a climber and had been there last climbing season, small world eh! Again we had terrific views of the snow capped mountains and volcanoes in the area, travelling across crystal clear lakes, deep gorges, thick vegetaion, and windy rough roads. Stopped for lunch at a place called Puella, where we had a three hour stop, so both of us did another canopy ride - this one was around 1.5k long, with 7 platforms between the various runs. This was different to the other canopy that we did, as this one was through the forrest, across gorges and above running mountain streams - all pretty exciting. In Puerto Varas now and looking to see where we go next. Take care all luv us.

Bariloche Argentina to Puerto Varas Chile remains copyright of the author PennyJohn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Argentina. tag:travellerspoint.com,2005-11-23:/blog/?domain=pennyjohn&thisblog_entryid=17&entryid=3706 2005-11-23T18:39:55Z 2005-11-23T18:39:55Z Carmelo again is a neat little town, it was also an old smugglers port, cobblestone streets, and a mixture of old and new with really old cars lining the streets and being driven around. There was also the horse drawn work carts being driven around. Hired some push bikes and rode around the town, and then did a ride into the surounding country which comprised vineyards, cattle, and horses, and an exclusive resort which had a polo field and golf course ... Carmelo again is a neat little town, it was also an old smugglers port, cobblestone streets, and a mixture of old and new with really old cars lining the streets and being driven around. There was also the horse drawn work carts being driven around.
Hired some push bikes and rode around the town, and then did a ride into the surounding country which comprised vineyards, cattle, and horses, and an exclusive resort which had a polo field and golf course - didn't go in just looked. It was quite a hot day but it was flat riding although the bikes were pretty basic and couldn't be adjusted too well for us. Sat around the main plaza on the last evening watching the world go by, and trying to get some photo's of the sights that you see like baby's being carried under one arm whilst mum rides the motor scooter, and kids doubling each other in the most unusual ways on pushbikes. It was amazing watching the people arrive at the main plaza around the same time with their maté and thermoses under their arms and then all just sitting around sipping their tea.

Off to Buenos Aires via Tigre on the 0500 ferry which took 3 hours across the river delta, and through chanels around islands. From Tigre we were put in a taxi with a couple of young Uruguay guys who helped us out at the ferry terminal making sure we got on the right transport and we had a good joke about the soccer with them. A fast 1 hour taxi ride into Buenos aires - put our backpacks at the bus terminal and then a bit of window shopping, and coffee shops in the city area watching the clock tick down until our bus. Got on the bus at 8.00pm for our 16 hour trip to Mendoza - and on this trip we upgraded to first class which gave us totally lay down seats so you could sleep on your side - not bad for a bus. We were downstairs with an english couple, a swedish guy with his mum who was from Mendosa and us so there was only the 6 of us downstaris. It was very comfortable. On the way out of Buenos Aires we went through an amazing electrical storm with the associated hail and heavy rain. enjoyed a steak dinner and a glass of wine before getting a few hours sleep before waking with the bus engine stopping. Apparently they were having trouble with the fuel transfer so we ended up waiting on the side of the road for a few hours whilst they tried to fix it and then waiting for another bus to come and pick us up. Finally got picked up but it was by an all stops bus so it took us an extra 6 hours all up befor we got to Mendoza. Pity because our original bus was really comfortable. The bus trip, first class cost us A$40 each for a 1,500 bus trip including wine and hot meal and breakfast - not bad.
Mendoza is a really pretty place with tree lined streets, and our hostel is the best that we have been in on our trip. It is only newish so is nice and clean, with a great kitchen, dining and lounge rooms, and a bar.b.que which we used a few times. Met up with another aussie couple returning home from england and a south african couple on their honeymoon on their way to australia for weddings and wind surfing. The staff at the hostel were really helpful and welcoming. On sunday night the owner and his girlfriend who was an emerican from Chicago had a barby for the guys family and we were included in the gathering and they showed us how to do a barby argentinian style. They were eating these huge rabbits whilst we had the local steaks which were just as huge. Had a good night with the family, trying to communicate with each other. One of the family worked in Sydney in Campsie, and his son went to Campsie Primary the school that Penny went to so that was pretty exciting. Did a wine tour of a small and large winery, and the large one had a really big musuem of wine history which was pretty amazing.
Started our extreme sports here, with a trek to 3 rapelling rock faces of 7,12, and 45 metres in height - Penny did all three. This was followed by watching the Dutch girl, who accompanied us, whilst she did some rock climbing - she was pretty good and climbed some pretty amazing faces free climbing. The rapelling was followed by a relaxing time at some thermal springs, which unfortunately were not that hot although they had a heap of pools and were still quiet refreshing. They had this one circular pool that was about 300m long, and 2m wide, that flowed in one direction so there was a clockwise current that was quite hard to walk against.
The next day was white water rafting - Dib was up the front and we had 7 of us and the guide - 3 other aussie chicks, a german couple and us. The guide was great and had been doing white water rafting around the world and he said the rapids were 3 plus a couple of 4 class rapids - it was really great fun and we ended up totally drenched. This was followed by 'canopy gliding' a series of wire rope runs across gorges and you are hooked to the wire by a carriage system and you control your speed by pulling down on the wire with a leather strip on your gloves. The last two runs are across the river 380m long and 30m high, and then 450m long and 80m up and these are great with the last one where you do not do any slowing down it is just a free speed run across the river. The company was really professional and safety conscious which was good. Got another CD of photo0s from todays events so more to bore you with at some stage. Last day in Mendoza spend in the city area as we don't leave on our bus until 8.00pm tonight, to Bariloche from where we will write again. Last weather report was that it is raining heavily down there and has been for a few days - oh well we have had pretty good weather for awhile so may get to do a bit of reading.

Argentina. remains copyright of the author PennyJohn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Buenos Aires to Colonia Uruguay. tag:travellerspoint.com,2005-11-15:/blog/?domain=pennyjohn&thisblog_entryid=16&entryid=3486 2005-11-15T18:39:42Z 2005-11-15T18:39:42Z Well still in Buenos Aires to start. Had a nice birthday tea for dibble (thanks for all the cards) at a local restaurant that they call a bar b que restaurant. We had a table right at the front window so had a good view of the world going buy and of a bloke out the ront who was touting for business for the restaurant - I think I found Tiko's twin a dead ringer. Had a ... Well still in Buenos Aires to start. Had a nice birthday tea for dibble (thanks for all the cards) at a local restaurant that they call a bar b que restaurant. We had a table right at the front window so had a good view of the world going buy and of a bloke out the ront who was touting for business for the restaurant - I think I found Tiko's twin a dead ringer. Had a nice meal, a couple of bottles of red and then a wobble home - luckily it wasn't too far. The area we are staying in close to the city, in an antique and arty area and is pretty nice with lots of intereting buildings. Walked along the waterfront, which has the university situated there, and lots of restaurants but it hasn't been over commercialised. Got a taxi out to a suburb called La Boca, the home of Maradona the soccer star - the area is an arty area and all the buildings have been painted bright colours and manequins hanging out of windows and doors and off balconies. Its not a big area, lots of restaurants, artists, and they have tango dancing out the front of the restaurants and in the street. Had a walk around the main city streets of Buenos Aires, lots and lots of people but no dramas, we walked down the main mall that goes for about 10 blocks but couldn't go all the way because of another protest at the law courts - we seem to find all the fun.

Todays Pennies birthday - and she also thanks all for the cards and e.mails. Had a late morning, omelette for breaky and then a walk to the boat terminal to book our boat to Colonia to get caught up in a bomb scare there. Met a couple of aussie's who were on the way to watch the soccer in Uruguay so ended up having lunch wih them on the river side of the buildings. After beig allowed back into the ticket office, had another walk through the city - lots of looks but didn't buy anyhing. There is just too much to buy but we don't have the room to carry things around or another month or so. Had dinner for Pens birthday in a restaurant overlooking a little plaza, we both had shazlick - chicken, beef and vegies - very nice - a bottle of red and then home. One of the strange things of Buenos Aires is the amount of dog poop that is all over the place - you have to keep an eye out where you are walking.

The ferry to Colonia left at 11.30am and we had to get there by 10.30, however we ended up there early and just as well we did, as it was a saturday there were heaps of people getting the ferry to Uruguay for the weekend. Customs and Immigration was slow, but continued to slowly move. The boat is very flash - we had to got first class as the cheap classes had all been booked out - why they need first class for a 1 hour boat trip is a bit strange. The boat is a very big cat and takes cars as well. On arrival had a little walk to our hostel.

Colonia is a great little place - it was an old smugglers port in the 1800's, and there is still an old world feel about it - itis like Port Fairy in Victoria for anyone who has been there. Lots of tree lined streets, lots of very old vehicles parked around the place. Not sure if they have been abandoned or they have put them there for effect, although we did see some driving around and one restaurant had tables in the back seat section of a couple of cars. feel very safe here, and contented could stay longer. Lots and lots of motor bikes, and people everywhere including whilst they are riding the motorbikes sipping mate^ tea. Had 3 interesting days in Colonia and today got the bus to Carmelo which is just to the west of Colonia still in Uruguay. We caught the local bus, which was very comfortable, and which stopped along the way picking up passengers. It must have been the time for the schoolkids to either go home or to school and we picked up heaps of them and they were all very polite and the bus driver was talking and joking to them all. The counrty side was farming with heaps of cattle, horses, and crops - quite flatish with rolling hills and very green countryside.

Carmelo is a lot smaller town, not a lot to do it is more just a stopover point. Will stay here tomorrow and then get the 0400 hrs ferry to Tigre, then Buenos Aires, and then ann overnight bus to Mendoza which is back on the western side of Argentina.

Talk to you from there.

Buenos Aires to Colonia Uruguay. remains copyright of the author PennyJohn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Salta - Puerto Iguazo - Buenos Aires tag:travellerspoint.com,2005-11-09:/blog/?domain=pennyjohn&thisblog_entryid=15&entryid=3284 2005-11-09T22:56:45Z 2005-11-09T22:56:45Z So for those that are still with us our journy continues. Well still in Salta to start with. For tea we went for a walk around the city trying to find a cheese shop that we were given directions to from the staff in the hotel - no luck. We went to this restaurant for tea and they had the local dish advertised on special for 19 pesos (A$6.00) for the two of us so we took ... So for those that are still with us our journy continues.

Well still in Salta to start with. For tea we went for a walk around the city trying to find a cheese shop that we were given directions to from the staff in the hotel - no luck. We went to this restaurant for tea and they had the local dish advertised on special for 19 pesos (A$6.00) for the two of us so we took it. The meal came out amd it was this huge amount of meat on a bar b que hot plate -not sure what all the meat was but it had kidneys, liver, something that looked like bar b qued tripe, ribs, something else which Penny thinks was tongue, some really tender steak, blood sausages ( which we didn't eat) overall it was really nice and the meat was eally great - we didn't get sick from it which was also a bonus.
The next day we took the sky lift to a hill overlooking the town of Salta and had lunch up there - all pretty nice. Tried to download photo's with no luck. Booked trip onwards. Had beer and nibbles in the main plaza watching the world go by.

Slept in the next day as it was our last day in Salta and we had a long bus trip in front of us. Had lunch in town and took the bread they give out with every meal and bought some meat on the way back to the hostel so we had something to eat on the bus trip.
Got on the bus in Salta to Resistancia, and very quickly realised that we had booked the wrong bus as it was stopping at every bus top along the way picking up people - still managed to get a few hours sleep along the way. Arrived in Resistencia around 0530 am and were dropped off in the street outside the bus terminal. Got a taxi into town and found an early opening restaurant and had breakfast. walked to the tourist office around 0730am and after talking to them decided to head off to Pasadas as we didn't feel too bad after the bus trip and we could save a day. We had pre booked accommodation in Posadas via the net, and got there about 5.30pm. Accommodation was in an old building, although we had our own room self contained it was very basic and was in need of a lot of maintenance - the kitchen was that bad that we could not cook or eat there. Had dinner in town at a flash restaurant - penny had hawaiin steak, and dib steak with mushrooms and potato. Steak was terrific and it still only cost us A$10 for both. There was no-one in the restaurant when we got there but when we left it was packed - they eat late over here.

Not too good the next day - gout struck dib!!! had a slow walk up to the main plaza and late breaky in the main plaza street and watched the world go by. The local school kids put on a drum,dancing display, not sure what it was all about but they were having fun anyway. Had a wait at the bus terminal for our bus to Puerto Iguazo, and whilst waiting had some empanada - wrong move. about half hour into the bus trip the stomach cramps started, and we also realised that we had picked the wrong bus as it ws stopping at every bus stop picking up people. There were people sitting on the floor, standing up and there was no room at all. In addition the toilet on the bus didn't work so couldn't be used. The only benefit from the bus being a local bus was that it stopped regularly so we were able to use the toilets at all the bus stops. The trip was only 260 klms but took us 6 hours of misery. Finally arrived at Puerto Iguazu and got to the hostel we had booked around 7.30pm - got directions from the tourist bureau and they got us lost and then a young guy that we asked took us to where we were meant to go. Hostel was pretty good.

Had a arest day with a short wander around the local town. Nice quiet town - found bank - organised bus trip onwards. For tea had a local dish - lumps of meat on a great big sword that is stuck into wood on the end of your table - you slice the meat off the sword onto your plate - all very nice.

Were driven into the Argentina side of the Iguazu falls by the owner of the hostel we were staying in. Had an open army style truck trip thru the jungle, then a jet boat ride jup the river to the falls thru the rapids, then into the spray under the falls - everyone got totally wet and it was all great fun. back onto land with everyone dripping wet but no'one really cared as everyone was in the same boat - luckily dib didn't notice the wet clothes competition that was going on all around him. we then had a walk along the top of the falls right t the point where the falls tumble over the edge. Really quite spectular and incredibly noisy. Had a steak in town that we shared and some mashed spuds - had tea with an american from texas who had done a lot of work in queensland working on cattle stations - surprising who you meet around the place.

The next day we went to the brazillian side of the falls, and realised that we had wasted our money on our visas as they were not even needed and on the brazillian side they didn't evenn look at our passports. Went to a bird aviary before the falls and that was very interesting with birds from all over the world. The falls on the Brazillian side of the falls are diffferent from the Argentine side but just as amazing - you seem to be able to see them from different perspective as you are looking at them rather than down on them. Back at the hostel met a guy from Scarborough (perth) who gave us some tips for buenos aires.

Had a really nice trip overnight from Puerto Iguazu to Buenos Aires in a pretty amazing bus - fully lay back seats with wine served with dinner. Not sure why but we had a large amounts of stops and being searched by the Police on the way - they didn't seem to find anything or take anyone off so not sure what it was about. The trip was around 16 hours long and managed to get a few hours sleep. arrived in Buenos Aires to find that the accommodation that we had booked had been double booked - a bit of a drama but we finally ended up in a really nice apartment that has its own kitchen that we are able to cok breaky's and tea in so that has been really nice.

Thats it - we are in Buenos aires and will report in due course. Its OK if anyone wants to corespond with us as we don't mind reading any mail - any mail will do!!! please someone talk to us..

Salta - Puerto Iguazo - Buenos Aires remains copyright of the author PennyJohn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Uyuni through salt flats to San Pedro to Salta (argentina) tag:travellerspoint.com,2005-10-31:/blog/?domain=pennyjohn&thisblog_entryid=14&entryid=3045 2005-10-31T20:43:43Z 2005-10-31T20:43:43Z You have not heard from us for awhile but they did not have an internet in the hospital. After the bus crash our broken bones are not restricting us too bad and we are able to get around. Just checking who actually reads these messages!! From Uyuni we left in our Landcruiser around 10.00am, the two of us, kristy and adam, the driver and a cook. There are no tared roads in this area at all so it was straight onto ... You have not heard from us for awhile but they did not have an internet in the hospital. After the bus crash our broken bones are not restricting us too bad and we are able to get around. Just checking who actually reads these messages!!

From Uyuni we left in our Landcruiser around 10.00am, the two of us, kristy and adam, the driver and a cook. There are no tared roads in this area at all so it was straight onto dirt tracks. First stopl just out of town was the railway graveyard where all the old trains that used to carry minerals (borax we think) from Uyuni to the coast in Chile - not terribly exciting but a photo opportunity. next stop was a salt making establishment just on the start of the salt lakes. The opertion is pretty basic - families are given some land opn the salt flats and have to remain in the little settlement (50 families) to retain their land. they ride out to their plot on bicycles and dig the salt by pick then shovel it into little piles to dry. It is thenn transported back to the settlement where it is dried, finely crushed and then bagged into 1kg bags by hand. Continuing across the salt lake to a hostal made out of salt - the building, beds, tables and chairs everything except the toilet. Some of the tours stay here but we continue on as it only just the beginning of our journey. The stop for lunch is at a rocky outcrop called 'fish rock' it looks like a fish lying on its side from a distance across the salt plains - and has these huge cactus on it perhaps 3-4 m high and from the top you get a terrific view around the salt plain and it is still pretty amazing when you have snow capped mountain ranges around the salt plain. After lunch (bar b q'd alpaca)we continued to our overnight hostal and by this time we had exited the main salt plain and had travelled around the edge of a dusty alto plateau. we had been warned that accommodation on this trip was basic and they were right - twin bed room and pretty basic toilet facilities and showers. In the afternoon we walked across the plain to a rocky outcrop where there we a number of old graves and the people (mummies they call them) had been preserved in the dry air - not that exciting compared to the 'ice maiden we saw in Arequipa. Power was from a generator that went off at 9.00pm so no late nights. The wind sweeping across the plain was freezing and quite strong so a cold night was had. After breakfast it was off again on the journey across the alto plain visiting a pink and a red lagoon that both had pink flamingoes on them and an area of rocks that had a rock that looked like a tree (if you let your imagination run wild) and another rocky outcrop that had long tailed rabbits living in it and they came down and ate bread that you put out. The drive now is on really rough roads across a very dusty rocky alto plateau and there seems to be tracks going everywhere, Reached our overnight camp and this is more basic than the previous with the 4 of us in a 6 bed dorm, very very basic toilet and no showers although no-one had one the previous night so no-one cares. The bed is a base of concrete and rocks with a thin rubber mattress and a cold night was had. they said it got down to around -5 degrees and very windy so the chill factor was high making it even colder most probably. Last day on the trip saw us see at a geyser area, which was at around 4,600m with outcrops of ice formations around the geysers, a red lagoon with more flamingoes and then a swim in a thermal spring - it may have been hot if the freezing wind hadn't been blowing across it but we still had a go. Lunch was at a small hostel just inside the Bolivia/Chile border and we waited here for a little while as our bus from the border to San Pedro in Chile was not till 3.00pm. The border post is pretty basic with only the Bolivian side represented here. Our bus came to pick up us on time (incredibly)and then off to San Pedro via a 2,000m drop in altitude. The Chilean border check point is on the outskirts of San Pedro and far more proffessional then Bolivia with all bags searched etc. As we didn't have accommodation booked the bus driver drove us around until we finally found a B&B type accommodation. This one had a kitchen so we cooked our own breakfasts and dinner to save money but as food is really so cheap it was most probably just for a change to eating out. Had a couple of pet llamas in the backyard that we fed our scraps to. Not much to do in San Pedro, it is a very small town with very dusty narrow streets with this ongoing wind blowing dust everywhere. The first time for weeks that we have been able to wear shorts and t shirts. Kristy and Adam left us here to continue their travels through Chile whilst we head off to Argentina. On saturday we went for a bike ride out through a valley surrounded by lava type mud formations, including inca ruins etc -quite hot and dusty but good fun apart from the sore bum as the seats and suspension were not made for rocky rough roads.
Our bus left Sunday morning on the journey to Salta (argentina)and took 12 hours. If you take out the time we waited at the Chilean border (1 hour) and the Argentina border (1.5 hours) the trip would have been a lot quicker. The trip was again through very mountainous country, dispersed with long flat straights, and roads winding up and down the mountain ranges. On this trip we would have gone from around 2,500m at San Pedro to up to 4,800m over the Andes and then down to 1200m at Salta. This is the lowest altitude we have been for over four weeks. Arrived in Salta around 8.30pm, and got a taxi to our hostal which we had pre-booked via hostalworld.com (our first time)and everything went smoothly. Accomodation near the centre of the town, small room with en-suite, and friendly young staff.
Had a walk around Salta today and on first views it is like a small european town. A different type of people here, and the shops are a lot more up market although things are still cheap compared to home. Had lunch in town at a cafe on the edge of the main plaza (hamburger, toasted sandwich, coffee, milkshake) and it cost around A$6 in total. One of the amazing sights is the amount of police and security guards, that are around the banking area and all have machine guns slung over their shoulders - and there are police very visible walking around the city it all feels very safe.

We are staying here for a couple of days before heading off to Iquizi falls in the north eastern corner of Argentina. We will go by bus but it is a 24 hour trip so we will break it up into acouple of shorter journeys - these old bones can´t handle too long a trip.

Some facts for those interested. For the last few weeks we have been above 3,600m and up to 4,800m travelling over parts of the Andes mountain range. It is always cold at these altitudes and with the windy always blowing the chill factor is quite high, resulting in very cold nights and cool days. Long pants and coats are the dress of the day, together with beanies and sometimes gloves. Temperatures at night are at or below freezing with the days in the high teens if lucky. San Pedro was a good change being able to wear shorts and t shirt during the day until the winds started blowing and the sun went down. Salta is the lowest altitude we have been at only 1200m but still need long pants and coat during the day. The vegetation during the trip has been different ranging from thick forrest type vegetation in the Peru mountains to the barren wind blown mountains in Bolivia and Argentina.

Uyuni through salt flats to San Pedro to Salta (argentina) remains copyright of the author PennyJohn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Copacabana to La Paz to Uyuni tag:travellerspoint.com,2005-10-24:/blog/?domain=pennyjohn&thisblog_entryid=13&entryid=2885 2005-10-24T16:29:47Z 2005-10-24T16:29:47Z Left copabana with Phil and Jackie on the bus to La Paz, a trip of 5 hours. The trip was for a long time around the shores of Lake Titicaca but we were high up in the mountain ranges and had had snow capped mountains most of the way down to La Paz. Half way down we had to get off the bus and travel across the lake on a little launch whilst the bus went over on ... Left copabana with Phil and Jackie on the bus to La Paz, a trip of 5 hours. The trip was for a long time around the shores of Lake Titicaca but we were high up in the mountain ranges and had had snow capped mountains most of the way down to La Paz. Half way down we had to get off the bus and travel across the lake on a little launch whilst the bus went over on its own barge. The trip was through the country and ok, lots of little villages, and in some areas it looked like the area was the holiday house area for the rich people from la paz, and there were also some picnic areas. close to la paz we came across road blockages, where women who have been unable to get propane gas blocked off the main access road into la paz by sitting acorss the road with their gas bottles. we had to go around the blockages through narrow little streets about 4 times and we achieved this until we got close to the main city where they had blocked the main access road into the city and there was no-where to go around them. The assistant driver got out and with some traffic management and some brute force he got us around7through the blockage and then it was a smooth downhill rapid descent into la paz. la paz is a pretty big city, pretty drab, lots of noise, traffic and people. Got dropped off at the bus terminal and then had to try and find somewhere to stay - got some pretty basic directions to the hostel area and on the way came across some people who had been on the walk with us - finally decided to go to the hostel where the young couple we had met previously and who were in la paz and after some juggling pedestrians, traffic and hills found the hostel and stayed there for two days. On arrival we found that the train we were going to take to Uyuni was not running due to a strike by the train drivers and luckily the yound couple had reserved us on a seat on the next bus to uyuni with them. without that we would have had to stay in la paz for another few days until the next bus and there is not much to see in the city. Had a day of walking around trying to buy all your presents and have sent two packages back - not sure when they will arrive. The one day in la paz was enough and after two nights there and two days, we left at 11.00pm on an overnight trip to uyuni. the bus was pretty comfortable and the seats lay back so you could stretch out a bit and there was a reasonable amount of leg room. Had reasonable tar road for a few hours and then onto a jarring corrugated road for the rest of the trip, across a couple of running streams, across washaways in creeks, stopping for freight trains in the middle of nowhere we made it into Uyuni around 7.30am. overall not a bad trip and we did get some sleep - me with the help of a sleeping tablet. Penny had a heater outlet right at her feet which became a bit uncomfortable until we were able to get the heater turned off.
Uyuni is a little town on the edge of the salt lake area and is the main point of departure for all the trips across the salt lakes. we are staying in a little hostel for US$10 per night. not much in the town at all apart from the tourist operators who hassle you all the time for a tour and the best pizas we have had the resturant is run by a yanke who meet a local in the states and move here,he diffently has the monopoly. we have booked our trip and head off tomorrow (tuesday) morning get to San Pedro in chile on thursday aftrnoon. San Pedro is another little place and we will stay there until we head off to Salta in Argentina. We are doing the trip with the young couple (kristy and adam) and just the four of us with a driver and cook and in a landcruiser. We have changed our travel route due to road blocks on the bolivian Argentina border.
Next installment the Lagos de sal and Ataccama Dessert.

Copacabana to La Paz to Uyuni remains copyright of the author PennyJohn, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Cusco to Copacabana tag:travellerspoint.com,2005-10-21:/blog/?domain=pennyjohn&thisblog_entryid=12&entryid=2816 2005-10-21T15:18:02Z 2005-10-21T15:18:02Z Left Cusco by bus, as the trains were all full owing to the landslide and people not being able to get to machupichu. The girls at the B&B gave us a nice farewell with lots of cuddles and then off on the bus to Puno. Double decker tourist bus for a 8 hours to puno and stopping every couple of hours for the normal tourist things to see. By this stage we have seen all the musuems, ... Left Cusco by bus, as the trains were all full owing to the landslide and people not being able to get to machupichu. The girls at the B&B gave us a nice farewell with lots of cuddles and then off on the bus to Puno. Double decker tourist bus for a 8 hours to puno and stopping every couple of hours for the normal tourist things to see. By this stage we have seen all the musuems, cathederals etc and just walked around the main plaza's whilst they had their tours. The trip cost around US$8 each so it is pretty good value including lunch.
arrived in Puno early evening and as we had bookied accommodation there got picked up from the bus terminal. Hostel was pretty good with nice hot shower and it was near the town centre and restaurants. There is not a lot to see or do in Puno and it is a pretty drab place. We did a trip out to the floating islands which was the only reason that we stopped there - it was a half day tour and you visit three islands. The islands are built up of rotted reeds that have matted together over the years and the people have been living on them for centuries. Unfortunately it is now over commercialised and really wasn't that good - each island is like a movie set all set out how it should be but the people don't actually live there anymore they live on houses on the islands nearby but is was still interesting how they used the totora reeds. The next day it was off to copacabana that is Bolivia so a boarder crosssing is involved. Again a nice tourist bus and we were lucky to be sitting at the front of the bus upstairs and met a couple from Avalon and we have been with them for a couple of days now. The boarder crossing was uneventful - you leave the bus on one side and then walk across no-mans land to the Bolivian customs and get your passport stamped and then another walk to the bus.

Copacabana is set right on the edge of lake titicaca, and we got accommodation at the Mirador hostal right on the lakes edge US$10 per night with great views over the lake. Had a day off the first day just walking around the town which is quite nice, and we had beautiful sunshine - something that we haven't had for a long time. We went out to Isle de Sol with Jackie and Phil fromm Avalon, and got dropped off on the north end - we then had a 9k walk along the ridge of the island at 4,000m to the southern end where we stayed in a great B&B right on top of the ridge looking down and over the lake.
Our room was right at the front of the house ovderlookking the view. We splurged out this night with a few beers and a meal in the hostel. For our accommodation, 3 bottles of beer, 1 bottle of wine, and our dinner and breakfast it cost about US$24 not bad eh! it was a family runn B&B and they lived in the house and they were really helpful and friendly. The island reminded us off rotto but a bit higher with lots of shelered bays and nice clear blue water. The next day we got a local boat back to the mainland and we walked 17k back to copacabana through villages and along the lakes edge - it was a bit longer than we planned but we made it and it was a nice walk through the countryside. Today we leave for La Paz again by bus and a 3 hour or so trip with Jacki and Phil so the next report will be either from there or after we do our next adventure depending on timing. Met another interesting couple on the island and again at tea last night - he is an Itilian 37 years old who has been living in Cape town for 12 years and sold his restauraant and has now been travelling for 5 years all over the world living off his savings. He has teamed up with an canadian/trinadad girl for the past 2 years and they have een to some pretty amazing remote areas. They are trying to get me into doing yoga as they both do it and she is a teacher -they did training in India for 12 months.
catch you all - us

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]]> Inca Trail tag:travellerspoint.com,2005-10-16:/blog/?domain=pennyjohn&thisblog_entryid=11&entryid=2692 2005-10-16T19:04:48Z 2005-10-16T19:04:48Z The day before the walk we had a briefing and received our duffel bag, sleeping bag, and sleeping mat. We are allowed to only take 10 kg in total and the stuff we received weighed 5 kg. Also met the other members of the group, 15 in total - 2 canadians, 1 yank, 1 british, rest aussies - ages ranging from 22 to 69. On the day of the walk we got a bus from Cusco to ... The day before the walk we had a briefing and received our duffel bag, sleeping bag, and sleeping mat. We are allowed to only take 10 kg in total and the stuff we received weighed 5 kg. Also met the other members of the group, 15 in total - 2 canadians, 1 yank, 1 british, rest aussies - ages ranging from 22 to 69. On the day of the walk we got a bus from Cusco to the 82 klm mark on the train track which is the start point for the walks and there we met our porters, cooks etc. All the luggage, food, cooking stuff, tents etc for the 5 days is divided up between the 20 porters and they only carry 25 kg each. We started just before lunch time and were told that the first part of the track was flat, wrong, flat to the peruvians is quite hilly with lots of big steps and we knew we were in for something over the next few days. Had lunch overlooking a ruin, and it started raining as well - just what we needed. The rest of the first day was walking, walking, and trying to walk slowly to get accustomed to the altitude but everyone was still getting pretty exhausted and had to have breaks. Arrived at camp to find everything set up and a 3 course meal awaiting us including banana flombe!. Everyone slept well that night.
The second day we were warned was going to be the hardest and they were right. The walk was basically uphill all day with lots of steps and gaining altitude and lots of heavy rain. I had lots of trouble with stomach bug, and lost all my energy, so this day was petty bad. Penny was fine except for shortness of breath. Jose our guide stayed down the back with us and was a great support - it was a b terrible day!!!. Finally got to the top of 'Dead womans' pass and then had another 1.5 hour walk downhill to our night camp. Downhill really means downhill, lots of steps, lots of steep paths and its still raining. Got to the camp again everything set up - our tent was amongst two creeks which surrounded us with lot of mud. After all that the days views were still pretty amazing. dibble straight to bed and Pen for tea for another 3 course meal. Everyone slept well again.
Day three was no where near as the day before, but peruvean flat with some steep climbs and down hill section through man made tunnels and narrow paths. Had hail through this section and we got quite wet walking to our lunch break. After lunch started off in rain again still walking through pretty amazing cloud forrest, and surrounded by snow cap peaks that you had to keep an eye out for as the clouds wee continually coming and going uncovering them. Also lots of waterfalls. Arrived at our night stop, the rain had stopped and all had dried out. The camp was on top of a mountain range with unbelievable views in all directions - we had a nice camp spot here with a great view over the other tents to the back of machupichu.
Woke up early and went to the top of our mountain to watch the sunrise and as it came up it shone on the snow capped mountain around us - it was something pretty special. Our morning cup of tea was delivered to us on the mountain top. Had a ceremony for the porters where we gave them thee tips, and whatever they get they sure deserve, as they leve camp after we do and then they run/jog past you wherever you are on the trail with a big smile on their faces. The walk this day was basically down hill with just a few small climbs and after we had lunch we countinued the walk to the 'sun gate' which overlooks machupichu and had sunshine the first for a few days, where Jose congratulated us all on making the treck. From the sun gate you look down on machupichu and to us it was more the setting, and what we had done rather than seeing machupichu although it was pretty special as well. we then walked down to machupichu where Jose gave us a small talk on the history of the area. After that we got the bus down the the town where we visited the hot springs and went into town for dinner in a restaurant - a good night was had by all. We still slept in a tent that night alongside a quite fast running river - again everyone slept well.
The next day we got the bus up the mountain to machupichu, and found out that our trip up there would be cut short. We have had most things on this trip and now a landslide had come down from near where we had started the treck and washed away the train line so no-one could get in or out. Anyway we enjoyed our visit to machupichu and it is pretty amazing what the Incas did get up to and where they did it and there are still lots of mysteries as to what actually happened to them.
Came down from the mountain as word had got around that trains were going to take people to the landslide, and then we would walk around the landslide and bus into Cusco. This turned into quite an event - the train station was bedlam with everyone trying to get on the train and our guide Jose was a great help here as we were able to get a great sport at the front of the que but there was still lots of pushing etc trying to get into the station. After we got in, our group was still together at the front of the train line. Waiting for the train was a carnival atmosphere with a group of schoolkids singing, people standing on the tracks talking, and siting on the edge of the station with free coffee being handed out. This was most probably made better as one of the canadian ladies had some brandy which laced the coffee. We got on the train to have seats as we were irst onto our carriage, and then they just pilled everyone in there was people everywhere and by this time it was all quite good fun. After the train trip we arrived at the next staging point to find total bedlam, with buses, cars, trucks etc, waiting to transport people to the next spot for buses along a single lane goat track. Jose had ordered a bus to take us to Cusco but it couldn{t get through to us so we ended up on the back of a small cattle truck with all of us standing up in the back, dust everywhere, and going along singing songs, it was quite a trip. We went through the top side of the landside and could see where they were working trying to fix the line. Finally got to Cusco around 2.00am - not much done the next day although we met up with 2 girls from Perth and the british girl for tea as everyone else had left cusco.
Puno next installment - we will be thee for a day or so and then off to Copacabana

Hoo roo

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]]> Cusco-Sacred Valley tag:travellerspoint.com,2005-10-08:/blog/?domain=pennyjohn&thisblog_entryid=10&entryid=2285 2005-10-08T23:09:44Z 2005-10-08T23:09:44Z A young couple who are returning to Australia from London have moved into the unit next door to us and we have got on well with them. Our two rooms share a common loungeroom and we had a good yack the first night we met them and have been with them doing the tourist thing since then. The first day we got a taxi out to an inca ruin about 10 k from the city centre and got ... A young couple who are returning to Australia from London have moved into the unit next door to us and we have got on well with them. Our two rooms share a common loungeroom and we had a good yack the first night we met them and have been with them doing the tourist thing since then. The first day we got a taxi out to an inca ruin about 10 k from the city centre and got dropped off by the taxi - we then walked around a couple of ruins there and when exploring a track trying to walk from the first ruin to the second we walked through a local village that is off the normal track that the tourist go as most travel around by bus or taxi so would not have walked along the track we did. The people were really friendly in the village - lots of smiles and laughing with us when we tried to talk to them. The first two ruins were at 3,800m and then we walked back to the third ruin down the windy road about 6k through roadside villages and rural areas. All the houses are mud brick construction with thatched roofs, and mud brick perimeter walls with all the normal farmyard animals running around the place. After the third ruin, and they are all different, we ended up walkiing into town and having tea at a 'chifa' chinese restaurant - bowl of soup with rice and vegetables seperate for S/- 8.50 each (around A$3.00) When we got back to the hostal the girl of the couple said she had a great day it was like walking around with her parents. I think they have adopted us a quassi parents. They are amazed that at our age we are doing what we are doing by staying in backpackers and walking around everywhere. The next day (yesterday) we did a full day tour out to more inca tours and had a good look at the Sacred Valley where the Inca's lived and the people still do lots of farming. It is a very pretty place with a stream running down the valley with lots of villages scattered along it. The houses in this ara are a bit better construction. Lots of farming with corn and potatoes being grown. The inca ruin we went to was pretty amazing, they had sort of built this buttresses up the end of a valley and you climbed up steps to the top where they had built a place to worship the sun god. It is amazing to see the size of stones and accuracy of the many sides fitting in to each other. Although in ruins it is still of pretty amazing construction. It rained whilst we were up there but just a steady drizzle so didn´t get too weet. Had a buffet lunch with everything you could imagine to eat. We got back to the city square around 6.30pm, and had tea in town - again around the $3.00 price range. Cusco is a really neat place with lots of the traditional clothing being worn and you can walk around with no problems whatsoever - could stay here longer. We haven't found the altitude too bad as we did take it easy when we first got here and Arequipa is pretty high anyway. Today is a rest day, to the markets, try and find a freight company to see the cost of freight, and catch up with Carolyn Whiting ( a friend from Perth) this afternnon. There are heaps of things to buy and at a good price, but the problem is carrying it around for another two months as we didn't have much space in our backpacks when we started.
Had a fun dinner with Cas Whiting and Dowd's who we haven¡t seen since Kununurra days. We have agreed to meet in Rome next time Ha!
Today (Saturday) was trek briefing and preparation and it is raining hopefully it will stop tomorrow for our 5 day trek. Catch you in 5 days.

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]]> Lima tag:travellerspoint.com,2005-10-07:/blog/?domain=pennyjohn&thisblog_entryid=9&entryid=2271 2005-10-07T22:15:17Z 2005-10-07T22:15:17Z we are off to the amazon tomorrow morning at 3.00am, you beauty. we have a flight to Iquitos then to the jungle lodge for two days so will most probably not have any contact until we are back in Lima on Tuesday afternnon so will check again then. Arrived Lima early this morning after an early start - had a walk around Miraflores, the area we are staying in, saw the beach area where the Amazing Race was ... we are off to the amazon tomorrow morning at 3.00am, you beauty. we have a flight to Iquitos then to the jungle lodge for two days so will most probably not have any contact until we are back in Lima on Tuesday afternnon so will check again then. Arrived Lima early this morning after an early start - had a walk around Miraflores, the area we are staying in, saw the beach area where the Amazing Race was recorded - looks nothing like the show it looks like all rocks. A great surf was running with a heap of guys out.

Will check on tueesday. If you get the correct address{s for rod and fern could you forward the messages to them. it is their e.mail addresses that are incorrect so you may have to ring them.

bye. mum and dad.

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]]> Santiago tag:travellerspoint.com,2005-10-07:/blog/?domain=pennyjohn&thisblog_entryid=8&entryid=2270 2005-10-07T22:12:34Z 2005-10-07T22:12:34Z have arrived safely in Santiago. Had a good flight and had a bit of luck being upgraded from Auckland to Santiago into business - very nice up the sharp end. found hotel OK and have had a day walking around the city - lots of smog and lots of people but the city is very clean. The city is surrounded by mountains and you can just see the snow on top of the mountains when the smog ... have arrived safely in Santiago. Had a good flight and had a bit of luck being upgraded from Auckland to Santiago into business - very nice up the sharp end. found hotel OK and have had a day walking around the city - lots of smog and lots of people but the city is very clean. The city is surrounded by mountains and you can just see the snow on top of the mountains when the smog clears a bit. Head off tomorrow to Lima with a very early start and should be met there on arrival to start our tour of the Amazon.
Take care Love us

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]]> The Amazon tag:travellerspoint.com,2005-10-07:/blog/?domain=pennyjohn&thisblog_entryid=6&entryid=2268 2005-10-07T22:10:23Z 2005-10-07T22:10:23Z After an early start - getting up at 0300 hrs for our flight to Iquitos the flight was delayed after taxying out and getting into the takeoff line, due to cloud/haze over Iquitos initially, and then when taxying back to the terminal the flight was cancelled due to birds over the airport until 5.00pm that night - so had a bit of a wait at the airport with no real waiting area so we waited in the cafeteria area with ... After an early start - getting up at 0300 hrs for our flight to Iquitos the flight was delayed after taxying out and getting into the takeoff line, due to cloud/haze over Iquitos initially, and then when taxying back to the terminal the flight was cancelled due to birds over the airport until 5.00pm that night - so had a bit of a wait at the airport with no real waiting area so we waited in the cafeteria area with all everyones bags against the back wall to reduce the risk of stuff being stolen - we had no dramas. They have these black buzzard type birds in Iquitos and they fly all around the airport like our seaguls during the day, but they are bigger than gulls. Finall got to Iquitos around 8.00pm, didn't see much as there was this cloudy/haze all the way but you could see the high mountains now and then. Bus into town was in an old bus with no windows, wooden floor, loose seats (you get the idea?). Like Asia they drive like madman always in a low gear revving the motor for sound effects. Didn't see much of the town at this time as it was getting late. Got dropped off at the harbour? and then had a 1 hr trip in a long metal boat with outboard up the Amazon, and then into one of the tribuataries to our lodge. Had no idea where we were as it was very dark. Got to lodge and then had a walk around 1k to the lodge again in the dark just with our torches paying attention not to tread onto any landmines. we had to walk through a local village and they were having a great party - took photo's of the houses the next day - wooden houses on stilts with thatched roofs - very basis. The lodge was pretty clean but very basic - no power, twin beds, running water from the Amazon. Slept pretty well, but it was very very hot so swetted like mad initially then woke to being cool. This didn{t last very long as it warmed up, and very humid. Breakfast bread rolls, omellete, fresh fruit, juice, tea/coffee. Had a jungle trip across the Amazon to one of the tributories, saw small dolphins on the way, and then went into a logoon to look for pink dolphins but didn't we any. Local people were here and there around the banks of the Amazon and the lagoon fishing and washing. the water is dirty with lots of vegetation drifting down the river - not much rubbish. After the lagoon wewalked through another village - pretty basic houses thatched roofs and walls - chooks, pigs, dogs lying around the houses - kids walking around you asking for lollies - and as it was a Saturday there was a party going on at one of the houses and they were having a good time - this was around 9.30am - they are very friendly and all say hello and wave. again considering where they are with no running water they are all dressed in clean clothes. We walked thru the village until another small stream, were we boarded a small dugout with a generator for a motor with one of those long shafted props that hang out the back of the boat. The trip down the stream was pretty exciting negotiating jammed up logs and shallow areas - passed little houses on the way with people paddling around in real little dugout canoes fishing. Went fishing in the river and Pen caught two piaranha??? fish, they are not very big but have very small but sharp teeth - you cant even feel them biting the meet off the hook apart from very small tremors. had lunch at another bush lodge and then walked about an hour through the jungle to a big lagood where we paddled out in a canoe and saw these weird big birds up in the jungle that made this weird noise - didn't see any wild animals or anything. The walk back to the lodge was very hot and really high humidty- one of the guys was ill from the heat. from this camp we had to return to our original camp again arriving in the dark with no torches so had to be very careful not to tread in anything or fall into anything. This is the night that we had the earthquake - it rumbled for about 30 seconds and shook the hut around a bit but no damage was done. they said that they do not normally get earthquakes in the jungle although they are prety common in the coastal cities. The next morning we went to visit a sharma (witchdoctor) who gave us a bit of talk in the local herbs and drugs that he uses and one of the things that he uses the most is 'catsclaw' that you can buy in the health shops at home and he says it cures just about everything - also visited a home that made sugar cane drink with a manual press and then a jungle village that put on a dance which we joined in (and got charged for) and had the option of buying necklaces, stringbags etc. back to the camp, lunch, and then the trip back up the Amazon to Iquitos, stopping at a village on the way where we stopped at a fish farm where they have these giant fish (they say 3m long) which we fed - didn't see them just heard the whooshing sound that they made when they came up to et the fish we supplied. Back in Iquitos we had a walk around the local markets saw all the sharmas ingredients in mass - there were some pretty amazing things that these drugs were meant to achieve however we didn't try any. I wanted to try these big witchity grub type things on a kebab but wasn't allowed. Lots of other normal market type things unique to the area. Had a quiet drink in the plaza de armas (main square) and watched the world go by. Arrived bck in lima safely. The next day we had a town tour of <lima which was very interesting, huge churches, great archeological musuem, and then we organised our trip to Arequipa in the afternoon.
Arequipa next instalment.

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]]> Arequipa tag:travellerspoint.com,2005-10-07:/blog/?domain=pennyjohn&thisblog_entryid=5&entryid=2267 2005-10-07T22:09:07Z 2005-10-07T22:09:07Z From Lima we flew to Arequipa about an hour flight. The airport is something else - the background is three snow capped volcanoes with one of them still active - they are just behind the city. The accommodation was in an old spanish house on a main street close to the main plaza - all the towns have a main plaza that the place revolves around, every night it is packed with heaps of people. The first night we ... From Lima we flew to Arequipa about an hour flight. The airport is something else - the background is three snow capped volcanoes with one of them still active - they are just behind the city. The accommodation was in an old spanish house on a main street close to the main plaza - all the towns have a main plaza that the place revolves around, every night it is packed with heaps of people. The first night we were there they put on a great parade around the plaza especially for us which was nice - they really know how to have a good time.Lots of traditional costume and dancing from different schools. It was, or appeared to be total chaos with groups of people with different music blaring from gheto blasters mounted onto ordinary car roofs, marching around the plaza and then they suddenly marched off in a different direction. The next day we had a bus trip out to the Colca Canyon area where we were to see the condors. The trip started off on a nice tared road through the country side steadily climbing in altitude. we stopped off half way at a little shop for drinks and toilet break and they had heaps of the local people selling all the touristy stuff. That was the end of the tar and the start of the very rough dirt road going over a pass at 4,800m when you got out of the bus it was very hard to walk very far without becoming exhausted - a great view though. The next stop was Chivay, and then on to our accommodation for the night. We had a great view down the coca canyon valley but it was still pretty hazy. The next day was the bus trip from Chivay out to the Colca Canyon where the condors were and again this was really rough, windy, and dusty. When we got to the viewing area there were heaps of tourist buses and people perched along the edge of the canyon. The canyon is round 1mile deep near where we were and the condors fly along the edge in the thermals. There were none when we first got there and then all of a sudden they appeared flying along the edge of the canyon, and you could see them seeming to be looking at the people - they put on a great show and then shot through. Got some good photo´s. After lunch in Chivay we th9ought we would be nice and move back from where we were in the bus and meet other poeple - bad move - we ended up over the back wheels and we had a really rough and hot trip back to Arequipa as there was no airconditioner and we had to keep the windows closed due to the dust. No more mister nice guy!

Next day we did a tour of the city visiting musuems and a really old convent which is a city inside the city. The second girl of the rich spanish families had to go into the convent to be nuns and they nver came out and the family could not have contact with them again. They had to pay dowries? for them to go in and depending on how much they paid determined their status in the convent. This was seen as a good thing as it helped the family get to heaven easier and into a better position. We then did a tour of the country around the city seeing some of the old spanish villa´s. arequipa was pretty nice, and appeared safe. Lots of really nice white stone buildings. We also visited a museum that has the Ice Maiden an Inca mummy that was found on the top of a volcano.From studying her and other mummies found in simmilar locations they discovered that mothers of their day kept the umbilical cord to help curer the child if it got sick later, now we start doing it.
We are now in Cusco at 3,200m and have only been walking around the city area getting aclimatised. It is a really nice city a lot clearer air than the other places we have been again surounded by mountains but no snow only houses that at night creat a fairylight affect. The hostal we are in is really good US$20 per night including breakfast - we have our own lounge and there is a kitchen if needed. Not sure why you would bother when you can get a three course meal for US$5. There are some aussies and pomms staying where we are and there has been a lot of sharing information. Watched a bit of the baseball world series in an irish pub this afternoon with a guy from boston - pretty strange eh!(boston red soxs v chicago).
watch this space take care all,love US

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